Calling sequences from a laptop
How do I set up the program to read and call sequences from the laptop?

1. Write the sequences.
2. Create a dance.
3. Call the dance.
1. From the main menu, select 'Dance' followed by 'Call from screen'.
2. Select the dance you wish to call and click 'OK'. (This screen may not appear if only one dance is defined).
3. The dance should now be displayed.
4. Set the default timer values for the tip and the break. You can also configure the timer to play a '.wav' file when the time elapses. To do so, from the menu, select 'Timer' followed by 'Settings...'
5. To bring a frame (i.e., pile of sequences) to the foreground, either click within the frame, or press the appropriate function key (e.g., F1 brings the first frame to the foreground).
6. You can sequence thru the sequences within the frame by pressing F11 and F12.
7. Within the current frame, the up-arrow, down-arrow, Home, PgUp, PgDn and End keys scroll through the text.
8. After you have called the sequence, press U to 'use' the sequence. This will move the sequence from the frame and place it in the 'used sequences' frame. To toggle whether or not the program asks for confirmation when you use a sequence, from the menu, select 'Options' and check or uncheck 'Confirm 'use sequence''.
9. Sequences can also be removed from the dance by pressing R.
10. If you call a sequence and discover that it has a problem, press P to mark it as having a problem. Later, after you have called the dance, you can go and fix the problem sequences.

Changing font color
In "Call from Screen", the font that is used to identify function codes (F1, F2, F3, etc...) shows up in white on my system. Is this normal? The problem is that it's extremely difficult to see. Is there an option or configuration mechanism to to change this?

1. From the CSDS main menu, select 'System | Settings'.
2. Click on the 'Colors' tab.
3. Press the 'Change color of shortcut keys' button.
4. Choose a color and click 'OK'.

Click Sound when Selecting Cue Sheet
I get an audible "click" sound (like when selecting an html link on a website) when I select the cue sheet (saved as html file) with the "c" key from the "Call From Screen" mode. Is there a way to turn this sound off since it can be heard over the speaker at a dance? I checked IE options but don't see anything obvious to me.

To turn off the sound (on Win XP):

1. Goto 'Settings | Control Panel | Sounds and Audio Devices';
2. Select the 'Sounds' tab;
3. Find 'Windows Explorer | Complete Navigation';
4. Set the associated sound to '(None)';
5. Click the 'Apply' button.

Create a Dance - Specifying sequences

I am trying to 'create a dance' from the databases of sequences. I specified the name of the dance and am on the screen with multiple frames. I can't figure out how to specify the appropriate sequences for each frame. If I just type a database name, it is happy but says I have no unused sequences. If I type database name - sequence number it complains that it can't open the database database name - sequence number. What is the format to specify sequences to use in a dance? I am sure you showed me this but I can't get it to work now.

<databasename>           [must start in column #1]
   <list of sequences>   [starting in any column other than #1]
   <list of seqences>
<databasename>
   <list of sequences>

For example:

C4SEQ
   1-20,30,40-
C4FLOW
   -

This will put sequences 1 thru 20, 30, and 40 and beyond from database C4SEQ and all sequences in database C4FLOW into the dance frame.

Edit Dance - Adding Sequences
When I edit a dance frame and browse a sequence database for sequences to add to the frame, choosing the "Add All" button only inserts "-" in the dance frame with no sequence numbers. If I select "Add Range" and specify the first and last sequence number (default), it works fine.

"-" means ALL.

A number followed by a dash means that sequence and all following sequences (e.g., "5-" means #5 thru the END).

A number preceded by a dash means all sequences in the database upto and including the sequence (.e.g, "-17" means the BEGINNING thru #17).

File Splitter for MS Word Cue Sheets
My cue sheets are in MS Word and I had them set to open on half the screen and they did. Now they open over the whole screen and then I have to reduce them. Tonight I found if I left one open then the next ones came up the right size.

Also, you might try converting some of your Word cuesheets to RTF format (in word, just use 'Save As' and select 'Rich Text Format'). These files load quicker in CSDS, and CSDS has a built in viewer.

I looked into the 'Split File' function for MS Word Documents when CSDS is in 'Call from Screen' mode.

In 'Call from Screen', if you bring the Word document to the primary window, in the upper right-hand corner of the frame, immediately above the vertical scroll bar's up-arrow, there is a very small horizontal button. This is the 'File Splitter'. Grab it, and drag it downward to split your document.

How many frames in a dance
how many piles can one have in a dance program?

Also, if for some reason you find you must have more than 10 frames in a dance, you can always complain to me, and eventually I might increase that number.

Keyboard mapping
The "U" key on my laptop doesn't work well. Sometimes I have to bang on it a lot to get it to work. This could be a problem for labeling sequences as used. Is CSDS configurable enough to map this function to a different key? I know I can always select it with the mouse, but that could get tiring in a long weekend

You have some other choices:

1. Use the 'R' key to 'remove' the sequence from the dance. It works similar to the 'U' key, but doesn't keep track of which sequences were removed.
2. Use F12 to skip over the sequence, then bang around with the U key after the tip is over to actually move the sequences.
3. Right-click on the sequence; select 'Move to another frame'; select 'Ctrl+F11: Used sequences'; then click 'OK'.

Microsoft Word Document (*.doc, *.docx) problem

Well, I upgraded my PC to use Office 2010 and started using some .docx word documents to display cue sheets. The problem I am encountering is that CSDS is no longer loading the cue sheet INTO the Cuesheet Tab when I have Call from Screen up. Instead, it says it can't connect to internet and then it opens up a NEW Word Doc window showing the Cue Sheet. Is this some behavior that has been changed by design? If not, is it a bug when working with the new .docx files and word? If I choose a song with a .rtf, txt or from the cuesheet db, I do not have the problem. Is there anything you can change to get the cuesheet to appear in the cuesheet tab?

To make a long story short, over the years I've had plenty of trouble with MS Word documents in CSDS.

1. Loading Word documents is slow (compared to RTF, TXT, and HTML) because an instance of word must be instantiated, whereas a RichText control, and a webbrowser are integrated into CSDS. RTF is the preferred format, as over the years as microsoft releases new updates it has often 'broken' how I can control the webbrowser.
2. A Word document grabs keystrokes from CSDS, when the Word document has focus. This means that you can't use music player short cut keys if the Word document has focus.

The fix is to tweak the windows file types. Specifically...

via the Windows File Explorer:

1. goto Tools | Folder Options | File Types
2. Select "DOC" then click 'Advanced'.
3. Uncheck 'Confirm open after download'.
4. Check 'Browse in same window'.
5. OK (to save changes)

So, most likely, when you upgraded Word, it reset the associated file types with their default parameters.

Old cue cards
I have written a lot of "cue cards" over the years, and have them saved in files (.RTF format). Can I have CSDS load them, instead of, or along with your sequences?

In the short term, you can create a dance, and load the RTF files as documents in the dance.

Scroll bars don't work
I noticed that the main sequence window in CSDS has scroll bars, but the scroll bars don't work. The only way I have found to scroll down to the bottom of a card I am calling is to use the arrow keys. Would it be possible for you to make those scroll bars work? Or is there some other way to scroll to the bottom of a sequence?

1. Go into the settings
   (e.g., from the main menu, select 'System | Settings',
   or, from 'Call from Screen', select 'File | Settings');
2. Select the 'Call from Screen' tab;
3. Make sure that 'Enable Drag+Drop to move sequences' is NOT checked;

The 'Home', 'End', 'PgUp' and 'PgDn' keys can also be used to position yourself within the sequence.

Sight Tab
I am using the current version of CSDS and have just discovered the "sight" tab in the call from screen function. It looks wonderful. I am, however, at a loss as to how to use it. I couldn't find any help file addressing it. Can you give me some hints as to the suggested use.

1. Edit the dance (e.g., Dance | Edit);
2. go to the 'Sight call' tab, and select a List (e.g., press the 'A1' button); (also make some other small change, so the dance knows it's been edited - a bug I just found)
3. Close the dance;
4. Goto 'Call from Screen';
5. Press 'Z' (or click on the sight call tab); 10 calls from the list are displayed.
   1. Use the SPACE BAR to shuffle items in the list
   2. To remove an item from the list (i.e., after you've called it), either:
      1. highlight the item via cursor keys, then press Enter, or
      2. click the button in front of the call, or
      3. press the keyboard number key (1 thru 9, or 0)
      The call is removed from the list, and a random call replaces it.
   Below the call list, is a bunch of getouts that you might want to use.

Slow response with function keys
My computer switchs from sequences to cue sheets to document quickly and effectively if I use the mouse to click on the appropriate screen. However, when I use the function keys it takes a long time to switch from one to the other. Why would this be and what can I do to resolve the problem?

When switching from a cue sheet (C) to a sequence window (F1 thru F10), a delay could occur because the Internet Explorer or MS Word might be trying to process the key stroke instead of CSDS. One unfixed bug within CSDS is that if you have an HTML cue sheet displayed, and you press F5 to display the corresponding sequence window, nothing appears to happen since F5 is the 'Refresh' hot key for the Internet Explorer.

Timer doesn't beep
I can't get the music timer to beep. Have looked at all the settings I can find in Vista and everything seems to be turned on. Any idea what I may be missing?

Try going to Control Panel | Sound | Playback | Speakers | Levels | PC Beep.

Too many frames
I finally used CSDS to call a dance on Sunday, and got along with it pretty well. I set the dance up as 2 levels x 3 degrees of difficulty = 6 frames. Having all that on screen at once seemed excessive, so there may be a better way. I'll learn.

Then change the dance when the level changes.

This keeps the levels separate, so you don't accidently change to a frame with the wrong level.