INSTALLING SOUNDSHAPER

Before starting, please note:

• CDP and Soundshaper do not use the Windows Program Files folder or the Windows Registry.
• Avoid folder paths with spaces. This is because CDP programs run in a command-line environment, where such spaces may produce errors.

 INSTALL SOUNDSHAPER and CDP

• FULL INSTALLATION: unzip the downloaded zip file SoundshaperFULL.zip into any folder, e.g. \Downloads.
  This includes the latest CDP software, as well as Soundshaper.


• SOUNDSHAPER INSTALLER: click on the self-extracting installation file InstallSoundshaper6.exe.
• At the prompt, choose a folder within which to extract the files.
  This is your base CDP-folder. Take a note of it, as you will need it to configure Soundshaper.
  The default shown is the recommended base CDP-folder C:\cdpr8:
  
  
  You can browse to a different drive or folder and place the files elsewhere if you like, e.g. in E:\CDP or E:\Soundshaper.
• If the selected folder does not exist, it will be created for you.
• Click Unzip. The installation extracts CDP programs to a subfolder called _cdp\_cdprogs
  and Soundshaper's files to a subfolder called \Soundshaper6.
  It also extracts data files to a subfolder called \TXT.
• Please ensure that the full path to Soundshaper has no spaces.
  
  In general, with Soundshaper and CDP:
  
• Avoid folder paths with spaces. This is because CDP programs run in a command-line environment, where such spaces may produce errors.
• Use only ASCII characters when naming folders (and possibly also files).
• CDP and Soundshaper do not use the Windows Program Files folder or the Windows Registry.

 INSTALLING SOUNDSHAPER UPDATE or UPGRADE

The process is virtually the same as above, using the appropriate supplied installer .exe file.
Before downloading:

• Optionally make a copy of your existing datafiles folder (e.g. <CDP-folder>\TXT) so that your own datafiles are not overwritten.
Download the update/upgrade:
• Download and unzip the Update zip file (SoundshaperUD.zip), or Upgrade zip file (SoundshaperUG.zip), as appropriate.
Double-click on the installer .exe fle:
• Choose the CDP base folder (e.g. C:\CDPR8) to extract files into.
  If upgrading from CDP Release 7, allow the installer to create a new CDPR8 folder.
  
• Files of the same name that are to be replaced will be overwritten. Other files are untouched.
• New datafiles for CDP8 will be placed in <CDP-folder>\TXT.
  If that is not where you keep your datafiles, please copy the new subfolders to your own datafiles folder.

 CONFIGURE SOUNDSHAPER

Soundshaper uses a configuration file rather than the Windows Registry.
When starting Soundshaper for the first time, you need to select various essential folders, so that the program can operate correctly.
(Some of the following screenshots are from the previous version CDPR7.)

• Double-click on Soundshaper.exe within your Soundshaper6 folder. You are asked to confirm that you have already installed CDP. Then this dialog appears:
  
  
  


• 1. CDP FOLDER: At the first prompt, select your CDP base folder (e.g. C:\CDPR8).
  
  
  
  This is a folder selector, which starts in the level above \Soundshaper6. If the folder shown is NOT the one in which you have installed CDP and Soundshaper, then browse to the correct folder and select it.
  For Soundshaper to work correctly, it must know where to find the CDP base folder. If you are not sure, close the program and re-start when you can select it successfully.
  
  
• 2. CDP PROGRAMS: Soundshaper looks for the CDP programs folder and if it finds it, it will ask you to confirm.
  
  
  
  If it cannot find CDP programs, this is probably because you have not selected the correct CDP base folder.
  Soundshaper will ask you to close the program and try again.


• 3. OUTPUT FILES: Soundshaper asks you to select or create a TEMPORARY OUTFILES folder for output (sound)files.
  
  
  
  
  The default for this is <CDP-folder>\TEMP, but it can be a folder on any drive, e.g. E:\TEMP, E:\SOUNDS\TEMP etc. In fact, it is generally a good idea to put sounds on a different drive from Windows, if possible.
  This folder path is stored in Soundshaper's Settings and can be edited there, as necessary.
  Any name is acceptable, provided the path to the folder has no spaces. Otherwise the CDP programs will not run.
  TIP: If you have an SSD drive, use this for maximum speed.


• 4. USER DATA: This folder has already been created and populated as \TXT, in parallel with the folder Soundshaper6, that is, either within the CDP folder or the alternative you chose for extracting Soundshaper.
  The prompt asks you to confirm its location and suggests <CDP-folder>\TXT:
  
  
  
  
  Browse as necessary to the correct folder and confirm. You can rename or relocate this folder later in Settings.
  However, note that any supplied updates to datafiles and presets will be set up to install automatically into <CDP-folder>\TXT.


• 5. HELP DOCS: This folder is principally for the CDP documentation, which CDP normally installs in <CDP-folder>\docs. The prompt should reflect this:
  
  
  
  This folder can be set later in Settings, if necessary.
  You are best to select \docs as the documentation folder, even if you have not yet downloaded the documentation or prefer to access the documentation online.
  When you click on a CDP program name within Soundshaper, it links to the online CDP documentation, if you have ticked Option 12 "Online CDP Help", otherwise it uses the stored docs, so it needs to know where these are located.
  The Soundshaper manual, when installed, should also be stored within this folder: \docs\Soundshaper.

When you have finished, Soundshaper creates a default Settings file Soundshaper.cfg in your Soundshaper6 folder:

THIS COMPLETES THE BASIC INSTALLATION

However, you should now visit Soundshaper's Settings Page – see Options | Settings (F5) – to consider what other settings should be made, and save these to your Settings file.
For details on all Soundshaper Settings, see the supplied file SetupSoundshaper.pdf (in Soundshaper6\docs).

Project Folder
You should especially consider setting a current Project Folder. This can be changed at any time and used for quick loading and saving of files.
It is normal to re-set this to whatever project you are currently working on. You may find it more convenient to store project datafiles within your Project Folder (or a subfolder of it), rather than in the User Data folder.