Upgrading VoxPro from Version 3 to Version 4

We are happy to announce the availability of VoxPro Version 4 (VP4). New features include several improvements:

•	Account information is now maintained in an editable ASCII-formatted file.

•	The file system representing Masters and Edits has been greatly simplified. In VP4, there is only one physical file per recording and both the Master and associated Edits are represented in that file.

•	Networking is now handled automatically. The Network Coordinator is no longer necessary.

•	You can now attach up to 4 control panels to one VoxPro workstation. Jocks and producers can now work on the same VoxPro in the control room.

•	Importing and Exporting of Audio files in multiple formats is supported with Auto-Import and EZ-Export.

•	Support has been added for Normalization, Reverse, and Fade effects.

•	Recording and viewing enhancements including Automatic Gain Control (AGC), Mono-mix record, Markers, Zoom, and Search.

The VP4 file formats differ from the VP3 file formats for both the audio files and the account configuration files. If you want to continue to use your existing recordings, you must convert your audio files to the new VP4 format using the Version Converter Utility. If you want to maintain your existing accounts, you must follow the start-up instructions provided in the User Account Conversion section.

IMPORTANT The user account conversion process begins the moment you start VP4. For this reason, you must complete the start-up instructions before running VP4 for the first time to ensure that the Version Converter Utility can correctly locate your VP3 configuration information.

This chapter explains the migration path from versions 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 to version 4. There is no direct migration path from version 3.0 (including 3.05 and 3.06). If you are upgrading from 3.0 and you need to keep your existing recordings, your best option is to export the audio files to the WAV format, install version 4, and then import the files back into the newly installed version.

We recommend that you carefully review this chapter to understand the basic mechanisms of the upgrade process. Every VoxPro installation is slightly different depending on installation location, number and location of user accounts, VoxPro workstations on the LAN, and other factors.

The upgrade procedure consists of two parts: user account creation and audio file conversion using the Version Converter utility.

VP3 stores user account information in the user account file, VP_Config.vpc, located in the VP3 installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\VoxPro PC). VP_Config.vpc cannot be directly changed or edited outside of VP3. This file contains the hard-coded paths to each user’s folder. Both local and non-local accounts are maintained in VP_Config.vpc.

In VP4, user account information is stored in the user account file, Users_Local.inf. Users_Local.inf is a plain ASCII file that can be edited using WordPad or Notepad. Only local accounts (i.e. those accounts that reside on the local machine) are maintained in Users_Local.inf. After the conversion process, you can make changes as needed to any local account's Users_Local.inf file and then restart VoxPro. For example, you can edit Users_Local.inf file to move an account to a different hard drive.

User Account conversion happens automatically when VP4 runs for the first time. A complete description of this process can be found in the Version Converter Utility section.

IMPORTANT To ensure that the account conversion is successful, VP_Config.vpc must exist in the VP4 installation directory prior to running VP4 for the first time. This means that if you install VP4 in a different location than the VP3 installation location, you must first copy VP_Config.vpc to the VP4 installation directory before running VP4.

When VP4 is run for the first time, the Version Converted utility looks for the presence of VP_Config.vpc. If VP_Config.vpc exists, but Users_Local.inf does not exist, the Version Converter utility creates Users_Local.inf and adds the local accounts found in VP_Config.vpc to Users_Local.inf.

Version Converter then begins the audio file conversion process. A pop-up window appears and walks you through the conversion process. If the timing is not convenient, the audio conversion process can be started at a later time by selecting Version Converter on the File menu.

The audio file conversion process requires several minutes to convert an hour’s worth of audio into VP4. For example, a large file collection consisting of 100GB of storage might take a full hour to convert. You can continue using VoxPro during this time, but you might be distracted by Version Converter’s progress notifications.

When converting audio files, Version Converter uses the paths specified in VP_Config.vpc as the source location, and the paths specified in Users_Local.inf as the destination location.

Version Converter can be run automatically or manually. You can cancel Version Converter at any time and return to VoxPro. You can then restart Version Converter at a later time and continue from where you left off.

•	All files that belong to the account that you are logged into are converted to VP4 format.

•	Any files found in the Deleted Files folder (Recycle Bin in version 3.1) are deleted.

•	Edits are converted and Masters are not converted. If you have Masters that you access frequently or that you want to keep, you can first run Version Converter in manual mode, import your Masters, and then run Version Converter again in automatic mode to convert the Edits.

•	Edits (and their corresponding Masters) are deleted after they are converted.

Running Version Converter manually gives you more control over the conversion process, but also requires more interaction on your part.

•	Edits and Masters that you select are converted to VP4 format. If you are not an administrator, you can only select files that belong to the account that you are logged into.

•	VP3 files are not automatically deleted after they are converted. You will probably want to delete old files, especially if space on your hard disk is limited.

•	Converted files are placed in a destination account and folder that you specify.

•	The Administrator can specify the VP3 files to convert from any account.

Note Hotkeys assigned in VP3 cannot be transferred to VP4, but must be reassigned after the conversion process has completed.

After you have given users sufficient time to import their files from VP3, you may reclaim the disk space the VP3 files occupy by selecting Delete Version 3 Files from the File menu. You must be logged on as Administrator to see this command. This deletes all VP3 Edits, Masters, and reference files that are located in the same folders as the current VP4 accounts. VP3 files that are located in other folders must be deleted manually. For example, if you move your user accounts from the C: drive to a new D: drive, you must manually remove the old files on drive C:. Selecting the Delete Version 3 Files command also deletes VP_Config.vpc from the VP4 folder, thus disabling further use of Version Converter.

The Network Coordinator, used by VP3 for managing network accounts, is not used by VP4 and can be uninstalled from the system. Make sure you stop the service first, using the VPNetCoordinator utility. This utility is normally installed in a separate folder on the C: drive, and you may not have it installed if your VP3 system was not networked.