Getting Started

 

New Users

Now that you have registered, you have been given an empty movie database and an options database containing a set of default values. You can get started right away by configuring the movie manager options to your liking and adding your movie collection.

If you need more help getting started, you can reference the User Manual from the the Support menu or from most movie manager help screens.

To play movie files from the movie manager you must be running the movie manager through Cinema Premiere's browser. (Read below to find out more about the CP Browser)

Sharing Your Movie Collection

A user can add a 'Limited User Name' and password during registration or later from the Membership -> Account screen. If a user logs in using a 'Limited User Name' and password, the movie manager is started without Tools and without editing capabilities. The only fields that can be changed are the 'Seen' and 'Personal Rating' fields from the search results screen when the view is set to 'Summary' or 'List'. This feature is useful if you want others to be able to browse your movie collection without worrying about anything being deleted or modified.

A user can also change their user name, password and other information from the Membership -> Account screen.

Requirements

The movie manager was written to be viewed primarily through a customized browser interface (referred to as the CP browser) which requires IE 5 or greater to be installed on your Windows system. It does not have to be your default browser. You can use Internet Explorer or Firefox without using the customized browser, but you will NOT have access to the following features:

  1. Playing movie files from the movie manager
  2. Faster loading of images on the search result screens
  3. Create a text file of movies on your hard drive from the Import Txt screen

Other browsers have not been tested, are not supported and they may or may not display the movie manager correctly.

For the movie manager to function properly you must have JavaScript, popup windows and cookies enabled in your browser. Cookies are saved on the user's hard drive when the user logs in to the movie manager for two reasons. They help keep unregistered users from accessing the movie manager and they provide convenience so the user does not have to log in each time the movie manager is run. The cookies are set each time the user accesses the movie manager and will remain active on the user's hard drive for 90 days unless the user logs out prior to that. This means that the cookie will never expire as long as the movie manager is accessed at least once every 90 days. If it is not accessed for 90 days, the user will be taken to the log in screen the next time the movie manager is run.

Popup windows are required to display such things as a progress bar when importing movies from a text file and informational screens. No advertisements will be displayed in popups.

JavaScript is the client-side programming language responsible for many of the features of the movie manger such as opening browser windows, validating field input, displaying help and the parental control feature just to name a few.

For the screens to display properly, do not to override the font size and style of the web pages in IE's Tools -> Internet Options -> General -> Accessibility.

Running the CP Browser

The two biggest benefits of using the CP Browser instead of your default browser are:

  1. Image caching - In my tests of displaying 985 movies in the "thumbnail" view, it only took around 75 seconds for the initial caching of images using the CP Browser, compared to 130 seconds for IE. Without closing the CP Browser and displaying the 985 movies in the "thumbnail" view again, it only took less than 5 seconds compare to 70 seconds in IE.
  2. Playing movie files - As mentions above, to play movie files from the movie manager you must be running the movie manager through Cinema Premiere's browser otherwise nothing will happen when you click on the cover image of a movie file.

The CP Browser is free. There is nothing to install. It is guaranteed not to have any viruses or spyware. To run the CP Browser, follow these directions:

  • Log in from either the Home page or the Membership -> Login page and check the 'Use CP Browser' box.
  • A start screen will display with the ' Run or Download CP Browser' button. Press the button.
  • The File Download screen will display. You can either
    • press Run and run the CP browser without saving it to you PC
    • press Save and save the CP browser (CinemaPremiereOnline.exe) to your PC. I recommend saving it to your PC and creating a shortcut to it on your desktop. Whenever you want to run the movie manager all you have to do is click on the icon and it will take you directly to the movie manager and display your default start screen, which can be set on your Tools > Options > Miscellaneous screen.

Backing Up Your Database

After you configure your options the way you like and after you add your movies to the database, it is always a good idea to backup (or export) your database to your local PC. You can read more about exporting your database in the User Manual. You can access the User Manual from the the Support menu or from most movie manager help screens.

Using Help

Clicking on any field title on a movie manager screen will open a help window describing that field.

Clicking the Help tab on a movie manager screen will open up the User's Guide to the appropriate page.

Keeping Up-To-Date with What's New

It is a good idea to periodically check Cinema Premiere's 'What's New' page. It will help keep you informed on what new features have been added and any news pertaining to Cinema Premiere. You can access it from Cinema Premiere's home page in the 'What's New' section or from the 'Contents' section of the User Manual.