Dimension Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

List of questions and answers about the Dimension family of synthesizers.

Installation Questions

Where can I find my serial number and registration code?

Logon to your Cakewalk online store account and use the "My Registrations" option to find the information.

Why can't I enter my registration code when I run the instrument in Windows?

You might be running Windows 7 or Windows Vista and have encountered an issue between the instrument software and the Windows User Account Control security feature of Windows. Try running the instrument or the host with the "Run As Administrator" option. This can be done by right-clicking on the icon shortcut and selecting the option from the context menu. This can be set permanently for each individual shortcut to the instrument or host by using the properties advanced options.

Why can't I install Dimension Pro in my language on Mac OS X?

There is a known problem with the Dimension Pro 1.0x installers that prevents users from installing into Mac OS X language environments other than English, French, Spanish, or German. See Cakewalk's support article for a work around for this issue.

Why won't Dimension accept my serial number under OS X?

Cakewalk lists three causes and solutions for this in their knowledgebase article Serial Number not Accepted under OSX.

Can I install the large multisample library for Dimension to a location of my choosing?

Yes, the installer will allow you to select an alternate drive and path if you wish. Additionally, there is a manual method for moving the library to a different location later if you decide to do so after you've already installed; on Windows it involves manually moving the library to its new home and then editing a registry key to specify the new path. On OS X it is done by editing the /Library/Preferences/com.cakewalk.Dimension Pro.plist file and changing the "Contents Folder" string and "Multisamples Folder" string appropriately.

Can I install Dimension Pro without installing the sound library?

It can be done but it is a bit of a hack--on Windows:

Copy the file DimensionProSetup.exe from the installation DVD1 to your hard disk.
Run the copied file from the hard disk.
Select all installation options, and when asked for the Multisamples folder point the installer to your current Multisamples folder, if any, or anywhere if you don't plan to have a \Multisamples folder or it's not available (i.e. net drives).
When the installer asks for "Insert DVD2", stubbornly hit "OK' four times. The installer will proceed after that and will complete the installation.

How do I copy my installation DVD(s)?

You can copy the contents of the DVDs to your hard drive using your regular operating system file copying utilies and methods. If you want to burn a copy of the DVDs you'll need to use dual-layer discs that can hold more than 4GB of content.

Can multiple versions of Dimension be kept installed on one computer?

Yes and no. On Windows Dimension Pro and Dimension LE can co-exist just fine as separate editions because they have different registrations in the operating system. But updates should overwrite older versions of the same edition, but when the update is applied to a different location than the original installation then there may be a mix of two different sets of Dimension Pro .DLL files on your system and this could pose problems.

Are the Dimension updaters cumulative?

No, their content varies. New updates do not necessarily care the same content as previous updates. You should apply each available update in sequence if your version of Dimension is behind. The updates are freely available from Cakewalk's support web site. We have a list of updates and links to them on this site's update section.

Why is Dimension Pro out of tune?

This is not a problem with the Dimension software itself. Instead, some of the bass samples (or possibly other bass samples) that were supplied to Cakewalk and included in the Dimension products have been found to be slightly out of tune themselves right in the reocrded samples. Because of this Dimension cannot be programmed to globally correct the tuning problem. Cakewalk is aware of the issue and has some ideas to fix it, but they have cited that just fixing it will cause other problems. It is possible that new bass sounds will be made available as a new expansion pack to be used in place of the original out-of-tune samples for those who want to resolve this issue.

Is there a DXi version of Dimension Pro/LE 1.5? I can only find the VSTi.

Cakewalk has officially dropped development of the DXi versions of Dimension with the introduction of the 1.5 update. So to use the DXi you'll have to continue using the old version 1.2 or earlier instead. Only the VSTi versions are available with 1.5 and later.

Is Dimension Pro/LE 32-bit or 64-bit software?

Dimension started life as 32-bit in the Project5 DAW platform from Cakewalk. Some short time later it was released as a standalone product called Dimension Pro, and later still the Dimension LE was released as a limited edition product. The 1.2 update of Dimension Pro added 64-bit support so you could run Dimension Pro as a 32bit DXi and VSTi, or as a 64-bit DXi. But with the 1.5 update then you can run 32-bit Dimension Pro/LE VSTi or 64-bit Dimension Pro/LE VSTi 64-bit (the 64-bit DXi was dropped).

General Usage Quesions

Why can't I find in the program browser the new expansion packs I just installed?

You need to refresh the program browser by pressing F5 on the computer keyboard. The program browser maintains a cached list of programs and is not updated automatically when new sounds are installed. Pressing F5 forces the cache to be rebuilt.

Where can I find more sounds for Dimension?

There are a lot of expansion packs available and more are being released. Most online music retail stores that carry Cakewalk products will have a variety of Dimension-specific expansion packs available for sale, and so does the Cakewalk store. There are free expansion packs available from Cakewalk as well. Check out the short list of popular expansion packs on this site for some ideas.

Can I run Dimension as a multitimbral instrument instead of having to use multiple instances?

Dimension LE does not have any multitimbral capability exposed to its user interface.

Dimension Pro has four elements that can be configured in "multitimbral mode" by clicking the instrument options button just to the right of the program name at the top of the instrument, but it is rather limited. With the option disabled (default) the elements all receive on the same channel from the host, but with the option enabled all elements (1-4) are respectively set to receive MIDI from channels 1 through 4.

However, some programs are designed to use multiple elements, so this is just not feasible to use all the time. Dimension Pro is designed efficiently--when you open multiple instances in different tracks, only ONE copy of the program actually resides in memory and only one copy of each multisample set is opened (even if the multiple instances are each using the same sample set). So you shouldn't have to worry about resource over-utilization problems running multiple instances of Dimension Pro.

Is there an online help in Dimension?

With the Dimension GUI interface active, press the F1 key on your computer keyboard. This will launch the online help from within Dimension.

Why do some Dimension programs not sound on all keys?

The multisamples were intentially limited to realistic instrument ranges on some of the programs. You could modify the .sfz files to extend the mappings if you desire.

Why don't I have all the octaves on my bass sounds?

The multisamples are not necessarily mapped to all keys on the keyboard and this varies by program. You may also need to shift octaves on your keyboard as the bass sounds might be an octave higher or lower on your keyboard mapping than you expected.

Can I run Dimension Pro standalone?

Yes. The original Dimension Pro release did not include a microhost, but one was "unofficially" made available for it as a separate download. Later versions of Dimension Pro and Dimension LE include a microhost in the default installation. See the update section of this website for a link to download the microhost for the older Dimension Pro that was released without it.

How do I find the version number of Dimension Pro/LE?

There are two ways to do this. The first is to launch and instance of the instrument then click on the logo in the instance's graphical user interface. The other is to locate the DLL (on Windows) in the file system, right-click, and view the version properties.

What is the different between Dimension LE and Dimension Pro?

Dimension LE is a limited edition. It can be purchased as a low-cost standalone product and it is bundled (or downloadable for free) with some other Cakewalk purhcased products (like SONAR or Dimension Expansion Packs). The graphical user interface is simpler with few features and controls than Dimension Pro.

Dimension Pro has the motherload of features. It is bigger brother product. The graphical user interface is more complex and programmable and it has additional features.

How do I change banks or programs in Dimension Pro/LE from a MIDI track?

Dimension Pro/LE ignores MIDI bank select and MIDI program select messages. It is sample playback engine system that loads its samples from disk when an instance is launched and a program selected. The answer is you can't do it. And with modern sequencers it is not necessary because you can easily run multiple MIDI tracks and multiple instances of Dimension Pro/LE instead.

What are the various file types used by Dimension?

In terms of data files there is:

.wav, .ogg, .rex, aif: These are binary audio sample files that contain actual sounds and loops.
.sfz: SFZ files are text files containing directives. Dimension uses these directives to map samples across the keyboard, define regions, groups, tuning, looping, and many other powerful features. The SFZ format combined with its audio processing engine is what makes Dimension powerful and unique as a synthesizer and sample player. The SFZ files do not contain any binary audio data at all.
.elem: These are binary element files which are used to save per-element settings. They do not contain any audio data.
.prog: These are binary program files used to save entire programs which might be made up of one or more elements, sfz files, and audio files. However, like .sfz and .elem files these do not contain the actual audio samples.

Dimension also has DLL files, help files, HTML resources, image resources, etc. in its program and content folders.

Where are these registry keys I keep hearing about regarding Dimension?

On Windows, the Dimension family of synthesizers looks at a main product key to pull in configuration information about itself. Configuration options may tell it where to locate audio files, resource files, Sinc settings, etc. Each edition has these keys in different places:

Dimension (Project5): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Dimension
Dimension LE (1.0 - 1.2): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Dimension LE
Dimension LE (1.5): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\dple
Dimension Pro (1.0 - 1.2): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\Dimension Pro
Dimension Pro (1.5): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cakewalk Music Software\dp

You may use the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe) to locate and manipulate these keys if necessary.

Problems

Why am I receiving "Error uncompressing program data - program load failed" when I try to open a program?

This error message appears when you attempt to open a program in an older version of Dimension but which was created by a newer version. This can happen when an upgrade has take place at some point but the there is still and old Dimension .dll file being referenced by your system instead of the new .dll file from the update. Basically, you need to remove all the old .dll files and make sure that they have been properly replaced by the updated versions. Cakewalk has some instructions for addressing this issue at their support web site.

Why am I receiving "Multisample Not Found" when I try to open a program?

This means that Dimension is unable to any multisamples at the path to which it was directed to find them. On Windows Dimension looks up a key value in the registry to determine what disk and folder to look in for multisamples. On Macs it uses a plist resource file to do the same. On either platform it throws this error when the location specificed in the registry or plist does not contain the expected files.

There may be a variety of reasons for this including: you've moved the multisample library to a different location but the pointers in the registry or plist have not been updated to reflect this change; you're using an external drive and have plugged it into a different port (on Windows this can cause Windows to reference the drive by a different drive letter); file system damage; or the registry value or plist value has been changed to point to a location but the library was never moved to that location.

To resolve the problem you need to make sure that the difference between the pointers to the library and the actual location of the library are brought into sync.

On Windows, why are my expansion packs missing after I installed them?

This can happen when installing or re-installing older expansion packs that were released before the Dimension 1.5 update became available. The Dimension 1.5 update provides better UAC compatibility for Windows Vista and Windows 7, which means the default content location has changed and the installers for the older versions of expansion packs don't know this. Cakewalk has a work around for this issue in the online knowledgebase: Missing Expansion Packs in Dimesnion Pro/LE 1.5.

I upgraded from Dimension Pro/LE 1.2 to 1.5 and now a Missing Plugin message is displayed in my projects.

This is a result of the identifier for the plugin having changed so the host is not able to locate the old plugin since it is replaced by the new plugin. It is not a problem of the plugin or of the installer, just simply a matter of changing the plugin reference in the host project by removing the instance of Dimension Pro in the project then re-inserting it.

Why does my Dimension Pro stop making sounds after using pitch bend?

There were some confirmed problems with pitch bend as well as sound artificacts being introduced when sample rates above 44.1kHz were used in the original Dimension Pro release. Later updates resolved these issues. Make sure to visit the Cakewalk support web site to get updates for the product. You can this site's updates section for some information about available updates as well.

Why doesn't Dimension make a sound after I've installed it?

Did you select a patch? By default when a new instance of Dimension Pro/LE is inserted into a project, it doesn't have a program selected. You need to open the program browser and select a program. However, after you've done this and saved a project then that sound should reload in that instance automatically the next time you open the project.

Why does Dimension Pro/LE stop sounding when I play a downloaded MIDI file?

The MIDI file you loaded into your host probably has Non-Registered-Parameter Number (NRPN) data in it. Some NRPN data causes muting or other strange behavior in Dimension Pro/LE. Work around this by using a MIDI filter in your host to strip such data out of the MIDI stream being sent to Dimension. This can be done offline by altering the MIDI data in the track, or it could be done on-the-fly using a realtime MIDI filter.

Why is Dimension's User Interface is missing in Digital Performer?

There is a condition on a Mac in which the GUI may not show in the Digital Performer host. Cakewalk support has a knowledgeabase article that may help: Dimension Pro or Ratpure's User interface does not appear in Digital Performer.

Why can't I see Dimension Pro in Garage Band on the Mac?

There is a condition in which Garage Band may not show the Dimension Pro instrument. Cakewalk support has a knowledgebase article that may help: Dimension Pro does not appear in Garabe band.

Why am I getting Dimension Pro/LE notes stick in Cubase?

Note-off messages don't seem to be working with Dimension Pro instead of Cubase or Cubase LE. Cakewalk has issued a VST patch for Cubase users. See this sites update section for a link to Cakewalk's support page and downloads for this issue.