The Preparation page is the first step of the Package Song and Upload Song processes.

In addition to the controls shown below, there are extra buttons which are common to all process windows.

This page offers a variety of ways to prepare your song content for successful viewing and playback on another computer.  It also activates the optional second and third steps of Protection and Publisher linking.

Controls

Title

Specifies the title of the packaged song, which will appear in the banner.

While normal songs can employ the Use Filename option to automatically provide a title, packages must have an explicit title specified, because the filename is no longer in your control once it is distributed.

If the song already has an explicit title, this appears as the default text, otherwise the filename of the song does.

Detach Styles

Specifies that any styles the song depends on are to be detached from the package.

This means that virtual events in autostyle segments will be rendered into real events in standard segments, and all tracks will have any style selections removed.

This is highly recommended, as it removes dependencies that your song may have on locally installed style files, and allows it to stand alone, independently containing all the events that it needs.

By detaching styles from your song, you avoid the problems that arise if a style you have used is not available on a destination computer, or if a different style has inadvertently been given the same name as one of your styles.

The performance of the song is not affected by detaching styles.

Join Segments

Specifies that tracks consisting of multiple segments are to have the segments joined together wherever possible.

Event segments are joined into a single segment for the whole track, with any repeat segments being rendered into real events before being joined.

Harmony segments are joined where possible to remove repeat segments and adjancent segments with duplicate values.

The result of this is to remove the segment structure you have used to create your song, and replace it with the simplest possible equivalent form.

Fix Note Names

Chords or scales in your song which are based on an accidental root note can be named in one of two ways, depending on your note name settings (eg.  C#7 vs Db7).

Unless you have set a specific root name, these may change if opened on another computer which has different note name settings, which could also impact on the formation of staff notation.

This option forces all chords and scales to use their root name as currently indicated, ensuring that they will always display this same root name wherever the song file is opened.

Optimize Velocities

It is usually desirable to have your song to play as loudly as possible, while retaining the correct balance between the loudness of the individual notes.

If none of the notes in the song are at maximum velocity, then you have some headroom to increase the overall loudness by raising the velocity of all events.

This option scans all events in your song, and raises their velocities proportionally, as far as possible, to achieve this.

Apply Protection

Indicates that you want to apply protection to the packaged song.  In this case the Protection page will appear as the next step in the process.

Link To Publisher

Indicates that you want embed a publisher link in the packaged song.  In this case the Publisher page will appear as the final step in the process.

This option is only available if the song is also having protection applied.