MV_Concat is a small, but flexible, program which joins copies of the contents of two or more MegaVoice project folders (messages) into a single combined project folder.
Additionally it facilitates splitting a single project into two or more projects, and compiling selections from the original projects into a single project.
And now, a Rename feature which helps facilitate transition to the NGP.
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (2.0 or higher is recommended. Check under Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, to see if you have this (free) software. If you don't have it, you can download 2.0 from here).
Memory: Not known, but very little I expect.
Free Disk Space: Very little. This program is tiny (under 100 KB)!
Internet access or ability to get small files from someone who has Internet access.
Download Process
Step 1: Download & Run PC_ID
Download the (tiny 32 KB) PC_ID program from here: PC_ID.exe, then run it on each PC that you will be wanting to run MV_Concat on, and it should give you a different PC ID code for each PC. (If this process is going to be impractical for you, feel free to explain your situation via the Feedback Form and we may be able to provide an alternative). If PC_ID gives you an error when you run it, then please confirm that your system meets the Minimum System Requirements, especially the first two.
Step 2: Register
Fill in the Registration Form below (you can Tab between fields), then click Submit Registration, and respond to any responses that may come up. Do this for each PC you will be wanting to run MV_Concat on, using the PC ID codes returned by each PC. You are allowed to register on behalf of other people in your organisation.
Step 3: Verify your Email Address
For each registration, you should receive an "MV_Concat Reg #x - Verification" email within an hour of registering (where "x" is your registration number). Click the link in each email (even if the address is the same in each email) to confirm that your email address is correct.
Step 4: Wait for approval
This should happen within a week, but it can happen within minutes in some cases. Twiddling your thumbs can help to pass the time.
Step 5: After approval, Download it
If your request was approved, then you should receive an "MV_Concat Reg #x - Approved!" email. Click the link in that email to take you to the web page where you can download your personally registered copy of MV_Concat. Follow the download instructions on the web page. If your request was not approved, you might receive an "MV_Concat Reg #x - Question" or "MV_Concat Reg #x - Rejected" email. The "Question" emails contain questions for you to answer before we decide whether to approve your registration.
Step 6. Save and Run it
Save MV_Concat to your Desktop (or wherever), and it should be ready to run without further installation! See the menu items: Help > Instructions for instructions, and Help > Registration to show which person this copy is registered to. It is not until you click "Join" that the program checks that your PC is the one this software is registered for, and the Join button is disabled until you have completed the Add and Browse.
License Agreement
Both PC_ID and MV_Concat programs are provided "as is", and no responsibility is taken for any problems they may cause.
People who obtain these programs agree that they will not change them in any way and will not sell them.
MV_Concat produces files that are compatible with the Classic Ambassador and the Classic Envoy only. The Envoy needs an adaptor from MegaVoice to interface with the Scribe programming unit. MV_Concat is not compatible with the Ambassador NGP nor the Envoy Micro.
MV_Concat is a tiny Visual Basic .NET 2005 program which "concatenates" (ie: joins) copies of the contents of multiple MegaVoice project folders (messages) into a single combined project folder, making an appropriate .mvh header file. The original folders are not modified. The combined project can then be transferred from your PC to the MegaVoice Scribe. This works around the Scribe's limitation of not permitting more than one project folder on a player at one time.
In addition, MV_Concat facilitates the compiling of selections from various projects into one. Currently this process requires a little manual intervention (outside of MV_Concat), but adds extra flexibility to the MegaVoice environment. See special instructions.
Furthermore, MV_Concat can help to split a single project into two or more projects - an advantage if only a portion of a single project is needed, to fit it on a smaller capacity player, for example. See special instructions.
And now, there's a Rename feature which facilitates transition to the NGP.
PC_ID is another tiny Visual Basic .NET 2005 program. It has been written to simply generate a code, based on IDs (eg: serial numbers) on your PC. This code is generated via a one-way encryption algorithm, which means we cannot work out your IDs from it. The only thing we can work out is which IDs it was able to access. The aim of PC_ID is to generate a code which will be compared to the code which MV_Concat generates, to ensure that the copy of MV_Concat you are running is the one registered for that PC. This is intented to help prevent piracy. Feel free to delete PC_ID any time after you have run it.
Errors are probably caused by your system failing to meet the Minimum System Requirements, especially the first two. Please review them carefully, and use the Feedback form if you still have issues.
It cost us a lot of time to develop it (but I guess that that's not what you mean). The cost to you will depend on what you want to use it for. This will be decided after you have submitted a registration request. In many cases it will be free. If we want to charge you, we will discuss this with you.
You might get this message when you run PC_ID or MV_Concat. One (weird) cause seems to be if you downloaded MV_Concat by right-clicking the link in the approval email, instead of left-clicking it. I'm not sure of the exact cause, but I guess we're not on Microsoft's list of verified software publishers. This is a low-budget project, so I expect we'll be staying that way. If you don't want to see the message again, uncheck the box "Always ask before opening this file", before you click "Run".
MV_Concat's Help menu contains instructions for simply joining projects. For maximum benefit, read them slowly and carefully. For instructions on extra functionality, see these special instructions.
SIL Vanuatu came up with the concept and specifications for MV_Concat, and Terry Speirs developed both programs and this website, with some content from SIL.
Copy PC_ID to the remote PC, then run it, and type the resulting PC ID Code into the online registration form. Once approved, download MV_Concat and that copy should be able to run on the remote PC.
The short answer is: No (unless you consider the PC ID code generation to be spyware). Such malicious code could potentially be introduced on web servers, and during the download process, but this is highly unlikely. To be on the safe side, we recommend you scan the programs for viruses before you run them.
I'm so glad someone finally asked this question! This project (message) sequence number identifies the relative number of each source project, and is prefixed to each audio file name, to avoid the possibility of duplicate file names. The "=" sign is a delimiter we chose, to distinguish the project sequence number from the rest of the (original) file name (which remains unchanged). Do I need to translate this into English? Bottom line: Don't worry - it seems to work.
Sure - they've tested, approved and applauded our effort, see it being of benefit in many situations, and they even use it themselves. Ed, from MegaVoice, says: "I have had the privilege to work with the prototype model of this program, and found it to be 100% reliable in the 2 month trial in which it was used." and "...I have tried to break the program without success. I can combine messages that total more than 240MB while containing more than 30,000 files. Thanks very much for the great program. It has helped me more than I can put into words!!"