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users' guide

zedsalt	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 7:21 AM I'm sure this has come up before, but I'd like to suggest a Dmusic users guide. There is a lot of great information on the site, but I think it would be nice to centralize the stuff that most FAQ pages ignore: the most basic functions of the site and the best way to navigate them. Some examples that leap to mind here at DMusic: For listeners who want to download song files using Internet Explorer, the safest way seems to be right-clicking on the download "button" and selecting "save file as..." If you can create an ID3 tag for music files you want to upload here, you should. It comes in real handy later. (Does ID3v1 or ID3v2 work better here? Does it matter? I asked this question recently at mp3.com, and the admin' who emailed me back didn't know what an ID3 tag was) Spaces, certain punctuation marks, capital letters...these can cause problems here when used in file names, right? Is there anything else that should be mentioned in that regard? How long can a title be before it's truncated? Does that depend, in part, on whether or not one posts a small image beside the title? I recently reuploaded some song files and was successful (I think) in automatically replacing the old files with new, while keeping all of the comments and info. I owe part of that success to ShadowMom, who kindly pointed out that the way to do that is to make sure to NOT delete the original first and to make sure the title is exactly the same. I assumed she meant the title that one types on the upload page, but just to be certain, I did my best to make that title, the filename, and the title on the ID3 tag exactly the same as that on each file I replaced. Those are just a few things that popped into my head right off. I'm still very much in the "learning the ropes" stage here; I'm sure other more knowledgeable, experienced DMers can offer a lot more suggestions.
ShadowMom	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 7:30 AM Kind of like this? Begin with Tracy's link: http://news.dmusic.com/article/20766 and from my files, although NOW all of this has to be updated. DMusic Guide: Your Artist Account Now that you are a member of DMusic, you can also register as an artist. This allows you to upload and manage tracks, add lyrics, icons, bandmembers, pictures, and much more. Registering Click on the MyDMusic tab. In the right hand column under "quick links" select "Edit your artist account." Click on the Sign up message. READ the terms of agreement (TOS) and click on "I Agree" at the bottom of the page. On the Artist Signup page, you can choose three things: the Artist/Band Name, the Short Name (the url), and the Genre you would like to be associated with. a. The Artist/Band Name can be any name that is not already in use. Just enter it the way you want the name to be displayed. b. The Short Name, or url, is the address of your artist page. c. The Genre is the one your page will be associated with, but you can choose any genre for your tracks. Click on Continue to complete the process of registration. If you make a mistake, or wish to change your artist name at any time, simply notify an admin (the ones with the orange bolts) or send a HelpDesk ticket. Changes are only a click away. Accessing Your Artist Page You can access your artist page in two ways. If you wish to view it as other users see it, click on the Artist/Band name on your User Profile page. If you wish to edit it, click on MyDMusic, then "Edit your artist account" in the right hand column. There are two pages for your music; one is the Overview page, the other is the Music page. The default page is the Overview page; however, if you wish for visitors to see your Music page first, you can change it by clicking on Options in MyDMusic, selecting it in the drop-down menu, then clicking on update at the bottom of the page. You have 75 MBs of space for your music, with a maximum of 8 live/visible tracks at one time. Non-subscribers can only have access to one artist page at a time. Overview Recent Music - Here visitors can see the most recent tracks you have uploaded. By clicking on the icons they can listen to quick clips, choose to stream in hi-fi or lo-fi, download the track, read information and lyrics, and even e-mail a link to a friend. Comments can be made and viewed by clicking on the link on the bottom right of each track listing. At the top right of the recent uploads box is the word "more" with a right arrow. This links you to your Music page, where all your tracks can be viewed. Artist Snapshot - The Artist Snapshot allows other users to e-mail you, forward a link to your page, receive a newsletter from you, and make donation to your tip jar. It also displays the members of your band, their roles/descriptions, and their avatars, if they have one. To email an artist click on the link. The first option sends your message including your user name, but without giving your email address. The second option sends your user name and email so the artist can reply to you by email. The third option will send only your email address, not your user name. Forward to friend allows you to send a link to an artist's page by e-mail to a friend. They can access that page simply by clicking on the link. Join newsletter puts you on the mailing list for that artist. If they have written a newsletter, you will receive it via e-mail. Notes - Each Artist page also has a space for a journal/artist notes. Click on MyDMusic Click on Edit your artist account Under the stats box you can enter your artist notes. Once you have finished, click Update at the bottom of the box and your journal will be displayed on your artist overview page. You can also change or edit it here. Featured track - This is the track you select as a guidepost for listeners who may not be familiar with your work. It acts as an introduction, inviting them to listen to the work you feel best represents your music. Select it by going to MyDMusic, then select edit your artist account; next edit or select Properties for the track you want to feature and then click on the word Feature to toggle it on or off. You can also access your file manager from this page by clicking on "artist administration" at the top of the right column under the search box. "Promote your band URL" gives you all the information you need to add your artist URL to your AOL profile, your Yahoo or Hotmail signature, and even your web site or weblog. Listen to DMusic radio from this page simply by clicking on the drop down menu and picking hi- or lo-fi on the music program of your choice. All DMusic artists all the time! On the lower right hand side is the Upcoming Events box. Click on any link for more information about that event. Bio Each artist has space for a biography, too. Click on MyDMusic, then edit your artist account. Click on the "bio" tab and there are two fields. The first is the short entry, and it is displayed on your Overview page immediately below the artist name. The longer biography is displayed on its own page. Just enter the text and click update at the bottom of the page. Images Pictures are uploaded through your file manager. Click on upload files. The picture will be displayed with a small camera in your file manager and on your Images page. You can preview all your images here and fix thumbnails, if necessary. Click on a thumbnail to view it full size. You can edit your pictures in the file manager by clicking on edit or Properties. Here you can: Rename the picture-- Simply type in the new name, close the window and refresh your browser. Set as Artist Avatar - This creates avatars for your artist account that can be used on DMusic's Featured Artist page. Artist Page Header (Set: Thumbnail or Full size) - This is the image that will appear in your Artist Snapshot. Fix Thumbnails MyDMusic Artist Profile - Contains the information about you, the artist. Edit my artist account - On this page, you can see the total statistics for all your tracks, edit your artist journal/notes, read artist news, and access artist-only forums. File Manager - Here you upload and edit tracks, label them, add pictures, sort into folders, preview them and more. Uploading Music- Only mp3s can be uploaded to DMusic. All tracks must have the extension .mp3-- not .MP3, as some software programs do by default. Rename the file before uploading it. Click on MyDMusic Click on Edit your artist account Click on file manager Select upload files You can enter the file name or browse for it. Then select a name for it and click on Begin Upload at the bottom of the page. When you see the notification, the upload is complete. You can either preview the file, edit it, or delete it at this point. To preview, simply click on hifi, lofi or d/l (download) on the right side of the page; to edit it click on Edit or Properties in each track listing, and to delete it simply click on the trash can icon below the track name. You can make a file invisible to other users by clicking on the eye icon below the title. The track will be invisible sitewide until you click on the eye icon again. Editing Your Files - By clicking on Edit or Properties by each track, you can replace the track with an updated version, add an icon, add/change a genre, add information such as lyrics and a short description, rename it, choose to feature it on your artist overview page, add/remove a short clip, choose to disable downloading, add a Creative Commons license, and set a mature content warning flag on all your tracks here. Changing Track Files - You can replace a track with an updated version without losing your comments. Upload the new track with a different title Select edit or Properties for the track you wish to replace Choose Change Song File and in the window choose the replacement track Click on the delete message in the next window At this time, you can rename the file to give it the original track name, if you wish Close the window Associate Image w/Track - Add an icon to your track, which is displayed on your Music Page. Select upload and choose the file You can preview the image by clicking on mini, thumb or full. To make an image a track icon, select edit or Properties for that track Select Associate Image w/Track and in the popup choose move or copy. Move will attach the image to that particular track and remove it from your images. Copy will leave the picture in your artist images, but also displays it with the chosen track. Genre - Select change genre to add/change the genre for any track. Choose the genre and the sub-genre, and click on change. Adding lyrics and information - There are fields for album, track #, composer and more here. There are also fields for a short label, which appears directly under the track title on your overview and music pages; a space for notes, and a place to enter your lyrics, if you desire. Remember to click update when you have finished, and there is also a delete button at the bottom of the page. Renaming a Track - Simply click and add the new name. Feature - Clicking on feature will display the track on your artist overview page on the right-hand side. Quick Clips - You can add a quick clip to a track. Just select where in the track you would like the clip to begin, and a 16-second clip will be created and an icon will appear on your artist overview and music pages. Downloadable - Allows you to control whether other users can download your tracks. License - Allows you to add a Creative Commons License to your tracks, giving you more control over your own material. Mature Content - Allows you to set a flag warning other users that the content may not be suitable for all. Folders - You can sort your tracks into various folders. which you can name. By default, folders are displayed in alphabetical order, but you can control the order by the name you choose or by numbering them, such as 1. Singles 2. Collaborations, etc. To create a folder, click on the Manage Folders button at the top of the file manager. Choose a name and images/audio for the folder, then click add folder. Folder Avatars - You can choose an avatar for each folder, too. After you create the folder, click on add icon, and browse for the image you would like to add to the folder. This avatar must be a GIF file. Click upload and the avatar will be added to the folder. Moving Tracks to Folders - Now that you have created folders, you can move tracks into them by checking the box on the left hand side of each track name, or move all by checking the bottom left of your file manager page, then clicking on Move to Folder at the bottom left of your page. You can either move it to a new folder or to an existing folder. The folders will appear on your Music page. News - You can add an article here to DMusic's news queue. Once it is approved it will appear on the News page. Events - You can add information about up-coming events here. They will appear on the main pages and on various pages sitewide. List - You can write a newsletter promoting your band and send it out to users who subscribe. Users - You can add bandmembers to your band by clicking on MyDMusic, select edit your artist account, then click on the Users tab at the top. Here you can view current members and add new ones, send dnotes, and even delete members by clicking on the trash can icon. Options Default artist page - Here you can choose which artist page visitors will see first, your overview page or your music page. 'You Might Also Like' - Displays other DMusic artists, if enabled, and allows your name to be displayed on other artist pages. Tip jar - This will appear on your Overview page. You must have a PayPal account in order to access it. If you don't have one, go to PayPal to open an account. Promote your music on other sites - This gives DMusic permission to use your music for advertising/promotions on other websites.
ShadowMom	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 7:31 AM And this? And this? It unfortunately ALSO will need updating. But the basic info is covered, I think. Your Subscriber Account Congratulations for subscribing and thanks for your support. There are added features and enhancements on both user and artist accounts. User accounts Private Forum Access - Only subscribers can access the subscriber forums. Join the fun in the Swank Lounge and many other forums available only to paying members. Advertisement Removal - Welcome to an ad-free environment! Because you choose to support the site, you no longer see advertising! Enhanced Personal Notes - You have options unavailable to non-subscribers to help manage your DMusic notes. Watchlist - The Watchlist gives you an easy way to keep track of new material uploaded by your favorite artists. You can edit the tracks and the artists on your list. New Songs lists recently uploaded tracks from the artists you choose. Image Upload Space - As a subscriber, your space for uploading pictures has been increased. For Entry Level subscribers, it is now 4 MB-- and for Basic Level, 100 MB. Comment Alerts - When a comment is added to your pictures, your tracks, or your journal you are notified on your overview page in red at the bottom of your profile box. Click on the notification and it will take you to the proper page. Editing your account Notes - Now you can delete a page of notes with a click-- "Check All" at the bottom of the page will check all the notes on that page allowing you to easily move or delete them. Watchlist - You can access it by clicking on My DMusic, then select the Watchlist tab. You can also access it by clicking on the notification at the top of the page; if any artists on your list have uploaded new tracks, you will see a number followed by the letter W. Simply clicking on it will take you to the page. To put someone on your watchlist, go to their artist overview page and click “Add to watchlist.” You can also remove artists from your watchlist by going to the artist overview page and selecting “Remove from watchlist.” In your watchlist, you also have the option of deleting a track or an artist from your list by clicking on the "X" on the right hand side. Once you have listened to a track, it will disappear from your watchlist. Deleting Comments - As a subscriber, you have more control over comments made in your journal, on your pictures, and on your tracks. To delete any comment, just click on the trash icon or the word "delete" and it will be removed. Deleting Journals - In your journal, you have the option of deleting any journal you choose, giving you more flexibility to display what others see. There are two ways to delete a journal. One is simply clicking on the word delete at the top of the journal; the other is to go to My DMusic and select the "Journal" tab. Here you have a list of all your journals. You can view and edit or delete them easily by clicking on the proper icon on the right hand side. -------------------------------------------- Artist accounts Audio Upload Space - As a subscriber, you have much more upload space -- Entry Level is now 250 MB and Basic Level is 1500 MB. Enhanced Music Manager - Options include an ID3 tagger, deep links, and a flash player. Id3 Tagger - The ID3 tag editor lets you enter information about your track-- title, artist, album, year, track, and genre. It also lets you edit or delete information, and gives you the option of using ID3v1 and/or ID3v2. Audio Deep Links - Deep linking provides remote access to tracks. Have your own website? Now you can stream your tracks by linking back to your DMusic page. You can choose up to 5 tracks of your choice in Entry Level, or 10 in Basic Level. Flash Player - The DMusic Flash Player is a stand-alone player. You decide which tracks will be included, and the order in which they will be displayed and played. Displayed on your Overview page, hit the play button and the tracks will play-- you can also adjust the volume, and make the playlist invisible. Select one track by highlighting it, then clicking the play icon. Multiple Artist Accounts - As an Entry Level subscriber, you can access up to 5 artist pages. Basic Level subscribers can access up to 10 artist pages.They can be accounts you yourself start, or another user's band. Live tracks - Entry Level subscribers can display up to 20 live tracks-- i.e., tracks that other users can see-- on their music page at one time, and Basic Level subscribers can display up to 40. All other tracks will still remain in your file manager, but only those tracks you choose will be visible sitewide at any given time. Groupies - Groupies are other subscribers who have included you on their watchlist. Editing your account ID3 Tagger - In the file manager, select a track and edit. Click on ID3 Tags, enter the information and click Save Changes at the bottom. Reset will delete any new information and display the previously saved tag. Audio Deep Links - Select My DMusic and edit your artist account. In the file manager, click edit or properties for the track you would like to link to. Clicking on HiFi, LoFi, and D/L changes them from on/off. A url is assigned to each link and clicking on (url) next to the option will open a window which will give you the link you need -- simply copy and paste it, and your track can be streamed from other sites on the internet. To delete a link, simply click on D/L again. Flash Player - To set up a playlist, open the file manager, edit or click on properties for each track you would like to include, and click on Add to Flash Player. The tracks will be added to your playlist. Then click on the large Flash Player button at the top of the page to order the tracks. Finally, click on Publish to complete the process. You can choose to delete the playlist and to make the flash player invisible on your Overview page. And the html code is included for deep linking your flash player to other sites on the internet. To open another artist account: 1. Click on My DMusic. 2. Click on Edit your artist account on the right hand side. 3. Select either Artist signup on the right hand side or Interested in becoming an artist message at the bottom of the Available Artist Accounts box. 4. Read the agreement and click on I Disagree or I Agree at the bottom of the page. 5. Type in the name you have chosen and choose a genre, and this will complete your registration. To add a member to one of your bands: 1. Click on MyDMusic. 2. Select Edit your artist account. 3. Click on the Users tab. 4. Click on Add Member and enter the name. It will be displayed on the appropriate artist page. Pfffftttt.....
ShadowMom	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 7:31 AM Ain't gonna do it.
ShadowMom	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 7:53 AM For instance, updating a track is now easier. Instructions are in my journal. But after this massive effort, I didn't feel like updating it.
zedsalt	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 11:45 AM Now, see, this IS great stuff, and I'm sure it was an awful lot of work. This would make a perfect basis for a users' guide.
Distilled1	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 11:47 AM its all there isn't it I know Mom worked her behind off doing these ... just like I tried with the bug reporting thing I did but I have no way but to post in the forum it needs to go into the faq and this should be easy to find for any one even grandma on web tv no
zedsalt	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 11:55 AM There's a DMusic FAQ? Where? No, wait, that's what you're saying, right? Stuff like this should be super easy to find, right? Yeah, right on! Things get buried so quickly in the forums, and the last time I tried a forum search here, I couldn't find something that I knew was in a recently active thread. Imagine how simple it would make things for everyone...just click on a big ol' users' guide tab at the top of any DMusic page, print out what you need, peruse it at your leisure, do stuff right the first time (well, y'know, usually)...man, that would be sweet!
zedsalt	Date: March 11, 2008 @ 11:57 AM Oh, and for anyone who enjoys dressing down stupid newbies, wouldn't it make it just that much more fun to be able to start out each drubbing with "So, didn't notice the big ol' users' guide tab, eh?"
leflaw	Date: May 19, 2008 @ 4:30 PM great thread.
ShadowMom	Date: May 19, 2008 @ 5:18 PM It needs updating now, but after all the quirks are worked out.
TameasDust	Date: May 27, 2008 @ 10:30 AM We have an instruction manual I am still trying to find the donuts.
Distilled1	Date: May 27, 2008 @ 11:50 AM I ate all the 's
ShadowMom	Date: May 27, 2008 @ 3:00 PM Drat.... Just to let you know the guide is undergoing some cosmetic surgery, in case you noticed I have been a little quiet the last few days.... I see. I thought not!
TameasDust	Date: May 28, 2008 @ 4:22 AM Just thought I had gone deaf ... WE NEED MORE DONUTS !!!