[psinkiws]

I have performed some additional tests and found that the problem only occurs when Spyware Doctor 6 (SD6) is running. I tested Hoster with AVG and SD6 running, only AVG running, only SD6 running, and neither AVG or SD6 running. The end result is conclusive that SD6 is the culprit. Even if I need to access the internet during a show, I don't think that SD6 will be necessary since AVG will protect me against viruses and spyware. Other applications with a similar demand, like playing a DVD, do not seem to be effected by SD6. Hopefully either MTU or PC Tools will find a solution to this problem. In the interim, it is something that I can live without.

On a side note, the disc was actually in good condition although I have learned from experience that a disc with a single scratch can cause problems while a disc that looks like it was through WWII reads fine. The problem was cleared up simply by stopping Hoster from playing a track, waiting for the import process to complete, and then playing the track from the beginning.
It is refreshing to know that the button (Select Image Folder) was named before the feature was fully implemented. At least I have the slide show feature to look forward to.

I have retested the same image I had tried to use in the Hoster intermission but instead placed it on my desktop. I found that, as you already stated, the controls are identical to Microsoft's existing controls. Perhaps MTU can implement a fourth option of Maintain Aspect Ratio (See MS Vista) so that the picture will take up as much of the screen as possible without being distorted. MS Vista has also added a fifth option of crop to fit screen. Funny how Microsoft can implement some cool new features for desktop wallpaper but still cannot make Windows Vista reliable.

As far as the Song Book is concerned, I think that the root of the problem is the implementation of creating the Song Book. My guess is that MTU is using a Query to copy the data to a temporary table with similar field names and identical field properties including field length. The problem arises when a field that is either near or at the maximum length for the field contains special characters as defined by the RTF spec. Each special character must be preceded by a slash character. The resulting modified data ends up requiring more characters then the field will allow thereby deleting the extra characters that wouldn't fit in the field. If, perhaps, the field length for the effected fields were either increased by no less than 6 characters or, better yet but possibly more complicated, run another query first to determine the maximum number of characters by moving the effected data to a Memo field and counting characters. Anyway, I'm sure the programmers should get the idea and may be able to come up with an even better idea.

The number of characters allowed in the Singer field does not approach the 40 that you have stated. If I enter in a song by the BookID, I am allowed to enter 21 characters in the Singer field. If I use the Search button to find a track, I am allowed to enter 25 characters in the Singer field. What am I missing in order to be able to enter 40 characters.

Thank you to everyone who posted the clarification on the use of the Skip button. I was not aware that its function was dependant on what track was highlighted. I have tested it on my own and found it to work perfectly, just as was described.

Regarding the importing of CD tracks into my library, I retested that function to try to be more specific regarding the awkwardness I was vague about earlier. I believe that some of the awkwardness that I remembered was already polished up but I did find a couple of outstanding issues. It is not clear when editing a song title or an artist name that you need to right-click on that field in order to edit it. Once you are in this Edit mode, I found that you can easily navigate to the next field by using the Tab key or the previous field by using Shift-Tab. However, I did find that two subsequent clicks of the Tab button causes the mouse pointer to disappear. The only way out of this Edit Mode trap is by clicking on the ESC key.

To everyone concerned about the continued availability of 3.4 in future releases, you have to keep in mind that MTU can only make this available if the format of the HST file remains the same. If MTU adds new features requiring the alteration of the HST structure, then 3.4 will be useless. There is one caveat about using 3.4 even now. If you were to run 3.4 using a HST file that contain BookID data (a really cool feature of Hoster 4), this data is permanently deleted. It does not prevent you from opening up the HST file in version 4 and adding new tracks with the BookID displayed however.
Lastly, I just want to say how great it is to be able to interface with a company as responsive as MTU has been. They listen to what everyone says and, whenever possible, has implemented every bug fix or feature request asked for. Perhaps if Microsoft took this approach, Vista might actually work.

The above message is a recreation (to the best of my memory) of a response that I originally created on the website. However, because of the length of the message, my session timed out before I was able to post the message and, even when I signed back in, it was too late. There was a fatal error preventing the posting and using the back button in the browser did not bring me back to my message to save it elsewhere. Perhaps someone should give a message to Jelsoft to not have the session time out if someone is actively typing in a window. For now, I have learned my lesson and created the entire message in Notepad later to be copied and pasted in the forum.

Thanks again,
Peter