Copyright: Copyright ¸ 1998 Dan Gilbert, 26th Avenue
Citation: Copyright 1998 Dan Gilbert, 26th Avenue


Contents
 WAV Browser 3.0 Contents

Welcome to WAV Browser 3.0! WAV Browser is a utility specifically designed to allow you to easily and efficiently manage your collections of WAV audio files. You can play WAV's with a single-click, copy, move, rename, and delete WAV's, and browse your hard drive for existing WAV files. You can also launch your favorite WAV editor from withing WAV Browser and you can create playlists.

WAV Browser is freeware. You may use it and distribute it however you see fit. Please keep all the files together and intact.

Select a topic below to get started:

Overview - Contains a description of the main features. A must-read.

Main Window

Browsing

Copying Files

Moving Files

Renaming Files

Deleting Files

Working with Playlists

Setting Preferences

Reporting Bugs

WAV Browser 3.0 and its documentation are copyright 1998 by Dan Gilbert and 26th Avenue.


Overview

WAV Browser was designed to be simple and quick to use. By default, a single left-click on a WAV file will play the WAV file. If you right-click, a menu will appear giving you more options such as looping the WAV file (play it repeatedly), and copying the WAV file.

Playlists can be created by clicking on a WAV file while holding down the [Shift] key. By default, when a new file is added to the playlist, the playlist window will open so you can see the contents of the playlist. Selecting "Playlist | Play" from the menu will play the current playlist.

You can cancel the playing of any WAV file or playlist by pressing [Esc] or by left-clicking on the progress bar at the bottom of the WAV Browser window.

Most WAV Browser functions can be accessed in three different ways:

1. Selecting the action from the main menu.

2. Clicking the appropriate speedbutton.

3. Right-clicking and selecting the function from the popup menu.

For simplicity, all actions are documented in the help file using the main menu.

Tips:

* While a WAV file is playing, you can cancel it by pressing the [Esc] key or by left-clicking on the progress bar.

* You can customize which buttons appear on the Toobar by selecting "Tools | Customize" from the main menu.

* By [Ctrl]-clicking on the progress bar during playback, you can change the current play position of the WAV file.

* Specify an external editor by selecting "Tools | Preferences" from the menu. To activate the editor, [Ctrl]-click a WAV file.


Working with Playlists

Playlist allow you to create a list of WAV files that will all be played in sequence.

A blank playlist is always created by default, so you can add files to it immediately. To add a file, hold down the [Shift] key while left-clicking. The file will be added to the playlist and (by default) the playlist window will open. You may add as many WAV files as you'd like, up to somewhere around 32,000, I think. Please don't try that. :-)

To remove a WAV file from the playlist, select the file to remove and select "Playlist | Remove" from the main menu. The file will be removed.

You can change the order of the playlist files, by selecting "Playlist | Move Up" or "Playlist | Move Down" from the main menu.

To play the current playlist, select "Playlist | Play" from the main menu.

To save the current playlist, select "File | Save" or "File | Save As" from the main menu. You will be prompted for a filename if one has not already been assigned.

To open a playlist, select "File | Open" or "File | Reopen" from the main menu. You will be prompted for a playlist to open.


Main Window

WAV Browser's main window shows up by default with the playlist hidden. It appears this way:

By clicking the "Show Playlist" speedbutton (the open book), the playlist will be displayed and the window will appear as shown below:

By clicking on each section of the above picture, you will get a description of the function of that component.


Browsing

WAV Browser makes it easy to browse your drives for WAV files. By using the directory list on the left side of the WAV Browser window, you can change directories and drives with a few clicks.

To change the active directory, double-click on the directory list. The active directory will change to indicate the directory you selected. When you exit and restart WAV Browser, the last active directory will be active on startup.

To change the active drive, click the down-arrow on the drive combo box and select the drive you wish to browse. When you change drives, WAV Browser will try to put you in the same directory you were in when you last accessed the drive. If the directory structure has changed and the last directory no longer exists (common with CD's), the root directory of the new drive will be the active directory.


Copying Files

To copy a WAV file, select the WAV file to copy and select "Edit | Copy" from the main menu. A dialog box will appear to allow you to select a directory in which to place the copied WAV file. If you have copied a file previously, the last directory you accessed will appear in the copy dialog box.

Select the directory in which to place the WAV file and click the "OK" button. The WAV file will be copied and you will be returned to WAV Browser's main window.

The Copy dialog box:


Moving Files

To move a WAV file, select the WAV file to move and select "Edit | Move from the main menu. A dialog box will appear to allow you to select a directory in which to place the moved WAV file. If you have moved a file previously, the last directory you accessed will appear in the move dialog box.

Select the directory in which to place the WAV file and click the "OK" button. The WAV file will be moved and you will be returned to WAV Browser's main window.

The Move dialog box:


Renaming Files

To rename a WAV file, select the file to rename and then select "Edit | Rename" from the main menu. A dialog box will appear asking you for the new name of the file. Note that you do not have to enter the ".WAV" extention on the new filename. WAV Browser will do that automatically. If you DO enter the ".WAV" extension, your file will end up being named something like "CHIMES.WAV.WAV".

When you have entered the new name, click the "OK" button. The file will be renamed and you will be returned to WAV Browser's main window.

The Rename dialog box:


Deleting Files

To delete a file, select the file to delete, and then select "Edit | Delete" from the main menu. If "Delete confirmation" have been turned on, you will be asked to confirm the delete. Click the "Yes" button to delete the file. You will then be returned to WAV Browser's main window.


Setting Preferences

There are a few options that you can customize within WAV Browser. Select "Tools | Preferences" from the main menu. The following dialog box will appear:

Click Action

By default, WAV Browser plays a WAV file using a single left-click. If you wish to override the default, select "[Alt] + left-click" and a single-click will only select the file, not play it. To play it, hold down the [Alt] key and left-click.

Confirm Deletions

Checked by default. If you uncheck this box, file deletions will occur immediately upon selecting "Delete" without prompting for a confirmation.

Show full file path in playlists.

By default, the playlist only shows the file's name (no path). If you check this box, the entire path of the file will be displayed. For example, "chimes.wav" will show up as "c:\windows\media\chimes.wav".

Automatically show playlist when a file is added.

When you [Shift]-click a file in the file list, it will be added to the current playlist. By default, any time a file is added to the playlist, the playlist window will be opened. If you prefer it to stay hidden, uncheck this box.

External Editor

You can specify an external WAV editor to edit your files. By default, this is empty. You can specify a WAV editing program such as CoolEdit, which will be launched when you [Ctrl]-click a file in the file list. To browse for a file, click the "..." button and an Open dialog box will appear for you to select a file.


Reporting Bugs

Not that this would ever happen, but if you find a bug in WAV Browser, you can notify the author the following ways:

The author is Dan Gilbert of 26th Avenue.

Email:

dgpc001@cyberia.com

Web Form:

www.26thAvenue.com/comments.html

Feel free to provide any feedback (positive or negative), including bug reports, feature requests, and the like. I'm always happy to hear from WAV Browser users. I especially like to hear about the various ways people are using WAV Browser. I'll try to respond to each and every email I receive regarding the program, but sometimes I get a bit behind. Please have patience!


pp_DirectoryList
The directory list is a tree view of the selected drive. Double-clicking on a directory name (or "folder" in Windows 95 terminology) will change the active directory.


pp_Menu
The main menu can be used to access all of WAV Browser's functions.


pp_Toolbar
The toolbar can be used to quickly access many of WAV Browser's functions. The toolbar is customizable by selecting "Tools | Customize Toolbar" from the menu or by right-clicking on the toolbar and selecting "Customize".


pp_DriveBox
The drive combo box is used to select a drive to browse. You may select any local or network drive to which you have access.


pp_FileList
The file list shows all the WAV files in the current directory. By default, a normal left-click will play the selected WAV file.


pp_Playlist
The playlist shows a list of all files that are in the current playlist. By default, the WAV filename is shown without the path. Also, by default, a normal left-click will play the selected WAV file.


pp_ProgressBar
The progress bar shows the progress of the currently playing WAV file. A normal left-click on the progress bar will cancel playing of a WAV or of a playlist. By [Ctrl] left-clicking on the progress bar, you can change the progress position of the playing WAV file.


pp_StatusBar
The Status Bar displays help text and general information.


pp_WAVInfo
The WAV info box shows the length of time (in seconds) of the currently selected WAV file.