The main requirement for Cyclef is that Windows recognize your Xclef as a drive. You know it is if, a few seconds after plugging in your Xclef, a drive letter such as F: or G: appears under My Computer.

The next issue to consider is the proper physical hookup of your Xclef device to your computer. The issues discussed here are not specific to Cyclef. Rather, they are general best practices for using your Xclef device regardless of what software you use.

USB: If you run into any problems connecting via USB, try bypassing your USB hub, if for no other reason than to eliminate one possible cause. Also, when trying to isolate a problem it may help to temporarily unplug other non-essential USB peripherals like cameras or scanners.

At the present time, Cyclef does not support having more than one Xclef physically connected at once.

For the free Trial Edition of Cyclef Explorer, go to our Trial Download page. Registered users of the full version of Cyclef Explorer looking to upgrade should use the "Registered User Login" at the top of every page on this website.

From time to time, a user will say that they could not download the file because they were asked for a username and password after clicking on the download link (we're not talking about Registered User Login here). Our downloads are not password protected, so if you are getting that message, you have some software running that is mistakenly thinking that they are. If you are using Netscape Navigator, temporarily turn of SmartDownload. Otherwise, disable any download manager software you may have running.

After download, simply double-click on the installer file. If you get a message about a CRC error, that means your download was somehow corrupted. In that case, clear your web browser's cache and download again.

To install Cyclef Explorer, just double-click the installer file. The installation process is divided into the following steps:

• License Agreement
  If you agree, click "I Agree". If not, click "Cancel".
  
  
• Select Device Support
  Check the devices you need support for, and uncheck the ones you don't. Right now there's only one choice, so choose it. :-)
  
  
• Install Directory
  Choose the directory where you'd like Cyclef Explorer to be installed. If you don't have a good reason for changing it, just leave it as the Windows-standard location for program files.
  
  
• File Installation
  The installer then unpacks, places, and registers all the files it needs.
  
  
• Install Log
  If you'd like to see all the gory details of the install, click "Show Details". Otherwise, you're done.

At the end of the install process, you may see a message indicating that some files were locked and could not be immediately overwritten and that you need to reboot. If you see this message, you do need to reboot before using Cyclef. If you don't, you may get mismatched versions of Cyclef Explorer and Cyclef Manager, which can cause problems. For more detail on this, see the following section on "Upgrading Cyclef Explorer".

The following is a list of the files installed by Cyclef Explorer, their locations, and under what circumstances.

C:\Program Files\Red Chair Software\Cyclef Explorer:
File Name	Installed when supporting
cyclef.dll	All
cycmgr.exe	All
uninst.exe	All
skins (directory)	All
httplog.html	All
cyclefhd.dll	All
C:\Program Files\Red Chair Software\Shared:
File Name	Installed when supporting
smallparser.dll	All

The installer creates a program group in the Windows Start Menu named "Red Chair Software". This group contains shortcuts to documentation, for opening Cyclef Explorer, Cyclef Manager, and running the uninstaller. Shortcut icons for launching Cyclef are placed on your Desktop. The installer also places shortcuts in the Windows Send To context menu.

If upon running Cyclef Explorer you get a Windows message saying that the file "oleacc.dll" is missing, you need to go into the Windows Control Panel and install the Windows accessibility features. The normal Windows installation process installs accessibility features by default, but in case you turned it off during install, you'll need to add it now. Cyclef Explorer needs this Windows component to enable some of the features we have for blind users.

We had mixed feelings about writing this section. Our hope is, of course, that nobody ever uninstalls Cyclef Explorer! :-)

When Cyclef Explorer is installed, an uninstall program called "uninst.exe" is automatically generated and placed in the main program directory. You can run that directly by double-clicking it or using the shortcut placed in the "Red Chair Software" program group in the Start menu. Another uninstall method, which is functionality equivalent, is to go to the Windows Control Panel applet called "Add/Remove Programs", and select Cyclef Explorer to be removed.

Upgrading from one numeric release of Cyclef Explorer to another normally involves just downloading the installer file for the newer version and running it.

Because Cyclef Explorer is tightly integrated with Windows Explorer, there are a few things you should be aware of to ensure smooth upgrades.

The main component of Cyclef Explorer is a DLL (dynamic link library) file that is loaded by Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) when you browse to your Xclef device. While this DLL file is loaded and in use by Windows Explorer, the operating system locks it, preventing it from being deleted or overwritten. Depending on how you use and navigate Cyclef, the DLL may continue to remain loaded and in use by Windows Explorer even after you close the Cyclef Explorer window.

These DLL files need to be replaced with newer versions during an upgrade. When the Cyclef installer runs, it examines each DLL file to be replaced. If a particular DLL is in use and locked, Cyclef will place the new version in a temporary location and then leave a message for the Windows operating system to replace the file the next time your computer is rebooted. If the installer finds one or more such files, it will notify you at the end of the install process and prompt you to reboot immediately. You can choose to defer the reboot until later, but you should not try to use Cyclef Explorer until after you do. The reason is that if Cyclef Manager (cycmgr.exe) is upgraded to a new version but one of the Cyclef Explorer DLL files is not because it is locked, Cyclef may malfunction because of the version mismatch.

After you install or upgrade Cyclef, you can check the file versions by going into "C:\Program Files\Red Chair Software\Cyclef Explorer" in Windows Explorer. When you get to that folder, switch Explorer to "Details" view. Then right-click on the column header area in the right pane to add a new column. The column you want is named "File Version" or "Module Version". Explorer will then display a column listing the versions of all the files in that directory.

If for some reason you run into trouble with the upgrade process and need to start again from scratch, we recommend the following process:

1. Uninstall Cyclef Explorer as described in Section 2.2.3.
2. Make sure "C:\Program Files\Red Chair Software" is empty. If it is not, manually empty it. You may have to reboot first to unlock DLL files in use.
3. If you did not reboot in the previous step, do so now.
4. Download the latest Cyclef installer and run it.
5. Reboot.

First let's define two terms. "Physically connected" means you have your Xclef device powered on and it is plugged physically into your computer via a cable or dock. "Soft-connected" means that Cyclef Explorer has established a software connection and is communicating with your Xclef device. Please keep in mind that physical connection and soft-connection are two distinct states and do not confuse them. Your device must be both physically connected and soft-connected before using Cyclef Explorer.

Do not physically disconnect your Xclef while it is still soft-connected. If you do this, Cyclef won't have a chance to save the changes you've made while using it.

The device icon displayed by Cyclef Manager in the systray is used for soft-connection. The icon appears when Cyclef Manager is running. When the LCD display on the icon is dark, that means Cyclef is not connected. After you soft-connect, the LCD display on the icon will light up blue.

Right-clicking on the systray icon will bring up a menu for the device:

• Connect Xclef - Soft-connects your Xclef.
• Disconnect Xclef - Soft-disconnects your Xclef.
  
  
• Open Cyclef Explorer - Opens Cyclef Explorer's main interface.
• Browse Cyclef Xtreamer - Opens your browser to the Cyclef Xtreamer web interface.
  
  
• Cyclef Manager Options... - Opens a dialog where you can set Cyclef Manager's various options.
• About Cyclef Manager... - Displays the version of Cyclef Manager you are running.
  
  
• Exit Cyclef Manager - As mentioned above, you should usually leave the Manager running, but if you really need to close it, this menu item will do it.

After soft-connection, you'll want to launch Cyclef Explorer itself. There are several different methods for doing this.

Once you are soft-connected, the most basic way of launching Cyclef is also one of the reasons Cyclef was created: integration into My Computer. For each device you selected for support during the installation process, a device icon will appear in the My Computer folder of Windows Explorer.

Simply double-click your device icon and you will begin browsing the contents of your Xclef. For your convenience, the installer also creates a Desktop shortcut for each device. Double-clicking one of the Desktop icons will also launch Cyclef to your device.

Another way to launch Cyclef is to double-click the Cyclef Manager device icon in the systray. In fact, this may be the quickest way because it combines the steps of soft-connecting and launching Cyclef into one double-click.

Before you can soft-disconnect, make sure all Cyclef Explorer windows are closed. Cyclef won't let you soft-disconnect if there is a Cyclef Explorer window still open.

To soft-disconnect, simply use the "Disconnect [device name]" item in the menu of the Cyclef Manager systray icon for your device. This will cause Cyclef to save all the changes you made to your Xclef.

After soft-disconnecting, just use the Windows' Safely Remove Hardware systray icon to disconnect your Xclef as normal.