Creative ZEN User manual

creAtive
Z E N
Training Guide
Document Prepared at School Technology Services
Written by Alex Harris.
2008.

2
Introduction
PLEASE INSTALL SOFTWARE BEFORE CONNECTING TO PC! Or so it says on the packaging
before you even open your new Creative Zen! From the creators of one of the most successful
sound boards for your computer (the SoundBlaster series) comes a new way to listen to your
music. Okay, not so new, but definitely more budget friendly than the iPod.™ Get ready to rock
your way to enlightenment with the Creative Zen™!
What’s in the box?
1x Creative Zen™ Media Player
1x Pair of Earbud Headphones
1x USB Cord
1x 3.5mm to 3.5mm Stereo mini plug
1x Wrist Strap
1x Software CD
1x Carrying Case
Install the software FIRST!
Do not connect the Creative Zen into your computer without installing the software first. This is
written on the box, on the player, and throughout the manuals.
While I’m not entirely sure what will happen if you do plug it in without the software –I’m sure
it will make things a little more difficult later. Best to follow the directions and install the
software first.
Once all of the software is installed and ready, locate the USB cord that came with the Zen and
plug it into the computer!

3
Ready… Set… Ooh!
Ready to play with your new Creative Zen right out of the box!? Haha, too bad!
As it turns out, the Creative Zen has a built in rechargeable battery pack, and guess what, it
doesn’t come charged! Plug the USB cord into the Zen, then into your computer to begin the
charge. After you plug into the USB, slide the power switch on then look at the OLED Screen on
the front of the player. Did it say CREATIVE Zen for a second before flashing off? If it didn’t you
might not have it plugged into a USB 2.0 bus. Take it out and plug it into another USB port,
then try again.
Now that that is done, right click on your computer’s desktop and go to Properties, then Screen
Saver. At the bottom of the properties window, you’ll see a button that says Power. Hit it.
Make sure that you’re Power Schemes setting is Always On. You’re Zen might not charge if
your computer is running on batteries, and it’s power settings aren’t Always on!
Now we wait…
…still waiting…
The Zen’s batteries should charge fairly quickly. You can probably use it for a little bit after only
30 minutes. However for the best results let it charge for at least four hours, or better yet,
overnight!
Once you’ve charged up the Zen, it’s time for some action.
Face-Off!
The Zen has a very simple interface. A Play Button, a Back Button, and a Joystick. On the side
you’ll notice an Power/Locking Slide that you use to turn the Zen on, off, and lock the interface
(so you can’t accidentally hit buttons while it’s in your pocket).
On the opposite side, you’ll find the Volume Controls, indicated by a plus and minus, and a
Record Button so you can use the Zen to make personal recordings.
And lastly on the top you’ll find the USB, headphones, line-in (for an external microphone), and
an opening for the built in microphone.
Slide the power switch down to turn your player on. Later on, when you’re ready to shut the
Zen down, slide the power switch down and hold it down until the Zen begins to power-off.

4
Zen and the Art of Media Synchronization
Whenever you add music, pictures, video, or media in general to a
portable media player, you are enjoying a process called Synchronizing.
To put it more simply, to get your music from your computer to your
player, you need to sync it first.
This can be done via the Sync Tab in Windows Media Player. But since
you’ve just installed all that software, why not try it out?
Go to Start > All Programs > Creative > Creative Sync Manager or click on the Sync Manager
Icon in the taskbar (near the clock).
This is the Sync Manager. A nifty
program that allows you to sync media
files to your player quickly and easily.
When you first start it, you’ll see that
you have two choices: Customize, and
Default.
Default searches your entire My
Documents folder and syncs everything.
This will take a long time, and way too
much space on your Zen’s hard drive!
For now, let’s go with Customize!
After hitting next, you’ll be asked what kind of media you want to sync. You can choose from
Audio, Video, Pictures, and Organizer Data. Let’s just stick with Audio for now.
Sync Manager will find you’re My Music folder
automatically. I recommend keeping it on this folder!!
However, if you want to specify a specific folder, you can
hit browse, find your folder, and then hit OK.
BEFORE you go on, notice the checkbox that says Include
tracks that do not have ID3 tags. Depending on what
you’re syncing, you might need this…
You see, whenever you “Rip” a CD, it creates a unique
folder automatically and names all of the music tracks
inside. Almost all CDs come with encoded ID3 tags which
store the song title, artist, copyright info, etc.

5
Sometimes, CDs do not have this ID3 tag
encoded into the tracks. And when you try to
rip it, it will go to a folder called Unknown Artist.
Even though you might have renamed them all,
these tracks will still not have an ID3 tag until
you create it specifically.
So, if you have any music that ripped into an
Unknown Artist folder, or any music that you
acquired by less-than-ethical means (burns,
torrents, P2P software, etc.) then you
need to check the box that says “Include tracks that do not have ID3 tags.” If all of your music
was acquired legally, and you ripped it without any problems, then don’t worry about it!
Automatic or Manual…
After hitting next you are taken to a screen that gives you a choice, Automatic or Manual
Synchronization. Pick Manual to avoid confusion for now. If you pick automatic your Zen will
start syncing every time you plug it in! And we don’t really want that.
After that, you are taken to a review screen where you can confirm all of the folders and
checkboxes are correct. If they are, check the box at the bottom of the screen that says
Synchronize Now and then hit Finish!
Again?
Interestingly enough, you can’t run the manager again! At least not the way you just saw it.
That’s why it’s recommended you keep the My Music folder as the default! However, if you
pointed to another folder, you are far from out of luck!
With your Zen plugged in, go to My Computer and then look for a black Zen icon that
says Zen V Series Media Explorer.
Voila! This opens up the Media Explorer tool. From here you can drag and drop your
media, Rip CDs (that means copy music from them) and even convert video files so
that you can play them on your Zen!