How to use version 2.1 of MP3Play: MAIN CONTROLS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the main screen you have the usual set of playback icons, with a few additions. EQ - This brings up the equalizer screen. Playlist Info - Brings up the playlist information screen (when one is loaded). File Info - Brings up information on the currently loaded MP3 file. Digital Effects - (Speaker Icon) Enables or Disables DE for the current session. This does not change the permanent settings found under Options->Settings. Playback Mode - (Arrow(s) Icon) Selects the mode of playback (normal, repeat current, repeat list, and shuffle). NOTE: You can edit and update ID3 tags for non-read-only files (i.e. generally ones not on a CD-ROM) on-the-fly during playback. (You may also right-click on any non-control surface on the player to bring up a popup menu of options.) In addition to this, you are also presented with some information about what's going on with the player on the main screen. Across the bottom of the screen are several panels: status, ID3 information alarm, playlist position, and current playback time. TASKBAR CONTROLS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The taskbar icon allows you to perform every option allowed off the main player except turning DE on/off. Left-clicking on the icon will bring up menu options, while right- clicking will bring up player options. The taskbar icon will change to show the current status of the song during playback. SETTINGS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ General Settings: * Enable Drag-n-Drop Playlists - Selects whether or not files dragged onto the player are added into a playlist, or are just played as is, without generating a playlist. * Auto-Load EQ Settings by Genre - You can have the player automatically load EQ settings when loading a file with ID3 information. The settings are determined by you in the EQ screen and you can edit these settings independently of the the currently loaded file's genre. * Auto-Start Files - Automatically begins playing the file back after loading. * Check for Multiple Instances - Enforces if you only want 1 copy of MP3Play95 active at any point in time. This can be overridden when the duplicate player attempts to start without having to change this setting permanently. Playback Settings: * Stereo Mode - Obvious. * Digital Surround Enhancement (DE)- Selects if DE will be active by default. You can toggle this on a session-by-session basis from the main screen without changing the default permanently. The current format for version 2.1 DE is different from v1.9 and previous. Preamplification - How much you want MP3Play95 to preamplify your sound output before it gets to the main volume controls for Windows. Register Types - Automatically registers your MP3 and MPL file types to MP3Play95. Buffering Settings: * Advanced Buffering System - Allows for more inter-buffer delay in which other applications are allowed processor time. This is dependent on how CPU-intensive the song is currently being during decoding and varies from granule to granule. * High Inter-buffer Delay - Inserts a hard delay between buffers for other processes to grab CPU time. This is a set amount and does not vary on what the decoder is doing. * Priority - This selects the priority that the decoder should receive from the system scheduler. Adjust this to meet the needs of your system. PLAYLISTS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You have several options available to you in a playlist. @ - Sets the collection name string in the main player window. ! - Causes a popup box to appear when loading the playlist displaying the text that follows. # - Comment. $ - Set playback mode. Valid options are: $NONE, $LIST, $SHUFFLE. The files in the playlist are specified by the path to each MP3. Sample ("Sample.mpl"): !M3Play95 Collection #Generated by m3play95 @Sample Collection $List E:\FTP\root\incoming\one.mp3 E:\FTP\root\incoming\two.mp3 E:\FTP\root\incoming\three.mp3 E:\FTP\root\incoming\four.mp3 --- You can automatically generate your own playlists by dragging files into the player and having "Enable Drag-n-Drop Playlists" selected. A good way to merge two or more playlists is to simply load them into the player in the order you want them played, and then save the whole listing to a new .mpl file. You will have to fix-up your comments and playback mode selection.