webCDcreator offers users the
possibility to copy files from their computer to a PC with a CD-burner
which is connected to the network. The user compiles the contents of
the CD by using the webCDcreator,
which then creates the CD. The webCDcreator
allows multiple users in the network to make use of the CD-burner.
The GUI (Graphical User Interface) is written in Java. This ensures a
high level of platform-independency. The webCDcreator runs under any
operating system, as long as it has a Java VM (Virtual Machine)
available. Examples of these OS's are Microsoft Windows, Linux, BSD and
MacOS.
After starting the webCDcreator application, the main screen will appear. At that moment, a connection request is made from the program to the server. If this request is granted, a dialog-popup will appear with information regarding the version of the program. If so required, other local information can be included in this popup (like service messages from the system administrator).
If the request is not granted, an error-popup will be shown, and the program will close itself. If this happens, it is recommended to wait a short while before attempting again. If waiting does not solve the problem, the system administrator should be notified.
In case of a default installation, everybody can use the server's functionality across the network without limitation. The system administrator can however decide to block "anonymous" access. Users will then require a login account on the webCDcreator before the application can be used. If the system administrator did indeed make this decision, a login dialog popup will appear after the initial welcome popup.
Users already having an account on the webCDcreator can enter their
username and password here. Others will have to press [ New... ] in order to choose
a unique username. Furthermore, the user is required to enter a valid email address, as the server
will send a randomly generated password to that address. After
receiving the email, users can login using the chosen username and
provided password. It can take a short while (usually no more than
several minutes) before the password is sent. It is strongly
recommended to change the password as soon as possible. To do
this, select the pulldown menu Settings
-> Password.
After a successful login, the webCDcreator is ready for use.
WebCDCreator is able to create different types of CDs and DVDs:
Choose this option if the files on the local harddisk are organized in a directory structure, and this structure has to be copied to the CD.
Use this option when a CD-image file is already available. This ISO image (which usually has .iso as a file extension) must be burnt onto a CD in a special manner in order to preserve the characteristics of the original CD, and to be able to correctly read the actual contents as it was present on the original CD. Example: Bootable CDs are often electronically distributed as ISO files.
With this option, a user can burn wave files (.wav), MP3 files (.mp3) or OGG files (.ogg) onto the CD in audio format, so normal CD-players (home, car, computer) can play these CD's. Note: WAV files only with a 44.1kHz - 16 bit format can be used.
The system administrator can decide to disable this functionality.
Use this option to create a 1:1 copy of a source CD. For this to work, a second CD-drive (usually a CD-ROM) has to be mounted as well.
Use this option to erase a rewritable media (CD-RW or DVD+RW). There are two ways to do this: the fast way (only the TOC - table of contents is erased) or the thorough way (the complete contents is erased). The fast way usually takes no longer than a few minutes.
The main screen is devided in two panes. The left
pane shows the available resources (local drives, network drives,
removable media). From there, the sourcefiles can be selected which
have to be burned onto the CD. The right pane shows the actual status
of the directory listing of the CD that is being compiled by the user, which is
intended to be written to the CD.
The available resources can be local drives, network drives and/or
removable media. It can however also be a directory on the local
harddisk of the webCDcreator. Files that are often requested can be put
there by the system administrator (templates for instance), so they
need not to be transferred across the network every time.
Above the right pane, the format of the
destination CD/DVD can be chosen from a pull-down menu. At the bottom
of the right pane, a status bar gives realtime information about the
amount of used and available space on the CD. A red bar indicates the
amount of data that does not fit onto the CD. In the case of audio
CDs, it will indicate the number of minutes (playtime). In case of
data CDs, it will show the amount of megabytes.
The directory-listing is initially empty, but can be filled in the following manners:
After the selection has been created the CD can be written.
Important: insert the CD-R after it is requested by the program.
The options you choose for the CD can have a big effect on the useability of your CD.
The volume ID is the name of the CD you will see, for example, in Windows Explorer.
For data CDs, webCDcreator will make a standard ISO data CD with the Microsoft Joliet and Unix Rockridge extensions. These extensions allow the use of long file names on CDs for Microsoft and Windows systems respectively.
Here you can set the speed at which the CD will be written. Please ensure that the CD you are writing to supports the speed you choose.
You can choose to simulate the write operation, in which case the writer will do everything normal, except with the laser off. This still requires that a writeable CD (preferably the one you are going to write on) be inserted.
After setting the desired options for the burning
session, proceed with the [ Next
>> ] button. A final warning could be shown, if a
rewritable media is to be erased. The webCDcreator
program will then copy all data to the server
across the network. The time it takes can vary from several minuts to
hours, depending the network speed and the amount of data.
When all data is stored on the server, the burner's CD-tray will open
(in case of a "tray-loading" burner) and the webCDcreator will display a popup
requesting the insertion of your media.
Due to the fact that the webCDcreator operates across a network, the burner will be reserved for your burnjob (default: 10 minutes). If no media is inserted during this time period, the burnjob will be cancelled. Reason for this behaviour is, that users can compile their CD's simultaniously with webCDcreator. The queue that this will generate will be handled by the server one at a time. By restricting the reservation period the system administrator can influence the length of the queue.
The system administrator can decide to run
more than one burner, when queues are found to be too
long. In the notification popup that appears, the webCDcreator will
also mention the sequential number of the burner along with the
reservation time where the user's burnjob will be queued. The system
administrator will have to label the burners accordingly.
Once a media has been inserted and the tray is
closed (either by pushing the button or gently pushing the tray close),
the webCDcreator will
display a progress-bar which indicates the progress of the burning
process. By pressing Details,
the messages from the burning software to the server are displayed as
well.
If the option "Offline burning" is chosen, the webCDcreator application will be
closed as soon as the burning process starts. The progress of the
burning process can still be viewed on the webCDcreator's status web interface.
Yes, just select Audio CD in the first window that appears when the applet starts.