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Copyright (c) 1998-2015 Un4seen Developments Ltd. All rights reserved.
Files that you should have found in the XMPlay package
======================================================
XMPLAY.TXT
This file
XMPLAY.EXE
The executable
XMP-ZIP.DLL ZIP plugin
XMP-CD.DLL
CD Audio plugin
XMP-WMA.DLL WMA plugin
XMP-WADSP.DLL Winamp DSP plugin wrapper
You can safely remove the XMP-CD.DLL, XMP-WMA.DLL and XMP-WADSP.DLL files
if you don't need CD/WMA playback or Winamp DSP plugin support. You can also
remove the XMP-ZIP.DLL file if you don't use ZIP files or new skins.
What's the point?
=================
XMPlay is a Win32 (Windows 9x/NT/2k/ME/XP/Vista/7/8/etc) audio player,
supporting several formats. Initially, when XMPlay was first released in
1998, only the XM format was supported, hence the name "XMPlay".
Stream formats
-------------* OGG - Ogg Vorbis
* MP3 - MPEG1/2/2.5 layer 3
* MP2 - MPEG layer 2
* MP1 - MPEG layer 1
* WMA - Windows Media Audio
* WAV - any WAVE format that has a codec installed
* AIFF - Audeo Interchange File Format
* CDA - CD Audio
WMA playback requires the Windows Media Format modules to be installed. They
come installed with Windows Media player, so will already be on most users'
systems, but they can also be installed separately (WMFDIST.EXE is available
at the XMPlay website). If these modules are not installed, XMPlay will still
work fine, just without WMA support.
Module (MOD) formats
-------------------* MO3 - Modules with MP3 or OGG encoded samples
* IT - Impulse Tracker modules
* XM - FastTracker 2 modules
* S3M - ScreamTracker 3 modules
* MTM - MultiTracker modules
* MOD - Generic module formats
* UMX - Unreal/Tournament music package
XMPlay's got the best (most accurate to FT2) XM reproduction to be heard
from any player. All features/effects (including several FT2 quirks) are
100% supported. The IT reproduction is also practically balls-on, with full
support for all effects/NNA/DCA/filters/etc. Additional features like
stereo samples and DMO effects are also fully supported.
XMPlay also supports the MO3 format (modules with MP3 or OGG compressed
samples). If you wish to create MO3s, then you should download the MO3
encoder from the XMPlay website.
Plugins
------As well as the listed formats with built-in support, a whole load more
formats can be played with XMPlay too, via plugins. XMPlay has its own
native "input" plugin system but can also use Winamp plugins.
TIP: The AAC plugin will be needed to play some Shoutcast/Icecast streams
and most HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) streams.
The main window
===============
In the main display area, the title, playback time and other basic info
about the current track are shown. The time display can be switched (by
clicking on it) between the time passed, the time remaining, or the
order position (MOD formats only).
Below that is the position indicator, which can also be used to change
the playback position. When streaming from the 'net, it will light-up to
indicate how much of the file has been downloaded so far (if the file
length is known). Right-clicking gives the option of bookmarking the
current position, or resuming a previously bookmarked position (either
immediately or at the end the queue).
NOTE: The bookmark is not retained when closing XMPlay.
The next 2 sliders control the volume and balance. Right-clicking the volume
slider mutes the output, and right-clicking the balance slider centres it.
TIP: The volume can be adjusted using the mouse-wheel, when the mouse is not
above anything else scrollable.
The row of buttons below the sliders are...
Track info & extended playlist:
Opens/closes a window that can display information on the current track,
visualisations, and a playlist and library. See "The info window" section.
NOTE: Some skins may also have separate buttons to access the playlist and
library.
Previous track:
Play the previous track in the playlist, skipping over any that are set
to "skip". Right-clicking jumps to the previous subsong in a multi-song
track, or previous cue point when a CUE sheet is present.
Stop:
Stops playback, and sets the position to the start. Pressing again, when
already stopped, unloads the track. Right-clicking gives the option to
"Stop at end of track", which temporarily (one time) disables looping and
auto-advancing.
Play / Pause:
Toggles play/pause of the track.
queued track is loaded. If there
track in the playlist is loaded.
track in the playlist is loaded.
Next track:
Play the next track in the playlist, skipping over any that are set to
Queue:
This toggles listing the tracks that are queued for playback, instead of
the entire playlist. The queued tracks can be rearranged and generally
manipulated just like in the playlist.
Bottom buttons
-------------Random play order:
Plays the tracks in random order. Right-clicking brings up more options
to shuffle the list, sort the list, and to reverse the order.
Save list:
Writes the list to a PLS or M3U file. Right-clicking gives access to a
list of previously saved playlists for quick saving and loading.
Add to list:
Adds files/URLs to the list. Right-clicking allows you to add all tracks
in a folder (and sub-folders) to the list. If you add an FTP folder,
XMPlay will scan it for playable files, and add them all to the list.
Remove from list:
Removes the selected track from the list. Right-clicking gives further
options to remove duplicate tracks, dead tracks, played tracks, and all
tracks. There are also options to have tracks automatically removed after
being played, to refresh any dead tracks, and clear the queue.
Loop list:
If enabled, XMPlay plays the first track in the list again after the last
track. Right-clicking gives the option of whether XMPlay should advance
to the next track when the current one ends, whether playback should stop
at a dead track or at the end of a queue, and whether to unload the final
track when finished.
Next to the buttons is the total list duration; clicking it will switch it to
a track count display. When multiple tracks are selected, the display will
alternate between the list total length, and the selected tracks length.
Multiple tracks can be selected using the standard ctrl/shift+click methods.
The playlist is duplicated in the info window, where it can be resized.
The "Options and stuff" window
==============================
Clicking the spanner icon in the main panel, or right-clicking on any nonbutton area gives the option to open the "Options and stuff" window, which,
as the name suggest, contains options and stuff. A description of the page
contents follows...
Appearance
---------The current skin name, and a link to the author's website or email address
is shown at the top of the page. If the author has included a "readme"
message, that can be viewed by clicking the "Readme" button.
Open panels:
When switching skins, the panels will be opened if this is enabled.
Auto-resize to fit contents:
When enabled, the info window will automatically be resized to fit its
contents.
Height limit:
This limits the auto-resized height of the info window content. Setting
it to "0" removes the limit.
Text size:
This allows the info window text size to increased.
Maximum text width:
This restricts the width of info window texts (eg. tags), and wraps any
text that exceeds the specified width. Setting it to "0" disables it.
Vis refresh rate:
This determines how often the vis display is updated. Higher rates will
require more CPU.
Restrict rendering:
Visual plugins can take a very high amount of CPU when the window is
expanded to a large size. Using this option restricts the rendering to
the dimensions specified, beyond which the rendered image is stretched
to fit the window. Some visual plugins don't like high resolutions and
crash, so this can be used to avoid that too.
TIP: The stretching is generally hardware accelerated, but might not be in
some card/driver's case, in which case it may be more efficient to just
render unrestricted.
Vertical sync:
When enabled, visual display refreshing will be done in sync with the
monitor, to avoid flickering.
Move info window with main:
When enabled, moving the main window will also move the info window. It
does not apply the other way: moving the info window will not also move
the main window. The right-click while moving action is also reversed by
this option, ie. it will stop the info window moving.
Info bubbles:
Info bubbles display descriptions and other info when the mouse is left
over a control for a short time. If they are not needed, they can be
disabled here, either entirely or just for fullscreen vis mode.
Fading:
When enabled, the info bubbles will be faded in and out. This option is
only available on Win2k and above.
Text size:
This allows the info bubble text size to be adjusted.
Fullscreen vis:
This allows the fullscreen vis info bubble text size to be adjusted.
Hours:
When enabled, time displays will include an hours column (if exceeding
60 minutes).
10ths:
When enabled, the playback time position will be shown within a 10th of a
not verified). The contents of folders are always verified before being
added.
No duplicates:
If this option is enabled, whenever an attempt is made to add a track
which is already in the list, the track already in the list will just
be selected; it won't be added again. The existing track can be moved
so that it is grouped with any other new tracks, via the "move existing"
option.
NOTE: There are never duplicates in the library.
Scan HTML pages for playable URLs:
This makes XMPlay scan webpage URLs for links to playable files, which
it then adds to the playlist (or library). Playlists in HTML pages will
also be opened when "including playlists" is enabled.
Ignore filetypes:
A space-delimited list of file extensions to ignore. Non-playable files
may occasionally be erroneously detected as playable. This option can be
used to block those filetypes.
Archive recursion:
When opening archives, XMPlay can look for playable files in archives
within archives. This option determines how many levels it will go up
to.
Auto-advance:
This tells XMPlay to go onto the next track when the current one ends.
Stop at dead track:
If a "dead" track is encountered, XMPlay will stop (not advance).
Stop at end of queue:
After playing all queued tracks, XMPlay will stop (not advance).
Random order:
Plays the tracks in random order. XMPlay keeps record of which tracks
have been played, so that they are not randomly played again until
the others have also been played. Toggling clears the record of which
tracks have been played.
Apply to play/next/previous controls:
When enabled, the next control will jump to a random track and the
previous control will jump to the previously played track. Otherwise,
those controls will jump the next/previous track in the list. In the
case of the play button, it will open a random track (if a track is
not already open).
Random last play bias:
When enabled, tracks that were last played longer ago will have a
higher chance of being randomly chosen for playback than tracks that
were played more recently.
Subsongs:
When enabled, subsongs within a track will be played in a random order
too.
Loop:
If enabled, the first track in the list will be played again after the
last track.
Unload final track:
When XMPlay reaches the end (stops advancing), it will unload the last
track that was played.
Follow current track:
These options determine whether the playlist views should automatically
jump to the track when opening a new track.
Mouse button actions:
This option allows customisation of the track action performed when a
particular mouse button is clicked on a playlist/library entry.
Auto-save every:
This auto-saves the playlist and library at the specified interval.
Toggle queuing:
When enabled, the "queue" option will toggle queuing of tracks, ie.
if the track(s) are already queued, they will be dequeued rather than
queued again.
Show queue in playlist panel:
When enabled, the playlist panel will show the tracks that are queued
for playback, instead of the entire playlist. Note this does not apply
to the extended playlist in the info window.
Show filenames in extended list:
Makes XMPlay show the filenames (rather than titles) in the info window
playlist. The full paths will be shown when "full path" is enabled.
Playlist / Library
-----------------XMPlay can monitor folders (inc. sub-folders), and automatically add new
files to the library, and remove deleted ones. The monitored folders and
the number of library entries contained in them are listed.
Right-clicking on a list entry gives the option of rescanning the folder,
removing it, and toggling whether to include sub-folders.
TIP: Rescanning can be useful after installing new plugins, eg. if formerly
unplayable files become playable.
NOTE: When removing a folder from the monitored list, the folder's library
entries are not removed.
Add:
Sets up monitoring of a folder.
Keep tracks with overridden tags:
When a monitored file with overridden tags is deleted, it'll remain in
the library if this option is enabled. If the file has been moved, the
dead track recovery options (below) can be used to recover it without
having to re-enter the overridden tags.
Auto-add to library:
This option tells XMPlay if/when it should automatically add tracks to
the library. When set to "on play", tracks will be added to the library
when they are played. When set to "on list", tracks will also be added
section.
These are the items available for use in the formatted title:
%0
%1
%2
%3
%4
%5
%6
%7
%8
%9
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
Filename
Title
Artist
Album
Date
Track
Genre
Comment
Filetype
Subsong
Some formats don't have tags, eg. MOD formats just have a title "tag".
This could make the titles messy when elements are not available, if it
wasn't for the fact that the formatting can vary depending on what tags
are available. For example, the default formatting is:
%?2{%2 - }%?1{%1|%0}
This means if the artist tag (%2) is present, use that and place " - "
after it. Then, if the title tag (%1) is present, add that, otherwise
add the filename (%0).
The length of the title (or parts there of) can be limited with the
"%cut{A|B|C}" function, where "A" is the string, "B" is the length limit,
and "C" is an optional replacement string. For example, "%cut{%1|10|...}"
would limit the title to 10 characters and append "..." when the limit is
applied.
NOTE: If the replacement string would take the length beyond the original
length, then the original string will be retained instead.
A separate title format can be specified for use in the playlist panel,
which may be useful if you want to include extra info in the title that
would not fit in the playlist panel's space.
NOTE: When sorting tracks by title in the playlist panel, the normal title
format will be used rather than the "Playlist panel" format.
When a CUE sheet is present, XMPlay will use the title and performer info
from that when it is not available from the track itself. XMPlay will also
update the title at the CUE points, if the "Update title from cues" option
is enabled.
Include subsong count with subsong number:
When a track is a separated subsong and the title format includes the
subsong, the total number of subsongs will also be included in the form
of "subsong/total" if this option is enabled.
Scroll title:
This sets whether the title should be scrolled in XMPlay's titlebar or
in the taskbar, or both. When enabled in the titlebar, the title will
only be scrolled when it is too long fit.
Tray title bubbles:
When XMPlay is minimized to the tray, and this option is enabled, a
bubble containing the new title will be shown next to the tray on
track changes.
Fullscreen vis title bubbles:
When in fullscreen vis mode, and this option is enabled, a bubble
containing the new title will be shown on track changes.
Refresh all tags & titles:
This tells XMPlay to rescan the tags/titles for all tracks, which may
take quite some time if there are a lot of tracks.
Shortcuts
--------Here you can fully customise how you control XMPlay via the keyboard. This
includes setting "global" shortcuts which can be used from within other
applications, ie. without XMPlay being in focus.
Multiple keys can be assigned to perform the same action, likewise multiple
actions can be assigned to a single key. When multiple actions are assigned
to a single key, they are performed in the order that they are listed; the
order can be changed using the "Up" and "Down" buttons.
As an example, you could assign a key to select all search matches, invert
the selection, and delete selected tracks. That would leave you with just
the search matches left in the list.
Defaults:
Resets all shortcuts back to the defaults as when XMPlay is first run.
These are the default shortcuts:
O
shift+O
P/Pause
shift+P/Pause
Home
right
left
shift+right
shift+left
Page Up
Page Down
End
Insert
shift+Insert
ctrl+Z
Q
shift+/
up
down
ctrl+up/down
shift+up
shift+down
ctrl+A
ctrl+I
ctrl+F
alt+F
F
shift+F
ctrl+shift+F
Open files/URL
Open folder
Current track - Play / pause
Current track - Stop
Current track - Restart
Current track - Forward
Current track - Back
Current track - Next subsong
Current track - Prev subsong
Change track - Previous
Change track - Next
Change track - Random
List - Add files/URL
List - Add folder
List - Undo
List - Show queue in list
List - Clear queue
List nav - Up
List nav - Down
List nav - Jump to current
List nav - Select extend up
List nav - Select extend down
List nav - Select all
List nav - Invert selection
List nav - Find
List nav - Find quick
List nav - Find next
List nav - Find previous
List nav - Find all
Enter
Space
/
ctrl+/
Delete
shift+Delete
+ (numpad)
- (numpad)
/ (numpad)
* (numpad)
M
N
shift+N
alt+F4
alt+shift+F4
F9
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
F6
ctrl+C
8 (numpad)
2 (numpad)
4 (numpad)
6 (numpad)
5 (numpad)
7 (numpad)
9 (numpad)
F12
MOD
--These options only affect MOD file formats (MO3/XM/IT/etc).
Interpolation:
"Linear" interpolation "draws" a straight line between the samples.
"Sinc" interpolation "draws" a smooth curve between the samples and
gives better quality but requires more CPU power.
Ramping:
Ramping makes volume and panning changes smoother so that
volume/panning changes do not cause any "clicking" in the
also fades in (very quickly) new samples so that there is
them. Sensitive ramping only performs the fade-in when it
to prevent a click, so percussive sounds stay sharp.
sudden large
sound. It
no click from
is necessary
Surround Sound:
"Mode 2" ignores panning, so is particularly good for mono MODs.
Pan separation:
The higher the setting, the more sounds are pushed away from centre.
Obviously can only affect things when playing in stereo.
Reset at end when loop not detected:
When enabled, the playback state will be reset when looping a MOD that
wasn't detected as intended to be looped.
Auto-looping:
When looping is set to "auto", this option determines when to loop MOD
formats.
MOD playback mode - decides how MOD files should be played:
FT2 = FT2 plays MODs slightly differently from the convention,
in fact most trackers play MODs differently from each other! Anyway,
if you want to hear MOD files as FT2 plays them, then select this.
PT1 = This plays MODs as the original ProTracker did, so now you
can relive those early Amiga days! :)
PT1 -filter = This is the same as "PT1", but with the Amiga filter
disabled.
Ignore muting in files:
IT and S3M files can have muted channels, which XMPlay will honour
when loading the files, unless this option is enabled.
TIP: Channels can be (un)muted via the MOD pattern display options (see
shortcuts).
Trim ending silence:
If there is any silent space at the end of a track, it will not be
played. Instead XMPlay will jump to the next track, assuming there
is more than one track in the list, and looping is not on.
Universal Y/Z effects:
This enables support for the IT Yxx (panbrello) and Zxx (filter) effects
in the XM and S3M formats. They are automatically enabled when DMO
effects are used, as that indicates the file was created with MPT (which
is what allows Yxx and Zxx to be used in XM/S3M files).
FT2 panning:
This enables FT2's sqrt panning method on XM files, otherwise linear
panning is used (as it is with other formats). This applies automatically
to MOD files when "MOD playback mode" is set to "FT2".
Virtual channels:
This is the maximum number of virtual channels to use when playing IT
files. Changes take effect when the next file is loaded.
Show bpm/etc in time display:
This option determines when, if at all, the number of active channels
and bpm/speed are shown in the time display. When enabled, the active
channel count is shown to the left with the peak count below it, and
the bpm/speed is shown to the right.
Shrink columns when channel count is:
When there are a lot of channels, the MOD pattern display can become
too wide for the screen. This option will cause the instrument/volume
column to be removed when there are a certain number of channels, so
that more channels can be fitted on screen.
DSP
--The response speed to all these options is dependant on the buffer size,
the delay will be the length of the buffer chosen in the "Output" options.
Amplification slider:
This is different to the volume slider. The volume slider controls the
level of the sound card output, the amplification slider controls the
level of the actual decoding. The higher the amplification, the greater
the dynamic range of the decoding output, but if it is too high clipping
may occur resulting in distortion of the sound.
Reset on new track:
Resets the amp level to 0 dB (or replaygain value) when a track is loaded.
The amp level is also reset when a new subsong is started if the "and
subsong" option is enabled.
Auto-amp:
This causes the amplification level to be automatically reduced whenever
clipping occurs. With fade-in enabled, it will fade-in new tracks until
they clip, then it'll behave the same as normal. Dynamic mode continues
to increase and decrease the amplification level throughout playback.
Replaygain:
When a track has "replaygain" information, XMPlay can use it for the
default amp level. XMPlay can read RG information from OGG files and
APEv2 and ID3v2 tags. Native plugins may also support it, but Winamp
plugins have no way of communicating that information. When a track
doesn't have the preferred value but does have the other (eg. "Album"
is chosen but only "Track" is available), it will be used instead.
NOTE: When replaygain is active, auto-amp is automatically disabled until
the amplification slider is moved away from the replaygain level.
Pre-amp:
This is added to the replaygain level.
Limit according to peak level:
When enabled, this will limit the replaygain level according to the peak
sample level (if available), so that it does not clip. If available, the
peak sample level is shown in the "General" info window.
NOTE: If there is other DSP enabled (EQ/reverb/etc), they could change the
level and cause clipping despite this limiting. The "Pre-amp" option
could be used to compensate.
Logarithmic volume:
When enabled, the volume slider will use a logarithmic curve. Otherwise,
it is linear (a percentage).
Plugins
------This page lists the installed DSP and "general" plugins, and is fairly
self-explanatory. The "up" and "down" buttons can be used to change the order
in which the DSP are applied (top first).
There are 2 built in DSP: the equalizer and reverb. Most Winamp DSP plugins
can be used via the "Winamp DSP wrapper". You can create your own plugins by
using the SDK available from the XMPlay website.
Exclude from saved settings:
This prevents a DSP from being included in saved settings. This is only
available with DSP plugins that only allow a single instance.
Plugins / Input
--------------The "input" and "archive" plugins that are installed are listed here, with a
list of the file formats that they support. When changing an input plugin's
config while it is being used to play a track, you may have to reopen the
track for the config changes to take effect.
Winamp plugins may have the letter 'T' and/or 'U' after their name, which
indicate that the plugin supports tag reading and/or Unicode.
Priority filetypes:
This is a space-delimited list of filetypes that the plugin will get
first look at, before the built-in decoders and other plugins. Normally,
built-in decoders get first look at files, followed by the plugins (in
the listed order).
TIP: A large selection of plugins are available at the support site.
NOTE: Only Winamp plugins that can feed the sample data to XMPlay (rather
than use their own output) are loaded, which is most of them.
Saved settings
-------------Amp/DSP/looping/decoder settings can be saved, to be automatically applied
when specific tracks are loaded, or saved as presets to be quickly set
whenever wanted.
When saving settings, the settings that are actually saved is determined by
the check boxes.
* "Amp" is the amplification settings ("DSP" options page).
* "DSP" is the config of all DSP plugins that are currently active (in the
DSP Plugins list), except for those that are set to be excluded.
* "Loop" is the track looping/ending settings ("Miscellaneous" options page).
* "Decoder" can be the settings of any decoder/plugin that supports saved
settings. If set the "Current", the current track's decoder settings will
be saved (if supported).
Before clicking "Add", you need to select what the settings will apply to.
There are 5 types of saved settings: File, Type, Path, Tags, Preset.
"Preset" is fairly obvious, and the saved settings can be accessed by right
clicking the settings button (disk icon) in the left panel.
When XMPlay tries to load settings for a track, it will first look for a
"File" match. If there is none, it will look for a "Tags" match, and then an
exact "Path" match, then a "Type" match, and then finally an inexact "Path"
match. In the case of there being multiple inexact path matches, the longest
match will have priority. If any settings (amp/dsp/etc) aren't included in
the first match, then the missing settings will be loaded from other lower
priority matches if possible.
The preset name or file/type/path/tags of a saved settings can be edited by
clicking on the entry in the list. In the case of "tags", the text is a
search string in the same form as in the "Find tracks" window.
TIP: An empty path setting will match all files.
Source:
When enabled, the output file will be written to the same folder as
the track that is being played, instead of the "Folder" setting.
Use title:
When enabled, the output filename will be based on the track's title
rather than the original filename.
Auto-filename:
This skips output filename selection when writing to disk. Because no
user interaction is required, writing is also continuous in this mode;
it automatically moves onto the next track when the current one ends if
the "auto-advance" option is enabled.
Omit original extension:
When enabled (and "Use title" is disabled), the original file's extension
will be removed from the written file.
Use source resolution:
When enabled, the track's sample resolution (if it has one) will be used
in the written file instead of the one chosen above. When an encoder is
used, this will be overridden by the resolution set for that, if not set
to "output".
Separate MOD instruments:
When enabled, and writing a MOD format to disk, each instrument will be
written individually. The instrument number shall be appended to the
filename.
Output / Encoders
----------------Here you can add/remove/edit the encoders available to the device list.
Any command-line encoder can be used, optionally using STDIN, so that no
intermediate file writing is required.
Tags can be passed to encoders. Some tags may be empty, and if the encoder
won't ignore them, they can be removed from the command-line by enabling
the "Remove empty tag options" option. This requires that the encoder's tag
options begin with a '-' character.
Some/most command-line encoders don't support Unicode. In those cases,
exotic characters may be lost from filenames and tags. There isn't anything
that can be done about the tags, but filename problems can be overcome by
unticking the "Unicode is supported" box to have XMPlay write a temporary
non-Unicode filename that is renamed afterwards.
The resolution of the sample data sent to the encoder will be as set in
the "Output" options, unless it is overridden here.
Settings for the LAME/OGGENC/FLAC encoders are provided. To use them, put
the LAME.EXE/OGGENC.EXE/FLAC.EXE files in the same folder as XMPLAY.EXE.
See the support site for more encoders.
NOTE: The FLAC input plugin will be needed to play FLAC files.
TIP: If upgrading from an old XMPlay version, the "Defaults" option can be
used to get the latest default encoder settings. Any custom encoder
entries will need to be added again afterwards though.
Output plugins
-------------The option pages for any installed output plugins will be shown below the
"Output" options.
The info window
===============
The info window displays information on the currently loaded track. There
are 4 modes:
General:
Displays info on the file's name, format, size, etc.
Message:
Displays any messages or tags contained in the file, including the
current (and recent) track name when streaming from Shoutcast/Icecast
servers.
Samples:
Displays instrument and sample texts.
Vis:
Displays visualisations.
The window can be resized by dragging the edges, or you can have XMPlay
automatically resize the window to fit the contents by ticking the box at
the top (2nd from left). The mouse wheel can be used to scroll up/down.
Right-clicking gives the option to copy the window's text to the clipboard.
Any URLs that are present in the text can also be opened by right-clicking.
The 3rd button from the left toggles having the playlist panel duplicated
in the info window. Right-clicking the button opens the library (see the
"Library" section). With "auto-resize" enabled, only the playlist display
width is resized; the number of tracks listed is left as it is.
There is an extra button in the info window version of the playlist, with
which you can find tracks containing specific word(s) in their filename or
tags. Right-clicking allows you to choose to have only the matching tracks
played (the rest will be skipped). There is also an "Auto-replace list with
library matches" option to have the playlist consist of all matches from
tracks in the library; the playlist contents will be replaced whenever the
search terms are changed.
The current and total number of tracks is also displayed in the top-right.
TIP: Double-clicking the visualisation toggles fullscreen mode.
NOTE: Screensavers will be disabled while fullscreen vis is active.
NOTE: Some visualisations support button-clicks. The middle (or 4th/5th)
mouse button is used to access that feature in XMPlay. Shift+leftclick can also be used.
MOD Pattern Display
===================
The "MOD Pattern Display" visualisation applies to MOD formats only, and
allows you to get an idea of how the files were "tracked". For simplicity
and clarity, not all effects are shown and a universal notation is used
for all formats. The following entries are shown by XMPlay:
note
instrument (shown in green)
portamento (red)
tone up/down (red ^/v)
vibrato (red ~)
volume (blue)
volume up/down (blue +/-)
NOTE: All numbers are shown in hex, except the row number.
Shortcuts can be set to scroll the display when all the channels do not
fit in the display. Channels can also be muted via shortcuts. See the
"Shortcuts" options page.
TIP: Channels can be muted by middle-clicking (or Shift+left-clicking)
on them.
TIP: The width of the channel columns can be changed depending on the
number of channels. See the "MOD" section.
Library
=======
The library is a sort of glorified playlist. Whereas the playlist just
contains each track's filename and title, the library contains a lot of
additional information. The full list of info contained in the library
is: filename, title, artist, album, date, track, genre, comment, file
type, file size, length, subsong(s), the play count, the time of last
playback, the age, and a user rating.
NOTE: Depending on the file size, it may be shown in KB or MB, where
1 KB = 1000 bytes and 1 MB = 1000000 bytes.
The tracks in the library can be sorted by any of these values, making
it quick and easy to locate the tracks you want to play. Click on the
column heading to sort by that value. Clicking again will reverse the
order.
You can choose what info is shown in the library by right-clicking on
the headings. You can also change the display order of the columns by
dragging them, and you can change the width of each column by dragging
the borders.
Files can be added to the library in the same way as they can with the
playlist, eg. using the add button or by drag'n'dropping them. They
can also be added automatically when played or added to the playlist.
See the "Playlist" section.
Probably the most convenient way to add files is to monitor folders,
ie. the folders containing your music. When any files are added or
deleted, they will automatically be added or removed from the library.
Monitoring is setup in the "Library" options page.
The library uses the same UI as the extended playlist. When used here,
all the buttons will take effect on the library, except for the random
and loop list switches, which still apply to the playlist.
-list:
Add the tracks to the list, else the list will be cleared and the new
tracks played (depending on the "Integration" options). When used, this
option should come before the files in the command-line.
-play:
Start playback.
-tray:
Minimize to tray.
-closetrack:
Close XMPlay at the end of 1 track
-closelist
Close XMPlay at the end of the playlist
Plugins
=======
XMPlay supports input, archive, output, DSP, and visual plugins. A load
of plugins are available at the XMPlay and support websites. To install a
plugin, simply put it in the same folder as (or a sub-folder of) the
XMPLAY.EXE file.
NOTE: XMPlay must be restarted (right-click on the close button) to enable
newly installed plugins.
A plugin SDK is available at the XMPlay website, should you wish to create
your own XMPlay plugins.
Skins
=====
Alternative skins are available at the XMPlay and support websites. As with
plugins, to install a skin, simply put it in the same folder as (or a
sub-folder of) XMPLAY.EXE. To switch skins, go to the "Appearance" options
page, or right-click on any non-button area of the main panel.
NOTE: XMPlay must be restarted (right-click on the close button) to enable
newly installed skins.
NOTE: Skins that have an alpha channel (transparency) require Win2k or above;
they can't be used on Win9x.
A skinning kit is also available at the XMPlay website, should you wish to
create your own XMPlay skins.
It is possible to customise/override a skin's SKINCONFIG.TXT settings (see
the skinning kit) by creating a file of the same name with ".skinconfig"
appended (or "xmplay.skinconfig" for the default skin) and placing the
wanted settings in there. This can be used to change a skin's fonts, for
example.
NOTE: Since XMPlay 3.8, new XMPSKIN files are actually ZIP archives and the
ZIP plugin is required to use them.
CUE sheets
==========
CUE files can be used to quickly jump to specific points (eg. start of a song
in an album) in large files. When opening a track, XMPlay will look for a CUE
file of the same filename (with ".CUE" extension) in the same folder (or
archive). If one is found, it will be loaded and the CUEs will be listed in
the "Message" info window. The subsong shortcuts can be used to jump between
the CUE points. XMPlay can also update the title based on the CUE sheet; see
the "Titles" section.
CUE files can also be opened directly, in which case their contents are added
to the playlist/library.
NOTE: Some formats allow CUE sheets to be embedded, which XMPlay will also
check for.
Latest version
==============
The latest version of XMPlay can always be found at the XMPlay website:
www.un4seen.com
Licence
=======
XMPlay is free for non-commercial use; if anyone tries to charge you
for it, kick 'em where it hurts.
This software is provided "as is". The author makes absolutely no warranties
on it; you use it at your own risk. The author shall not be held responsible
for any damage that may result from its use, including, but not limited to,
burning your toast while being too engrossed in the XMPlay "experience".
All trademarks and other registered names contained in the XMPlay package
are the property of their respective owners.
History
=======
These are the major (and not so major) changes at each version stage.
There are also many other tweaks and bug fixes made along the way!
3.8.2 - 22/12/2015
-----------------* HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) support
* RF64 support
* Support for large (over 4GB) files
* FastTracker 2 panning for XM files (and MODs in FT2 mode)
* Support for OpenMPT author field
* Crossfading on/off switch and shortcut
* Skin and vis plugin menus alphabetically grouped when there are lots of them
* Automated system sleep disabled while playing
3.8.1 - 23/12/2014
-----------------* Loading of different settings from multiple saved sets
* Loop limits included is saved loop settings
* Higher priority for exact path matches in saved settings
* Subsong number title formatting option
* Optional random bias for tracks that were last played longer ago
* Next/prev subsong seeking options also apply when the subsongs are separated
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
s
*
*
*
*
3.8 - 23/12/2013
---------------* Separation of tracks into individual subsongs/cues, and unseparation back the
other way
* Subsong info added to library ("subsongs" column) and track info window
* Random playback mode can be applied to subsongs too
* "%subsong" and "%subsongs" search term options added
* Support for tag names in search terms
* Playlist processing of CUE files
* Support for remarks in CUE files
* Soundtracker MOD support
* Looped OGG support
* Loop limiting by playback time
* "Go to time" shortcut to jump to a time position (aka "jump to time")
* Selection extension page up/down shortcuts
* Quicker access to file writing options via track right-click menu
* Support for "Content-Disposition" header filename when saving a streamed file
* "Year" track info replaced/expanded to "Date"
* Option to have XMPlay in both the taskbar and tray
* Taskbar title scrolling
* Option to replace the playlist when playing tracks from the library
* Track info option added to info window right-click menu
* Info window height limit for auto-resizing
* Archive file URLs will have all of their contents added to the playlist when o
pened
* Improved support for drag'n'dropping between the playlist and library and othe
r XMPlay instances
* Extended playlist filename display mode can optionally include the full paths
* "closetrack" and "closelist" command-line options to close at the end of the t
rack or playlist
* Automatic use of the backup if the library file gets corrupted
* Option to apply title formatting to Winamp plugins removed (now always on)
* ZIP plugin added to the XMPlay package
* Skinning enhancements including alpha channel support (see skinning kit)
3.7 - 21/12/2012
---------------* Recently played tracks list with the option of going back
* List of last 5 track titles for internet streams in "Message" info
* Contains/equals/lower/greater tag searching options
* Search history available via search button menu and quick find option
* Automatic playlist replacement with library search matches
* Playlist history and quick loading/saving of entries
* Playlist saving of only the selected tracks
* Playlist entry removal after playback
3.5.1 - 9/2/2010
---------------* Rating shortcuts
* Optional length/filetype/rating columns in playlist panel and extended playlis
t
* Adjustable crossfade length for manual track changes
* Search system tweaked some more, including a single phrase mode
* M3U playlist saving can use the standard or extended form
* CD plugin: MusicBrainz CDDB server option
3.5 - 22/12/2009
---------------* Built-in AIFF support
* Crossfading
* Track rating
* Configurable SRC quality
* More flexible search system (present/absent directives)
* Quick find shortcut
* Case-insensitive search support for non-ASCII characters
* Logarithmic volume option
* Volume muting
* Queue toggling is now optional and dequeue option added, allowing duplicate en
tries
* CUE sheets for written internet streams
* Timestamping of separately written internet stream tracks
* "Stop at end of track" option to temporarily disable looping & list advancing
* Options to close XMPlay at the end of the current track/list
* Playlist sorting by tags
* Options to only play newly listed tracks when not already playing or after boo
kmarking
* Optional moving of existing duplicate tracks
* Optional default queuing of new tracks
* Optional auto-sorting of new tracks by filename
* Optional removal of original file extension when writing to disk
* Optional replacing of filename underscores with spaces in titles
* Title format length limiting
* Separate title format for playlist panel
* Replaygain pre-amp adjustment
* Replaygain limiting according to peak level
* Support for LAME replaygain info
* Tracks played from library or search results are inserted at front of queue
* Random setting optionally affects next/previous controls
* Assignment of track actions to extra mouse buttons
* Shortcuts to jump to top/bottom of list/library
* Archive plugins added to input plugins list
* Winamp input plugins sorted by filename (so order can be changed by renaming)
* Playlist track tags retained in library
* Playlist periodic auto-saving
* Library backup file (XMPLAY.LIBRARY~)
* Auto-saving of settings upon closing "Options and stuff"
* Support for MO3 2.4
* Optional disabling of help bubbles
* Optional hour column in time displays
* Improved communication with Explorer (via OLE instead of DDE)
* CD plugin: Read speed limit option
* CD plugin: Support for CD drives with letter A/B
3.4.2 - 28/6/2007
----------------* Library menu options and shortcuts to select all tracks with matching tags
*
*
*
*
*
3.4.1 - 1/5/2007
---------------* Updating of saved settings
* Amp slider range increased to +/-15dB in DSP options
* Replaygain levels shown in "General" info
* Shortcuts for auto-amp and to reset amplification
* "-list" command-line option to add files to list
* 3D spectrum speed toggling (middle-click)
* Library display options moved to header right-click menu
3.4 - 3/4/2007
-------------* Output plugin system
* Optional resampling and downmixing
* Library folder monitoring
* Fullscreen visualisations
* Recursive/nested archive support
* EQ increased to 9 bands
* Actual filetype (not just extension) shown in playlist/library
* Per-extension saved settings replaced by per-filetype
* Ignoring of unwanted filetypes when adding new files
* DSP locking (prevent overriding by saved settings)
* Playlists in the library
* Library mass-tagging
* "Age" record added to library
* Waiting for track endings to decay
* Support for embedded CUE sheets
* Choice of CDDB info when there are duplicates
* CDDB info caching
* Info window text magnification
* Bubble text size configuration
* Sorting of search results by filename
* M3U playlist saving
* Scanning for playlists in HTML pages
* Drag'n'dropping between playlist and library
* MOD channel muting via middle-click in pattern display
* MOD auto-loop options
* Year tag extraction from MODs
* MOD signature shown in "General" info
* Auto-amp automatically disabled when replaygain is active
* Extended output buffer size range
* Balance shortcuts
* MOD interpolation/ramping/surround shortcuts
* Random played tracking always retained (option removed)
* Skinning improvements (see skinning kit)
3.3.0.6 - 30/11/2006
-------------------* Per-extension saved settings
* CD support for restricted/limited Win2k/XP users
* Option to lock CD door while playing
* Search history
* Shortcuts to extend selection
* Version number shown in "Options and stuff" window
3.3 - 22/12/2005
---------------* Config moved from registry to XMPLAY.INI file
* Show/manipulate queue in playlist panel
* Separate resizable search window
* Optional sorting of search results
* Position bookmarking (save current position to resume later)
* CD-TEXT support
* "Recover dead tracks" option to locate missing files
* Automatically check other drives for missing files
* "Play count" added to library
* Time of last play shown in track info window
* Integration option to select/deselect all extensions
* Quick launch bar shortcut
* Option to save playback position on closing XMPlay
* Shortcut to close XMPlay is now customisable
* Shortcut to save list
* Shortcut to toggle MOD playback mode
* Tray title bubbles are now optional
* "Move selected to top" sort option
* "Only sort selected" option removed (now always on)
* "Write to disk" continues writing after reconnection
* Download progress shown in "General" info
* Improved track dragging in list
* Follow current track can also apply in extended list
* Moving of main and info windows together
* Options and stuff window rearranged
* Differentiation between unplayable and missing tracks
* Skinning improvements (see skinning kit)
3.2 - 13/2/2005
--------------* New "media library" (replaces "recent tracks" list)
* Native "input" plugin system
* CD Audio support
* Conditional (if..then..else..) title formatting
* Genre, comment and filename elements added to title formatting options
* Title formatting can now also apply with Winamp plugins whenever possible
* Support for APEv2 tags
* ID3 genre tag support
* Optional title updating from CUE sheets
* Undo option (shortcut) for playlist/library modifications
* Plugin-played formats added to integration options
* Play/queue/info options (right-click menu) in the "Find tracks" list
* More efficient WMA file playing with WM9 (and above) modules installed
* Replaygain support
* Improved MOD default amplification level calculations
* Option to automatically write WAV/etc files to same folder as the source file
* Tag passing to external encoders (LAME/OGGENC default command-lines updated)
* Scrolling titles
* Playlist entry scrolling replaced with more detailed help bubbles
* Option to not add duplicate tracks to the playlist
* Adjustable info window text wrapping
* OGG "vendor" info shown in "General" info
* Option to shrink columns in MOD pattern display depending on number of channel
s
* MOD BPM/speed display option
* Option to ignore channel muting in IT/S3M files
* DSP volume/balance now permanently on, and changes are audible instantly
*
*
*
*
*
*
2.5 - 18/11/2002
---------------* Multi-song MOD support
* Support for DMO effects in IT/XM/MO3 files
* Support for chained OGG streaming
* Support for extended filter range in IT files
* Support for "Invert Loop" (EFx) MOD effect
* Global hotkeys
* Open URLs from info window texts
* Centered MOD pattern scrolling mode
* Faster WAV writing
* Improved external encoder STDIN support
* Playlist moved from registry to XMPLAY.PLS file
* Per-track settings moved from registry to XMPLAY.SET file
* Icecast2 tags shown in info window
* Support for track titles in WMA streams
* ID3 tags shown in info window for plugin-played files too
* EQs bands changed (now evenly spaced 2 octaves apart)
* "Flat" EQ preset
* XMPlay Support site link in misc panel
* "Auto-advance" option (loop list switch sub-menu)
* "Play listed tracks" option (list button sub-menu)
* "Sort by extension" option (random switch sub-menu)
* "-tray" command-line option to launch in tray
* "-play" command-line option to start playback on launch
* Support for multiple files and/or folders in command-line
* Shortcut to "Add folder" (shift+Insert)
* MP3pro files are passed onto the MP3pro plugin (if installed)
* A few skin-related improvements (see skinning kit)
2.4a - 24/7/2002
---------------* OGG support updated to 1.0
* Help bubbles for volume/amplification/EQ/reverb shortcut adjustments
* Vibrato effects shown in MOD pattern display
* Shortcut to stop
* Shortcut to "Get missing times"
* Shortcut to view skin "readme" text
* Shortcut to reload current skin
2.4 - 14/7/2002
--------------* Skins
* Built-in WAV support (including streaming)
* Built-in WMA support (including streaming)
* OGG support built-in (OGG/VORBIS DLLs not required)
* ASX "playlist" support
* Spectrum visualisations
* Amplification & auto-amp apply to plugins now too
* Calculation of missing track lengths
* Support for Modplug/ADPCM compressed files
* "Remove & delete file" option
* "Add folder" option
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2.3 - 28/2/2002
--------------* MPEG & OGG pre-load/scanning removed
* Seeking in internet streamed files
* MOD pattern display visualisation
* CODEC WAV writer removed and...
* ...replaced by customisable external encoder settings
* Auto-filename option for WAV/encoder writing
* PLS/M3U playlist streaming
* Active MOD channel count
* "Random play order" option
* Minimize to tray
* Info window scroll shortcuts
* Auto-kill virtual channels if CPU load reaches 75%
* Comments in XM files supported
* Localised font support
2.2 - 13/1/2002
--------------* Playlist searching & unmatched skipping
* OGG modules updated to RC3
* Detection of VBlank MODs
* EQ/reverb/restart shortcuts
* Current/total tracks display in playlist (info window)
* Plugin file info menu option in playlist
* Follow the current track marker in playlist panel
* Adlib S3M files are ignored (so plugins can play them)
* Error dialog explaining failed HTTP/FTP connections
* Warning dialog for unsupported Winamp plugins
2.1 - 22/12/2001
---------------* Winamp input plugin support
* Playlist panel duplicated in the info window
* HTML webpage scanning
* URL drag'n'dropping into XMPlay
* Drag'n'dropping files/URLs from XMPlay to other apps
* Write separate tracks to disk (Shoutcast streams)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2.0 - 1/11/2001
--------------* Too many things to remember! :)
Credits
=======
Ogg Vorbis decoding is based on libogg/vorbis,
Copyright (c) 2002-2004 Xiph.org Foundation
ZIP and PNG decoding uses zlib by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler.
The "thank you" section
=======================
BIG thanks to Chris "Ripguy" Corrado who designed the XMPlay 3 GUI, and
Nathan "KelticDanor" Hindley and Thomas Radeke and others who maintain
the XMPlay Support Site.
And thanks to the many who have given good suggestions and bug reports!