I can't start Composer Notes

• I get a "cannot decrypt this document" message
• All I get is a blank screen
• My computer crashes when I launch Composer Notes

Troubleshooting

1. Because it is simply an electronic book in .pdf format, there is very little that can go wrong with Composer Notes itself. Almost all problems are usually due to an incorrect installation of Acrobat Reader or Quicktime. Sometimes the operating system of the computer being used can also be at fault, or not enough memory (RAM) is available to view Composer Notes in conjunction with other programs simultaneously.

2. Please make sure that your Computer has at least 32Mb application Ram free for running Acrobat reader. If you are running other programs on your computer before you launch Composer Notes, you may have less spare RAM free than you think. Make sure you have quit all unecessary programs. Also please see the section on using Composer Notes with other programs.

3. Versions of Acrobat earlier than 5.0 cannot read Composer Notes 2002 and Composer Notes Junior! You may also be trying to view Composer Notes through Acrobat version 4 (or earlier). Some users have been found to have multiple versions of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on their computers without realising it. Please be sure that you are actually running Acrobat Reader 5.0 when viewing Composer Notes, and to delete any earlier versions of Acrobat Reader from your hard drive.

4. Check your memory settings. If you wish to run Composer Notes and your web browser simultaneously, will need enough RAM to cover Composer Notes (32Mb) as well as your web browser. If you are also wishing to run a MIDI application simultaneously, you will need enough memory for that as well.

For example, if you want to run Sibelius, Internet Explorer and Composer Notes together- Sibelius requires around 10Mb RAM, Internet Explorer a minimum of 8Mb so in this case we would recommend having 50MB RAM (10+8+32).

If you are running on a Macintosh in classic mode, you will also need to make the appropriate memory settings for each application from the Finder.

Internet problems

• Nothing happens when I click the Internet button
• I get "getURL failed" messages
• My computer crashes when I try to open an Internet link from Composer Notes

Troubleshooting

1. Make sure you are online! Check your TCP/IP, PPP, Network or Remote Access settings (depending on your connection method).

2. Check your memory settings. If you wish to run Composer Notes and your web browser simultaneously, will need enough RAM to cover Composer Notes (32Mb) as well as your web browser. If you are also wishing to run a MIDI application simultaneously, you will need enough memory for that as well.

For example, if you want to run Sibelius, Internet Explorer and Composer Notes together- Sibelius requires around 10Mb RAM, Internet Explorer a minimum of 8Mb so in this case we would recommend having 50MB RAM (10+8+32).

If you are running on a Macintosh in classic mode, you will also need to make the appropriate memory settings for each application from the Finder.

3. Check that you have a web browser specified in Acrobat Reader. This is set under the "Preferences" menu option).

Problems with Audio Playback

• Nothing happens when I click the Internet button
• I get "getURL failed" messages
• My computer crashes when I try to open an Internet link from Composer Notes

Troubleshooting

Composer Notes uses Apple's Quicktime™ version 5.0 for audio playback. This streaming technology allows for audio playback to start immediately musical score examples are clicked on- which is important for immediate feedback as otherwise a user would have to wait for the entire audio file to load into the computer's memory before playback.

Make sure Quicktime 5.0 is installed properly Because Quicktime is used, it must be installed correctly on your computer in order for sound to play back. The Composer Notes installation process looks to see if you have Quicktime 5.0 installed on your computer when Composer Notes is first installed- if it cannot find this file it installs a new copy for you.

Note that the installer cannot detect if the currently installed version of Quicktime is corrupt!.

If you are having problems with audio playback, we recommend deleting Quicktime and re-installing it either with the Quicktime Installer in the Installers Folder, which wass your Composer Notes Folder during the installation or by down-loading it from Apple's website.

Incompatible Sound Cards

In a very few cases and thus far only on Windows computers, we have discovered that a computer's sound card (or its sound driver) is incompatible with Quicktime. The result is almost always garbled "underwater sound playback", "doubled up sound" or "multiple delayed soundbites".

If you are experiencing this problem, we suggest you contact the manufacturer of your sound card to see if you can obtain a more recent version of the audio driver for that sound card- a version that is compatible with Quicktime 5.0. If this does not work, try installing a new sound card- these can be obtained very inexpensively from most computer stores.

Lost or Broken Discs

You are either prone to extreme bursts of energy or are just absent minded like the rest of us!

Don't panic!

Email us at composernotes@sibelius.com and let us know what happened.

We will assess the situation- discs are usually replaced for a small delivery fee plus a small replacement fee ( you will need to provide proof of your serial number and registration details) if they have been lost.

Why does my mouse disappear when I'm using a pop- up?

Note: This problem only seems to occur in Windows, and only in full screen mode, and is due to isses with Acrobat Javascript for Windows. It may not appear in later versions of Acrobat.

Solution:

Tap the "esc" button on your computer's keyboard. Composer Notes will now go into "book mode", and you will be able to see the Acrobat Reader controls. When you click on a pop- up menu, the mouse will no longer disappear.

"Document could not be modified" or saving alert when closing or quitting

These message will appear if you are viewing Composer Notes with the full version of Acrobat as opposed to Acrobat Reader. Composer Notes is intended for use with Acrobat Reader 5.0 and above only. Professional Acrobat users may encounter these kinds of messages- mostly which appear for informative purposes only and which will not affect the overall viewing or operation of Composer Notes. Note that for copy protection purposes, Composer Notes is fully encrypted and saving will have no effect, even if you choose a saving option.

You may consider installing both Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, which may be useful for your own authoring purposes as well as preventing unexpected error messages from appearing.

When should I use the MIDILinker?

The MIDILinker can either be run at the time you install Composer Notes, or at any later time.

A shortcut is placed on your computer's desktop during the installation for this purpose, and you can also find the MIDILinker in your Composer Notes Folder and (Windows Machines) in the Start/Program Files/ComposerNotes Volume 1 Menu.

Are you having problems using the MIDILinker?

Troubleshooting

Windows

1. If the MIDI application you wished to use was not in the main window, did you try using the search function? All you need to know is the exact name of the application you wish the MIDILinker to find - for example: Finale.exe, CWHS.exe

2. If after going through the whole process you find that clicking on a MIDI File in Composer Notes does not open the program you expected, follow the three easy steps in the Windows 2000/Windows XP tutorial (you can access this from the main MIDILinker Window) to set the registration for MIDI files automatically. This works for earlier versions of Windows such as Windows 98, Windows Me, etc, although the windows may appear a little different

Macintosh

1. If your MIDI program does not appear in the MIDILinker list, please write to us (use the support request form) and let us know the exact name of the application you wish to use.

2. We will contact you directly with instructions, and do our best to include your application in our next update of the MIDILinker.

My computer crashes when I try to open a MIDI file

This is most likely due to a memory problem. If you wish to run Composer Notes with another music program, you will need enough RAM to cover Composer Notes (32Mb) as well as you music program

For example, Sibelius requires around 10Mb RAM, so if you wished to run this with Composer Notes we would recommend having 42MB RAM, plus whatever your computer needs for its operating system

If you are running on a Macintosh, you will also need to make the appropriate memory settings for each application from the Finder.

Why does my mouse disappear when I'm using a pop- up?

Note: This problem only seems to occur in Windows, and only in full screen mode, and is due to isses with Acrobat Javascript for Windows. It may not appear in later versions of Acrobat.

Solution:

Tap the "esc" button on your computer's keyboard. Composer Notes will now go into "book mode", and you will be able to see the Acrobat Reader controls. When you click on a pop- up menu, the mouse will no longer disappear.