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TKaraoke Quick Guide

How to install, launch, and use TKaraoke
Keyboard shortcuts, mouse, and remote control commands

Image provided by Microsoft.
Microsoft Remote Control Suppored by TKaraoke

 

Here are the steps to install, launch, and use TKaraoke.

  1. Download the latest version from the download page.
  2. When asked to, Save the file to your Desktop.
  3. When finish downloading, double-click on the downloaded file on your Desktop to install TKaraoke.
  4. TKaraoke will install any prerequisite software automatically. Just click Next or OK to accept the default settings. After a while, the installation process will finish. TKaraoke can now be launched from the Start menu or from a shortcut in the Desktop.
  5. The default settings selected in step (4) will install a set of "fake songs." These songs appear to be valid karaoke songs but they don't take up any space and can't be played. For this guide, we'll use these songs as our songs. In typical case however, you will use your own valid songs instead. These set of fake songs give an idea on how to name your song files so that TKaraoke can lookup the songwriter names, and the singer names automatically. By default, these fake songs are intalled to C:\Program Files\TSofts\TKaroke\Data\Fake Songs\
  6. Double-click on the shortcut named Tkaraoke on your Desktop to launch.
  7. Since this is your first time running TKaraoke, it will not load any song. Click on File-->Add Songs to tell TKaraoke where your songs are located.
  8. Browse to C:\Program Files\TSofts\TKaraoke\Data\Fake Songs and click OK.Click File-->Add Songs to tell TKaraoke where your songs are located.
  9. TKaraoke will read all vob files in that folder and sub-folders. After a while, the songs found should be shown. The number of song found is also displayed.
  10. At this point, take a look at the Options menu and other menus to get familar with the program. All changes you made will be saved for the next time you run TKaraoke. Click on File-->Exit to quit TKaraoke
  11. Start TKaraoke again by double-clicking on its shortcut on the Desktop. TKaraoke should load the Fake Songs automatically at startup. Once loaded, the songs will be shown. You can hide unwanted columns by checking the options in the Options menu. You can search by typing into the search box and hit Enter. If "Perform Search on Song Names Only" checkbox in the Options menu is checked, search will be performed on song names only. If the checkbox is unchecked, search will be performed on song names, author names, singer names, as well as song lyrics.
  12. To play a song, double-click on its name or right-click on the song and select the available options. Since the loaded songs are fake songs, TKaraoke will not be able to play them. To play your songs, click on File-->Clear Songs to clear all the fake songs and click on File-->Add Songs and browse to the folder containing your songs. Sub-folder will be included automatically.

 

Keyboard shortcuts, mouse, and remote control commands

There are primary two modes in TKaraoke. Song-selection mode and singing mode. In song-selection mode, the list of songs will be displayed and if there is a playing song, the video output of that song will be on the right side. This way, you can enter the song-selection mode to add or remove songs from the playlist without disrupting the current song being played. If you are idle for 30 seconds or more in the song-selection mode, TKaraoke will switch to the singing mode automatically. In singing mode, the video output of the song is displayed in fullscreen (except for the toolbar on the top of the screen). You can switch between song-selection mode and singing mode by clicking on the Switch button or pressing Escape on the keyboard or pressing the CLEAR button on the remote control.

Action Keyboard Key Mouse Click

Remote Button
Switch between song-selection mode and singing mode ESCAPE Switch button CLEAR
Display all available songs (i.e. clear the search filter) N/A Double-click on the search box N/A
Add song to the playlist while it is being highlighted ENTER Double-click on the highlighted row ENTER
Bring up the "Enter Song Number" feature 1 N/A 1
While the "Enter Song Number" is active, select a song Up/Down arrow N/A Up/Down button or 0 to 9 buttons (i.e. press 0013 to select song number 13)
While the "Enter Song Number" is active, the selected song will be added to the playlist automatically in 5 seconds unless the action is canceled. To cancel the selected song press: Shift + 8 (hold Shift and press 8) N/A *
While the "Enter Song Number" is active, to clear the selected song and not cancel the feature, press: ESCAPE N/A CLEAR
Toggle the audio track Ctrl + A Toggle Audio button #
Skip the current song Ctrl + N Skip button SKIP
Play the current song from the beginning N/A (will be added soon) Replay button REPLAY
To pause the current song Ctrl + P Pause N/A
Change the sound volume N/A N/A Volumn Up/Down
It's possible to enter the song name instead of song number. To enter the song name into the search box: Type in the name N/A 2 to 9. Use 0 to enter a space. Works like how you enter names in your cell phone

It's possible to enter a few characters or words of the song name and have TKaraoke display the possible song names so you can select one from the list. To activate this feature, enter the beginning characters or words of the song in the search box and press:

Search completion feature of TKaraoke

When the list of matching songs is displayed, use the Up/Down arrow key on the keyboard or the remote control to move between songs. When the song you wanted is highlighted, press Enter on the keyboard or the remote control to add that song to the playlist. To deactivate this feature without selecting any song, press the Left arrow key on the keyboard or on the remote.

Note that if there are too many songs (more than 25) matching the search pattern or there is no matching song, TKaraoke will not display anything.

 Right arrow N/A Right Arrow
To delete characters from the search box BACKSPACE N/A *

As you add songs to the playlist, TKaraoke will notice which songs you added often and build a list of your favorite songs automatically. To bring up your list of favorite songs, make sure the search box is empty (use backspace or * on the remote to delete all characters in there), press the Right arrow key.

When the search box is empty, press the Right arrow key to access your favorite songs

Note that only the top 25 songs will be displayed. Songs with higher rank (i.e. you played them more in the past) stayed on top. For songs with the same rank, their possitions are determined by the alphabetical order of their names.

 Right arrow N/A Right arrow