Wasn't sure if this was a feature or not but I am running X3 Producer and when I try to do an audio export in mp3 format I am being told that "The MP3 encoder must be unlocked before use..."  Up until now I haven't had an issue exporting in mp3 format within X3.  So I guess I was wondering if I was using a trial version?  If so then how does one go about upgrading to a useable version and so on?
 
Thanks,
 -kq

SONAR ships with a 30 day trial of it's integrated mp3 encoder. If you have ever purchased the mp3 license for a Cakewalk product, contact tech support and they will help you unlock the encoder in SONAR. Otherwise it is available from the Cakewalk store or use an external encoder like LAME.

You get some number of days of free trial for it.
 
There are a number of free MP3 encoders out there, such as Lame, but I just coughed up the $20 and bought the Cakewalk one.
 
If I recall correctly, the Cakewalk one is the same as one as the free ones, but they are paying that money to whoever developed it as a license fee.
 
Anyways, here are some threads from a quick search I just ran:
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/TUTORIAL-Getting-LAME-MP3-Encoder-to-Work-With-SONAR-m1255631.aspx
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/How-to-install-lame-mp3-encoder-m1990106.aspx
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/LAME-MP3-Encoder-m1568355.aspx
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/LAME-Encoder-lives-up-to-its-Name-m627968.aspx
 
The above are from all sorts of versions of Sonar, but the principals remain the same.
 
Again, I skipped all of that by just forking out the $20 for the licensed one through Cakewalk, and have used it for multiple versions of Sonar, over the years.
 
I am very happy with it, but it's certainly your choice.
 
Hope the above helps, 
 
Bob Bone
 

Bought the encoder from cake but does anyone know the double secret probation way of enabling it?  I ran the install and then opened X3 to export but am still getting the error message.

Did you run the installer as administrator with SONAR closed?

Yes, I ran the installer as administrator with SONAR closed and am still receiving the error message.

Although not the same problem, I had to tech support to handle my mp3 unlock issue a few years ago.

Might be worth a call to tech support, since running the unlock application should have just worked.
 
Bob Bone
 

OK I think this is the deal.
 
When we buy the MP3 Encoder Activation, we are given a link to download the 32Bit version. There is a separate Activation file if using the 64Bit Version of SONAR.
 
So, you contact Cakewalk and tell them you're using the 64Bit version of SONAR, and they will send you a link to the 64bit version Activation file.

I do not think that can be true, as I installed it on 64-bit versions of Sonar for several years now.
 
Bob Bone