Copyright: © 2000-2003 by H+H Software GmbH
Citation: © 2000-2003 by H+H Software GmbH


Overview
 – Overview

The CD Management program is the main program in Virtual CD. In addition to giving you access to basic functions for inserting, ejecting and creating virtual CDs, the Management program also lets you sort your virtual CDs by categories and gives you a general overview of all your physical and virtual CD-ROM drives, as well as Virtual CD scripts and Quick Copy files, at a glance.

The Management program window is divided into three panes:

•	Drive view, on the left: Shows the virtual drives and other navigation elements

•	Image view, upper right: Shows the virtual CDs detected by the Virtual CD program.

•	Detail view, lower right: Shows the contents of a virtual CD.

You can activate commands through the toolbar or through the menus in the Virtual CD Management program. Some commands can also be activated using hotkeys.


Drive View
 – Drive View

On the CD Management page of the Settings program, you can adapt the program to your preferences by defining which of the navigation elements are available in the Drive View.

You can choose from the following elements:

•	Virtual CD drives: List of all available virtual CD drives.

•	CD drives List of all available physical CD-ROM drives.

•	Virtual CDs/DVDs: List of virtual CDs sorted by category.

•	CD overview: Overview of all virtual CDs, independent of category.

•	Script files: List of all Virtual CD scripts written by the VCD Script Generator.

•	Quick Copy files:  List of all Quick Copy files.

•	Virtual CD Online: Direct access to on-line information all about Virtual CD.

	You cannot remove the Virtual CD drives element from the Drive View.

If there is a CD in a virtual drive, you can remove it by selecting the Eject command. If a virtual CD is selected in the image view, you can load it in the selected virtual drive by selecting the Insert command.

Right-click on any symbol to open a shortcut menu relating to that element:

Shortcut menu for the 'Virtual CD drives' folder:

Eject all virtual CDs	Ejects all virtual CDs from all virtual drives
Drive Editor	Starts the Drive Editor for changing the number of virtual drives

Shortcut menu for a virtual CD drive:

Insert	Load the selected virtual CD in the virtual drive.
Eject	Remove the selected virtual CD from the virtual drive.
Explorer	Opens an Explorer window showing the contents of the virtual CD.
Create Virtual CD	Starts the Image Writer for creating a virtual CD.
Drive Editor	Starts the Drive Editor for changing the number of virtual drives
Music browser...	Opens the CDDB Music Browser.
	Before you can use virtual CDs as source CDs, you need to activate the corresponding option on the Creating Virtual CDs page of the Settings dialog.
	Virtual CDs with sound files (i.e., analog as opposed to digital music files) cannot be used as source CDs.

Shortcut menu for the 'CD drives' folder:

Eject all CDs	Ejects all physical CDs.

Shortcut menu for a CD drive:

Eject	Ejects the CD from the drive.
Explorer	Opens an Explorer window showing the contents of the virtual CD.
Create Virtual CD	Starts the Image Writer for creating a virtual CD.
Properties	Shows the properties of the CD drive.

Shortcut menu for the 'Virtual CDs/DVDs' folder:

New folder	Create a new folder.
View	Shows the Local and Global Views in separate folders.

Shortcut menu for a subfolder in the 'Virtual CDs/DVDs' folder:

Reset	Deletes the selected folder.
New folder	Create a new folder.
Rename	Rename the selected folder.
Smart Virtual CD Burner	Starts the Smart Virtual CD Burner to write all virtual CDs in the active folder to a Smart Virtual CD.


CD View
 – CD View

The CD View, or Image View, shows all of the virtual CDs registered in the Virtual CD Management program. If a virtual CD is not 'registered', this simply means it has been removed from the program; it has not necessarily been deleted from your hard disk. You can add existing virtual CDs to the Management program (i.e., register them) at any time.

You can load the selected virtual CD in the selected drive using the Insert command. If there already is a virtual CD in the selected drive, you can remove it using the Eject command.

On the CD Management page of the Settings dialog, you can configure what happens when you double-click on a virtual CD here. Either:

•	the virtual CD is automatically inserted in its default drive, or

•	the properties dialog of the virtual CD is opened for editing.

Right-click on a virtual CD for a shortcut menu containing the following commands:

Insert	Inserts the selected virtual CD in the virtual drive.
Eject	Ejects the virtual CD from the virtual drive.
Reset	Deletes a virtual CD or a folder.
New folder	Create a new folder.
Rename	Rename the selected folder.
Edit	Starts the Editor and loads the selected virtual CD for editing.
Create Smart Virtual CD	Starts the Smart Virtual CD Burner
Create script	Starts the Virtual CD Script Generator.
Large symbols	Shows large symbols in the CD View.
Small symbols	Shows small symbols in the CD View.
List	Shows the CD View as a list
Details	Shows the CD View as a list with detailed information.
Music browser...	Opens the CDDB Music Browser.
Properties	Shows the properties of the virtual CD.


Detail View
 – Detail View

The Detail View is divided into four dialog pages:

•	Details: Gives you an overview of the CD without it being inserted in a drive.

•	Comment: Shows the Comment (for example, the serial number), stored for the virtual CD.

•	Properties: Lists the Virtual CD properties.

•	CD Info: Shows general information about the virtual CD.


Details Page
 – Details Page

The Details page shows the contents of the virtual CD selected in the CD View. This may include data tracks, music tracks, or both. You can start an individual file in the virtual CD by double-clicking on it or using the Open command. The file is opened with the program defined for its file type in the Explorer. If no program is defined for a given file type, the operating system's "Open With" dialog is opened and lets you choose a program for the unknown file type.

	The Open command extracts only the selected file. For example, you can view a text file in a text editor. You cannot edit the file, however, if it is part of a virtual CD container.
	Files that contain references to other files, as HTML files often do, for example, are not complete when viewed in an editor, because the files referred to (usually pictures or tables) are not extracted.

Use the Extract command to store a file in a separate location. This command opens the standard Windows "Save as..."  dialog.

	You can extract only one file at a time. You cannot extract folders or sound files.

If the selected virtual CD is a multi-session CD, as is the case for example if the virtual CD has been modified with the Editor, the Detail View shows the individual sessions.

	The last session shown is always the most recent session. When a multi-session virtual CD is inserted in a virtual drive, Windows shows the data contained in the most recent session.
Right-click on an entry for a shortcut menu containing the following commands:

Properties	View the properties of an entry.
Open	Extracts the file and opens the program corresponding to the file type.
Rename	Lets you rename an audio track stored as a sound file.
Extract	Extracts a file and lets you store it in another location.


Comment Page
 – Comment Page

The Comment Page gives you quick access to the comment stored for the virtual CD.


Properties Page
 – Properties Page

The Properties page shows all properties of the selected virtual CD.

	When the CD View shows large symbols for the elements displayed, you can read the properties without changing Views.


CD Info Page
 – CD Info Page

The CD Info page shows general information about the selected virtual CD.

	This page can also show additional information about music CDs, in particular if access to the Gracenote CDDB server is active.


Toolbar
 – Toolbar

The main commands for virtual CD management are available in the toolbar.

Network mode	Toggles the Network mode between Central and Normal.
Insert	Inserts the selected virtual CD in the virtual drive.
Eject	Ejects the virtual CD from the virtual drive.
Find	Searches your system for existing virtual CDs.
Find ISO files	Searches for and integrates ISO files.
Reset	Deletes a virtual CD or a folder.
New Folder	Create a new folder.
Up	Go up one folder level.
Create virtual CD	Run the Image Writer to create a virtual CD
Editor	Starts the Editor for creating or editing a virtual CD
View	Open a menu containing the following items: Large symbols: Shows large symbols in the CD View Small symbols: Shows small symbols in the CD View List: - Shows the CD View as a list Details: Shows the CD View as a list with detailed information
Help	Starts the Virtual CD Help program
	The button for toggling the network mode is available only if the required helper program is installed and a global configuration path is configured on the Network page of the Virtual CD Settings program.


Menus
 – Menus

All commands for virtual CD management can be activated through the menus.

File Menu

License Monitor	Starts the Virtual CD License Monitor
Exit	Closes the Virtual CD Management program

Edit Menu

Insert	Inserts the selected virtual CD in the virtual drive.
Eject	Ejects the virtual CD from the virtual drive.
Open	Extracts the file and opens the program corresponding to the file type.
Extract	Extracts a file and lets you store it in another location.
Find	Searches your system for existing virtual CDs.
Find ISO files	Searches for and integrates ISO files.
Add...	Lets you add existing virtual CDs.
Reset	Deletes a virtual CD or a folder.
New folder	Create a new folder.
Create virtual CD	Run the Image Writer to create a virtual CD
Editor	Starts the Editor for creating a virtual CD
Create Smart Virtual CD	Starts the Smart Virtual CD Burner
Create script	Starts the Virtual CD Script Generator
Drive Editor	Starts the Drive Editor for changing the number of virtual drives
Network mode	Toggles the Network mode between Central and Normal.
Properties	Opens a dialog showing the properties of the selected element.
	The menu item that activates the Network mode is available only if the respective program is installed and you have entered a Global configuration path on the Network page of the Virtual CD Settings program.

View Menu

Status bar	Shows or hides the status bar.
Detail view	Shows or hides the Detail View, which displays virtual CD contents.
Use only VCD v5 symbols	Shows only Virtual CD v5 symbols for virtual CDs in the CD View
Animation	Activates or deactivates the animation that runs when a virtual CD is inserted or ejected
Divided View	Shows the Local and Global Views in separate folders.
Large symbols	Shows large symbols in the CD View.
Small symbols	Shows small symbols in the CD View
List	Shows the CD View as a list
Details	Shows the CD View as a list with detailed information
Virtual CD Settings	Opens the CD Management page of the Settings program
Refresh	Re-reads all data and updates the View accordingly

Toolbar Submenu

Toolbar	Shows or hides the toolbar
Add text to buttons	Shows or hides the explanatory texts under the toolbar buttons

Navigation elements

Large symbols	Shows large symbols for the elements displayed
Small symbols	Shows small symbols for the elements displayed

CDDB Menu

Registration...	Opens a dialog for changing the CDDB registration
About...	Shows information about CDDB
Options...	Opens a dialog for configuring CDDB options
CDDB – The #1 CD Info Source	Starts the default browser and opens the home page of Gracenote CDDB

Help Menu

Help	Opens the Help program
Licensing	Opens a window for entering your license code to register your Virtual CD user license
Virtual CD Online	Starts the default browser and opens a page with links to other Virtual CD pages
Diagnostics	Starts the Virtual CD Diagnostics program
About...	View information about the program


Image File Properties
 – Image File Properties

In this dialog, you can view and edit specific information about a virtual CD image file, or container. This dialog has four pages: General, Comment, Statistics and Categories.


General Page
 – General Page

The General page of the Image File Properties dialog lets you edit the properties of a virtual CD.

Click on the Change icon... button to open a dialog for selecting a different icon file.

Click on the Create shortcut button to make a desktop shortcut to the virtual CD. The shortcut uses the Virtual CD command line program to insert the virtual CD.

	The "Create shortcut" option is especially handy, for example, if you have virtual CDs that you use on a daily basis.

Click on the Change password button to open a dialog for changing the password to the virtual CD.

	Virtual CD properties cannot be edited while the CD is in a virtual drive.

 Properties

•	Eject on exit:  If you do not select this option, the CD is automatically inserted into the last virtual drive it used whenever the computer is restarted or you log onto the network again.

	It is especially important to activate this last option if your virtual CDs are stored on a network. If the virtual CD is left in the virtual drive when you log out, then it is inserted again automatically when you log on again and its start program runs automatically, even if you don't start a Virtual CD program.
•	Suppress autorun when the virtual CD is inserted lets you  deactivate the "autorun" or "autostart" function for the virtual CD.

•	Description: This is the internal name of the virtual CD, shown when the CD is displayed in Virtual CD programs.

•	Start program and working directory: The start program you define here is started automatically whenever that virtual CD is inserted in a virtual drive. Enter the command that calls the program, as well as its working directory.

•	CD label: This is the designation displayed next to the drive letter when the virtual CD is shown in your Windows Explorer. The CD label can have up to 16 characters and can include letters, numbers, spaces and hyphens ('dash' or 'minus sign'). Some CD labels do have more than 16 characters. For the best possible virtual CD compatibility, however, we strongly advise against entering a label of more than 16 characters.

	If you change the label of a software CD, there is a chance that the CD application will be unable to find the CD at run time, and thus won't work. This is why the field for entering a label cannot be edited—unless you change the corresponding setting on the Creating Virtual CDs page of the Settings dialog.
•	Hotkey: Defining a combination of keys that will insert a virtual CD when pressed simultaneously (a hotkey) is a practical and convenient method for working with virtual CDs. If a start program has been defined for the CD, this is also started automatically when the hotkey is pressed.

•	Default drive: This is either a drive you defined or the first drive used with the virtual CD.

•	Active session when inserted: You can define which session is active when a virtual multi-session CD is inserted.


Comment Page
 – Comment Page

You can add a Comment of up to 2047 characters to the file properties, if desired; for example, to describe the virtual CD.

	As with other virtual CD file properties, the Comment cannot be edited while the CD is in a virtual drive.


Statistics Page
 – Statistics Page

The Statistics page shows statistics on the virtual CD.


Category Page
 – Category Page

The Category page shows a list of all folders that the virtual CD currently belongs to.


File Information Page
 – File Information Page

The File Information page shows the properties of the file selected on the Details page. The information includes file type, path, size and date.

	Because the file information refers to a container, the path indicates the label of the source CD rather than a drive.


Deleting a Container
 – Deleting a Container

When you select the Delete option, you can either delete the container (and thus the virtual CD) from your hard disk completely, or simply remove its symbol from your Virtual CD Management program display. In the former case, the container still exists on your computer and can be added to your Virtual CD program again at any time. This can be useful, for example, if you want to display only the most frequently used virtual CDs.

If you wish to delete the virtual CD from your hard disk, you have to select the option Delete the virtual CD from the hard disk in this dialog. You are prompted to confirm this choice before the container is deleted. If you do not select this option before clicking on "OK", then the virtual CD is simply not shown in the Management program, but is still stored on your hard disk.

If more than one virtual CD is selected when you activate the 'delete' function, you can click on "Yes to all" to delete all selected CDs at once. Otherwise, you have to confirm deletion for each virtual CD individually.

	When you physically delete a container from your hard disk, this includes the audio tracks and the symbol file. If a folder was created automatically for the virtual CD in question, however, the folder remains on your hard disk.


Deleting a Folder
 – Deleting a Folder

When you delete a folder from the Management program, you need to decide what should happen to the virtual CDs stored in it. The dialog box offers you the following choices:

•	Move them to the root directory: The virtual CDs are moved to the root directory and only the selected folder is deleted.

•	Exclude the CDs from the CD Management program (don't delete folder): The virtual CDs are no longer shown in the Management program, but the CDs and folder remain, both unaltered, on the hard disk.

•	Delete the virtual CDs and the folder from the hard disk entirely:  The folder and all virtual CDs in it are removed from the hard disk.


Searching for Existing Virtual CDs
 – Searching for Existing Virtual CDs

This dialog lets you search for existing virtual CD files or image files and integrate them in your Virtual CD program.

Find existing virtual CDs

The Find Existing Virtual CDs dialog lets you search your system for the following types of container files:

•	Virtual CD v4 files (*.vc4)

•	Virtual CD v1/v2/v3 files (*.fcd)

Select the desired path for the search and click on Start searching. All container files found are listed; you can select the files for the virtual CDs you would like to add to your Virtual CD Management program.

	Files with the .fcd extension have to be converted to the Virtual CD v4 format before they can be used with the new program version. All other non-vc4 formats can be integrated directly.
Find existing ISO files

The Find ISO files dialog lets you search for existing ISO container or image files and integrate them in your Virtual CD program.

	Virtual CD generally supports all ISO-format image files that are not compressed. To search for other file types, you need to enter the corresponding search argument.


Warning before File Conversion
 – Warning before File Conversion

This warning is shown only if you did not select the Copy the image files before converting them in the Find Existing Virtual CDs dialog. This gives you another chance to make backup copies of the files before conversion.

	Keep in mind that there is no way to undo the file conversion. If you do not save copies of the original files, they will no longer exist in the original format on your hard disk.


Converting Container Files
 – Converting Container Files

The Conversion dialog shows the progress of the file conversion operation. Once the conversion is completed, the virtual CD is automatically added to your Management program.

	The converted file is stored in the same directory in which the original file is located.


Changing a Password
 – Changing a Password

You can assign a password to prevent unauthorized use of a given virtual CD. Once a password is assigned, the password is required before the virtual CD can be inserted or ejected, or its properties edited. When you assign a password, you have to enter it twice to make sure it is entered correctly. We recommend using a password that is not too easy to guess. The longer the password, the more secure it is; combinations of numbers and letters are also more secure than simple words. The password is case sensitive (capitals are distinguished from lower-case letters), and can have up to 15 characters.

	The password merely protects the CD from unauthorized access; the virtual CD data itself is not encrypted.
	To remove a password, activate the "Change Password" function and delete all input from both password input fields.


Drive Properties
 – Drive Properties

This dialog shows information about a physical CD-ROM drive, and which types of data it can read.


Licensing
 – Licensing

When you first install Virtual CD, it runs in demo mode. You can use all of the program functions in demo mode, for up to 30 days. When you purchase Virtual CD, you receive a license code. Enter this code under "Licensing" to register your Virtual CD license for unlimited use of the full program functionality.


Copy
 – Copy

When you use Drag-and-Drop to move virtuals CDs to or from the Local and Network views, you can also copy the virtual CDs if desired. If you want to move a CD that exists only on the local hard disk to the Network View, you need to copy the virtual CD to a network drive as well, so that all users can actually access the CD. Moving a virtual CD from the Network to the Local View, on the other hand, does not require any other changes.


Selecting a Symbol
 – Selecting a Symbol

The Icon File defines the location of the symbol to be used for the active virtual CD.