iTunes
®
Song Library
and/or
Music CD Conversion
Software Installation & Operational Instructions
Copyright © 2010 Southwestern Microsystems Inc. All rights reserved. Revision: B
General Information
We know there are many sources for music available on the web today and you are free to use any site you wish. Many people have an iTunes library collection and may want to use this music. The following instructions will describe how to use the Fre:ac – free audio
converter software to convert your iTunes song library or music CD’s to the MP3 file format. There are many similar programs available on the internet which will work for this process.
The Elegant Music System & Music-in-a-Flash require the music to be in MP3 format. No other music file formats will work.
Microsoft XP® and Windows 7® instructions available – see appropriate sections. Please take your time and follow the instructions as written; doing so will ensure your
success.
The fre:ac software may be installed directly from our supplied CD or downloaded from software developer’s website via the link on Page 4 of this document. The general website address is www.freac.org. This software is completely free; however the developer does accept “donations” on their website.
The SD card is programmed by copying the converted songs from the hard drive (C:\SD Music) to the SD card.
o If you are using a SD card that came with either the Elegant Music System or the Music-in-a-Flash Business Music System or you purchased an extra SD card from us, then look for the drive named “SD Music”. We rename all of the
SD cards we supply, so it is easier to locate the SD card once it has been inserted into your computer’s SD card reader.
o Song copying will be done once all your selected songs / tracks have been converted to the MP3 format.
o Most modern computers have an integrated full-sized SD card slot. If you don’t have a full-sized SD card slot, USB card readers are readily available and will cost approximately $10.
o The standard or full size SD card used in the Elegant Music System or Music-in-a-Flash, is the approximately the size of a postage stamp.
o Note: Do not use the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon to “eject” your SD
card; simply remove it from SD card slot. Using this icon will cause your
Table of Contents:
Fre:ac Program Installation (Win XP & Win 7)
1. Program Installation from CD or from Download link Fre:ac Software Download a. Program is on the CD and will need to be selected manually. To exit install
press cancel button at any time during program install.
i. Click “Run” button when prompted (download only) or double click on program file name “freac-1.0.19” on CD to start install.
ii. Click “Next” button for English as default language.
iii. Click “Yes” button if you agree to the terms of the license page. iv. Click “Next” button for default destination directory
v. Click “Next” button for default component install. Note unchecked items are generally used by programmers.
vi. Click “Next” button for default program shortcut / icon creation. vii. Click “Next” button to start program install
viii. Click “Finish” button to complete install and exit installation program.
Fre:ac Program Basic Operation (Win XP & Win 7)
Step1: Getting to know the Fre:ac Program – keep handy for a quick referral
Reference Key
:
1. Adds files to the “to be converted” job list
a. Adds all files in specified directory to the job list (used for iTunes library
conversion)
2. Music CD conversion - Adds songs from the CD to the job list. 3. Removes the highlighted track from the job list.
4. Clears the entire job list
5. Conversion settings – allows for customization of conversion settings 6. Starts conversion process
7. Toggle Boxes – Can select All / None / Toggle selected files / tracks for
conversion. Note individual files/tracks can be selected or de-selected by clicking on box to the left of the file/track in the job list. “X” indicates file/track is
selected for conversion.
8. Job list area – displays located song files / CD tracks information 9. General Song Information
10. Location of where the converted MP3 files will be saved or “Output Folder”. 11. Allows user to change the “Output Folder” where the file / track is saved post
Fre:ac Program - Setting up the Output Directory (Win
XP & Win 7)
Note: We recommend storing the converted music files on your hard drive because:
The music conversion process will be faster than if the music is saved directly to the SD card.
If the SD card ever dies, then you can simply re-copy the converted music without having to re-convert all the songs.
1. The following steps will direct you on how to change the “Output Folder” (item # 10) using Browse button (item #11). This procedure is done every time the “Output Folder” path with the “music genre sub-folder” needs to be changed to store a new genre of music files, (i.e. from C:\SD Music\Classic Rock to C:\SD Music\Jazz).
a. Click on the “Browse” button (item #11). b. Move right scroll bar up/down until:
i. Windows XP - You find “local disk” or (C:)
ii. Windows 7 - You find “Computer”, double click on “Computer” to
expand file listing to locate the “local disk” or (C:).
c. Click on the text “local disk” or (C:) with the left mouse button ONCE to highlight the selection.
d. If the “SD Music” / desired “Music Genre Sub-Folders”:
i. Already exist, then go to step f (on next page). ii. Otherwise, go to the next step (Step e).
e. Creating the “SD Music” / desired “Music Genre Sub-Folders”
i. Click the “Make New Folder” button at bottom of menu window.
ii. Type the following name: SD Music.
iii. Press the “Enter” Key.
iv. We recommend creating genre folders (i.e. rock, country, etc.) for your music within the “SD Music” folder created above. To do this:
1. Click the “Make New Folder” button at bottom of menu.
2. Type the desired genre sub-folder’s name (i.e. Classic Rock). 3. Press the “Enter” Key.
Fre:ac Program - Setting up the Output Directory (Win
XP & Win 7) Continued
4. You can repeat steps 1-3 as many times as necessary to create all of your desired music genre sub-folders.
v. To select desired Music Genre sub-folder as the output folder, highlight desired “music genre sub-folder name” by moving cursor
over folder name and clicking-once on the left mouse button. 1. Look that the desired folder name is in the “Folder:” box,
towards the bottom of the menu. 2. Click the “OK” button.
3. Skip to step g
f. Selecting the desired Music Genre sub-folder as the output folder, highlight desired “music genre sub-folder name” by moving cursor over
folder name and clicking-once on the left mouse button.
1. Look that the desired folder name is in the “Folder:” box
towards the bottom of the menu 2. Click the “OK” button.
g. Note: Confirm the “Output Dir:” – (Item #10), on the main program screen lists the desired directory, if not click on the “Browse” Button (item#11)
and repeat steps b, c & f to select the desired “music genre sub-folder.”
NOTE: You are now ready to begin the music
conversion process. Please refer to the
iTunes Library Conversion (Windows XP) Section
1. Start FREAC program from icon on desktop or in the Start Menu.
Note: the following descriptive steps assume iTunes was installed using the setup program’s defaults (non-custom) parameters. If your iTunes files are not found using the procedures below, you will need to locate the iTunes files manually via the file search tools in windows. iTunes general file format is .m4a
2. To select songs in your iTunes Library, complete the following steps: a. Click on the black down arrow of the “Add Files” button (item # 1)
b. Select menu item “From Directory” (item # a)
c. Click “Browse” button
d. Move right scroll bar up/down until you find the “My Documents” folder.
e. Click on the “My Documents” folder.
f. Move right scroll bar up/down until you find the “My Music” folder.
g. Click on the “My Music” folder.
h. Click “OK”.
i. Click “OK” again. The computer will now begin locating all of your music
files. Depending on the size of your music library, this could take several minutes to complete.
Note: This will insert every song found in your “My Music” folder & subfolders in to the job list. You can select / de-select each song on the job list by clicking the square box or “X” box to the left of the song name. To expand a folder, click on the “+” next to the folder name.
3. Using your mouse, click on the “X” box to the left of the song name to add / remove song from conversion job list. The “X” means the song will be converted.
4. When done selecting songs, click on the “Start” button (item # 6)
5. When conversion is done, simply copy the song files in the “SD Music\music genre sub-folder” (i.e. SD Music\Classic Rock) folder on the hard drive to the SD card and you’re done.
a. VERY IMPORTANT: Don’t copy the folder and its contents; only copy the
MP3 songs files in the folder to the SD card. If you need help, consult the
iTunes Library Conversion (Windows 7) Section
1. Start FREAC program from icon on desktop or in the Start Menu.
Note: the following descriptive steps assume iTunes was installed using the setup program’s defaults (non-custom) parameters. If your iTunes files are not found using the procedures below, you will need to locate the iTunes files manually via the file search tools in windows. iTunes general file format is .m4a
2. To select songs in your iTunes Library, complete the following steps: a. Click on the black down arrow of the “Add Files” button (item # 1)
b. Select menu item “From Directory” (item # a)
c. Click “Browse” button
d. Move right scroll bar up/down until you find the “Libraries” folder.
e. Click on the “Libraries” folder.
f. Move right scroll bar up/down until you find the “Music” folder.
j. Click on the “Music” folder.
k. Click “OK”.
l. Click “OK” again. The computer will now begin locating all of your music
files. Depending on the size of your music library, this could take several minutes to complete.
Note: This will insert every song found in your “Music” folder & subfolders in to the job list. You can select / de-select each song on the job list by clicking the square box or “X” box to the left of the song name. To expand a folder, click on the “+” next to the folder name.
3. Using your mouse, click on the box to the left of the song name to add / remove song from conversion job list. The “X” means the song will be converted.
4. When done selecting songs, click on the “Start” button (item # 6)
6. When conversion is done, simply copy the song files in the “SD Music\music genre sub-folder” (i.e. SD Music\Classic Rock) folder on the hard drive to the SD card and you’re done.
a. VERY IMPORTANT: Don’t copy the folder and its contents; only copy the
MP3 songs files in the folder to the SD card. If you need help, consult the
Music CD Conversion (Win XP & Win 7)
1. Start FREAC program from icon on desktop or in the Start Menu. 2. Select your CD Songs
a. Click on the “Music CD” button (item # 2)
b. Using your mouse, click on the box to the left of the song name to add / remove song from conversion job list.
3. When done selecting songs, click on the “Start” button (item # 6)
7. When conversion is done, simply copy the song files in the “SD Music\music genre sub-folder” (i.e. SD Music\Classic Rock) folder on the hard drive to the SD card and you’re done.
a. VERY IMPORTANT: Don’t copy the folder and its contents; only copy the
MP3 songs files in the folder to the SD card. If you need help, consult the
That is all there is to convert your iTunes library / Music CDs to MP3 format. We recommend when you convert your iTunes Library or Music CDs; convert all of a
genre at one time. You may want to create genre folders in the output folder “SD Music” to sort your music.
As always, if you have any questions, please contact us. Our contact
information is available on our website or by email at [email protected].
