Also see Sound Loom Legibility about a possible problem seeing and accessing everything on the Workspace.
- See the AboutRelease6-SystemInfo.txt about installing Sound Loom and setting up the CDP System generally. Ensure that the sound file extension environment variable is set.
You may wish to launch the Sound Loom from the desktop. To make this possible...
- Using Finder or Windows Explorer, find the file soundloom in the directory where you have installed the Sound Loom (usually /cdpr6/_cdp).
- Create a desktop shortcut the using appropriate Mac or PC procedure.
- An icon will now appear on the desktop. (You can rename the icon.)
- To launch the Sound Loom double-click on the desktop icon you have created, OR in Finder or Windows Explorer, double-click on the application file soundloom in the directory listing.
- Once the Sound Loom is launched, you will be asked to specify various features relating to your particular system, especially whether you want a single-user or multi-user system. Note that you can always change your mind later about all such features via the System State menu on the Workspace page of the Sound Loom.
- One of these features, typical sample size, is used by the Music Calculator (a Sound Loom accessory) when you ask it to convert from loudness to sample-value or vice-versa but it does not affect the rest of the Sound Loom's operation. If in doubt, leave the default value in place. Using a single sample rate consistently will facilitate your use of the CDP System.
- Once the Sound Loom is running, you will have access to New User Help through the New User Help buttons on each page. (This is quite separate from the normal Help facility, which is also available). You can get rid of the New User Help facility once you no longer need it.
- In addition, the normal Help buttons will inform you about the function of every button, menu or other feature on each major page of the Sound Loom. Furthermore, on the Process Page, the Info and Which? buttons provide information about available CDP processes, and on the Parameters Page the Information button gives more detailed information about the particular process you have chosen to run.
Various factors can affect legibility. The main factor is font and font size, which are discussed below. These are set via the Sound Loom Redesign page. (I am not sure to what degree this might be relevant for Version 13 of Sound Loom – AE.)
Another factor, which you might try before going on to font and font size is whether you have a large or small monitor screen display area. If you have a small one, you may find that the Workspace does not fit on it, and that there is no way to move it.
If you click on the SYSTEM STATE button on the Workspace, you are given the option to Set screen size: i.e., to select a large screen display or a small screen display. If you select the latter, the Workspace will be displayed in a smaller window, with the addition of sliders which you can use to access any parts of the Workspace which are not shown on the screen. If this isn't sufficient to resolve your problem, you can go on to adjust the font size and the font itself, as below.About a possible problem with the 'font' and Sound Loom, discovered on some machines.
The Sound Loom uses the font 'Tahoma' which is supplied when (a reasonably recent [i.e. post 1997??] version of) 'Word' is packaged with Windows. If the Sound Loom user does not have this font [e.g. doesn't use 'Word' or has a very old version of 'Word'], Sound Loom defaults automatically to a font which is too large for one or two of the button displays, and these are therefore not readable. The answer to this is to add how to alter the font to the installation instructions, as below.If you have a problem with reading any of the Sound Loom buttons, this is most probably caused by your computer system not supporting the'Tahoma' font, the default font of the Sound Loom. To fix this problem, you should install the font 'Arial' instead.'Arial' is a small sans-serif font which is readable on all Sound Loom buttons and menus. To do this, proceed as follows...
- On the Workspace, click the mouse over the 'Redesign Soundloom' checkbox (top of centre panel). The checkbox should now have a tick in it.
- Close down the Sound Loom and restart it.
- The Sound Loom will now start up by displaying the Redesign Page.
- On the right of this page, in the font panel, you will see a list of available fonts. You can move up and down this list using the small scrollbar on the right of the font panel. Find the font named 'Arial' and select it by clicking on it with the mouse.
- On the left of the page, under the heading 'STANDARD FEATURES' the first listed item is 'Font'. With the mouse, click on the 'SET' button to the right of the word 'Font'.
- Now click on the 'Keep New Design' button (on the right at the very top of the page) to exit the Redesign Page, saving this new font setting.
- After the 'New User Help' page, the Workspace will now appear, and you should find that all texts are written in the font 'Arial'. These should be clearly legible on all buttons and menus.
- You can now unmark the 'Redesign Soundloom' checkbutton, by clicking on it with the mouse. The tick should disappear from the check box.
- Close down the Sound Loom in the normal way (End Session) to ensure your new default setting is saved.
- From now on, the Sound Loom will use the font' Arial'.