Using Mastrly.

01

First-time setup

• Without a licence key, Mastrly runs in trial mode. Every feature is available in trial mode, but anyone who opens a sharing link hears only the first 60 seconds of each track, and the client player states this.
• Trial mode starts automatically. A licence key is entered from the storage connection screen, using Have a licence key?, or at any later time under Settings → About → LICENCE KEY.
• The key is stored on the device on which it is entered. It is therefore entered once on each computer, tablet or phone.
• Mastrly then asks for a cloud storage provider, Dropbox or Google Drive. Both are fully supported. The account should have enough free space for the mixes and masters that are to be delivered.
• After the account is signed in and the requested permissions are granted, Mastrly creates a folder called mastrly at the top level of the storage. If Mastrly has been used with the same account before, it attaches to the existing folder instead, and all previous work reappears.

Important: Mastrly can access only the files in the mastrly folder that it has created itself. Files should therefore always be added, renamed and deleted through Mastrly, and not directly in Dropbox or Google Drive.

02

Clients, projects and files

• Work is organised into clients, projects and folders, which are shown in the tree on the left of the screen. The disclosure triangle beside each item expands or collapses it, and the filter box above the tree finds an artist, project or folder by name.
• new client creates a client. Its name is set on the client’s page.
• + new project on a client’s page creates a project for that client. Every new project contains an empty folder called Files, which may be renamed. + new folder adds further folders, either at the top level of the project or inside another folder.
• Private notes may be kept on each client and each project, for example contact details or technical requirements at client level, and session notes or revision history at project level. Notes are never shown to the client. Client and project notes require the standard or pro edition.
• Files are added by selecting a folder and choosing + add files. On a desktop computer, files and folders may also be dragged onto the window. Loose files dropped onto a project are placed in Files; a folder dropped onto a project is placed at the top level of the project with its own sub-folders intact.
• The following file types are supported:
  • Audio files, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC and MP3
  • CD masters in the DDP format, either as individual files in a folder or as a ZIP file (pro edition)
  • PDFs and images
• A folder that contains audio has three tabs. PLAYER holds the track list and the built-in player, with waveform, level meters and transport. FILES lists every file in the folder, with a download button for each and an option to download all of them as a ZIP file. METADATA tabulates the title, artist, ISRC, duration and format of each track.
• Large WAV, AIFF and FLAC files are streamed: playback starts once the first few seconds have arrived, without waiting for the whole file. Smaller files are downloaded in full and kept in the local cache for subsequent plays.

03

Running order

• By default, tracks are ordered by track number and then by filename.
• To set the running order by hand, choose Edit track sequence beneath the track list and drag each track by the handle on its left. Choose Done when the order is complete.
• Reset to automatic returns the folder to the default order.
• A running order set by hand is applied to every sharing link for the project, including links that have already been sent. There is no need to create a new link.

04

Versions

• Mastrly detects different versions of the same track within a folder, and shows the version number in a pill beside each one.
• Versions are detected in three ways:
  • Files with different names but the same artist and track title in their metadata
  • Files with the same name but a different date and time
  • Files with a version number in the filename (e.g. My song v1.wav, My song v2.wav)
• Where the filename carries a version number, that number is used. Otherwise, versions are numbered by file date and time, starting with the oldest.
• During playback, clicking a different version pill cross-fades to that version without interrupting playback, so that the engineer and the client can compare takes directly. Cross-fading between versions requires the standard or pro edition.
• Playing a folder from start to finish plays one version of each track: the one with the highest version number.
• Where Mastrly cannot determine the versions from the files, they may be set by hand. Choose Manage versions beneath the track list and tick the files that are versions of one track; the button then offers Create new version group. Ticking a whole group offers Ungroup, and ticking part of a group together with another file offers Update version group. Playback stops while versions are being edited, and clicking a row ticks it rather than playing it.
• In Manage versions, dragging one version pill onto another swaps their numbers. This determines which take is v1.
• A file can be a version of only one track, so adding it to a group removes it from any group it was in before. Versions set by hand are numbered in the order chosen, are carried by the sharing link to the client, and are kept if the files are renamed.

Example: a master named Colours.wav and a revision named Colours v2.wav are not detected as versions, because only one of the two names carries a number. Ticking both in Manage versions and choosing Create new version group groups them as v1 and v2.

05

Album artwork and metadata

• A project may have album artwork, which the client sees at the top of the player and in the Mastrly Player app.
• When Detect artwork automatically is switched on (Settings → OPTIONS), a project that contains a single image, or an image named artwork or cover, uses it as album artwork automatically.
• Artwork may also be chosen by hand, using the cover button beside any image file in the FILES tab. Clicking the same button again removes it as album artwork.
• Where a track has cover art embedded in it, the art is shown in the track’s metadata. Open the folder’s METADATA tab and click ⓘ on the track’s row, then choose Use as album artwork beneath the picture. No separate image file is required.
• A change of artwork is shown on every sharing link for the project, including links that have already been sent.

06

Sharing with a client

• Sharing links are created in the SHARING panel on the project’s page. A link opens a read-only player in any browser, and needs no account or sign-in on the client’s side.
• A sharing link covers every folder and file in the project. To share only part of a project, or to give one project several links, see Advanced sharing.
• allow client to download audio files sets whether the client may download the audio files.
• message to client sets an optional note that is displayed when the client opens the link. A saved message may be inserted with apply a message template…; templates are created under Settings → OPTIONS → CLIENT NOTE TEMPLATES.
• require an access code protects the link with a six-digit code, which the client must enter before anything is shown. The code should be sent to the client separately from the link, for example by text message; anyone who has both can listen. copy code copies it, and new code replaces it.
• generate sharing link publishes the link. copy link places it on the clipboard, qr code shows it as a QR code that can be copied or downloaded as a PNG image, and preview opens it in a new tab exactly as the client will see it.
• When the download permission, access code or message is changed after the link has been published, the panel shows changes not applied. apply changes updates the existing link, and revert discards the changes. The client sees the change the next time the link is opened.
• regenerate link replaces the link with a new one; the previous link stops working immediately. delete link withdraws it altogether.

07

Advanced sharing

• A project may have more than one sharing link, each covering only the folders and files chosen for it. This option is switched on under Settings → OPTIONS → SHARING, with Show advanced sharing options. It is off by default; while it is off, each project has a single link as described in the previous section.
• With the option on, the SHARING panel lists each of the project’s links as a tab, so that they can be told apart and edited separately.
• + new link starts a new link. Each link may be given a name, such as Approval, which is seen only by the engineer.
• Under what this link shares, choose everything in this project or only the folders and files I choose. When a whole folder is ticked, files added to that folder later are shared as well. When individual files are ticked, files added later remain private until they are ticked.
• Nothing is published until create link is pressed. cancel discards the new link.
• Each link has its own download permission, message and access code, and is changed, regenerated or deleted independently of the others. Links that have already been sent continue to work unchanged.

Example: a project contains a folder of approval mixes and a folder of final deliverables. One link is created for the approval mixes only, with downloads disallowed. When the masters are approved, a second link is created for the deliverables folder, with downloads allowed and an access code.

08

The client player and the mobile apps

• A sharing link opens the client player, which carries the studio’s branding (see Settings), the message to the client, the album artwork and the shared files.
• Each shared folder appears as a tab across the top of the player, and each folder has a PLAYER tab and a FILES tab. Where downloads are allowed, Download my files downloads the shared audio as a ZIP file.
• Version pills beside a track let the client cross-fade between versions in the same way as the engineer. When List only the newest version of each master is switched on, each track takes a single row showing its newest version, and the earlier versions remain available from the pills; clicking a pill renames the row to match.
• When Show track metadata in the client player is switched on, each track row has an inspect button, which shows the client the metadata fields selected in Settings.
• If the link is protected by an access code, the client is asked to enter it before anything is shown.
• Clients may also listen in the free Mastrly Player app, available for iPhone and Android. Nothing needs to be set up by the engineer. When a client opens a sharing link on a phone, the page offers the app; branding, versions, artwork and DDP masters all carry over. Links protected by an access code also open in the app, where the code is entered once and remembered for that album. The offer is never made on a desktop computer.
• The offer of the app may be switched off under Settings → OPTIONS → MOBILE APP, in which case clients remain in the browser.

09

Starred and archived projects

• The star beside a project adds it to the starred projects list above the tree. Clicking the star again removes it.
• archive project on a project’s page moves a completed project to the Archived projects section at the bottom left of the screen. Archiving only hides the project from the main view: its folders and files are preserved, and its sharing links continue to work. An archived project cannot be edited until it is restored with unarchive project.
• archive client on a client’s page archives the client together with all of its projects. Once all of a client’s projects are archived, the client moves to Archived projects.
• Selecting a client under Archived projects shows how many of its projects are archived, and unarchive all projects restores them.

10

Embedded player

• The embedded player places a showcase playlist on the studio’s own web site, so that visitors can listen without leaving the page. It is configured in Settings → WIDGET, and requires the standard or pro edition.
• SHARING LINK sets the project to be shown. It accepts any sharing link copied from a project’s SHARING panel.
• SIZE sets the shape of the player: strip is a slim bar of similar height to other embedded players, tall shows more tracks before the list scrolls, and custom sets the height and maximum width directly.
• SHOW selects whether the cover art and a qr code are displayed. The QR code opens the full sharing page, so that a visitor can continue listening on a phone. Both are hidden automatically at mobile widths.
• CAPTION sets optional text shown above the track list.
• PREVIEW shows the real player at the chosen size, in desktop and mobile widths. copy html snippet copies the code to be pasted into the web site.

11

Settings

• The settings link at the top right of the screen opens the settings, which are arranged in tabs.
• APPEARANCE sets the colour scheme of Mastrly itself. The eye icon at the top right of the main screen also cycles through the schemes.
• CLIENT THEME (standard and pro editions) sets the appearance of the client player: the colour palette, logo, brand name, header and footer text and links. A live preview shows the result.
• OPTIONS holds the following settings:
  • ALBUM ARTWORK: Detect artwork automatically sets whether a project’s artwork is chosen automatically (see Album artwork and metadata).
  • TRACK VERSIONS (standard and pro editions): List only the newest version of each master sets whether the client player gives each track a single row. It is off by default.
  • MOBILE APP: Show mobile app invitation in mobile web player sets whether clients on a phone are offered the Mastrly Player app.
  • SHARING: Show advanced sharing options allows more than one link per project (see Advanced sharing). It is off by default.
  • TRACK METADATA: Show track metadata in the client player sets whether clients can inspect each track’s details, and the ticked fields set which details they see. Only ticked fields are ever sent to the client. It is off by default.
  • CLIENT NOTE TEMPLATES holds saved messages to clients, each with a name and a message. add template creates one and delete template removes it.
  Changes to the album artwork, track versions, mobile app and track metadata settings apply to every sharing link, including links already sent, from the next time each link is opened.
• WIDGET (standard and pro editions) configures the embedded player (see Embedded player).
• DATA sets whether tracks are downloaded in the background as soon as a folder is opened, and the size limit of the local cache, which keeps uploaded and downloaded files on the device to reduce network traffic. It also shows the storage used and remaining, and offers rebuild metadata, which restores the list of clients and projects from the folders in the storage if the two have become inconsistent.
• ABOUT sets the engineer’s name and contact details, and holds the licence key, which may be viewed, changed or deleted there.

12

Principle of operation

• Mastrly runs entirely in the browser. Audio files are uploaded from the engineer’s computer directly to the engineer’s own Dropbox or Google Drive; they do not pass through, and are not stored on, any Mastrly server.
• The list of clients and projects, and the notes attached to them, are kept in the same storage account, so that they are available on every device signed in to it.
• Generating a sharing link publishes a small description of the shared files, including the branding, message and running order, as a public file in the engineer’s storage. The client player reads that description and plays the files directly from the storage. Applying changes rewrites the description, which is why changes reach links that have already been sent.
• Deleting or regenerating a link withdraws the published description, after which the old link no longer opens.