The latest version of the software is V2.1.2. It is only for use with PIC-1 or PIC-2 controllers It will NOT work on older MCII or MCIII controllers. If you do not have a copy of this software, you can obtain one by contacting Paul Harrison at Paul's email. He will contact you with the current pricing and delivery method, usually a USB thumb drive.

Configuring your tree at startup:

Start the program.

When it asks you to select a cue from the list, press CANCEL instead of OPEN.

It should bring up a window asking for your tree size.

Select the proper size from the drop down list and press OK.

It will create a file called Cue List.cue for you to edit and a file called New Program.cfg in the bcue directory with the set up info for your tree.

WARNING: The weird part about Windows versions after XP is that they will save this file and all others you create in:User/AppData/Local/VirtualStore/Program Files (x86)/TreeController 2.0 where User is your name NOT in C:/Program Files (x86)/TreeController 2.0 where it will insist that it is. When you start Tree Controller, it gives you a list of files made up from files in BOTH of the directories.

XP doesn't do this. You can get around this by creating a directory of your own, say My Tree Files (or whatever you want) and storing your cue files there. Then the next time you start TreeController it will first look at the last place you saved a file which will be the directory you created (My Tree Files). However, backup files in the backup directory and your configuration file in the bcue directory (New Program.cfg) will still be located in AppData - no work around for this yet.

The New Program.cfg file is where it stores your tree info - size, chase list, etc. that is used to create a new cue list when you use File/New or the New File Icon.

If you are running V212 on Windows 7/10 and are having problems with the Converter Box not installing properly, it will be necessary to unplug the Converter Box and then uninstall the drivers that W7/10 has installed. First, unplug the Converter Box and download the FTClean file below and run it as administrator (right click and choose 'run as administrator'). Then download FTDI 20814 - it's a .zip file. Inside the .zip file run CDM20814_Setup.exe - also as administrator. This will install the correct drivers. Plug the Converter Box in and you should have correct operation.

If you do not, you will need to setup your tree configuration. To do this, plug in the Converter Box and then go to the Device Manager. Toward the bottom of the list you will find an item called [Ports (COMM & LPT)]. Click on the > icon and you will get a list of the ports. You should see an item called USB Serial Port (COMX) where X will be the port number assigned to the Converter Box by Windows. Close Device Manager and open your TreeController software. Select Configuration and set PORT to the number from Device Manager. Click OK and then YES. You should now have ciommunications between the TreeController and the Converter Box.

If you are using the older TreeLights program with the USB/Serial converter cable and are having trouble getting communications, you will need to download the FTClean files to remove all FTDI drivers from your system. You can then download the FTDI driver files, write them to a CD, and install the older drivers. This problem is caused by windows automatically installing newer drivers as part of an update.

For those of you still using the older TreeLights program on XP, there are download links below for the program and the drivers for the USB - Serial Port cable.

FTClean

Use this file to remove ALL FTDI Drivers from your system:

FTDI 20814

Correct FTDI drivers for the Converter Box:

USB-Serial Port Cable Driver

These drivers are for use with the USB to serial port cable which allows running the TreeLightsPlus software on Windows XP:

TreeLightsPlus (20)

TreeLightsPlus or Treelights20 is the Windows software for the MCII and MCIII controllers. It is intended to run on Windows98, but will work with XP when used with a USB/Serial Converter Cable and the USB-Serial Port Cable Driver: