MultiMedia JukeBox v3.0

Dan Fox

3131 Hayes Road #1605

Houston, TX 77082-2660

This Multimedia utility was written so I could queue up MIDI, WAV and AVI files and listen to them while working in other Windows or DOS based apps running in a DOS box in Windows. It utilizes your installed MCI drivers to control the soundboard. These MIDI, waveform and Video for Windows drivers are included with Windows 3.1, the Windows Multimedia Extensions for 3.0 and the Video for Windows software package or run-time module.

To use, install the program into any directory and double click or drag the file from the File Manager into a program group. You must also move BWCC.DLL to your \windows\system directory if you do not already have a copy (many users do since it is widely available and needed for some commerical apps). The button bar on the top has the following functions:

The Add button to add files to the queue with the standard file dialog.

The Subtract button to remove files from the queue.

The Clear button to clear the queue entirely.

The Play button (default) to begin playing the queue.

The Stop button to halt the queue.

The Pause button to pause play (if the device supports it).

The Resume button to resume play (if the device supports it).

The Skip button to skip to the next selection in the queue.

The Back button to go back to the previous selection.

The Queue Length button to calculate the play length of the entire queue. Note: If you click on this option while a file is playing, playing will halt. If you have many files in the play list it may take several seconds for the time to be calculated. The final new feature is a box which shows the play length of the currently playing file in seconds.

In addition there is a checkbox below the Play List:

By checking this box time remaining for the currently playing selection will be shown as the caption of the application window rather than the current selection itself. In addition the time remaining will also be displayed below the Play List along with the currently selected .que file.

Drag and Drop

This application is drag and drop aware so that you can drag a file from the file manager and deposit it on the application window to add it to the play list. This is more convenient than selecting files through a file dialog each time you wish to add new files.

The System Menu

There are several options included on the system menu. The first are the Open and Save items that allow you to save Queued lists of files (*.que). These files are stored as ASCII text files and simply contain a list (with full path information) of the files you wish to play.  As a result you have the option to associate .que files with the MultiMedia JukeBox application to quick start the JukeBox using a .que file. The .que file will then be loaded on startup. You can make the association in the File Manager's File menu where there is an option to Associate file types with a specific application. You can also set up separate icons in Program Manager for different .que files in two ways. First if you have made an association for que files simply drag a que file into a program group. Secondly, by giving MMJUKE one parameter containing the full path of the que file. For example in the Command Line edit box you could enter:

c:\midi\mmjuke c:\midi\pop.que

Another option on the system menu is the Play option so that you can start play without maximizing the application. This goes along with the final option to keep the app Always on Top of the desktop.

Future

I still plan on adding the capability to select multiple files from the file list box but this presents some unexpected problems. Hopefully the drag and drop support will help out until I can get some time to add this feature.

This is the third version of the program and only took about 750 lines of code using the Object Windows applications framework and Borland C++ 3.1 with the Borland Custom Controls. I plan on updating it and would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

This version is shareware not freeware so if you find it useful please remit $5 to the above address, Thanks. 7/8/93

danlfox@aol.com

Compuserve 7204,2637


ObjectWindows or OWL is a set of libraries and header files that simplify Windows programming by incorporating many of the windowing and control options into clearly defined objects. These objects (CLASSES) can be used in your Windows program, allowing faster code development and more readable code.


Borland Custom Controls are contained in the BWCC.DLL, BWCC.LIB and certain header files provided with Borland C++ 3.1. This library of controls contain buttons, listboxes, static text, checkboxes and so forth in the Borland Style. You must have BWCC.DLL in a directory of your AUTOEXEC.BAT PATH statement or the x:\windows\system directory.


The Media Control Interface is an API (applications programming interface) that allows developers to easily control multimedia devices such as sound boards, video recorders, cd players, etc. It provides a layer of abstraction from the hardware and uses common commands for controlling different types of devices.


Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a shorthand file format for representing a musical score.


Waveform Audio file format that is supported by Windows 3.1 for event sounds. It is a digital recording of sound unlike the representation of a musical score as found in a MIDI file.


Audio Visual Interleave file format supported by Video for Windows that allows the recording and playback of video. It is a digital format that requires a large amount of disk space for even a short video clip.