User manual CREATIVE PRODIKEYS

User's Guide Creative Prodikeys Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative Technology Ltd. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the written permission of Creative Technology Ltd. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any other medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. The licensee may make one copy of the software for backup purposes. The Software License Agreement is found in a separate folder on the installation CD. Copyright © 1998-2003 Creative Technology Ltd. All rights reserved. Version 2.0 March 2003 Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks, and Prodikeys is a trademark of Creative Technology Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Contents Contents Introduction Introduction....................................................................................................................... i Minimum System Requirements .............................................................................. i More Help ................................................................................................................. i Getting More Information........................................................................................ ii Online Registration .................................................................................................. ii Technical Support and Warranty ............................................................................. ii Document Conventions........................................................................................... iii 1 About Your Creative Prodikeys Parts of Creative Prodikeys .......................................................................................... 1-1 Removing the Music Keyboard Cover ......................................................................... 1-2 Maintaining Creative Prodikeys ................................................................................... 1-3 2 Setting Up Your Creative Prodikeys Installing Hardware ..................................................................................................... 2-1 Installing Software........................................................................................................ 2-2 3 Getting Started Starting the Software .................................................................................................... 3-1 Learning how to use the Software ................................................................................ 3-2 Configuring Power Management settings .................................................................... 3-3 A General Specifications General Specifications ................................................................................................. A-1 B Troubleshooting Problems with installing Creative Prodikeys............................................................... B-1 Introduction Introduction Introduction Thank you for choosing Creative ProdikeysTM, another quality product from Creative Technology Ltd., the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Creative Prodikeys is a revolutionary keyboard that consists of both a computer keyboard and a music keyboard with 37 touch-sensitiveMIDI keys. It comes with the easy-to-use Creative Prodikeys software, which you will use to interact with and control your Creative Prodikeys. Creative Prodikeys is for everyone, even if you have no background in music. With Creative Prodikeys, you can create music instantly, play music for fun, learn to play songs or conduct a performance. You can even record what you have played and use it for presentations or home video productions. Playing and learning music has never been easier. Minimum System Requirements Your Prodikeys requires at least: Intel® Pentium® 233 MHz (or similar class) processor Desktop computer system* with Intel or 100% compatible motherboard chipset 128 MB RAM 325 MB free hard disk space Microsoft® Windows® 98 SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Onboard audio device or audio card (Sound Blaster® audio card included in selected packages for best audio experience) CD-ROM drive for software installation Speakers or headphones Internet connection for downloading Internet content In the Creative Prodikeys software, click the Help button for a helpful tutorial and for detailed information on using the software. You can also click the How to Play button, located near the topcenter of the program, for basic step-by-step instructions on using the mode that you are currently in. * Notebooks currently not supported. Introduction i More Help Getting More Information Online Registration Technical Support and Warranty Visit www.creative.com or www.prodikeys.com for the latest news and updates on your Creative Prodikeys. Additional Fun Mixes, Penta Tunes, Music Styles and Learnable Songs can also be downloaded from these websites. Enjoy a host of benefits by registering your products during installation, or at www.creative.com/register. Benefits include: · Service and product support from Creative · Exclusive updates on promotions and events Technical Support information can be found in the Installation CD. D:\Support\\Support.pdf. For Warranty information, can also be found in the Installation CD. D:\Warranty\\\Warranty.pdf (where D: represents your CD-ROM drive, represents the region you are in and represents the language the document is in). Please keep your Proof of Purchase for the duration of the Warranty period. Introduction ii Document Conventions Tip. This tells you about short cuts or hints relating to a feature. Note. This highlights additional or important information about a feature. Caution! This highlights proper usage of your product. Use this information to avoid risky situations. Warning! This warns you of possible hazards to yourself or your product, that may result in injury or damage. Introduction iii 1 About Your Creative Prodikeys About Your Creative Prodikeys In this chapter, we will familiarise you with the different parts of your Creative Prodikeys, so that you can follow the instructions in the other chapters easily. Parts of Creative Prodikeys The 37 keys on the music keyboard are touchsensitive; the harder you strike the keys, the louder the sound will be. Volume Control wheel Use this to adjust the volume. Function/Chord keys Use these as normal function keys (F1 to F12) when typing and use these as chord keys in some modes of the Creative Prodikeys software. Internet Portal buttonsPress these buttons to access the Creative, Prodikeys or SoundFont website when using the Prodikeys software. Pitch Bend wheel Use this to change the pitch of a music note quickly. Fun button Press this to start the Prodikeys software. Strap holder (1) Pull this out and secure one end of a guitar strap here, and the other end to Strap holder (2), so that you can freely carry Creative Prodikeys like a guitar. Music Keyboard Use this to play music notes. The Prodikeys software must be started for the music keyboard to work properly. Music Keyboard cover Use this to cover the music keyboard when not in use. It can also act as a palm rest as you type. Strap holder (2) Pull this out and secure one end of the guitar strap here. See Strap holder (1). Figure 1-1: Parts of your Creative Prodikeys About Your Creative Prodikeys 1-1 Removing the Music Keyboard Cover The music keyboard on your Creative Prodikeys is protected by a cover, which also acts as a palm rest as you type. To use the music keyboard, you will need to remove the cover. To remove the music keyboard cover: Press down the upper corners of the cover and slide it out, as shown below. Figure 1-2: Removing the music keyboard cover. About Your Creative Prodikeys 1-2 Maintaining Creative Prodikeys When your Creative Prodikeys gets dirty, use a soft, damp cloth to clean the exterior. Do not use any liquid or aerosol cleaners as these may damage your Creative Prodikeys. About Your Creative Prodikeys 1-3 2 Setting Up Your Creative Prodikeys Setting Up Your Creative Prodikeys Installing Hardware Creative Prodikeys is not hot-pluggable. You must turn off your computer before connecting or disconnecting Creative Prodikeys. Connect your Creative Prodikeys to your computer's PS/2 keyboard port as shown below. PS/2 keyboard port PS/2 cable Computer Creative Prodikeys Figure 2-1: Connecting Creative Prodikeys to your computer. Setting Up Your Creative Prodikeys 2-1 Installing Software You have to install the software for your Creative Prodikeys to work properly. To install the software: 1. Insert the Creative Prodikeys software Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. An installation screen appears. If not, start Windows Explorer, right-click the CD-ROM drive icon, and then select AutoPlay. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. 2. Setting Up Your Creative Prodikeys 2-2 3 Getting Started Getting Started Starting the Software After starting the software, press the Fun button to switch between minimised and maximised views. Fun button You will need to start Creative Prodikeys before you can play on the Creative Prodikeys music keyboard. To start the software: Press the Fun button on the Creative Prodikeys keyboard. Figure 3-1: Creative Prodikeys keyboard. Getting Started 3-1 Learning how to use the Software After starting the software, you should see something similar to Figure 3-2 on your screen. Help button Demo button How To Play button Figure 3-2: Creative Prodikeys software. Click the Help button and refer to the Help file for instructions on how to use the software. This Help file contains a tutorial that is designed to give you a quick overview of how to use the software. We recommend that you read through all the lessons of the tutorial before you begin using the software. If you have completed the tutorial and need help while using the software, you can quickly refer to specific Help topics in the Help file for detailed instructions. You can also click the How to Play button for basic step-by-step instructions on using the mode that you are currently in. For a simple demonstration of what you can do in the mode that you currently in, click the Demo button. The Demo button is not available in Learn mode and Perform mode. Getting Started 3-2 Configuring Power Management settings If you have enabled power saving or power management on your computer, you should set your monitor's power management properties to Never. You should also configure your screen saver so that it deactivates when you move your mouse. Getting Started 3-3 A General Specifications General Specifications General Specifications Standard IBM-compatible computer keyboard with 104 keys. Integrated music keyboard with 37 touch-sensitive MIDI keys. Pitch Bend wheel. Volume Control wheel. Internet Portal buttons. PS/2 connector for connecting to computer's PS/2 keyboard port. General Specifications A-1 B Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Problems with installing Creative Prodikeys Creative Prodikeys cannot be detected, even after the connections are checked and the software installed. There may be a conflict with a USB Legacy Device setting on your computer's motherboard. Consult your computer's motherboard manual to disable the USB Legacy Device setting. Troubleshooting B-1