<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Settings > The Options Screen

The Options Screen is where you can set certain EZ Play DJ global options, including settings for File Format, Button Coloring, Delay,Random File Pick, Dance Lists, Speed Change, Ratings, Fade, Equalization, Import and Export, and Global Volume,

 

 

File Format

 

When a track is recorded from a CD it has to be converted to another format.  You can set the format to MP3. WMA, WAV, or FLAC.  For MP3 and WMA you can choose 'Standard' or 'High' quality.  The higher the quality of sound, the more disk space is required to store the song.  The formats which are lossless are WAV, FLAC, and WMA High.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'File Format' which has two buttons.

 

Selecting the Format for Tracks Recorded from CD

 

The left button selects the format.  For instance, to select MP3 format, press it until it has the label 'MP3'.  The right button select the quality, either 'Standard' or 'High'

 

Selecting the Format for Tracks Imported from WAV files.

 

The settings of these buttons also determine the format of songs imported from WAV files.  If WAV is selected, these songs are not converted.  If anything else is selected, these songs are converted, at the specified quality.  This applies only to songs which are copied to the Music folder.   Songs imported using the 'Leave in Place' option are not converted.

 

Button Coloring

 

You may need to remember which songs you have already played so that you won't play them again.  The EZ Play DJ has an option which makes the button for a song turn red and stay red when the song is played.  If the song appears on more than one Dance Button, all the Song Buttons for that song will turn red.  Note that the buttons don't turn red when the song is added to the Playlist -- they turn red when the song actually begins to play.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Button Coloring' which has two buttons.

 

Turning Button Coloring On or Off

 

The left button toggles this feature on and off.  To turn button coloring on, press it so that it appears red and has the label 'Enabled'.  To turn button coloring off, press it so that it has its default color (which depends on the Skin selected) and has the label 'Disabled'.  Note that when button coloring is turned off, the EZ Play DJ still keeps track of which songs were played -- it just doesn't show the buttons as red.

 

Resetting Buttons to the Default Color

 

The right button is used to reset all buttons on all Select Song Screens to the default color.  The EZ Play DJ forgets which songs have been played when this button is pressed.

 

Setting Options for the Delay Control

 

On the Main Screen is the Delay Control, which lets you set a delay of a specified number of seconds between songs.  The number of seconds for the delay is a multiple of an increment  You  can extend the delay feature to put a delay before the song at the top of the Currently Playing List is played or to when a song that was previously paused or rewound is restarted.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Delay' which has two buttons.

 

Setting the Delay Increment

 

Press the left button until its label indicates the desired number of seconds for the delay increment.

 

Enabling or Disabling a Delay before Playing a Song

 

Press the right button until its label is 'Disabled' if you want to disable delay before starting the first song or one that was paused or rewound.  Press it until its label is 'Enabled' if you want to enable this delay.

 

Picking Songs at Random

 

On the Select Song Screen is a button with one of the label 'Pick' followed by a number'.  It is used to select one or more songs at random from the Select Song Screen and add them to the Playlist.  You can set the number of songs to pick on the Options Screen.  You can also restrict the selection of songs selected by the Pick button to those which have a high rating or to those on the currently selected page of songs.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Pick Number' which has two buttons.

 

Setting the Number of Songs to be Picked

 

Press the left until its label indicates the desired number of songs to pick at random.

 

Restricting the Selection by Rating or to Songs on the Current Page

 

To restrict the selection to songs of at least a particular rating press the right button until that rating appears on the label of the button.  For instance, a rating of Four will be indicated by four stars on the button.  The rating can be set from 0 stars to 5 stars in half star steps.  To restrict the selection to songs on the currently selected page, press the right button until it has the label 'Current Page'.  To allow selection from all the songs, press the right button until it has the label 'All Songs'.

 

Limiting Dance List Song Selection

 

You can restrict the selection of songs for Dance Lists to those which were most recently loaded into the EZ Play DJ.  You cal also restrict the selection of songs for Dance Lists to those which have a high rating.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Dance Lists' which has two buttons.

 

Limiting Selection to Recently Loaded Songs

 

To restrict the selection of songs for Dance Lists to those which were most recently loaded into the EZ Play DJ press the left button until the label of the button shows the desired number of recently entered songs you want to limit the select to.  The available options are '5 Most Recent', '10 Most Recent', '25 Most Recent', '50 Most Recent', or 'All Songs',

 

Restricting the Selection by Rating

 

To restrict the selection to songs of at least a particular rating, press the right button until that rating appears on the label of the button.  For instance, a rating of Four will be indicated by four stars on the button.  The rating can be set from 0 stars to 5 stars in half star steps.  To allow selection from all the songs, press it until it has the label 'All Ratings'.

 

Setting the Speed Change Increment, MPM Increment, and BPM Increment

 

The Speed Controls on both the Main Screen and the Song Settings Screen allow you to increase or decrease the playback speed.  The speed can be increased or decreased by increments of 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, or 5.0%

 

The MPM and BPM controls on the Main Screen, the Song Settings Screen, and the Calculate Tempo Screen allow you to increase the measures per minute or beats per minute.  The beats per minute can be increased or decreased by increments of 0.1, 0.5, 1, or 5.beats per minute.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Speed/Beats Change' which has one button.  Press the button until its label is the desired increment, 0.1, 0.5, 1, or 5.  It controls Speed Controls, MPM Controls, and BPM Controls.

 

Displaying Speed Change Percent. BPM, or MPM

 

The Speed can be displayed on the Main Screen as speed percent change, BPM, or as MPM.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Speed Display' which has one button.  Press the button until its label is the desired type of display, Percent Change, BPM when Available, or MPM when Available.

 

Limiting Songs which appear on the Select Song Screen to Highly Rated Songs

 

You can restrict the songs which appear on the Select Song Screen to those which have a high rating.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Select Songs' which has one button.  To restrict the selection to songs of at least a particular rating, press the button until that rating appears on the label of the button.  For instance, a rating of Four will be indicated by four stars on the button.  The rating can be set from 0 stars to 5 stars in half star steps.  To allow selection from all the songs, press it until it has the label 'All Ratings'.

 

Playing MP3 files in Mono or Stereo

 

MP3 song files can be played either in Mono or in Stereo.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'MP3 Mode' which has one button.  Press the button until its label is the desired type of Mode, Mono or Stereo.

 

Setting Global Fade Start Time and Duration

 

The EZ Play DJ can be set to have each song fade out after a specified time.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Fade' which has two buttons.

 

Setting the Fade Start Time

 

The top button is used to set the fade out start time.  In the example it is set to two minutes and ten seconds.  Pressing the button brings up a Time Set Screen which will enable you to set the start time.

 

Setting the Fade Duration

 

The bottom button is used to set the number of seconds that it takes for the song to completely fade out.  This also sets the number of seconds that it takes for a song to fade in.  In the example it is set to six seconds.  Pressing the button brings up a Time Set Screen which will enable you to set the number of seconds.

 

Global Fade is enabled or disabled on the Main Screen.

 

Import Ratings of MP3s

 

Some MP3 song files have an embedded rating.  The EZ Play DJ can attempt to import this rating.  It works only for some MP3 song files and only for some rating systems, since there is no one standard location or coding for how ratings are stored in song files.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Import Ratings' which has one button.  To turn ratings import for MP3s on press it so that it has the label 'Enabled'.  To turn ratings import for MP3s off press it so that it has the label 'Disabled'.

 

Setting How Much to Lower the Volume for Immediate Fade

 

With the Immediate Fade control on the main screen you can lower the volume part way they bring it back up to full volume.  You can set how low the volume goes.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Immediate Fade Pct' which has one button.  Press the button until its label is the desired percent of the full volume to which the Immediate Fade control should lower the volume.

 

Selecting a Destination Location for Imported Songs

 

You may have song files somewhere in the file system of the computer.  When you import these songs into the EZ Play DJ, you have two choices as to where the song files ends up.  They can end up copied into the folder where songs recorded from CD are placed (the 'Music' folder).  When one of these songs is played, it is read by the EZ Play DJ from the Music folder.

 

Or they can simply be left where they are in the file system, and not copied at all.  When one of these songs is played, it is read by the EZ Play DJ from its original location.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Import' which has one button.  To copy imported songs to the Music folder, press the button until it has the label 'Copy to Folder'.  To leave songs in their original location, press the button until it has the label 'Leave in Place'

 

Disabling the Export Feature on the Main Screen

 

On the Main Screen.there is a feature which makes it possible to export one or more songs from the Playlist.  You may want to disable this feature to prevent unauthorized people from copying songs from your computer.

 

On the Options Screen there is a rectangle labeled 'Export' which has one button.  Press it until its label is 'Disabled' if you want to disable the Export feature.  Press it until its label is 'Enabled' if you want to permit the export of songs.

 

Locking the Cursor Screen

 

If you use a touchscreen you probably don't ever want to see a cursor.  And if you use a mouse, you always want to see a cursor.  The selection of what the cursor will look like is done on the Cursor Selection Screen, which can be opened from the Main Screen.  But if you want to prevent the Cursor Selection Screen from being opened accidentally you can lock it here.

 

On Options Screen there is a rectangle labeled 'Cursor' which has one button.  Press it until its label is 'Locked' if you want to lock the Cursor Selection Screen so that it cannot be opened.  Press it until its label is 'Unlocked' if you want to be able to open it.

 

Enabling or Disabling the Move Page Buttons

 

On several screens, the Select Song Screen, the Playlist Songs Screen, and the Maintain Playlists Screen, it is possible to interchange pages of buttons by pressing one of the Move Page buttons.  The button on the left side of the screen will interchange the current screen of buttons with the previous screen, and the button on the right side will interchange the current screen of buttons with the next screen.  This is a powerful feature, and it is easy to make a mistake using it.  These buttons are hidden by default.  When they are not hidden they look like this.

 

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Move Pages' which has one button. Press it until its label is 'Enabled' to make the 'Move Page' buttons visible on the screens listed above to enable interchange of pages.  Press it until its label is 'Disabled' to hide the 'Move Page' buttons on the screens listed above to disable interchange of pages.

 

Setting the Number of Buttons on the Select Song Screen

 

Some people want large fonts for song titles and artists so that they are easy to read.  Others want as many buttons as possible on a screen so they don't have to page through so many screens.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Song Buttons' which has one button. Press it until its label is the number of buttons that you want on the Select Song Screen.  Possible choices are 16 or 20 buttons in two columns, 15 or 30 buttons in three columns, 48 buttons in four columns, or 80 buttons in five columns.

 

Setting the Number of Dance Buttons on the Main Screen

 

Some people want large fonts for dance names so that they are easy to read.  Others want as many buttons as possible on a screen so they don't have to page through so many screens.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Dance Buttons' which has one button. Press it until its label is the number of dance buttons that you want on the Main Screen.  Possible choices are 30 buttons in six columns or 80 buttons in ten columns.

 

Enabling or Disabling Deletion of Blank Buttons

 

On the Select Song Screen and on the Playlist Songs Screen it is possible to delete a song.  When that song is deleted one of two things can happen.  Either a blank button takes the place of the deleted song or all songs after the deleted song are shifted so that no blank button is needed.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Blanks Buttons' which has one button. Press it until its label is 'Delete Blank Button' to eliminate the blank button when a song is deleted.  Press it until its label is 'Leave Blank Button' to replace the song by a blank button when the song is deleted..

 

Setting Equalization

 

The EZ Play DJ can set the equalization for each song..  On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Equalization which has one button.  The available settings are 'None', 'Boost Base', 'Boost Treble', and 'Boost Both'.  The 'Boost Both' is sometimes referred to as 'Loudness'.

 

Setting the Networking Option

 

The song files and configuration data for the EZ Play DJ can be located either on the PC with the EZ Play DJ software installed or on a PC connected through a network to the PC with the EZ Play DJ installed.

 

On the Options Screen is a rectangle labeled 'Local/Network' which has one button.  Press it until its label is 'Local Drives' if you want to configure your EZ Play DJ as a stand-alone system.  Press it until its label is 'Network Drives' if your songs and configuration data are to be stored on a PC connected through a network to the PC with the EZ Play DJ installed.  Press it until its label is 'Network Read Only' if your songs and configuration data are to be stored on a PC connected through a network to the PC with the EZ Play DJ installed and you want to disable all functions on your EZ Play DJ except playing music.

 

The setting 'Network Read Only' makes it possible to have multiple EZ Play DJ systems reading music and settings from the same computer.  One system is set to have full access to music and settings ('Local Drives' or 'Network Drives' option) and all of the other systems have read-only access ('Network Read Only' option.).

 

Global Volume Control

 

Press the Up or Down Button next to the Volume display until the desired global volume is set.  Volume is expressed as a percent of unadjusted volume.  This setting defaults to 100% of the unadjusted volume.

 

Beneath the Up or Down Button and the Volume display is a button.  To enable the Global Volume Control, press it so that it has the label 'Enabled'.  To disable the Global Volume Control, which sets the volume at 100% of the unadjusted volume regardless of the number on the Volume display, press it so that it has the label 'Disabled'.

 

About the EZ Play DJ

 

You may want to know what version or license ID of the EZ Play DJ you have installed on your computer.  At the right side of the Options Screen is a button labeled 'About'.  Press it to bring up a small screen with the version and license ID.  There is also a botton on the screen which, when pressed, lets you know whether or not you have the latest version of the EZ Play DJ.

 

 

System Configuration

 

At the right side of the Options Screen is a button labeled 'System Config' .  Press it to open  the System Configuration Screen.  This screen is used to set such things as CD drive letter, logo on Main Screen, and location of music files.

 

Print History

 

At the right side of the Options Screen is a button labeled 'History' .  Press it to open  the Print History Screen.  This screen is used to print the history of songs that have been played or to save it to a file on your computer.

 

Press the button and the Print History Screen will appear.  On that screen you can edit, clear, save, or print the history.

 

Returning to the Main Screen

 

At the right side of the Options Screen is a button labeled 'Done' .  Press it to return to the Main Screen.

 

Settings that Might Cause Trouble

 

Things don't always go well -- "all of my songs have disappeared" or "I can't import songs anymore" or something else. Most of the time it is because somebody went to the Options Screen and changed some setting, without knowing what the setting is for.  There are seven buttons that have the potential to cause difficulties if not set properly.

 

If a risky setting is selected on any of these seven buttons it will be colored red. If you are having some major problem check the Options screen first and look for a red button.

 

 

When a button turns red a warning message will pop up.  Here is an example, for the Import Location button.