Copyright: Copyright © 1999-2000 Blue Starfish Ltd


What is Veritape?

Thank you for trying Veritape.

Veritape is designed to record phonecalls directly to your hard disk.

Providing you have a PC & a voice modem (see Minimum requirements) you can use it to record important business discussions, negotiations when buying and selling things, or even just conversations with friends (please always bear in mind the Legal issues involved in taping a conversation).

Veritape is completely free for personal use. Companies who only wish to use a single copy may also do so free (see Registration).

These are the email addresses you can use to contact us directly.  Please choose the best address for your query, so we can respond as quickly as possible:

For help on issues not already covered in the 'Troubleshooting' section of this help file, or on the 'Frequently Asked Questions' page of the Veritape webpage: help@veritape.com

To give us feedback on anything at all, including things you would like to see in future versions of Veritape:  feedback@veritape.com

To suggest more links or to update our existing links:  links@veritape.com

For any other information not covered by the above topics: info@veritape.com

To be notified of updates: notify_of_update@veritape.com

Look for the latest news and information on the Veritape website.

Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

AOL is a registered trademark of America On Line Inc.


Legal issues
Legal Notice

Veritape records phonecalls - the law on recording phonecalls is different in every part of the world.  We recommend that you inform the other party or parties to your phonecall that you are taping their conversation.  In some states and countries, you are required to do this by law.

You need to ensure that you use Veritape in a legal and ethical manner.  Blue Starfish Ltd, the makers of Veritape, will not be held responsible for any action or inaction on your part which leads to or causes you to break the law.

Calls recorded using Veritape may not be admissible as evidence - we recommend you consult your solicitor to clarify the law in your location.

We have included some links to legal or other reference sites in different countries on the Veritape website.  These sites relate to recording telephone calls, or other telecommunications law. However, the information contained on these sites does not necessarily constitute a considered legal view of the telecommunications or other law in your location - you should consult your solicitor to clarify the law in your location.


Setting up your cables

There are two ways you can set up your phone and computer so Veritape will record your phonecalls. Both ways produce the same result, and are shown below:

NB: In case (2), the two wall sockets must be on the same phone line (i.e. they must share the same phone number - when the phone rings, they must both ring).

Veritape will not work if you plug your phone directly into the modem.


Configuring your modem

Your modem should be configured as you go through the Quick Start Guide, immediately following installation.

If you are currently going through the Start Guide, click on the 'click here' button to start the configuration process (if you are not in the start guide, and want to run it again, see I want to run the quick start guide again).

If you want to configure your modem directly, or if you have two modems and want to swap between them, right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. Left-click on 'Setup'. Then click the 'Modem Setup...' button.

Doing either of these actions will produce the 'modem setup' window where you can select your modem. Veritape will then check that it is compatible. If it says it isn't, have a look at 'My modem won't work with Veritape'.

At this point, you may also want to adjust the modem playback volume (see I can hear the call from my computer's speakers).


Recording outgoing calls

Before doing this, please make sure you've read both Legal issues and Quality issues.

Right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. Then click on 'Record'.

A window will pop up. Click the button marked 'Record', then pick up your phone and dial the call. You will notice that the modem takes a short time to initialise before recording starts.

Make the call as normal. When you have finished, hang up your phone, and click the 'Stop recording' button. You MUST do both of these steps to hang up the call (see How it works).

When you click 'Stop recording' the window will change so you can enter the call description and save your call (see Saving calls).

You can start or stop recording in the middle of a call if you like (don't forget that there will be a click on the line if you do, see Quality issues).

To start recording in the middle of a call, right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray, click on 'Record', then click on the 'Record' button. Recording will start as soon as the modem is initialised.

To stop recording in the middle of a conversation, just click on the 'Stop Recording' button.

We suggest you try recording while phoning a friend first, before taping an important call, so that you are sure your system works properly, and have practised using the controls.


Recording incoming calls

Before doing this, please make sure you've read both Legal issues and Quality issues.

In order to record incoming calls it is essential that any fax software you have installed is not running or is suspended (see How Veritape works with other things that use your modem).

Providing Veritape is running, and enabled, when the phone rings, a window will pop up, telling you the phone is ringing and offering you 2 options:

1)  If you don't want to record this call, click 'don't record', and the window will go away.

2)  If you want to record the call, click on 'Record' and pick up your phone.

Make the call as normal. When you have finished, put down your phone, and click the 'Stop recording' button. You MUST do both of these steps to hang up the call (see How it works).

When you click 'Stop recording' the window will change so you can enter the call description and save your call (see Saving calls).

If you change your mind, and decide you want to start recording a call after you've previously clicked on 'Don't Record', just right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray, click on 'Record', then click on the 'Record' button. Recording will start as soon as the modem is initialised. Don't forget that this will put a click on the line (see Quality issues).

If you want to stop recording before the end of your conversation, just click on the 'Stop Recording' button. Again, this will put a click on the line.

We suggest you get a friend to call you so that you can try recording first, before taping an important call, so that you are sure your system works properly, and have practised using the controls.


Playing back a call

To play back a call you have previously recorded, right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray, then click on 'Playback'.

A list of your recorded calls will be shown in a new window.

The list shows the date & time of the call, its duration, the direction of the call (incoming or outgoing), and any description you gave it.

Highlight the call you want by clicking on it, then use the buttons at the bottom to play it, stop playing it, or delete it.

If the call description runs off the edge of the Playback window, just click on the call and hold your mouse cursor over it - the full description will be popped up in a 'tool tip'.

You can also double-click on calls to play them.

Try it now - we've included a sample call for you to listen to.

NB You may have difficulty playing files if something else is using the soundcard (see I can't play back my call).


Running Veritape

Veritape will normally start automatically when you switch your computer on.

You can tell whether it's running by looking for the Veritape icon in the system tray.

If Veritape isn't running you can run it by going to the Start menu, then to 'Programs', then to 'Veritape', then click on 'Veritape'.

If you want to stop Veritape running automatically, go to How do I stop Veritape running?.


Saving calls

When you click 'Stop recording', provided recording had actually started, the window will change so you can enter the call description and save your call.

You can type a comment in the description box to help you identify the call later.

Clicking on 'Play' will play the call straight back.

Clicking on 'Save this call' will save the call and the comment (if any) that you have typed in.

If you click on 'DO NOT keep this call', you will be asked to confirm your deletion, and the call will be removed. There is no undo!


Future developments

This is now the second release of this piece of software, and we still have one or two extra feature we want to add.

What do you want us to put in? Email us at:

feedback@veritape.com

Veritape is free for you to use.

Veritape is free because it is supported by advertising revenue (see Advertising). There is no limit to the amount of call recording you can do with Veritape (except the size of your hard disk!).

Feel free to distribute Veritape to your friends & colleagues. Please distribute the original installation file, not individual components. If you want to distribute the program more widely, please contact us. You may not charge any fees for the program.

Check for upgrades and other information about Veritape at:

www.veritape.com

Or send an email to notify_of_update@veritape.com and we will email you when there are updates.


How it works

Veritape works by listening in on your phone line when you are on the phone.

This is just like your little brother (or sister) picking up the extension upstairs and listening in on your conversation.

It really is that simple - shortly after you press record, your modem will pick up the phone line as well, and will then start to record straight to your hard disk.

This means that when you have finished your call, you must click the 'stop recording button'. If you don't, Veritape will automatically hang up after it detects 30 seconds of silence on the line. (Please note that this does not work on all modems - we suggest you try out this feature before relying on it to hang up for you. If it doesn't work and you forget to click 'Stop recording', your phoneline may remain open, and the telephone company will keep chrging you!.)


I can't hear anything when I record

'When I click record the line phone line goes dead and I can't hear anything'

First, make sure that your phone is definitely cabled up correctly (see Setting up your cables), not plugged directly into the modem card.

If it's all cabled up correctly, it may be your phone (see Quality issues). Try a different phone if you have one.

If you have a particularly good or bad experience with your phone/modem combination, email feedback@veritape.com so we can build up our list of good/bad systems. This will allow us to support other users better, and to improve future versions of the program.


My modem won't work with Veritape

There are two reasons why Veritape will tell you that your modem is not compatible for use with Veritape:

1. It is not a voice modem. Please see the section "Are you sure it's a voice modem?", below

2. You are not running the correct drivers. Please see the section "Modem Drivers", below

Are you sure it's a voice modem?

These are sometimes called VFD (voice, fax, data) modems. Veritape will only operate with voice modems.

If you do not have a voice modem, they are very cheap these days, so you may wish to investigate buying one.

Modem Drivers

If you are fairly sure your modem is a voice modem, then it's possible that the drivers are not correctly installed. To rectify this you need to either:

1. re-install the modem, or

2. ensure that your copy of Windows is running the Unimodem/V drivers.

If you have an early version of Windows 95, the most likely fix is to install the Unimodem/V drivers (please see Unimodem/V Drivers for more information on Unimodem, and also how to determine what version of Windows you are running).

If you are running Windows 95 later edition, or Windows 98, you may have to reinstall your modem drivers. Follow these steps:

Reinstalling your modem drivers

First, find the disk that came with your modem (it may be called 'Driver Diskette' or something similar), and the installation instructions. Follow those instructions. If you do not have them, the following steps may help:

Left-click on the 'Start' button (bottom left of your window), go to 'Settings', and then to 'Control Panel'. This will bring up a window. Within this window, find the item called 'Add New Hardware' and double-click on it.

Click on the 'Next >' button twice, then when it suggests searching for non Plug and Play compatible hardware, click on the 'No, I want to select the hardware from a list' button, and then click 'Next >'.

From the list in the next window, scroll down and select 'Modem', then click on 'Next >'.

Place a tick in the box next to 'Don't detect my modem, I will select it from a list' and click 'Next >'.

Now place the modem driver disk in your floppy drive and click 'Have Disk...'.

Select your modem from the list and click 'Next >'.

Select the communications port your modem is attached to (see Which comms port is my modem on?) and click 'Next >'.

Follow any other instructions that may appear.

Click on 'Finish', and then reboot your computer before trying to configure your modem in Veritape again.


My hard disk is full

The current version of Veritape doesn't compress sound files as it records them - they use about 900kb of your hard disk per minute of recording.

If your disk is full, then you will either have to delete something else from it, or you will have to delete some of the calls that you don't need to keep anymore (see Playing back a call).

If you have some long recordings that you want to keep, but you need the space, you could compress them & save them somewhere else before deleting the original recordings - see Making copies of recordings (reg only) or Sending a recording to someone else if you are using an unregistered copy of Veritape.

If your disk fills whilst you are recording, the program will continue to run, but it will only have recorded up to the point where the hard disk was filled.


My AOL dialup doesn't work

On some computers, the AOL software is unable to dial out while Veritape is running.

We believe that the reason for this is the way AOL accesses the Windows TAPI system.

If you are having difficulties, you will have to suspend Veritape's operation (see Suspending Veritape) while you use AOL.


How Veritape works with other things that use your modem

Fax Software

Veritape should not interfere with most fax programs when sending a fax.

However, when you want to receive a fax, with some fax software, you may need to temporarily suspend Veritape (see Suspending Veritape) to allow the fax software to get the call.

If you want to record any incoming calls using Veritape, you must suspend or shut the fax software, otherwise it may claim ownership of the modem, and not allow Veritape to record (the 'Record' window may still appear, but it will fail to initialise the modem, see My modem is failing to initialise)

You should also have a look at My fax software answers the phone when I don't want it to.

Email & internet access

Veritape should not interfere with these functions at all.

One exception may be your AOL dial-up software. On some computers, the AOL software is unable to dial out while Veritape is running.

You may have to suspend Veritape's operation (see Suspending Veritape) while you use AOL. For further information see My AOL dialup has stopped working.

More information on this is included in I'm having problems with other programs that use the modem.


Uninstalling Veritape

In the unlikely event that you want to uninstall Veritape, follow these steps.

First, it is essential that Veritape is not running. If you can see the Veritape icon in the system tray, then right-click on it and select 'Exit' from the menu. Click 'OK' on the 'thanks' box that pops up.

Now that Veritape is not running, go to the Start menu, go to 'Settings' and click on 'Control Panel'. This will open the Control Panel. Double-click on 'Add/Remove Programs', find 'Veritape' on the list of programs, then click on 'Add/Remove...' and answer 'Yes'.

The uninstall process will not remove your sound files created while using Veritape.  If you want to remove them, you should use your Windows Explorer to locate the files (they are in the folder in which you installed Veritape) and delete them manually. The uninstall program will give a warning message like 'Could not remove folder - you should remove it manually' to remind you.

Please do send us some brief feedback (feedback@veritape.com) on why you are uninstalling it, so that we can improve Veritape to better meet your needs.


Minimum requirements

To run the program, you will need the following:

- A computer running Windows 95 or 98 (Veritape may work with some Windows NT or Windows 2000 computers, depending on the modem and drivers that you have)

- A TAPI-compliant voice modem (most voice modems are compliant - if you're not sure, just try it)

- A normal phone handset (certain phones may work better than others - see Quality issues)

- A phone double-adapter or two wall sockets on the same phone line (see Setting up your cables)

- Speakers connected to your computer's sound card


The answer to my problem isn't here

We're sorry - please help us fix it for others.

Firstly, please check the Veritape website and go to the Help section to see if a solution to your problem has been posted there. The Help section of the Veritape website contains solutions to problems which have been raised after this helpfile was produced, so it is more up-to-date.

If your problem is not mentioned on our webiste, then it's probably not occurred before. Please help us fix it for you and others by emailing us at

 help@veritape.com

Please include a detailed description of the problem, any error messages and what other software you use that accesses the modem or soundcard (fax software, mp3 players etc).


Quality issues

When the modem picks up the phone line (see How it works), there is a click on the line. The click is typically louder on your phone that it is for the person you are talking to.

You may also notice that the volume at your end drops. There may be a drop at the other end too, but it is not usually as big.

The size of these volume drops is dependent of the phone you are using - on some really old phones, you may not be able to hear anything once Veritape starts recording, whereas using an analogue wireless phone, the volume drops may be negligible.

If you have a particularly good or bad experience with your phone/modem combination, email feedback@veritape.com so we can build up our list of good/bad systems. This will allow us to support other users better, and to improve future versions of the program.


I want to run the quick start guide again

The Quick Start Guide is a step-by-step tutorial that guides you through setting up the program, and shows you how to use it.

It should have run the first time the program was run. If you want to run it again, right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. This will produce a menu. Left-click on 'About'. This will produce a window containing information about the program, and a button marked 'Run Start Guide'. Left-click this button.


System tray

This is the little collection of icons down by the clock, at the bottom right of your screen.


Right-click

Click using the right hand button on your mouse (as opposed to a normal click, where you use the left hand button).


Left-click

Click using the left button, as you would normally (if we say 'click' anywhere this is also what we mean).


Veritape Icon

The Veritape icon looks like this   [image]   when Veritape is enabled and like this  [image]  when it is suspended.


Suspended

This means that Veritape is still running, but will not listen for incoming calls.


Enabled

This means that Veritape is running & listening for incoming calls.


I can hear the call from my computer's speakers

Most modems play the first 10 or 20 seconds of a call either through a speaker on the modem card, or through the PC's speakers. This can be very distracting, especially if it's an incoming call and you're speaking at the time.

To fix this you need to turn the modem volume off.

To do this, left-click on the 'Start' button (bottom left of your window). Then go to 'Settings', and then to 'Control Panel'. This will bring up a window. Within this window, find the item called 'Modems' and double-click on it.

In the middle at the right is a button marked 'Properties'. Click on this. A window will appear showing your modem properties. In the middle is a panel entitled 'Speaker volume'. Move the volume slider to 'Off' and then click 'OK' at  the bottom of the window, then click 'Close' on the 'Modems Properties' window.


Suspending Veritape

In some cases, such as just before you receive an incoming call that you know is a fax, you will want to temporarily suspend Veritape.

To do this, simply click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. The icon will change from  [image]  to  [image]  , and the program is suspended.

You cannot suspend Veritape during a call - you must wait until the call is finished and then suspend it.

Don't forget to enable Veritape once you're done.

To do this, just click on the icon again, and Veritape will return to normal.


Closing Veritape

Veritape will close automatically when you shut your PC down.

If you need to close it at any other time,  right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. Then click on 'Exit'.


Sending a recording to someone else

If you have registered, (see Registration) Veritape can send your recording automatically - see Emailing a recording (reg only). If you want to keep using the free version, read on.

The sound files are stored in the Veritape program directory. This is probably:

C:\Program Files\Blue Starfish\Veritape

In here you will find a lot of .wav files - their name denotes the date & time at which they were recorded.

The filename format is YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.wav where YYYY is the year, MM is the month, DD is the day, HH is the hour MM is the minute and SS is the seconds.

If you double click on a file the standard windows media player should play it.

Once you have found the file you want to send you could just send it, but as .wav files take up ~900kb per minute, you might want to compress it a bit first.

To compress the file, open the Windows sound recorder

(Start menu | Programs | Accessories | Entertainment | Sound Recorder)

Go to 'File', then 'Open...'. Find the .wav file you want and click 'Open'.

Play the file to make sure you've opened the right one.

Now go to 'File', then 'Save As...'.

First off, change the file name to something else to make sure you don't overwrite the original file. (If you're going to use the MPEG Layer-3 format, it's a good idea to give it a '.mp3' extension)

At the bottom there is a line saying 'Format' and a button marked 'Change...'. Click it.

This allows you to adjust the format you save the file in.

It's up to you what format & quality you use. If you set 'Format:' to 'MPEG Layer-3' and set 'Attributes:' to '8kBits/s, 8,000Hz, Mono', you will reduce the file size from about 900kb per minute to about 60kb per minute. The sound file will still be just clear enough to listen to. (If you can't find the MPEG Layer-3 format, see I'm having difficulty saving things as MP3.)

Having set the format & attributes (you can use the 'Save As..' button here to save this setup for another time), click 'OK'.

You should now be back at the 'Save As' window. Make sure you have changed the name of the file and click 'Save'.

The file will be converted & saved, and you can then attach the file to an email as you would with any other file.


My fax software answers the phone when I don't want it to

If you have fax software installed on your PC, but you want to record an incoming call using Veritape, you must either suspend the fax software, or exit it, otherwise it may not allow Veritape access to the call (see also How Veritape works with other things that use your modem).


My fax software won't answer the phone

If you know the incoming call is a fax, and your fax software is running, but does not grab the call, you need to suspend Veritape (see Suspending Veritape and How Veritape works with other things that use your modem).


I can't play back my call

Some applications, such as mp3 players grab the soundcard & won't let any other applications use it. If you close these applications whilst you're playing back calls you shouldn't have any problems.


I'm having problems with other programs that use the modem

Veritape needs to use Microsoft's voice modem driver to work. This is called Unimodem/V, and is bundled with Windows 98 and later releases of Windows 95.

If you had to download (from Microsoft) and install Unimodem/V as part of the setup of Veritape, it could have an effect on other modem applications. If you experience problems with your email/modem/fax programs following the installation of Unimodem/V WHICH ARE NOT FIXED BY SUSPENDING VERITAPE (see Suspending Veritape) then please refer your problems to Microsoft support.

More information on Unimodem/V is available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/modem/.


My modem is failing to initialise

The most likely cause of this error is the fact that some other piece of software (normally fax software) has main control of your modem. You will still be able to record outgoing calls using Veritape, but when there is an incoming call, it is owned by the fax software, and Veritape cannot therefore get access to it. You must suspend or exit the fax (or other) software (see also How Veritape works with other things that use your modem).

If you only get this problem when trying to record outgoing calls, see I can record incoming calls, but not outgoing ones.

Another thing which might be causing your modem to fail in the initialisation stage is if you don't have the correct Unimodem/V drivers installed. Please see the section on Unimodem/V Drivers to make sure they are installed correctly.


Double-click

Click twice quickly using the left hand button on your mouse.


Not all the calls I recorded appear in the playback list

When you turn on your computer to start a new Windows session, you may be asked to enter your user name. Veritape stores calls BY USER. If your computer is set up to handle multiple users, Veritape does not show calls recorded by user A in the playback window of user B. If you want to play back a call recorded by a different user, you should log in as that user. Please note that whilst recorded calls are not shown to other users of the computer, they are not locked, and can be played back by any user direct from the hard disk. The call description information is not stored securely, so anybody with access to your computer can read these details, even if they log in as another user.


Which comms port is my modem on?

To find out which comms port your modem is attached to, left-click on the 'Start' button (bottom left of your window). Then go to 'Settings', and then to 'Control Panel'. This will bring up a window. Within this window, find the item called 'Modems' and double-click on it.

In the middle at the right is a button marked 'Properties'. Click on this. A window will appear showing your modem properties. The box labelled 'Port:' tells you which port your modem it attached to.


How do I stop Veritape running?

If you want to stop Veritape running each time your PC starts, you will need to remove it from your startup list.

You will still be able to run Veritape by running it from the programs menu (see Running Veritape).

To remove Veritape from the Startup menu, do the following:

If you have Windows 98, left-click on 'Start', go to programs, then to 'StartUp', then right-click on 'Veritape'. Go down to 'Delete' and left-click.

If you have Windows 95, and you don't have any users defined, start Explorer, start on the C: drive, go to 'Windows', then to 'Start Menu', then 'Programs', then 'StartUp'. click on 'Veritape' to highlight it, then press delete.

If you have Windows 95, and you have users defined, start Explorer, start on the C: drive, go to 'Windows', then to 'Profiles'. Select the user you wish to alter, then go to 'Start Menu', then 'Programs', then 'StartUp'. click on 'Veritape' to highlight it, then press delete.


I can't hear calls recorded 'hands free' or 'on speaker'

Some phones boost the output volume when operating 'hands free' - this can change the effective volume received by your modem, and may mean that your call is not recorded correctly. It is important that you test the operation of Veritape in both the 'normal' and 'hands free' modes - just because it produces good recordings when you talk into the handset doesn't mean it will work at the same volume 'hands free'.


Unimodem/V Drivers

Unimodem/V is the standard driver used by Windows to communicate with Voice modems. It uses a standard called "TAPI", which allows Windows to communicate with a wide range of Voice modems (so-called "TAPI-compliant" modems). This means that Windows communications programs can recognise most Voice modems, rather than having to have a separate "translator" for each type of modem (and there are thousands of types!).

Veritape uses the Windows TAPI standard, so your modem needs to be TAPI-compliant, and you also need to have the Unimodem/V drivers installed.

Windows 98 comes with Unimodem/V.

Later Editions of Windows 95 come with Unimodem/V.

Early Editions of Windows 95 DO NOT come with Unimodem/V.

Which version of the Unimodem/V drivers do I have?

If you are running Windows 95, you can very easily work out whether you have Unimodem/V installed. Follow these steps (these steps DON'T work for Windows 98):

1.	Open your Windows Explorer (usually accessed by selecting Programs from your Start button, then choosing "Windows Explorer")

2.	Open your C:\Windows\System folder

3.	Find the file "unimdm.tsp"

4.	Right-click on the file, and choose "Properties" from the menu which appears

5.	A new window will pop up

6.	Click on the 'Version' tab at the top of this box

7.	Look at the 'File version' information.

If the File version is 4.10.431 or HIGHER, then you do not need to upgrade your Unimodem/V drivers

If the File version is 4.10.430 or LOWER, then you need to upgrade your drivers - continue with the steps below.

[If the file unimdm.tsp does not exist in your C:\Windows\System folder, then please rerun the installation program which came with your modem.]

Note: Even if you have Windows 98 or Later Editions of Windows 95 (which come with the Unimodem/V drivers), the drivers may not be activated. If Veritape doesn't work and you have one of these two operating systems, please see the section marked "Reinstalling your modem drivers" on the page My modem won't work with Veritape.

Upgrading your Unimodem/V drivers.
Remember, DO NOT do this for Windows 98 - you may damage your system files. The first step in this process is to download the latest drivers.

1.	Connect to the internet, then click on this link:	ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/whql/drivers/win95/modem/A5582.exe - a window will pop up asking whether you want to "Run this program..." or "Save this program to disk"

2.	Select "Save this program to disk" and press the OK button

3.	A box will pop up, asking you where you want to save the file (the file is called A5582.exe, and is 194 KB)

4.	Choose somewhere memorable, like your Desktop, or C:\Temp

5.	Press the Save button after you have selected the location for saving the file

6.	The file will then be downloaded and saved in the location you selected.

7.	Once the file has finished downloading, the next step is to install the drivers:

8.	Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder in which you just saved the file (such as the Desktop or C:\Temp)

9.	Double-click the file A5582.exe - this will "extract" the drivers (i.e. several files will be separated out from the one downloaded file.)

11.	Use the right mouse button to click My Computer on your Desktop, then click "Properties" on the menu which appears

12.	Click the "Device Manager" tab

13.	Double-click the "Modem" item - the name of your modem should appear on a list below the Modem item

14.	Double-click on your modem - a Properties box will appear

15.	Click the "Driver" tab, then click the "Change Driver" button

16.	Click the Have Disk button

17.	Enter the location of folder into which you saved the downloaded file (you can Browse to find it more easily)

18.	Click the OK button

19.	Choose your Modem make and model from the list which pops up

20.	Follow the rest of the instructions on screen and complete the installation of the new drivers.

21.	You may be required to reboot your computer to finish the installation.


Advertising

Veritape is completely free for personal use. Companies who only wish to use a single copy may also do so free (see Registration).

We can do this because we receive some money from the advertisers who support the program. We use the Radiate advertising system (see the Radiate site for more info). If you don't like having the advertising, you can register Veritape, and remove the ads - see Registration.

In order to display the ads, the Radiate components of Veritape will occasionally access the internet when you have a connection open. It does this to download new ads, and to upload the data on the ads you viewed. If you want to know more about this, visit the Radiate web site - www.radiate.com.


Registration

Veritape is Freeware - that is, we are very happy for you to use this program without paying us anything. We can do this because of the advertising in the program (see Advertising).

If you wish to register there are some benefits:

You will be helping us continue the development of Veritape and other titles

You will get priority support, and notification of updates.

You will get access to the 'bonus' features:

- replacement of the ads with your company (or other) logo, or

- removal of the adverts altogether if you wish

- stop the 'Record' window sitting on top of all other windows, if you wish

- auto email of recording - Veritape automatically compresses your call into a format of your choice (see Changing the auto email recording format ) and attaches it to an email for you to send

- 'save as...' for recordings, allowing you to save your calls to a different location, and to change the file type (to MP3 format, for example)

To register, right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray, and click on the 'Setup' item on the menu.

This will bring up a window with a 'Register...' button - click this button & follow the instructions there.

You must register if your company wishes to use more than one copy.

If you want some more information on how our registration system works, read How Registration works.

If you want to register a lot of copies, please email sales@veritape.com stating your name, company, address, and how many copies of Veritape you wish to use.


What's new?

What's new since version 1.0?

- Registration system added

- You can now edit the call details

- Compress & save recording as a different file (registered users only)

- Automatically compress & email a recording (registered users only)

- Ability to remove adverts (registered users only)

- Ability to replace adverts with your own logo (registered users only)

- Ability to stop 'Record' window sitting on top of all others (registered users only)


Making copies of recordings (reg only)
Making copies of recordings

This feature is only available to registered users (see Registration). If you want to keep using the free version, have a look at Sending a recording to someone else.

This feature allows you to save a recording you made with a new name, anywhere on your computer. At the same time, you can change the format of the recording (for example, compressing the recording into MP3 format to save space).

In the playback window (see Playing back a call), right-click on the recording you want to make a copy of, then select 'Save As...' from the menu that appears.

A normal 'Save As...' window will appear allowing you to select a name and location for the copy of the recording. The original recording will not be removed from the database.

The 'Save As...' window also has a line at the bottom describing the current format of the recording, which will initially be a standard windows WAV format. You can change this by clicking on the 'Change...' button to the right of this.

When you click the 'Change...' button, a 'Choose Format...' window will appear. In here you can select any format that you have installed on your PC.

The most popular format for sound files is 'MPEG Layer-3' (normally abbreviated to 'MP3'). To save your recording in this format, select 'MPEG Layer-3' from the 'Format:' box. You can then use the 'Attributes:' box to select the settings and consequently the amount of compression.

We find that compressing to MPEG Layer 3,  8kBit/s, 8,000 Hz, Mono, gives a call which is small, but still (just!) understandable.

Play around with the setting to find the ones that suit you best.

Once you have found settings you like, if you click on the 'Save As..' button, you can save the current format into a preset, that will appear in the 'Name:' list whenever you want to change the format.

If  'MPEG Layer-3' isn't listed under the 'Format:' box, then you should read I'm having difficulty saving things as MP3.


Edit the call description

In the playback window (see Playing back a call), right-click on the recording whose description you want to alter. Select 'Edit details' from the menu that appears.

A window will appear, allowing you to change the call's description.

When you're done, click 'enter' to change the description, or 'cancel' to go back to the original one.


I'm having difficulty saving things as MP3

If you can't find 'MPEG Layer-3' in the 'format:' box list, it's probably because you don't have the MPEG Layer-3 CODEC (COder - DECoder) installed on your PC. This is not something that comes with Veritape, since it is already installed on most computers.

To get a copy, go to the 'Links' page on the Veritape webpage, where you will find links to sites from where you can download and install the MPEG Layer-3 CODEC.


Changing the auto email recording format

The default format for sending a recording by email using the auto send feature (see Emailing a recording (reg only)) is MPEG Layer-3 8 kBit/s, 8,000 Hz, Mono.

If you want to change this default format to something else, then do the following:

1. Open the Windows sound recorder, which is normally found at Start menu | Programs | Accessories | Entertainment | Sound Recorder

2. Go to 'File', then 'Open...'.

3. Find the file 'Veritape email format.mp3' within the Veritape folder (normally C:\Program Files\Blue Starfish\Veritape). (Note: To find this file, you may have to select 'All Files (*.*)' from the 'Files of type:' box)

4. Open it.

5. Now go to 'File', then 'Save As...'

6. Change the format to the desired one, and save the file in the same location, with the same name - 'Veritape email format' and an extension to match the new file type (such as .mp3 or .wav)

7. Close Sound Recorder.

Please note that if you change the file extension in Step 6 above, you should delete the previous 'Veritape email format' file so there is only 1 of these files in the Veritape folder.

Please also note that if you get an error message that your call cannot be converted into the format set by the file 'Veritape email format' then:

1) The correct tool (CoDec) for converting your call doesn't exist on your computer

2) You need to either install the correct CoDec, or change the file format as outlined above.

3) To install the MPEG Layer-3 (MP3) CoDec, visit the 'Links' page on the Veritape website - links to installation programs can be found there.

Some further guidance on changing formats can be found in Making copies of recordings (reg only) and Sending a recording to someone else


Emailing a recording (reg only)
Emailing a recording

This feature is only available to registered users (see Registration). If you want to keep using the free version, have a look at Sending a recording to someone else.

You can use this feature to send a recording to someone by email. The recording will be compressed first to save online send/receive time. (Compressing the call will change the quality of the recording).

In the playback window (see Playing back a call), right-click on the recording you want to email, then select 'Send by email' from the menu that appears.

Providing that you have a Microsoft (MAPI) compliant mail program installed (such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora Pro or Windows Messaging) Veritape will compress the recording for you, open a new email and attach the recording to it. All you have to do is fill in the 'To:' address, add a comment if you wish, and send the email.

The default format for compressing your call is MPEG Layer-3 8 kBit/s, 8,000 Hz, Mono. You can change the format used to compress your call, if you wish - see Changing the auto email recording format.


Removing the ads

Registered users may remove the ads (see Registration).

Right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. Left-click on 'Setup'.

This brings up the Veritape setup window.

To remove the ads, simply untick the box marked 'Show Ads'. Once you have done this the other choices become available.

You can choose either to have no graphic above the forms, and therefore smaller forms (click 'Hide Logo') or you can choose to put your own custom logo in place of the ads (click 'Show Custom Logo', and see Adding a custom logo to the forms).

The final option is whether to 'Keep Record Window On Top'. If selected, this means that the record window will stay on top of any other open windows. If you untick it, you can work with other windows on top of it - just don't forget that you're recording, and that you need to disconnect at the end of the call.


Adding a custom logo to the forms

You can replace the advert strip along the top of the 'Record' and 'Playback' windows with your own graphic if you wish. This could be your company logo, or anything else that takes your fancy.

To do this, first you must register (see Registration), then you need to set your options correctly (see Removing the ads).

Having done this, you need to find the folder in which Veritape was installed (normally C:\Program Files\Blue Starfish\Veritape).

In there you will find two files: default1.gif and default20.gif. To put your own custom logo in, you need to either edit these gifs or replace them with your own. The two files must stay the same size and must stay the same names:

Default1.gif is the main graphic, and is 468x60 pixels

Default20.gif is the smaller graphic to the right, and is 120x60 pixels

If the graphics you use are any larger than this, they will be cropped from the top left.

You can use graphics in JPEG and bitmap format, but you must rename them to the names above, INCLUDING the .gif extension.

(Note: If you use an animated GIF, only the final frame will be displayed)


I can record incoming calls, but not outgoing ones

If this happens, it is possible that your modem is not responding to our default settings.

To change these,  right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. Left-click on 'Setup'. Then click the 'Modem setup...' button.

This will produce the 'modem setup' window where you selected your modem. There is an extra button here marked 'Advanced....'.

Click on this, and you will get to the advanced modem settings window, where you can choose one of five alternate settings. Select 'Alternate #1' from the pull down list and click 'OK'.

Note: You will now need to restart Veritape before you can test the new settings.

To do this, right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray and left-click on 'Exit'.

You can then run Veritape again by clicking on 'Start' (bottom left of your screen), going up to 'Programs', then across to 'Startup' (programs that start automatically when your PC starts), and then clicking on 'Veritape'.

Now try recording an outgoing call. If the problem is fixed, great, if not then you need to repeat the process using 'Alternate #2' and so on. You must restart Veritape each time.

Once you've found a setting that works, please take a minute to email us at feedback@veritape.com, telling us exactly which modem you have, and the alternate setting that worked - then we can start collecting information for future versions.

If you get right the way through the list to 'Alternate #5' and it still doesn't work, then email us on help@veritape.com, explaining exactly what is wrong and what you've already tried.


I've lost my email format file

If you got this error it's likely that you've lost a file which is used to keep your default email sound file type (see Changing the auto email recording format).

This file is called 'Veritape email format' (it can have any 3-character extension (the bit after the dot)) and should be in the Vertiape folder (normally C:\Program Files\Blue Starfish\Veritape).

If it's not there you need to replace it. To achieve this, you could uninstall Veritape and then re-install it, but it's probably easier to recreate the file yourself:

To do this, take any sound file you like (preferably a small one), save it in the format you want to use for emailing (see Sending a recording to someone else and Changing the auto email recording format). Then place it in the 'Veritape' directory and rename it 'Veritape email format.mp3' (or '.wav' if it's a wav file, etc).


How Registration works

To register, you need to know your User Tag, which is found on the 'Register...' window (accessed via the 'Setup' window).

Once you have gone through the registration process, you will be emailed a registration code. When you have typed this in and Veritape has checked it, you will be able to access the bonus features (see Registration).

Because your User Tag is specific to your PC, if you move to a different PC, or make some serious changes to your existing computer, you will probably find that your registration code doesn't work. (Try it just in case, though.)

If your registration code doesn't work, Veritape will automatically generate an email to us - complete the email and send it to us. We will email you a new registration code free of charge, normally within 24 hours.

While you are waiting for the new code to arrive, you can continue to use Veritape, but unfortunately you'll have to put up with the advertising for a day (we will try & respond as fast as we can).


My registration code doesn't work

If you are having problems with your registration code, it's probably because it doesn't match your current User Tag (see How Registration works).

There are two possible reasons for this:

a) There was a fault in the online registration process - are you sure you typed in your User Tag EXACTLY as it was shown on the Veritape Register window? Check the User Tag in the email we sent you with the one in the registration window.

b) You have changed your computer or its setup since registration.

When you enter an invalid registration code, Veritape displays an error window. If you click the 'send email requesting new reg code' button, Veritape should automatically produce an email to us for you to fill in. Once this email is mailed back to us, we will email you a new registration code free of charge, normally within 24 hours.

The email requests the following information:

- An explanation of why you need a new reg code

- The email used when registering: so that we can check you've registered

- Your current User Tag

- The original registration code (the one which doesn't work at the moment, found in our email reply to your online registration)

- The original User Tag (found in our email reply to your online registration)

If Veritape does not produce the email automatically, copy the text below, paste it into an email, fill it out, and send it to newregcode@veritape.com:

Hi,

My Veritape Registration Code doesn't work, and I need a new one.

This is because: *** delete the wrong ones, or type a correct one in ***

*** Something went wrong during registration.

*** I've got a new PC, and I've uninstalled Veritape from my old one.

*** I've upgraded my current PC, and my old code doesn't work anymore.

My current Veritape User Tag is: ***

My Veritape version is: ***

The email address I used to register is: ***

My Registration Key is: ***

My original Veritape User Tag was: ***

My name is: ***

Please send me a new registration code ASAP.


It keeps disconnecting during a recording

If this happens, it is likely that Veritape's silence detection feature is the cause.

If Veritape detects silence on the line for more than 30 seconds, it pops up a window explaining that it is going to disconnect, and gives a 10 second countdown. If you click on the 'disconnect now' button, Veritape stops recording immediately, if you click on the 'do not disconnect' button, Veritape disables silence detection for the rest of this call only.

Very rarely, a modem/phone combination causes the silence detection to come up too frequently. In these cases, it is possible to permanently disable the silence detection feature. If you do this, make sure you stop Veritape at the end of a call or you could end up with a big phone bill!! (see How it works).

To disable silence detection,  right-click on the Veritape icon in the system tray. Left-click on 'Setup'. Then click the 'Modem Setup...' button.

This will produce the 'modem setup' window where you selected your modem. There is an extra button here marked 'Advanced....'.

Click on this, and you will get to the advanced modem settings window, where you can untick the 'Enable Auto Hangup after 30 seconds of silence'.