The later versions of Music Collector Database use a simpler method of playing MP3 files.
To create a play list, copy all the mp3 files that you want to appear in a play list to a folder.
You probably already store your mp3’s in separate folders, if you do, you can use these folders as play lists.
To Add A folder
From the top of the Input\Edit screen select Playlist.
Another screen is displayed, navigate to the folder containing the mp3 files. The contents of the folder will be displayed on the right hand side and the folder name will be displayed in the box at the bottom
To add the folder to the database, click on the ‘Add New’ or ‘Save’ button depending on whether you are editing an existing entry or creating a new one.
** IMPORTANT –click on the Add or Save button on the Input screen to make any changes permanent.
You can search for all entries in the database that have a playlist by clicking on the Search drop-down menu and selecting Recordings With Playlists. Or use the Ctrl+L shortcut keys.
Double click on an entry in the grid to display the Edit screen.
If an entry in the database has a playlist defined the ‘Playlist’ button will be visible on the Edit screen. Click on this button to start playing the first track in the playlist. The player will be displayed in the top left of the screen.
Buttons On The MP3 Player
To pause the player, click on the middle (Pause) button.
To stop and move to the next track click on the Stop button.
To continue playing after pausing, click on the play buton.
To play tracks from another folder click on the ‘Play Folder’ button. Select the folder where the mp3 files are that you want to play, click on one of the mp3 files then Click on ‘Open’. The mp3 files in the selected folder will start playing. To play just a single track, click on the ‘Play Single Track’ button.
There are also buttons to adjust and mute the volume.
The mp3 player will play in the background so you can listen to the tracks while you do other things with the database. Click on the Hide button. The mp3 player can be viewed by selecting it from the View drop-down menu or by hitting Ctrl+Y on the keyboard.
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**NOTE theses instructions are for vesion 2.6 and below:**
You can add a playlist to each entry in the database. The playlist will contain individual tracks that can be played with the built-in Windows media player. The tracks are played in the order that they appear in the playlist. Any files not in the correct format will be skipped. The playlist is held in a file with a m3u extension.
From the Input/Edit screen, click on the ‘Playlist’ drop-down menu and select Create\Edit Playlist. The shortcut keys Ctrl + E can also be used.
Use the drive and folder boxes to find the tracks you want to add. The available files in the selected folder will be displayed in the box on the left. To add individual tracks click on the file name, the track will now appear in the playlist box. To add all the tracks click on the arrow button.
When you have added all the tracks to the playlist, click on the ‘Save Playlist File As’ button. Select the folder where you want to create the playlist file and then click on the ‘Save’ button.
IMPORTANT –click on the Add or Save button on the Input screen to make any changes permanent.
The playlist button will become visible the next time you view the entry
You can search for all entries in the database that have a playlist by clicking on the Search drop-down menu and selecting Recordings With Playlists. Or use the Ctrl+L shortcut keys.
Double click on an entry in the grid to display the Edit screen.
If an entry in the database has a playlist defined the ‘Playlist’ button will be visible on the Edit screen. Click on this button to start playing the first track in the playlist. The player will be displayed in the top left of the screen.
Delete, this will delete the playlist m3u file. You will also be prompted to delete the file name from the database as well.
Save Playlist File As, this button is used to initially create the playlist m3u file or save any changes to an existing file. Click on this button after adding or removing tracks from the playlist.
Clear, will clear the playlist box. Remember to click on the ‘Save Changes To Playlist’ button to make any changes permanent.
Media Player
The playlist will play in the background so you can listen to the tracks while do other things with the database. Click on the Hide button. The media player can be viewed by selecting it from the View drop-down menu or by hitting Ctrl+Y on the keyboard.
If The Player Does Not Play
There could be a number of reasons why the player won’t play a playlist:-
Windows Media Player is not installed(this may be case with Windows 98)
A music file in the playlist is an invalid type.
A music file in the playlist is corrupt.
A pathname is incorrect for the music files within the playlist.
The playlist file no longer exists or has been moved to a different location.