11/14/2014 8:47:53 PM

Hello!
We've been using SSP7 since 2007, but are finally in the process of upgrading. We've just purchased a new PC tower and bought the upgrade to SSP 8.1. I currently have the new PC setup as a workstation until I get everything setup.

A couple questions about the upgrade process and the SSP8 interface:

1) For importing our existing databases (song and slideshow primarily), can I just copy the files from the old PC onto a USB drive and drop them into the appropriate folders on the new PC and SSP 8.1 will auto-upgrade them, etc? Or is there a better process for moving our existing files over?

2) I've been playing with SSP 8.1 and am trying to get it setup so it is similar to how we have SSP7 setup. The big difference in interface seems to be Media Control panel. In SSP7 we have it setup to show Current and Next slides, then beside that was the item control (previous, next buttons as well as buttons to quickly access a verse of the current song). In SSP 8.1 got the Media Control panel setup to show previews, in the specified verse order, in a single row with auto-scroll centered. This replaces the Current/Next slides we had in SSP7, but the one thing I'm missing is a way to quickly select a song part that isn't currently in the order. Eg if we're planning on singing Verse 1 -> Chorus -> Verse 2 -> Chorus but during the service they spontaneously decide to sing verse 3 as well, I don't see a way for me to quickly display verse 3 without going in and editing the verse order whereas with SSP7 it would be 1 click on the V3 button. I could setup the Media Control panel or Program panel to display verses that aren't in the verse order, but I know our projectionists will find that more confusing than anything else and you still have to scroll along to find the right verse.. Am I just missing the quick verse change function somewhere?

Thanks!

11/15/2014 8:13:03 AM

1) The official line is to use the Backup/Restore Utility. This will appropriately handle any issues that may arise between SSP7 and SSP8.
I myself do the copy/paste of the SSP folders. To prevent conflicts, I only move the folders for Songs, Slides, Media, etc. Moving everything can copy data files that may cause SSP8 to have issues.

2) I too use the Media Control panel as you do. One thing I REALLY MISS is the ability to use the mouse scroll wheel to scroll through the Media Control panel (only works on multi row) to quickly find the correct part when the set order is not used. But in order to use the scroll wheel, you would still need to set the Media Control panel to display parts not in the order. Another option is to use the number keys on the keyboard. 1-9 would display that verse and the Period key would display the bridge. The Forward Slash key will blank the screen and the Asterisk key will remove the lyrics but leave the background. This option is limited to knowing which verse number is being sung. If there is another way to display non-ordered parts, I am not aware of it.

11/17/2014 11:43:53 AM

Regarding 1) If the Backup/Restore utility should work for this, but copying the files directly will also work.

Regarding 2) There is a setting in the preferences window that will show the song parts that are not included in the verse-order of the program item. Right-click on the media control panel then select Preferences.

11/26/2014 10:28:41 PM

This thread has been helpful as we are in a similar situation - currently running SSP7 on Windows XP (barely!) and will soon be getting a new projection computer that will likely be running Windows 8.

I did run a backup of all the elements we use regularly, our songs, videos, images, slideshows, programs, etc. I'm hoping that changing the OS as well as the SSP version at the same time isn't going to be too difficult. Should I upgrade to SSP8.1 on the old system and then backup? Or use the backup I have now from SSP7, install SSP7 and ensure that is all working on the new computer before upgrading to 8.1? Or just install 8.1 only on the new system and use the backup from the old SSP7?

Am I really making this too difficult?!? Thanks for any advice and guidance you can offer.

12/1/2014 12:40:56 PM

Hi Suzy.

I suggest installing the latest version of SongShow Plus (8.1) on your new system and then restoring the files that you backed up from SSP7.  Unless you are using legacy plugins, there is no reason to install SSP7 on your new machine.

I would keep the old machine around for a bit just in case you have issues with some files or something but if you backed up already then you should be good.  We test on Windows 8.1 so the new OS should not be an issue.
 

12/1/2014 3:19:55 PM

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback on the upgrade. I finally found some time in my schedule to switch us over to the new computer and get our songs, etc imported. Everything seems to work fine, will see how the service goes on Sunday.

Suzy, I copied the files directly from the hard drive of the old computer into the appropriate SongshowPlus folders on the new computer and everything loaded in without issue. As the others suggest above though, if you have a proper backup from SSP 7, probably just as easy to restore from that backup instead of manually transferring files around.


RE my other question about quickly accessing verses of a song that aren't already in the service order, Doug's suggestion to show not included verses work OK, but still isn't as easy as it was in SSP7 - I either need to have the songs expanded in the Program panel, or scroll over in the Media Panel. I'd like to put in a couple feature requests that I think would help:
1) add a Quick Access panel, similar to SSP7 it will show buttons that quickly allow you to select a verse in the currently projected song. I can see this being useful in church services that are more "dynamically planned" as it would require less scrolling to find a verse.
2) add an option for the Media Control Panel, when it is showing verses not in the verse order, add a border around those extra slides, or put a vertical separator between the verse order and unused verses. I find that currently when I have the extra slides shown and I am +ing through the program watching the current and upcoming slides in the Media Control panel, there is nothing to indicate that Verse 1 (without title) isn't actually going to be the next side I show after verse 4 without looking at the low-contrast progress bar or text "slide X or Y" below to double check it is in fact the end of the song.

Thanks!

12/2/2014 10:44:36 AM

Joel,
Glad to hear things are working.

Regarding your feature requests:

You should add these to the wish list - the link is in the tool bar near the top of the page.

12/24/2014 6:50:59 PM

I am in the same stage for our church computer. Currently we are running on SSP7 on XP. I have a new PC ready running Windows 8.1. I am planning to use the Backup/Restore utility for the migration. Is it possible to temporary license both computers with the same Projection license in case I need to go back and forth between the two computers? Our church has four different people volunteering to run SSP. I am worry that things will go wrong for a Sunday worship during the migration.

12/24/2014 8:19:21 PM

We were in the same boat, and Support had us unlock the new computer in Evaluation Mode. Unfortunately, the plug-ins are not available (specifically for us: OnLine Bible). They gave us 45 days (I think the usual is 30 days). We haven't officially switched to the new computer yet.

1/25/2015 10:38:05 AM

Posted By Hoang Pham on 24 Dec 2014 06:50 PM
I am in the same stage for our church computer. Currently we are running on SSP7 on XP. I have a new PC ready running Windows 8.1. I am planning to use the Backup/Restore utility for the migration. Is it possible to temporary license both computers with the same Projection license in case I need to go back and forth between the two computers? Our church has four different people volunteering to run SSP. I am worry that things will go wrong for a Sunday worship during the migration.

I initially setup our new computer in Workstation Mode and ensured all our imported items, etc worked. I then connected the new computer to the projector and ensured things like Powerpoint displayed correctly (so I knew I had the  displays setup correctly). Once I had those things working, I upgraded the new computer to the Projection license and it worked without issue. However, William's suggestion of doing Evaluation mode first may be a good route to go as instead.