FreeCD v1.91 for Windows 95 5/7/97 - by Nate Smith e-mail: nate@cryogen.com -------------------------------------------- - README.TXT: a fast & dirty user's manual - -------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- WHAT IS FREECD? ("The Spiel") ----------------------------- FreeCD is a 100% free audio CD player for Windows, featuring a graphical, intuitive, mouse-driven interface and a compact and customizable display. It includes such useful features as track repeat, disc eject, and multiple time-display modes, plus it can be minimized to the taskbar notification area (by the clock) to save screen space, where it can still be completely controlled through a small icon and a pop-up menu. Very versatile, easy to use, and you can't beat the price! -------------- IMPORTANT NOTE -------------- This version of FreeCD ONLY SUPPORTS Windows 95. It should work on NT 4, but it WILL NOT work on earlier versions of Windows (not even Win32s). However, the upcoming FreeCD version 2.0 WILL BE compatible with all Windows versions. Just hang in there! ------------ INSTALLATION ------------ To install FreeCD, simply copy the file FREECD.EXE into your Windows folder (i.e.: C:\WINDOWS) or any other folder of your choice, and pick one of the following options: -- I. To create an icon for FreeCD on your Desktop -- 1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the file FREECD.EXE in your Windows folder (or wherever you originally installed the file). 2. Right-click the file and drag it onto your Desktop. 3. On the pop-up menu that appears, select "Create shortcut(s) here". (To rename the icon, select it, press F2, type a new name, and press Enter). 4. Double-click the new icon to run FreeCD. -- II. To create an icon on your Start Menu under "Programs" -- 1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the file FREECD.EXE in your Windows folder (or wherever you originally installed the file). 2. Right-click the file and select "Create shortcut" from the pop-up menu. 3. Right-click the new shortcut and select "Cut". 4. Locate your Windows folder (most likely C:\WINDOWS), and open the subfolder named "Start Menu". 5. In the Start Menu directory, open the subfolder named "Programs". 6. In the right-hand pane of Explorer where the contents of "Programs" are displayed, right click the mouse on any blank area. 7. From the pop-up menu, select "Paste". 8. Open your Start Menu, select Programs, and you'll see "Shortcut to FREECD.EXE" (or something similar). Select this to run FreeCD. NOTE: To rename "Shortcut to FREECD.EXE" to something more meaningful like "FreeCD", select "Shortcut to FREECD.EXE" in Explorer (if it's not there, follow the steps above to locate it). Press F2, type a new name, and press Enter. Open your Start Menu to see the changes. Hope that covers all the bases. If you encounter any problems getting FreeCD to work, see the end of this document for my e-mail address. ------------ UNINSTALLING ------------ To completely remove FreeCD from your computer (come on, you wouldn't REALLY want to do something like that, now would you?), simply open Windows Control Panel, select "Add/Remove Programs", select "FreeCD v1.91" from the list, and press the "Add/Remove" button. NOTE: If you're one of the few (un)lucky people who has FreeCD version 1.9, then be sure you delete the file FREECD.DAT from the same directory as your old FREECD.EXE. This old file won't harm anything (you're welcome to leave it there if you want), but it won't be used anymore and simply takes up space. ------------ USING FREECD ------------ Operation is pretty straightforward - I tried to make the interface resemble a typical home stereo, with a few extras. Here's a list of all the buttons, and what they do (it helps if you read this in Windows Notepad with FreeCD running close by): (from left to right) - Reverse Skip - skip to the previous track; from track 1, skips to the last track on the disc - Play/Pause - plays the CD; while the CD is playing, pauses the CD (the current status is indicated by the marks on the play button) - Forward Skip - skip to the next track; from the last track on the disc, skips to track 1 - Time Display - click here and drag to move the window; double-click once to display the remaining track time; double-click again to display the remaining disc time; double-click again to display the total disc length; double-click a 4th time to return to the normal display again - Six little buttons, clockwise from top-left: Volume - opens the Windows volume control Minimize - minimizes the window onto the Taskbar Exit - exits FreeCD Help - displays version info as well as my e-mail address for emergencies(?); in the future this will access the full help system Eject - ejects the disc, or if the drive is open, closes it Repeat - toggles track repeat on & off - Command Menu - right-click anywhere in the window to display this; here you can access otherwise unavailable commands such as Options and Always On Top Options - here's a list of the options in the Options dialog box and what they do: - Show time on taskbar button - displays track & time info on the FreeCD button on the taskbar (try it!) - Always startup as taskbar icon - always starts FreeCD minimized as an icon in the taskbar notification area, regardless of whether FreeCD was minimized when you last exited - Use last screen position on startup - saves the position of the FreeCD window when you exit, and starts up in the same position next time (If you leave this option turned off, FreeCD always starts up in the lower-right corner of the screen) - Automatically play current CD on startup - plays the CD in the drive on startup or when a new CD is inserted (If this is turned off, you must hit play everytime you start FreeCD and when you insert a new disc) - Automatically repeat at end of disc - repeats the CD when the end is reached (If this is turned off, the CD simply stops at the end) - Keep track repeat enabled when a new track is selected - if track repeat is turned on, this option keeps it on even if you skip to a new track (If this option is turned off, track repeat turns off whenever you skip to a new track) My best advice for using the program is this: just play around and try clicking (left, right, and double) on everything. Remember to RIGHT- CLICK anywhere on the window (or the taskbar icon) to display the command menu. And remember that if you need any further help using FreeCD (or if these instructions just don't make sense) just check out the FreeCD web site or e-mail me (check the addresses below) to get the answers you need. Good luck! --------------------------------------------- TODAY & TODAY ONLY, WE'RE GIVING THEM AWAY!!! --------------------------------------------- Yes, it is called "FreeCD" and it does what it says. Move over, shareware, here comes FREEWARE! Yep, 100% free of charge. You can use it, modify it, sell it, distribute it by electronic or other means, or, heck, do pretty much anything you want with it! However, if you've got a little extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, see "A FINAL WORD" below... (Just one little request, since it is free and all: If you do decide to SELL it, sell it at whatever it cost you (and please give credit to the author), and if you MODIFY it, please send me a copy of your changes - I'd be very interested in what other developers think of my software. That's all, thanks :) ------------- RELEASE NOTES ------------- Version 1.91 is probably the final step before version 2.0. This is a bug fix and update to version 1.9, which I'm sorry to say I released in a hurry because I thought my ISP was going to shut me down (whoops!). Anyway, this (v1.9 & 1.91) is the third "real" release of this program, although there were a couple "pre-1.0" alpha releases which I'm not especially proud of :). This version is a significant update to version 1.1, although not quite enough changes were made to warrant a step all the way up to 2.0 - as a matter of fact, v1.9 and v1.91 are beta releases of 2.0. Among the changes made since v1.1 are: - no more space-eating title bar (just click & drag the time display to move the window around) - fully configurable! Just right-click to display the command menu, click Options, and away you go! - minimizes to an icon in the taskbar notification area, to save space in the main taskbar, and to provide status info without having to restore the main window. NOTE: to see the current time while minimized, hold the cursor over the icon for a few seconds... - saves last display position and uses it every time you startup - can display the current track & time on the taskbar button - track repeat actually works! - volume control! (well, kind of...) - can display time remaining and total time - nifty menu bitmap! - the buttons now display their status, instead of using the time display - access Always On Top through the menu, instead of a button and, as before: - v1.9+ are Win95-only, written in native 32-bit code. It may work with Win32s, but I haven't tested this (though you're free to give it a try and let me know whether it works...) - as far as I can tell, all the bugs have been fixed (though, as usual, there are a few new ones, though not nearly as significant as the old ones...) - minimizes onto the taskbar like a good little program should, instead of the Desktop (like it used to) - the window can now be moved around to your heart's content - automatically plays the CD when the program starts and when a new CD is loaded (this can be turned off in the Options menu) - automatically repeats the CD when the end is reached (this can be turned off in the Options menu) - includes a disc eject button - always on top feature - disc length display - OK, so it doesn't do much; but hey, what it does, it does well, and it looks pretty nifty to boot ---------- KNOWN BUGS ---------- I hope these won't cause you any difficulty (and rest assured, they'll all be fixed in v2.0), but here are the current bugs in FreeCD: - the time display will occasionally skip a second or bog down if the system is busy (this has been greatly improved in v1.91, but still occasionally happens when the system is really busy) - sometimes the track skip buttons won't behave as expected; just click again and they usually work (this one sort of has a mind of its own...) - sometimes track repeat will fail to work (this should be pretty much eliminated in v1.91) If you find any other bugs or glitches, just e-mail me at the address below and let me know. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! ----------- SOURCE CODE ----------- Versions 1.9+ were programmed and compiled with Borland's C++ 5.0 Development Suite (a great product), adapted from the 32-bit code for v1.1. I may or may not continue to work on this particular program for much longer, so if you'd like to pick it up where I leave off, let me know. Or if you'd simply like to know what makes it tick, you can get the source code at the FreeCD web site (see below). ----------------- HOW TO CONTACT ME ----------------- Thanks much for giving FreeCD a try. Again, if you experience any problems or have any questions I'd be glad to help, and I always accept constructive criticism and suggestions for improvements. You can reach me at my new e-mail address: nate@cryogen.com Please include "FreeCD v1.91" in the subject line, and for problems with running the program, please include as much information as possible about relevant computer hardware and whatever software was running at the time the problem occurred. NOTE: one problem I hear about quite often is that FreeCD displays NO DISC and doesn't play even when a CD is loaded. In this case, it's most likely a problem with either your CD-ROM setup or your Multimedia setup. To make sure, try playing a CD with Windows Media Player. If this doesn't work, then you'll have to consult either your Win95 documentation or your computer manufacturer to properly set up your multimedia hardware and Windows drivers. For more help with this and other problems, see the FreeCD web site at: www.cryogen.com/freecd ------------ A FINAL WORD ------------ Although I will continue to distribute my software free of charge until I start writing commercial-grade, truly useful programs, I'll be accepting job offers and charitable donations to the Nate Smith College Fund for the next four (or so...) years. E-mail me if you'd like to pursue either of these. Thanks again for your interest and support. - Nate Smith