Raci v2.0 Beta2

The latest version of this document is held at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/files/Raci/Raci.html which may be more recent than the version in raci.zip

Overview
Installation
What's New?
Usage
Feedback
FAQ
Registering
The Future
Support
Legal / License Agreement

Overview

Raci is a reporting and editing tool for cdplayer.ini, the data file for Microsoft's Audio CD player (cdplayer.exe) that comes free with Windows95 and WindowsNT. It displays the information in a hierarchical tree showing Artist, Album, and Track information.

Microsoft's cdplayer.exe (and compatible players) lets you record artist, album and track information for each CD you play. Usually you can only see this information when you put that CD back in the player. Raci lets you see all the CDs you have at once, and generate a formatted report in HTML or CSV (Comma-Separated Values ASCII) format. (CSV format allows you to import your CD information into most database and spreadsheet programs).

Raci also has the ability to eliminate duplicate entries in an ini file, making it ideal for concatenating multiple cdplayer.ini files.

(NB: Raci is not an Audio CD player. It just reports on information gathered by cdplayer).

Installation

Raci currently has no special installation instructions. You simply extract the zip file to a folder and run the exe, although you may like to put a shortcut to it on your desktop.

To uninstall you just delete the folder again.

What's New?

Since v2.0 Beta

Removed unpopular hard-coded expiry date
Fixed the case-sensitive bug mentioned in the FAQ.

Since v1.2

A total and complete re-write - we should never have revisited code written almost 2 years ago. :-)
A resizing dialog (at last!)
The ability to generate CSV format reports for importing into, say, Excel.
Better duplicate checking (although some of it is currently incomplete)
You can now edit albums, artists and tracks (although, again, parts are still incomplete)
Raci is now shareware (sorry, it had to be done).

Usage

scrnshot.jpg (32244 bytes)

If you’re familiar with the Windows95 tree control (you should be if you've used Explorer, for example) then Raci will be no problem to you. Albums and Tracks can be expanded and collapsed just like folders in the left hand pane of Explorer.

Just remember that Raci takes a snapshot of the current state of cdplayer’s database (cdplayer.ini). So if you add a CD whilst Raci is running, you’ll need to hit the "Refresh" button. Also, Raci does not read or play CDs; cdplayer does that.

Right-clicking on an artist, album or track brings up a menu that allows you to Edit, Move or Delete the item (where appropriate).

Use the radio buttons in the "Display" group to set the amount of detail you want.

Artist collapses all nodes and just shows artists.

Album expands all nodes so that they show all the albums.

All expands all nodes so that the track list for every album is shown. If you have a big database then this can take a while

Custom is automatically selected whenever you do a manual expand or collapse on a node of the tree, and indicates that the tree is not in any of the above three states.

Use the Report button to run a report...

scrnsht2.jpg (12813 bytes)

Choose whether you want the report to be in HTML format or CSV format. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the format that all web browsers use, and is the format that this document is written in. CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a text format used by many database and spreadsheet programs to import and export data. Each record is on one line, with commas separating the fields. Text is enclosed in double quotes.

The view button opens the file in the "filename" box.

Be careful when generating reports as Raci will quite happily let you overwrite existing files at the moment. This will be improved in the release version.

Feedback

We value your feedback! We really want to hear if you like Raci, or if you have a suggestion to improve it. Please mail us at Jumping.Armadillo@dial.pipex.com

However, if you do like Raci, and you use it for more than 14 days, then you must register it. Its the only way we can afford to continue developing Raci.

FAQ

The Raci FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is now held at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/files/Raci/FAQ.html

If you don't have web access and would like a copy then please mail us and we'll be happy to send you the latest version.

Registering

Raci is SHAREWARE. You can use the beta version until it expires on 1st November 1998, but after that you'll need to visit our web site to get the release version (which should be ready by then). You will be able to use the release version for an evaluation period of 14 days free of charge, but after that you must either uninstall it or register it

Registration is a mere US$15 (which includes an order processing free of $3.60 which PSL charge us for each order), but if you pre-register before 1st January 1999 its even cheaper - just $12; a 20% saving!.

When you register you'll get our undying gratitude (naturally), priority support, a nice warm feeling and, of course, the disabling of the reminder dialog at startup and the enabling of all features. We haven't yet finalised which features will be disabled or reduced for the release version yet, but there will be some.

PSL offer the further bonus of a big discount on their monthly shareware CD when you register.

To order on-line with your credit card, you can select the "Order" option in either the "Help" menu or the "About" box in Raci, or you can use these links:

Secure Server (uses SSL)
Non-secure server (for people behind a firewall, or who who can't use SSL)
Fax and email ordering are coming soon.

It doesn't matter if your home currency is not US Dollars - ours isn't, as we're UK based. Your credit card company will let you pay for Raci in dollars, and will convert it to your local currency at the prevailing exchange rate when they send you your statement. It couldn't be easier!

As soon as PSL notifies us that your order as been processed, we will email you an unlock code which you can use to fully enable all Raci's features.

Unlocking Raci's features

When you get the unlock email from us, keep it safe. You'll need it to unlock all the features of the release version. Full details will be given in the documentation of the release version.

The Future

We have plans for Raci! Assuming people register and support it, we plan to do the following:

Finish the duplicate checking support. You'll be able to choose whether to keep or reject either the existing or new entry. You'll also be able to choose to delete the duplicate or not.
Add search capabilities - search for an artist, album or track.
Finish the prune & graft features that allow you to split off an album from an artist, or combine the albums of two artists (which may actually be the same artist but with different spellings)
Extend the reporting options so you can produce summaries (artists and albums only) as well as the existing full report (artists, albums and track lists).

We welcome suggestions and comments on Raci. If you are the first person to suggest a feature that we implement, we'll give you a free registration of Raci (or one of our other products if you are a registered Raci user already).

Support

We are willing to provide limited email support at our discretion to unregistered users, and priority email support to registered users.

Please mail us at Jumping.Armadillo@dial.pipex.com stating your problem, with as much detail as possible. We're afraid that emails that simply say "your software doesn't work" will not help much. We will look into the problem and may provide a workaround or bug fix.

We are not willing to provide any support via phone or fax, even if you offer to phone us or otherwise pay for the call. JonRB really doesn't appreciate people in different time zones phoning in the middle of the night (our offices are in his house).

Before emailing, be sure to check http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/Raci.html for the latest version of Raci and http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/files/Raci/Raci.html for the latest version of this document.

Legal / License Agreement

This software is SHAREWARE. You may use it free of charge until it expires on 1st November 1998, after which you will need to visit our web site for the release version (which should be ready by then).

This software is provided "as is". Jumping Armadillo take no responsibility for any loss, damage, heartache or problems it may cause, and make no guarantees as to its fitness of purpose. We have tried to ensure that it is as bug-free as possible, but again cannot guarantee that it is nor take responsibility for any damages that either directly or indirectly result. There are no warranties, either expressed or implied with this software.

You may freely distribute this software so long as either the original zip file or the files contained within it are distributed together and are not modified in any way. You may not sell this software to anyone, and may not charge anyone for distributing it. It may not be bundled in any CD or compilation without prior permission.
However, if you choose to register, you should keep your unlock code secret. You should not give it to other people.

Registered users may install and unlock multiple copies of Raci so long as only one is in use at any one time. If you want to run more than one copy at the same time, you must purchase the appropriate number of licenses.