Messages

1

Plugins / Re: Logitech LCD

« on: February 16, 2015, 07:34:18 PM »

I didn't get this prior to installing this plugin, but I don't know for sure that it's related to the plugin. Frequently, the first time that I launch MusicBee, I get the following and have to restart MusicBee:
MusicBee v2.5.5516.27806 (Win6.1), 16 Feb 2015 14:31:

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at MusicBeePlugin.Plugin.refreshLoop(Object state)
   at System.Threading.TimerQueueTimer.CallCallbackInContext(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.TimerQueueTimer.CallCallback()
   at System.Threading.TimerQueueTimer.Fire()
   at System.Threading.TimerQueue.FireNextTimers()
   at System.Threading.TimerQueue.AppDomainTimerCallback()

2

MusicBee Wishlist / Re: IS there a way we can get a 'more than 5 star' rating thing going?

« on: January 18, 2015, 03:27:48 AM »

you can configure its appearance in a bajillion ways.

This a thousand times over. I bet you could get 100 experienced MusicBee users together and look at their setups and you wouldn't find two that are the same. Everyone has a different idea of what works for them, and MusicBee lets us set it up mostly how we want it without being ridiculously over-complicated. For example, I always wanted to get into the Foobar music player, but the few times that I tried it, I found it way too complicated for my taste. I'm pretty computer literate, and I don't like Foobar due to complexity. I'm sure it is extremely configurable, but I felt like I needed to take a class or read a book to use it. MusicBee gives me a happy middle point where I can set it up how I want without needing a tutorial.

If you aren't happy with how MusicBee looks, start tinkering with it. I didn't know what I was doing initially. I'd try something and then look to see how it affected the UI to figure out what that option does. I eventually got a look that I like.

3

Plugins / Re: LyricsReloaded

« on: January 17, 2015, 06:12:51 AM »

Would it be possible to build something into the plugin that would add the source at the end of the lyrics? For example, in the past I used a batch lyric plugin for MediaMonkey before I discovered MusicBee. At the end of the lyrics, it lists the following:

Lyrics provided by: AZLyrics.com
Artist: MEGADETH
Track: Symphony Of Destruction

Lyrics provided by: Lyric.Wikia.com
Artist: Pink Floyd
Track: Time

If it's possible, perhaps make it an option, like a checkbox, in the settings for the plugin. Some people may not want it. I think it's good for two reasons off the top of my head:

• It gives some recognition to the provider.
• It lets me know where the lyrics came from in case they aren't correct and I want to try a different provider, or even go to their site and correct it.

Thanks!

4

Questions / Re: 'Preview' button for posting in the forum defunct?

« on: January 12, 2015, 03:21:07 AM »

I will confirm as well that the preview option doesn't appear to work on my end. It says "Fetching preview..." above my edit box, but nothing else happens. I'm using:
Firefox 34.0.5

Adblock Plus 2.6.6
Avast Online Security 10.0.2502.149
Download YouTube Videos as MP4 1.7.30
DownThemAll 2.0.17
Greasemonkey 2.3 (only set to modify Google results page)

5

Questions / Looking For WMP Scope Visualizer

« on: December 31, 2014, 02:55:21 AM »

Does anyone know of a "scope" type of visualizer that I can use? I'm referring to something like the scope visualization in Windows Media Player. Here is a pic:

It seems like it would be a fairly simple visualization.

6

Questions / Re: Portable vs Non-Portable and "config files"

« on: December 30, 2014, 05:31:41 AM »

Doing it the wiki way didn't seem to make any difference. I guess I'll just go through the ini files and manually change the paths. For example:
<SettingsPath>C:\Users\NAME\Desktop\MusicBee\AppData\</SettingsPath>
Will need to be changed to: C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee
and
<SystemPlugin>
 <State>
  <Id>\Users\NAME\Desktop\MusicBee\Plugins\mb_TheaterModePlugin.dll</Id>
will need to be changed to: C:\Program Files (x86)\MusicBee\Plugins\mb_TheaterModePlugin.dll

In the wiki it says to install MusicBee but do not run it yet. Then the next step says to copy files from the old AppData folder to the new one, however, I didn't have a new AppData folder until after I ran MusicBee the first time. Then it was created in C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee.

7

Questions / Re: Portable vs Non-Portable and "config files"

« on: December 30, 2014, 05:02:34 AM »

Doh! I updated/added quite a bit to my post while you were responding (didn't want to double post). I'll check that wiki page and see what I find. Thanks!

8

Questions / Re: Portable vs Non-Portable and "config files"

« on: December 30, 2014, 04:16:32 AM »

Are there any functional differences between the portable and installed versions of MusicBee? I started with the portable version to try it out and see if I like it. I like the software a lot and plan to use it going forward as my music playing solution on my PC. Do I lose anything at all by staying with the portable version sitting on my desktop, or should I go ahead and install the app and move my settings to the installed version now that I know MusicBee is a keeper?

To switch to the installed version, which files would I need to copy over to my installed version in order to keep all of my settings?

EDIT: Still curious about any differences in the two versions, if any. I tried to install the Mod'ernaire theater mode and had issues. After switching to the full installation, I still can't get the theater mode to work properly for Mod'ernaire. Anyway, to answer the question about copying files, I copied the following and the installed version now seems to look and act the same as my portable version.
PORTABLE > INSTALLED LOCATION
MusicBee\AppData > Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee\InternalCache\*
MusicBee\AppData > Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee\ActivityLog.dat
MusicBee\AppData > Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee\MusicBeeSettings.ini
MusicBee\AppData > Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee\StartupSettings.ini
MusicBee\AppData > Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee\TheaterModeState.ini

MusicBee\Library\* > Location of my music library\MusicBee\

MusicBee\Plugins\* > C:\Program Files (x86)\MusicBee\Plugins\

The only issue is that the ini files reference locations in the portable install folder. Is there any method to backup my settings and then import or restore them to the installed copy? I don't want to start over.

9

TheaterMode / Re: Mod'ernaire

« on: December 27, 2014, 02:46:55 AM »

I FIGURED IT OUT!
This post can be ignored I suppose....   I feel like a total dumbass. I just now changed MusicBee from a portable install to a full install. Then I fired up Mod'ernaire to see if it would work. I just happened to randomly discover that the controls are "hidden" in the bottom right corner of the screen. Those controls allow me to display the other items on the screen. I don't know if it wasn't working properly in the portable version, or if I just never moved the mouse over the controls in the bottom right. Probably the latter.  
----------------ORIGINAL POST-------------------------------------
I'm fairly new to MusicBee; I've only installed one other theater view before this one. With this one, I don't get any controls or the track list or anything. I only see the background with the artist pics on the TV and I guess the "soundgraph/wavebar". I installed the font by double clicking the ttf file and then clicking on "install". The font shows up correctly in Notepad.

EDIT: I installed the files as such (I'm using the portable version):
C:\Users\NAME\Desktop\MusicBee\Plugins\TheaterMode.List\Mod'ernaire.xml
C:\Users\NAME\Desktop\MusicBee\Plugins\TheaterMode.List\SharedArtwork\Home_Theater_1680 x 1050.jpg

Also, a separate question. Inside the artwork folder is a text file with the following instructions:

By default, a .jpg file with the same name as the settings XML file will be loaded, but you can override this behavior by applying this to the settings file:
<settings backgroundImage="xxx.jpg" />
which will cause the plugin to load xxx.jpg in this folder as the background image

Where is this "settings file"? I don't care for the pic of the table with a flower sitting on it. I'd like to use the image in Mod'ernaire as the default.

EDIT: Sorry, one last edit. I changed the "Default Landscape.jpg" to "Default Landscape.jpg.bak" and then made a copy of the Mod'ernaire pic and named it "Default Landscape.jpg" and that seems to fix that last issue unless that will cause some issue that I'm not aware of.

10

Questions / Re: Any way to get album grid view when you click on the artist picture grid?

« on: December 26, 2014, 09:43:53 AM »

I appreciate the reply. I don't like that my only option for scrolling the albums is to click on the < and > to scroll. If the album art grid isn't an option, I think it would be a little better if I could somehow have my mouse focus on the horizontal scrollable line of album art so that I can scroll horizontally with the mouse wheel. Perhaps, if that album art panel is opened, your mouse will auto focus on that panel until you close it. Another option might be to have the songs not pop out underneath immediately when I click the album cover. Instead, have the songs pop out if I click and release the mouse button. If I click and hold mouse1 without releasing, I could then slide the albums left or right like a "swipe" with click and hold. One other option might be to add a horizontal scroll bar at the top of the horizontal scrollable line that I can click/hold and then move back and forth side to side.

Don't get me wrong, I really like MusicBee a lot. I really appreciate how much work (the coding) has gone into it largely, if not solely, by one person if I understand correctly. This is one of the best FREE apps that I've ever used. I can't believe that I went so long without discovering it. I'm just offering some suggestions on how to possibly make an excellent app even better. 

11

Questions / Any way to get album grid view when you click on the artist picture grid?

« on: December 25, 2014, 03:51:16 AM »

I'm certain that my post subject doesn't clearly explain what I'm looking for. I'm sure I don't know the correct terminology as far as MusicBee is concerned, so I've included a screenshot of how my main panel looks and will try to explain how I want it to behave. I'm pretty sure that it's possible since MusicBee is so customizable. I seem to recall that it worked this way initially, but I've tinkered with it so much that I don't know how to get it back, assuming that I am correct of course.

Here is how it looks when I click on an artist. It drops down and opens a 'sub-panel' or sorts where the albums are displayed in a horizontal single row as artwork. I need to scroll to the right to view all of the albums.

What I would like to do is have the sub-panel thing show the albums in a grid view like 6 wide and then do a new row below that one and do 6 more left to right until all of the albums are displayed. I don't want to have them all in one row that I have to scroll horizontally. I'm hoping some MusicBee veteran will likely see this and know immediately what I am talking about and will be able to tell me how to do it. I've looked through the settings and cannot figure it out. I thought it was the checkbox "use Artwork layout to show albums for an artist", but that doesn't appear to make anything look any different. TIA!

12

TheaterMode / Re: Northern Lights

« on: December 18, 2014, 06:22:50 AM »

Thank you for the updated link. It's working fine!

13

TheaterMode / Re: Northern Lights

« on: December 15, 2014, 05:19:04 AM »

I would like to download this, but the dropbox links says: Access to this link has been disabled. Is there anywhere else that I can get this? Perhaps someone that reads this has a copy that they can share. I like that it has a visualization in the view, a spectrum analyzer or something. TIA!

14

Questions / Re: Appears To Hang With Rescan / Add Files

« on: December 14, 2014, 02:45:59 AM »

But MB's handling of such situations seems to leave something to be desired. It could just proceed to the next file if file validation takes longer than the usual, reporting the list of import-failed files at the end or asking the user whether to skip the file.

This is exactly what I'm suggesting. Give me some kind of idea of what's going on during the import. If a file can't be imported or times out, don't ask me to skip it though. That requires me to be at the computer and watching while it imports 9000 files. I'd say just let it do it's thing and then give me a list of failed files at the end of the process that I can then investigate. If there is corruption, that would also point me to the files that I may need to look into, reacquire, or repair. I used Media Monkey in the past and I believe it gave some type of listing of failed files, but it's been a while so I'm not certain. When it happpened to me, I just assumed that MusicBee was failing for some unknown reason and was close to giving up and abandoning the app. I'm glad that I waited it out and let it finish because so far I'm really liking MusicBee.

15

Questions / Appears To Hang With Rescan / Add Files

« on: December 10, 2014, 01:24:29 AM »

Hi, I just started using MusicBee (portable) today. I used to use Media Monkey. I selected over 9000 MP3s to scan the first time that I used MusicBee. It scanned down to the last 20 or so according to the status bar at the bottom of the window and then appeared to hang. I let it sit for a minute or so and finally hit cancel. I assumed it was getting hung on a specific file, but for whatever reason it wouldn't skip it or give me any error. I hoped it would add the ones that it scanned successfully up to that point, but it completely cancelled and I had to start over.

Going through and checking boxes to scan directories gets a bit tedious after trying 4 or 5 times. I do not have anything related to replay gain selected. I also restricted it to MP3 files only. I finally resorted to scanning the library in smaller pieces to see if I could narrow it down. I did around 2000 files at first and it appeared to hang on those too, but after several seconds it completed. I thought that maybe there was some processing going on at the end even though the progress bar would show something like "scanning 1988 / 2000" and hang there (I don't recall exactly what the status bar shows or the formatting).

I then decided to scan the remaining 5000-6000 files or whatever it was that was left. It appeared to hang once again near the end. I decided to let it sit since the hard drive was showing activity. After a minute or two it completed! Is it normal for the status bar to appear like it's hanging with around 20 files left? If so, perhaps something could be changed with the UI to indicate that all of the files are scanned but some kind of post-processing is happening or a database is being built or whatever is actually happening. I wasted a bit of time trying to get the files added and redoing it. I almost gave up on MusicBee because I couldn't get my files imported, or so I thought.