Media library

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Revision as of 23:55, 21 March 2009 by Retired Tech Bad Brad (talk | contribs) (→‎Maintaining the Media Library: the role of source code)
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This is a brand-new page as of 2009/03/21, an attempt to provide instructions on how to use the media player's Media Library feature.

As of VLC media player version 0.9.8a, the Media Library feature offers only the most basic abilities.

This author is working from a MacBook Pro using OS 10.4.11, so if you are using Windows (XP or Vista) or Linux, the exact locations of your menus and controls, as well as their appearance, can be expected to vary somewhat.

Everything presented here so far has been garnered from the user forums, and/or exploring the preferences and controls of my own copy of the program.

To Begin

If you want to use the media player's "Media Library" feature, you will need to verify that the function has been enabled in the preferences, and then you'll have to adjust the controller so that the window where the function is displayed automatically opens.

From the "VLC" menu select "Preferences...". It will not matter which tab you select. The function that you are looking for is an advanced function. In the preferences window, from any tab, look at the lower left hand corner to find a pair of radio buttons labeled "Basic" and "All". Click the "All" button.

The preferences window will change so that it consists of a narrow left-hand pane and a much wider right-hand pane. On the left is a list of the categories of preferences that may be adjusted. Most of the items have triangles next to them (Mac interface), which may be clicked to expand upon the available choices. For the moment we don't need to click any of them. Just know that for the most part when expanded the subordinate lists simply give quick access to particular functions. Occasionally, but not very often, a subordinate item may turn out to be the only way to gain access to the control.

If the left-hand pane is so narrow that it's difficult to read the list, you can click on the divider between the panes and drag it to change the width.

In the left-hand pane find "Playlist" and click the word. You can click the triangle if you want to, but you must click the word in order to see the controls.

In the right-hand pane look about half way down the list. Find the item "Use media library" and verify that there is a checkmark in the box immediately to the left of it. If it was necessary to change the status of this option, be sure to click the "Save" button, located at the bottom right of the preferences window.

While you're on this particular control pane, note that users are reporting their files playing in random order even when they don't want them to. (For example, see http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=55953&hilit=media+library) If this is happening to you, check the status of the item labeled "Play files randomly forever". It is uncertain whether this control is working. If you have not enabled it, but are getting random play, consider reporting it as a bug.

To close this window you must click either the "Cancel" or "Save" button.

Once "Use media library" is enabled, you need to open the Controller window followed by the Playlist window to see the Media Library in action. There are several ways to accomplish this, but one certain way is as follows: from the media player's menu bar, click the "Window" menu and select "Controller...". The last time the VLC media player was used, if the playlist window was already opened, then it will automatically reopen. If not, then click the "Window" menu again and select "Playlist...".

Due to redundant controls, there are other ways get this done. On the basic controller, in the lower right-hand corner, is a pair of buttons. The left button when toggled will open and close the 10 band audio equalizer. (If you want to use it, be sure that there is a checkmark in the "Enable" box in the Equalizer's window.) The right-hand button when toggled will open and close the "Playlist" window. You can also open and close the "Playlist" window by grabbing and dragging the very edge of the lower right corner of controller window. At a certain shape and size, the "Playlist" window will snap opened or closed as appropriate.

What's Next?

Other users report in the forum that the Media Library file will appear in the VLC media player folder along with the application and will be named "ml.xspf". Thus the Media Library file is in fact a sophisticated playlist in xspf format. To learn more about it, go to the XSPF article in this wiki.

Once you know how the xspf format works, you need to use a text editor suitable for things like writing XML code to put your playlist together.

I use TextWrangler 2.3.0 (262) ub.app, a free OS X Mac program, for example. http://barebones.com/products/textwrangler/

Once created, from the VLC media player use "Open File..." and/or "Save Playlist..." to bring it to the media player's attention.

On Mac OS 10.4.11, these items are found on the "File" menu.

On Linux and Windows try looking for "Playlist -> Save playlist to file..."


Maintaining the Media Library

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE DO!!!!

May I suggest obtaining a copy of the source code and studying it to deduce what the programmers intended for their Media Library function. Version 0.9.x has clearly introduced superior playlist functions, especially with regard to XML-based playlists, to provide a robust foundation for a superior Media Library function.

See also

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