All FAQ Archives

More Payment Options Added

MEAP can now accept payments from all major credit cards via Stripe.

Payments can still be made via Paypal too.

Also the MEAP site is now SSL compliant.

Thank you.

Using More Than One Monitor with MEAP

Using two (or more) monitors with MEAP can be problematic.

This is because many of MEAP’s functions require scanning your screen to find images or buttons. For example the Export Audio Window or the Transport Bar etc. If any of these items open on your second monitor, (or in other words if any of these items do not open on your main monitor), then MEAP may fail and halt as it cannot find the required items.

MEAP could be forced to scan all monitors but this would take a very long time, cause big delays and lead to other unexpected issues. So there are no plans to introduce support for this.

The simplest way to deal with this, if you are using more than one monitor, is to setup a Workspace in Cubase (or Nuendo) that brings everything onto your main monitor.

You can save your default workspace first.

This way you can simply switch to the single monitor Workspace before running MEAP and then switch back again when done. The switching of Workspaces takes about 1 second once setup.

Thanks.

Track Naming Not Working or Other Odd Things

If you are seeing unexplained odd behavior when MEAP is working, you may have an application running in the background that is interfering with the clipboard process or the key command process.

Symptoms of this could be:

MEAP is getting the track name but then pasting %t_name% or 1_%t_name% into the Export Audio Dialog
You have all the MEAP key commands set correctly but the keys don’t seem to be getting to Cubase/Nuendo
The Stop Track name is ignored

The solution to this is very simple:

Disable your Hotkey application while running MEAP.

Or add an exception so that the Hotkey or Clipboard application does not interfere with MEAP sending key commands to Cubase/Nuendo.

Windows Tray – Where you will find most conflicting applications

Examples of applications that may interfere with MEAP:

AutoHotkey
Nostalgy
Ditto (No issue with Ditto here but potentially could interfere with clipboard)
Phrase Express

Further to this, as with many sensitive applications, it is always a good idea to stop any background tasks that may conflict, when you are running MEAP.

If anyone has any other examples of applications that are known to interfere with MEAP, please let me know and I will add to the list.

Thank you.

MEAP & Cubase 9.5 Compatibility

Cubase 9.5 compatibility: MEAP version 7.90.989 has been tested with Cubase 9.5 and is working perfectly well.

Just select Cubase 8.5 / 9 as your audio application Series and you’re good to go.

Please let me know if you come across any issues.

MEAP fails to get track names in Cubase

Having trouble with MEAP getting track names in Cubase 8 (or later versions)? Especially if it has been working fine in earlier Cubase versions?

The symptoms of this could be that you notice the mouse move to the Inspector instead of to the track that is active. Or that you notice MEAP entering odd things instead of the track name.

This is most likely because you have your Inspector open and the Solo button and background in the inspector looks very similar to the Solo button and background on a selected track.

Simple solution – CLOSE THE INSPECTOR when exporting with MEAP using Cubase 8.x (and onwards).

Solo Buttons in Inspector — Solo Button looks similar in Inspector & track list

More info:

MEAP gets track names by finding the active Solo button on the selected track and moving the mouse over to get the actual track name.

If MEAP sees something that looks like an active solo button on a selected track it will move to the first image is sees. In Cubase 8 the background in the Inspector has become very similar to the background colour of a selected track.

You can also – Read more about this in the manual.

MEAP does odd things when I use Skip Muted Tracks

Symptoms:

You have Skip Muted Tracks selected in MEAP’s Project Options area
All tracks get skipped
No tracks get exported but MEAP finishes without any error
Mouse pointer jumps around screen

You can adjust the tolerance in the ini file or use your own graphics and set the tolerance value to 1.

In the ini file:

def_coef_colour_tolerance=0.7
def_coef_freeze_tolerance=0.97
def_coef_skip_tolerance=0.97

The second setting (def_coef_skip_tolerance=0.97) is for finding a the Mute button (or the folder open / close) on a selected track. If this value is set too low, MEAP may think an ordinary Mute button is a match and skip every track..

Note: If you are having trouble with this area (skipping muted tracks, folder tracks or odd behaviour when using frozen tracks) the best way to resolve it would be to get an exact capture of your setup’s Mute Button, Folder Open / Closed and Frozen Solo on a selected track. Then set the values to 1 (exact match). The easiest way to do this is to use the MEAP SHOTS application. If you are unsure how to do this please contact support.

More Info:

The reason it is happening is that a little while ago a new way of recognising the buttons was introduced which is really clever as it allows for a large amount of tolerance. the number 1 trouble users have had over the years with MEAP was that Graphics Not Found error because their screen was not set up exactly the same way as when the MEAP buttons were captured.

Unfortunately, one of the side effects of this is:

MEAP has to scan the entire left side of the screen – on the first export only – to find that first selected Solo track. After that MEAP will only look around the previous track that was exported. But the problem is on the first export, it may find a Mute button even if not selected. This will only happen if the Skip Muted Tracks or Folder Tracks option is selected.

In the latest version of MEAP the tolerance for the Skip Selected area is much higher so it will only find an almost exact match for a selected Mute Button.

Of course the problem may now arise that your Selected Mute/Folder Button looks different from the original and will not be recognised at all. In which case we will nee to make custom graphics as mentioned above.

MEAP does odd things when I use Skip Folder Tracks

Symptoms:

You have Skip Open Folders or Skip Closed Folders selected in MEAP’s Project Options area
All tracks get skipped
No tracks get exported but MEAP finishes without any error
Mouse pointer jumps around screen

You can adjust the tolerance in the ini file or use your own graphics and set the tolerance value to 1.

In the ini file:

def_coef_colour_tolerance=0.7
def_coef_freeze_tolerance=0.97
def_coef_skip_tolerance=0.97

More Info:

Unfortunately, one of the side effects of this is:

In the latest version of MEAP the tolerance for the Skip Selected area is much higher so it will only find an almost exact match for a selected Mute Button.

What are the new Key Commands in MEAP Version 7 for?

Many Cubase 6 and 7 users may not be aware that since Version 7.67.141 of MEAP – The Export Button is actually pressed by a Key Command. This was done in order to make sure MEAP does not have to scan your screen for the Export Button on every export, hence saving time.

Some users miss how important setting up the Key Commands is. Everything MEAP does is controlled by a specific set of Key Commands that must be installed into your audio application.

Make sure you save your existing Key Commands (and Macros) by going to Cubase Key Commands dialog and saving them.

It is absolutely vital that you then select the MEAPKeysVx (where x is your audio application version) set of key Commands in the same area.

Obviously if you have any MACRO keys set up – these may interfere with MEAP’s key commands so they should be removed temporarily (this is why we saved everything above).

Once you have set up the MEAP Key Commands, do a small dummy export and see if it works.

The new Key Command for Export Audio is Ctrl+SHIFT+K and it is included in the new MEAPKeys files.

If for some reason it is still failing or you wish to revert to the old method, you can change the way MEAP presses that button:

Go to the meapdefs.ini file and look for the line:

[other_options]
press_67_button=KeyCommand

Change this to

[other_options]
press_67_button=Button

This will force MEAP to use your button graphic instead of the Key Command.

Can MEAP export folder tracks?

MEAP can export folder tracks for you.

To do this simply close all folders you wish to export and select the first folder track that you want to export.

For example, if you want to export 3 folder tracks:

Make sure the tracks within the folder are routed to your master bus (optional)
Close the 3 folder tracks.
Move them so that they are underneath each other
Set the number of exports to 3 (or use the last folder track name as the Stop Track)
Proceed as normal.

Note: You may have to adjust the colour of your folder tracks so that MEAP recognises the Solo Button.