Pasting To Computer B
 1.  Insert the "2003-04-Studio1 CDW" disk in Drive A, and go to Windows Explorer (Step 2 above).
 2.  On the left side scroll up until you find 3½ Floppy.  Click it one time to open it up.
      You should see the files.  Highlight them with <Ctrl/A>, and then use <Ctrl/C> to copy them.
 3.  Scroll down until you find Program Files.  Click the plus sign to the left of it.
      Now, open the CDW folder. (Click it one time.)  Use <Ctrl/V> to paste the files.
 4.  Insert the "2003-04-Studio1 Data" disk in Drive A.  On the left side scroll up until you find 3½ Floppy.
      Click it one time to open it up.  You should see all your data files on your right. (See Note 2 below.)
      Highlight all of the files, then use <Ctrl/C> to copy them.
 5.  On the left side, scroll down until you find Program Files.  Click the plus (+) sign to the left.
 6.  CDW is now under Program Files.  Click the plus sign to the left of CDW.
 7.  2003-04 is now under CDW.  Click the plus sign to the left of 2003-04.
 8.  The five studio folders now appear below the year.  Click the little yellow folder of Studio1.
      Use <Ctrl/V> to paste all of the data files.
 9.  Run CDW.  You will find all of the data is now exactly the same on this computer as it is on
      Computer A.  Try to register a new student.  CDW should assign the correct Student Number.
      This is IMPORTANT to check!!

Note 1: This will work as long as you do not have more that 219 files to copy and paste.  You can not place more than 220 files in the root directory of a floppy disk.  However, there is no limit to the number of files that you can place in a folder on a floppy disk.  So, if you have more that 220 files to copy, you will have to make a folder on the floppy disk, then copy the files into that folder.  If this is the case for you, here is how to make a folder on the disk in Drive A before you
do the pasting in Step 10:

9A. Click File, then click New, then click Folder.  Type in some name - Transfer, for example.
9B. Double-click the Transfer folder icon.  You are now in the folder Transfer.   When you do Step 10,
      the files will be put in the Transfer folder on the floppy disk.

Note 2: If you had to make a Transfer folder on the disk and put all of your files in there, then you will see the Transfer folder on the right side.  Double click it to reveal all of the files.

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1. When you right click, then left click the Tuition Text Box in a SRD or FRD you get a Tuition Help
    Window.

2. When you right click any text box in a SRD or FRD, you get a Text Box Edit Sub Menu.

3. When you right click any blank place on a SRD you can display that student's picture.

4. There are three passwords.  See Appendix Z, and Page 5-23.  The Credit Card Access Password
    and the EFT Password are the same.

5. Have any students in no classes?  You can find out what students are not currently registered
    in any classes by clicking Query, then Students in ? Number of Classes.  Now, enter zero (0).

6. You can change the way CompuDance sorts various grid lists (Master Income Ledger,
    Student Account Ledger, Master List of Students, Master List of Classes, Master List of Songs, etc.).
    Click the Column Header and the list will now be sorted by the items in that column.

    Examples: In the Master Song List, click the Artist Header and now all of the songs are sorted by
        Artist.  Now, click the Title Header and the list is sorted by Artist within Song Title.  Or, in the
        Master Student List, click the Name Header and the list will be sorted by Name.  Click the
        No. Header, to sort the list by Student Number.

7. You can scroll fast forward through your SRD or FRD by using <Ctrl/X>.  Or, you can scroll
    backward just as fast by using <Ctrl/Z>.  Try that technique in other Windows (Apportionment,
    Recital, Attendance, etc.)

8. You can browse through all of the CompuDance files on your computer in the current year and studio
    by going to Lists, then Other Lists, then Browse.  And, you can even look in some of those files.
    And, you can even copy some of the data in those files by highlighting the data then using <Ctrl/C> to
    Copy.

9. When making an entry in the City Text Box in the SRD or FRD, you can click the text box,
    then click the down arrow, then enter the city by simply clicking one from the list instead of
    typing it in.     

"I do not want four CompuDance Icons on my desktop.  I only want one folder containing the four icons."

Here is how you can create one CompuDance folder on your desktop.  That folder will contain all of the CompuDance Shortcut icons.  It will be called CompuDance 700.

"I have a computer at the front desk and a computer in the back office.  Can I have CompuDance on both computers, and connect them so that they both have access to the same files?"

Yes, you can have CompuDance on a computer at the front desk (Computer A) and a computer in the back office (Computer B).  Both computers can have access to a common set of data files for your studio.  The data files can be mapped to Computer A, or to Computer B, or to another location somewhere.

In the CompuDance configuration file in the \Windows folder (cdwstud.ini) there is an item called ProgPath.  That is short for Program Path.  It tells CompuDance where to look for your data files.  The default is c:\Progra~1\CDW.  That means that the CompuDance Files are located in a folder called CDW which is contained in a folder called Program Files on your hard drive.  This is where you map the path to a common set of data files.  You may need to ask a computer consultant or a network consultant to help you set this up at your studio.  With the information in this FAQ article and in Appendix D of the User Manual, your consultant can set up a way to connect your two computers to a common set of data files.

You need to be aware that you must be running the network version of CompuDance (currently 7.30.00).  For more information on networking CompuDance, read and print Appendix D in  the Version 7 User Manual.  If you do not have an Appendix D in your User Manual, you can download and print one here.

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"Will I have to re-enter any data when I upgrade from one CompuDance version to another?  Am I going to be confused?  Will I have to learn the program again like I do with other programs?"

We update CompuDance once a year - the first week in June.  These new versions contain new features suggested by users.  When we receive a suggestion for an added feature, or for an easier way to accomplish a current operation, we survey a number of studio owners who have used CompuDance for many years.  We ask these users what they think of the suggestion.  If their feedback is in any way positive, we then decide to add it to the next version.  Suggestions which would radically change the way CompuDance operates, or which would necessitate changing the data structure, or which would, in our opinion, frustrate users who are comfortable with the program, would not be added. 

When you update from one version to a later version, therefore, you do NOT have to re-enter any data.  All of the data files in the pervious version are still there and are accessed by CompuDance and by you in the same manner.  You will very rarely be confused by new menus, new windows, new buttons, etc.  We try very hard to preserve the look and feel of CompuDance in order to maintain your comfort-level when using the program.  We know the frustration of updating to a new version of a favorite program only to find that many of the easy-to-use old features are gone or moved; keys that used to get somewhere now go nowhere; favorite command buttons have disappeared; and it now takes 15 seconds to do something that in the earlier version took 3 seconds!  We don't want our users to have these experiences.

So, the update installation simply places a new .exe file in your \CDW program directory.  When you run the new version, things should look about the same; your favorite operations are where they were; new operations and features as described in the ReadMe file are conveniently located; and your data files are as they were.  Data files are always upward compatible.  ( Only once in the 17 year history of CompuDance have we ever changed the data structure of files from one version to another making it necessary to convert files.  That was in May 1989 when we went from the DOS Version 3 to the DOS Version 4.  And of course the data file structure of the Windows version was totally different from the DOS version.)

So . . . there's no reason for users not to have the most current version of CompuDance.  It doesn't cost you a fortune; it won't take a month to learn; it takes less than 10 seconds to install an update.  It is a seamless change.  You can update at any time.  You do NOT have to wait until you are ready to create a New Year.  If at any time you see that the current version is later than the one you are using . . . update NOW.

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"Why do I have trouble using CompuDance Backup when using a CD?"

Note: We do not recommend backing up to CDs.  We strongly recommend using a Flash Drive.  Please see 3 in FAQ #12.)

The usual cause for this problem is that the disc in your CD-R or CD-RW drive does not appear as a logical drive like any other local drive volume on your computer.  When you ask Windows Explorer, or your word processing program, or your database program, or CompuDance to save your data to the CD in your CD-R/CD-RW drive, that drive must appear just like your hard disk or the floppy disk in your floppy disk drive.   If it doesn't, then programs can't write to it, nor read from it.  You can't use it either.  You can't drag and drop files to it.  The usual error message that you get will be a path/file access error.

On most computers you can't just get a CD-R disc out of the box and use it like you would a floppy disk.  You need some device software to "format" the CD and your drive so that it can handle saving and copying files just like your hard disk and your floppy disk can.  If your computer comes with a CD-R or CD-RW drive, then it also comes with the software to manage that drive.  The one on many computers is Adaptec.  This seems to be the most-used program.  It allows you to record data and music on a CD-R (CD-Recordable) or a CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) disc.  If you do not have an icon for that in your Task Bar, then click Start, then Programs.  You might see Adaptec DirectCD or Easy CD Creator there.  If so, run DirectCD and follow the instructions for formatting a CD for incrementally adding data just like you would to a floppy disk.  It only takes about 1 minute.

Once you do this, then CompuDance can write the backup data to that CD.

You can find more information about DirectCD from the publisher's web site www.roxio.com.

If you do not have the Adaptec or Roxio, then you will need to use whatever program came with your computer.  Consult your computer's Help or your Window's Help for that information.

If you have Windows XP or Vista, and cannot get CompuDance to recognize a CD in your CD writer, then you should use a Flash Drive.  See 3 in FAQ #12.

If you do not have the latest Appendix K, you should download and print it.  You will find more details there about this situation.  To download it, click here.

Again: We do not recommend backing up to CDs.  We strongly recommend using a Flash Drive. 

Back to the Top

"When backing up, should I use CD-R or CD-RW Discs?"

We do not recommend that you backup to CD's.  You should use a Flash Drive.

Here is some information if you must use a CD.

CompuDance backs up all of your data files for the year/studio which you are in when invoking CompuDance Backup.  It does not just backup files that have changed since the last backup.  That means that you have a "snapshot" of your studio at that date and time.  If you do not erase the backup data on your CD each time you backup, the result will be that you will have a daily history of your studio (assuming that you backup every day).  This is very advantageous.

Let's assume that on June 12, you would like to "go back in time" to see what your studio's student and financial status was on April 30.  Or, assume that on December 31 you failed to print out a year-end financial statement and reports, and so in March when you are doing your taxes, you would like to "go back in time" to December 31.  Keeping this permanent record on your CD backup discs will allow you to do that.

If you backup to a CD at the studio and take that CD to your home computer and restore the data there, you need to be certain that your home computer can read the data on the CD.

Therefore, we recommend that you use CD-R discs.  They are best for permanent storage of data; they can be read on other CD-ROM drives when closed in an ISO 9660 format; they are best when you do not need to erase data; and finally they are much, much less expensive than CD-RW discs.

CONCLUSION: We strongly recommend that you backup to CD-R discs every day, and that you keep those discs!  If you watch for rebate sales at OfficeMax, or Best Buy, or Office Depot, etc., you can get 100 CD-Rs for less than 5 cents each!  Depending upon the size of your studio, you can get dozens of backups on one 700MB CD-R.  And it take less than 60 seconds to backup!

Remember, we do NOT recommend backing up to CDs.  You should use a Flash Drive instead of a CD.  See 3 in FAQ #12.

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("I have a new computer & monitor with Windows XP.  How can I get CompuDance to run in a larger window on Windows XP like it did on my previous version of Windows?")

Most programs do not look the same on Windows XP as they did on Windows 95, or 98, or ME, etc.  There are three possible solutions to this problem. One is to change the CompuDance Windows properties; a second is to change your screen resolution; a third is to change your font (DPI) size.  Start with the first one.  If it works, fine.  If it doesn't work, then undo it, and try the second one.  If it doesn't work, undo it, and try the third.  One of these will work best for you.

Windows Settings

Before doing anything, we recommend the following Windows Settings for best viewing of CompuDance.  Setting these will also correct some other viewing problems mentioned in FAQ #21.  To check those settings:

Setting the Properties

1. Right-click the CompuDance Students icon on your desktop.
2. Click Properties.
3. Click the Compatibility tab.
4. Place a check in the "Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution" check box.
5. Place a check in the "Disable visual themes" check box.
6. Click Apply, then click OK.

The above six steps need to be done only once.  The properties you set will take effect every time you run CompuDance.

Running CompuDance

1. When you are ready to run CompuDance, double-click the icon on your desktop and enter your
    password as usual.
2. When CompuDance is running, right-click on any empty space on your Taskbar located on the bottom
    of the screen.  Remove the check mark from Lock the Taskbar.
3. Place your Mousepointer on the top of the Taskbar until it changes from the usual arrow to a
    double-arrow.  While pressing down on the left mouse button, move the mouse (double arrows) down
    until the Taskbar is no longer visible.  Release the mouse button.
4. Click File in the CompuDance Menu Bar. Click Refresh.

CompuDance should now be running full screen with very large fonts and controls.

When you are finished running CompuDance, close the program as usual. Place your Mousepointer on the little top of the Taskbar on the bottom of your screen. A double-arrow will appear. While pressing down on the left mouse button, move the mouse up until the Taskbar is now visible again. Release the mouse button.  Right-click on any empty space on the Taskbar and add the check mark to Lock the Taskbar.

Note: If this does not work satisfactorily, you may also need to place a check in the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" check box, then select the version of Windows you previously used. Usually, this is not necessary.

Changing Screen Resolution

1. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.  In the Control Panel, double-click the Display icon.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Move the Screen resolution slider to the left so that it reads 640 by 480. (If it will not go that low,
    then you will have to be satisfied with 800 by 600. If that is what it was set at when you entered this
    window, then changing the screen resolution will not be possible.)
5. Click Apply, then click OK.

This will change the screen resolution for all programs. For CompuDance, and possibly other programs, you may need to lower the Taskbar so that it is out of the way. See Steps 2 and 3 above in the "Running CompuDance" section.

Change Your Screen Resolution DPI Setting

1. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click the Display icon.
3. Click the Settings tab. In the Settings tab, click Advanced.
4. The DPI setting is probably normal size (96 DPI). Change it to Large size (120 DPI). (Or, you can
    experiment by customizing the setting to 100, or 105, or 110, etc.)
5. Click Apply.  When asked, click Yes to skip file copying.
6. Click Close.  Your computer will restart. All your programs will be larger. CompuDance should run
    full-screen.

For CompuDance, and possibly other programs, you may need to lower the Taskbar so that it is out of
the way.  See Steps 2 and 3 above in the "Running CompuDance" section.

If you set the DPI at 120, and you think that's too large, then go back and change it to some other number.  You can use any number between the 96 which was the default, and 120.  Experiment.

Back to the Top

Yes, there are four other ways to backup and restore.  We strongly recommend #3 and #4!

1  You can use your CD Burning Software that comes with your computer.  From the various options
    that your software has, select the one that will allow you to Create a Data CD, or it might be called
    Create a Data Project.

    You will then be asked to select the folder(s) or file(s) that you want to place on the blank CD.

    You should find and select your Local Disk (C:).  Then, find and select the Program Files folder.
    You will see a CDW folder.  Now, simply copy and paste that folder to your CD Data Disk.

    Or, if your software has an Add button, click it to add that folder and all the associated files to the
    CD Data Project.  You now have an exact copy of all of your CompuDance files on that CD
    as of the date on which you did this backup.  You have all of your years and all of your studios.

    If you are going to restore that data to a second computer, first you must be certain that you have
    created all of the New Years on the second computer that exist on the first computer.
    This is very important!

    Now, you simply reverse the process.  You would copy the CDW folder from the CD and paste it
    into the Program Files folder on the second computer.  You will probably be asked if you want to
    replace some files that already exist on that computer.  Say Yes to All.

2  If one of your computers is a laptop (notebook), you could use a cable to link the two computers.
    For around $15.00 to $20.00 you can buy a data transfer cable that will allow you to very quickly
    copy data files from one computer to another.  These cables include software, and they are very
    easy to use. If you can do simple drag and drop or copy and paste, then you can use this
    method.

    If both computers have a free USB port, then buy a USB Cable. Connect the cable, and then install
    the software on both computers.

    You would simply copy and paste the CDW folder from one computer to the other.
    The Main Window on both computers shows two windows or panels - one containing the data files on
    Computer A, the other showing files on Computer B.  Copy the CDW folder from one to the other.

3  If you have a USB Port (all newer computers do), you can buy a Flash Drive (sometimes called
    a "Jump Drive").

    What is a Flash Drive?  It is a small removable drive, (about as big as a package of 5 sticks of gum,
    but lighter) that plugs into your USB port.  They are small, light-weight, easy to use (and loose).
    They come in various capacities (from 128MB to 8GB) and prices ($9.00 to $300.00.)  You can buy
    one at Office Max, Office Depot, Best Buy, etc.  A 512MB would be sufficient for you.

    (We use a SanDisk, Cruzer mini 256MB in our office to copy files from computer to computer and to
    test the CompuDance Backup and Restore operations.  We paid $29.95 for it at Office Depot in 2004.
    You can now get a 1GB for for about $10.00!)

    Insert the Flash Drive in your USB port, and just use that drive letter (usually E: or F:) when running
    the CompuDance Backup Operation.

    Then to restore to another computer, take the Flash Drive to the second computer, insert it in the
    USB port, and use the CompuDance Restore Operation.

    This option #3 is the easiest and fastest.  We strongly recommend this method!!

4  You can use your Flash Drive to backup the entire CDW folder - all of your years.  The
    CompuDance Backup/Restore operation backs up only the data in the current (active) year/studio.
    To backup your entire CDW files, follow these simple instructions.

    Double-click My Computer.  Double-click Local Disk (C:).  Double-click the Program Files folder.
    You will see a CDW folder.  Right-click it, then click Copy.

    Double-click My Computer again.  This time click your Flash Drive (Removable Disk) one time
    with the right mouse button.  Now click Paste.  Your computer will paste the CDW folder,
    containing all of your studio's folders and data files, on the Flash Drive.

    If you are going to restore that data to a second computer, first you must be certain that you have
    created all of the New Years on the second computer that exist on the first computer.
    This is very important!

    Now, you simply reverse the process.  You would copy the CDW folder from the Flash Drive
    and paste it into the Program Files folder on the second computer.  You will probably be asked
    if you want to replace some files that already exist on that computer.  Say Yes to All.

Back to the Top

Going To Get A New Computer

Multiple Installations

Free Support?

Here's your situation:  You want to have CompuDance on the studio computer.  Then, when you leave at night, you want to take the data files home and do some work there with the same data that you had at the studio.  Then, the next day you want to take the data files that you worked on at night back to the studio computer.

The easiest way to do that is to install CompuDance one on one removable drive (a Flash Drive) instead of on the two hard drives.  Then, you simply take the Program Flash Drive back and forth from home to studio to home.

   Step 6  Take a look at the shortcuts on your desktop.  You may have to change the icons back
               to the original ones.  If so here is how you do that.

               Right-click the CompuDance Students shortcut.  Click Properties.  Click Change Icon.
               If the correct icon is displayed, click it.  If it is not displayed, you will have to click
               Browse.  Look in: your Removable Disk (F:), then double-click the CDW folder,
               then double-click CD71-S.exe.  It will display the correct icon.  Click OK, then Apply,
               then Ok.
               
               Now do the same for CompuDance Expenses (CD71-E.exe), CompuDance Music
               Locator (CD71-M.exe), and A File of Some Friends (CD71-N.exe).

E-Mail Attachments

First, you create the document you wish to attach by using whatever word processing program you have.  The attachment can be any type of document with any type of extension (.htm, .html, .doc, .pdf, .txt, .rtf, etc., etc.).  There is no practical limit as to the size of the document.

Second, you must save the document in the current Year/Studio folder.  For example, if you are in 2006-07, Studio 1, then use your word processing program's Save As operation to save it in: c:\ > Program Files > CDW > 2006-07 > Studio1.  The document must be in the correct folder so that you and CompuDance can find it in Step 6 below.

Finally, you send the E-Mail with the attachment.  In the sample below we assume that you are sending an E-Mail to all of your students.

   Step 1    From the CompuDance Main Window, click E-Mail Operations > All Students.

   Step 2    Enter the subject of the E-mail.

   Step 3    You want to send a regular text message, so click No when asked if you want the message
                 to be HTML.

   Step 4    Type your message in the text box.  For example, "Attached is the schedule for
         rehearsals for next week's performance."  Or, you can paste in a message if
                 you have one copied in Windows' Clipboard.  Click Save the Message.

   Step 5    When asked if you want to include an attachment, click Yes.

   Step 6    In the Browse Window, click the folder in which you saved the attachment.  When you find
                 the document, double-click it.

   Step 7    CompuDance will then tell you how many E-Mails are ready to be sent, and will give you
                 some information about sending bulk E-Mail.  If you have no specific reason to do otherwise,
                 then click the No button.  Now click Ok to send the E-Mails.

Import Data 1

If you have some student data in another program, you may be able to import some of that data into CompuDance. For example, assume that you used a database or spreadsheet program to keep track of
students before you purchased CompuDance, and now you would like to bring some of that data into CompuDance so that you do not have to re-enter hundreds of student names. This FAQ explains how to do that.

Note:  The Import Data process must be done BEFORE entering any data into your CompuDance year.  Once you manually enter any student data, you cannot use this operation.


1 CREATE A FILE TO IMPORT

From your other program you will create a comma delimited file (.CSV) of the student data to import.
The file will contain the following eight fields:

    1. Last Name
    2. First Name
    3. Address
    4. City
    5. State
    6. Zip (Postal) Code
    7. Guardian Name
    8. Phone Number

You do not have to use all eight fields; you cannot use more than these eight fields.
Here is an example of what one line in the file will look like with data in all of the fields:

"Doe","Mary Ann","13 William Street","Dallas","TX","78101","Mary and Ed Doe","345-5769"

Here is an example of what three lines in the file will look like with data in only some of the fields:

"Doe","","13 William Street","Dallas","TX","78101","Mary and Ed Doe",""
"Jones","Sally","","Hartford","CT","","Mrs. Sam Jones","123-456-7890"
"Washington","Martha","128 Jefferson Street","Dallas","TX","78101","",""

Note that unused fields contain double quotes ("")


2 SAVE THE FILE

The Filename can be any name as long as the extension is .CSV.  For example, "New Students.CSV" or "Students to Export.CSV" or "Students.CSV".  So, use the Save As function from your database or spreadsheet program, and select the type called Text & Commas (.csv).

CompuDance has a folder in which you must place your file.  It is named Import Data, and can be found in the \CDW folder.  The path is: C:\Program Files\CDW\Import Data. Put your file there using Save As.


3 IMPORT THE FILE

  1. Create a New Year into which you want to import the data.  For example, "2006-07".
  2. From the Menu Bar in the CompuDance Main Window, in the Practice Year (0000-00), click GoTo,
      then Import Data.
  3. The CompuDance Explorer will open.  Select your .CSV file in the Import Data folder.
  4. You will be asked to enter the Year and then the Studio into which you want to import the data.
  5. CompuDance will do the rest.  It will import the data, create an SRD for each student, and number the
      students sequentially beginning with Student Number 1.

Import Data 2

If you already have CompuDance; have data in your year(s); but have some additional student data in anot