TrainPlayer-TrackLayer 6.0 Readme
Version 6.0.0, September 2014
Welcome to Version 6.0!
Over a year in development, Version 6.0 takes a few large steps forward and adds many fixes and small enhancements.
Contents of this readme:
If you have been using 5.3 or any earlier version of TrainPlayer or TrackLayer, this section is for you.
6.0 License Required
If you have a license from an earlier version, it will not work with 6.0. You can purchase an upgrade for $19. (If you are a new user who purchased the program since 1/1/14, the upgrade is free -- send e-mail for details). For more information, see How To Obtain 6.0, on the Features page.
When you start the program, until you have purchased and entered a 6.0 license, you will be running a limited-time 30-day demo. A new "nag" alert will inform you of this. Once the time expires, you can continue running the program but will be in "demo mode," meaning you cannot save or print.
The recommended way to proceed is to go to the Help menu and choose Purchase Upgrade (or click the button on the alert). This brings up a dialog which shows you the upgrade price and a button leading to a checkout page. We apologize for these hard-core sales tactics, hope you will understand and continue to support our efforts.
Changes in Car Collections
Version 6 delivers new 50-pixel sets of loads and default car collections. These replace your existing sets, which are not overwritten but renamed. This has the effect of upgrading your active environment while still retaining the old.
The installer appends "5" to two names in your Cartypes directory -- Loads, Defaults -- before it delivers the new versions. On the web, the old folders retain their names (so existing users can still get at them), and "6" is appended to the new ones. Here is what you see in your car and load choosers:
| Local | Web | Contents |
| Defaults | Defaults6 | 50px Steam, Modern, Brit Steam, Brit Modern, plus full-size Pedersen |
| Defaults5 | Defaults | Old small-car sets, including old versions of the above with "5" |
| Loads | Loads6 | 50px freight loads -- a new more compact set |
| Loads5 | Loads | Small loads not duplicated by new loads |
When you download from one of these folders on the web, the program knows where the results should go on your local drive.
Uninstalling
If you try the 6.0 demo and decide it's not for you, you will need to uninstall. The 6.0 uninstaller is available from the Control Panel or the Start menu.
The installer attempts to undo the folder renaming. This may fail, say if the contents of a folder have been modified and it cannot be removed. If you get an error message about this during uninstall, the fix is to go into Windows Explorer, locate your Cartypes folder, and rename Loads5 and/or Defaults5 folders by hand, so you end up with folders Loads and Defaults containing the old data.
For links and instructions, click here => 6.0 Download
Insert the disk in the drive, setup starts automatically. Shortly you will see the TrainPlayer DVD Installer, a little dialog with three big buttons*:
1. Install Program Files
Click this button to bring up the TrainPlayer Setup wizard, which takes you through the same installation procedure as for the downloaded version.
You may have already done this. If you downloaded the demo or program and went through the wood-grain screens of the setup wizard, then you don't need to do it again. The DVD installer dialog helpfully informs you if this is the case.
Note: if your DVD includes the Chris Pedersen Cars collection, those cars will be installed as part of step 1. They are not listed in the choices in step 2.
2. Install Data Files
Click this button to bring up the TrainPlayer Data Installer, a different wizard for installing the data files -- layouts, car collections, sounds, and scenery.
On the first screen, you are given a choice of whether you want to install the layout files to the hard drive or leave them on the DVD . (Other types of files are always installed to the hard drive.) Installing to the hard drive has several advantages: (a) the program starts up faster; (b) the layouts open faster; (c) you do not need to leave the DVD in the drive.
On the next screen, if you opted to install layouts to the hard drive, you can choose which layout sets to install. You can install your favorites and leave the rest on DVD for occasional use. Checkmark the sets you want to install and click Go.
3. Start Program
Click this button to launch the newly-installed program. This automatically closes the DVD Installer.
Other ways to start the program are (a) double-click the TrainPlayer 6 icon on your desktop, or (b) choose TrainPlayer 6 from the Start > TrainPlayer menu.
* If the dialog does not come up automatically after inserting the DVD, open Windows Explorer, navigate to the root of the DVD drive, and double-click setup.exe.
TrainPlayer is shareware. You can run it free for thirty days, after which you must purchase a license to continue. If you do not have a license, a dialog comes up every time you run the program, and the program eventually expires so you can no longer run it. (If this happens, you are welcome to write info@trainplayer.com and ask for an extension.)
To purchase a license, (a) click the Buy button on the opening dialog, (b) choose Purchase from the Help menu in the program, or (c) go to the TrainPlayer Products page on the web.
A purchase will generate an e-mail containing your assigned username and license code. Enter them into the "Reminder" dialog the next time it comes up, or use Upgrade License on the Help menu to cause it to come up. Enter the name and code exactly as given; copy/paste is recommended. (Shortcut: select and copy both lines, then paste into the Name box of the dialog and it will get both lines at once.)
Our company License Agreement is reproduced here:
-- TrainPlayer License Agreement --
Thank you for downloading TrainPlayer software. This agreement says: enjoy the program on whatever computers you have, and don’t give away your license key.If you have not purchased a license, you may use the trial version free for the extent of the trial period. The trial version does not have the full set of features of the licensed version, and comes with only a small set of layouts. After the trial period expires, you must purchase a license or request an extension by e-mail.
You may not:
Track plans from "101 Track Plans for Model Railroaders," "Model Railroader," and "Model Railroad Planning" are copyright (c) Kalmbach Publishing Co. You are permitted to use the images within TrainPlayer and TrackLayer only.
-- Disclaimer of Warranty --
This software and the accompanying files are sold "as is" and without warranties as to performance or merchantability or any other warranties whether expressed or implied. Because of the various hardware and software environments into which this software may be put, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered.
The program is not without bugs. If you find one, we encourage you to report it, and we will do our best to fix it in an upcoming version.
We no longer include this in the readme. It is now on the web: TrainPlayer Version History.
For help:
| web | www.trainplayer.com |
| info@trainplayer.com | |
| forum | groups.yahoo.com/group/TrainPlayer |
| 4200 Arcadian Dr., Castro Valley, CA 94546 | |
| phone | 707 320-4246 |