If something doesn't work

I hear nothing

Look at voices in the second row of the window. It counts the notes that are sounding.

If the number goes up when a note should play, PianoFlex is playing, and the sound is being lost somewhere after that. Check:

• the PC's volume;
• that the Mute button isn't lit;
• that the M on the slot you're playing isn't lit, and no other slot's S is;
• where Windows is sending the sound. PianoFlex plays on the speakers or headphones that Windows uses by default. To use others, choose them in Windows' sound settings, then close PianoFlex and start it again.

If the number stays at 0, the notes aren't reaching PianoFlex. See "My keyboard does nothing" or "ComposerFlex doesn't play on PianoFlex" below.

In demo mode, the sound fades out after 20 minutes, and the yellow line says the session is over. Close PianoFlex and start it again, or enter your license key. See Demo mode and your license.

If the MIDI out box is on, PianoFlex is sending its notes to another instrument and stays silent. Click MIDI out, or a slot, to hear PianoFlex again.

If PianoFlex won't start and says "no audio output device", Windows has no speakers or headphones switched on. Connect or switch them on, then start PianoFlex again.

My keyboard does nothing

• Click MIDI in at the top of the window and choose your keyboard. PianoFlex doesn't choose it by itself the first time. After that it remembers it, and if the keyboard isn't connected when PianoFlex starts, the yellow line says so.
• If the list shows only "(no MIDI input)", Windows can't see your keyboard. Check the cable and that the keyboard is switched on, then open the list again.
• If the yellow line says the keyboard "cannot open", another program is using it. Close that program, then choose the keyboard again.

ComposerFlex doesn't play on PianoFlex

• Use the PianoFlex program, not the plugin in a music program.
• Start PianoFlex before you click Start in ComposerFlex.
• In ComposerFlex, check that Output reads PianoFlex (OSC), or PianoFlex Player (OSC) once the Player has answered.
• Look at OSC at the top of PianoFlex's window. It should show a number. If it reads Off (in yellow), another program is using PianoFlex's connection, usually another copy of PianoFlex. Close that program. PianoFlex keeps trying, and connects within a second of the connection coming free. You can also click OSC to try again at once.
• If something goes wrong, ComposerFlex's yellow line says what, and its Output names the piano it played to. See With ComposerFlex.

I hear clicks, crackles or gaps

These happen when the PC can't keep up with the sound, or on the way from the PC to your ears.

• Watch dropouts in the second row. If the number keeps climbing, click + beside Delay at the top, a step at a time, until it stops climbing.
• Close other programs that are working hard, and turn off Windows' power saving while you play.
• Switching Output to Exclusive can help too. Other programs can't play sound on that device while PianoFlex has it.
• If dropouts stays the same while you hear the clicks, PianoFlex had the sound ready in time, and the clicks are usually added on the way to your ears. A common cause is Bluetooth headphones or speakers. They can add pops of their own, and a delay of their own that you can feel as you play, which no setting in PianoFlex can shorten. For playing, use wired headphones or speakers, or a USB audio device.

It sounds distorted

PianoFlex has a limiter that holds the loudest moments just under the top, so the sound it sends out never goes over. While it is holding them back, limiting in the second row shows by how much. If it often shows several dB, turn down the volume, or the Gain slider in the Reverb & output panel, or the level of your layers.

Exclusive won't turn on

The yellow line says why. Usually it's one of these:

• another program is already using the device exclusively;
• Windows doesn't allow it. To allow it, open Windows' sound settings, open the properties of your speakers or headphones, choose Advanced, and tick the option that allows programs to take exclusive control.

Until then, PianoFlex stays in Shared mode. A MIDI file that was playing stops; click Play to start it again.

MIDI out can't open a port

The yellow line says "MIDI out can't open" and the port's name. Another program is probably using that port. Close the other program, or choose another port, then try again.

My music program doesn't find the plugin

• Ask your music program to scan for new plugins.
• Check that C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 is one of the folders it looks in.
• If you turned the plugin off when you installed PianoFlex, run the installer again and leave it on.

A preset or file won't open

The yellow line says why. Check that you're opening a MIDI file (ending in .mid) with Open MIDI….

If the yellow line says a preset's file "is damaged or was made by another version of PianoFlex", PianoFlex can't read that preset. Your other presets aren't affected. A preset file that was changed by hand, or copied from somewhere else, can cause this.

Reporting a problem

1. Click Help, then About.
2. Click Copy details. This copies PianoFlex's version and your Windows version, and how PianoFlex is set up to play.
3. Paste it into an email to [email protected], and tell us what you did and what happened.

We read every message. We can't promise a personal reply to each one, but refund requests and license-key problems always get one.