SETUP AND INSTALLATION

I can't run the program (or the setup program) from WinZip.
You can't run BOT, or its setup program, from within WinZip. To properly install it:

• Extract all the files in the zipfile to a temporary directory.
• In that directory, run SETUP.EXE.
• After setup has completed, you can delete the zipfile and the temporary directory and its contents.

The setup program tells me to insert Disk #1. What do I do?
The setup program prompts you for the directory containing the BOT distribution. Just answer with that directory name. For instance, if you extracted bucket.zip in c:\temp, that's what you tell the setup program.

When I try to run BOT, I get an error dialog that says "Invalid Property Error".
This is usually because your system's MSGBLAST.VBX is incompatible with BOT. You can test this by replacing the msgblast.vbx file in your \windows or \windows\system directory with the one in the BOT zipfile, restarting Windows, and running BOT.

If this works, you can leave the BOT vbx in place and see if any other applications break; they may work just fine with that VBX.

PRINTING

When I try and print, the program crashes.
The most common cause of this is the use of non-TrueType fonts in your document. Go to the "Layout" screen and press the "Fonts" button. Now check each item in the dropdown box. None should use fonts like "MS Sans Serif", because they may crash BOT when printing. Instead, set all font settings to a TrueType font like Arial. (BOT isn't supposed to let you print with incorrect font settings, but sometimes Windows fools it.)

I can't print on my HP LaserJet 4.
There are two things you can try. First, make sure you're printing "Raster" graphics (from the printer setup panel), and try again. Failing that, use a LaserJet III driver instead, which works fine. It's rumored that setting the LJ4 driver to 300 dpi also works.

USING BUCKET O' TAB

How do I set the number of strings?
Click "New" under the "File" dialog.

How do I enter frets with two digits?
To enter notes greater than 9, just press Shift and the first digit at the same time, then the second digit. So "21" would be shift-2, 1.

When I enter an 8, I get a 0!
Actually, it is an 8. It just looks like a 0 because the staff line interferes with the crossbar of the 8. If you're having trouble seeing it, you can just use a slightly larger or bolder font.

ASCII files don't import properly.
BOT's ASCII importing is pretty good, but it's not perfect. The main cause of problems is extraneous text in the file. If there are mail or news headers, title lines, or descriptions of how to play the tune inbetween staves, these all need to be removed for the file to import well. Yes, this is a bit of a pain, but at least you only need to do it once, and then you can save the file in BOT format and use it from then on.