Setting QCD As Your Default Player

You can set up QCD to be the default player that launches whenever you:

Insert a CD in your computer;
Open certain types of music files (for example, double-clicking on an MP3 file);
Play a stream on a web site.

To do this, you use the Default Player page of the QCD Preferences.

To display the Default Player Preferences page:

In the top left corner of the base skin , click the green Main Menu button, choose Preferences, and then click Default Player.

Here are some guidelines on things you can do with these settings:

To:	Do this:
Launch QCD whenever you insert a CD	Check the box labeled AutoPlay inserted CDs. Note: Whether the CD actually starts playing, or is just added to the Playlist when you insert it, is controlled by the configuration settings of the CD Audio plug-in. To check these settings, go to the Input Preferences page, and double-click the CD Audio plugin.
Launch QCD whenever you open a music file or (If QCD is already open) add music files to the QCD Playlist whenever you open them	Select the music file formats you want to play with QCD. (Use the Select All or Select None buttons.) This causes QCD to "register" itself with Windows as the default player to use when opening these files. This registration happens automatically when you close the Preferences. To cause QCD to register immediately (so you can see the effect without closing Preferences): Click the Register Now button. Tip: It is recommended that you also check the box labeled Re-register types on player start. (See below.) Note: If you want to control whether QCD will play the file, or just queue it up in the Playlist, use the checkbox labeled Enqueue as default action in Windows Explorer. (See below.)
Update the icons of music files on your system	Click the Register Now button. Click the Update Icons button. Ordinarily, Windows will update the icons of music files the next time you restart your computer. It displays a QCD icon on all files that will launch QCD when you open them. These buttons cause QCD to register itself immediately, and then update all the icons on your system without having to restart your computer.
Launch QCD whenever you open a stream on a web site	Follow the instructions for music files above. Streaming audio links are generally in one of the formats supported by QCD, such as PLS, M3U, or MP3.
Re-register QCD whenever you launch it	Check the box labeled Re-register types on player start. Some player applications re-register themselves as the default player for certain formats, even after you have manually registered QCD as the default player. This checkbox causes QCD to restore itself as the default player every time you launch it.
Allow other players to register themselves	Uncheck the box labeled Re-register types on player start. If you use other player programs to play certain media types, unchecking this checkbox prevents QCD from trying to re-register itself every time you launch it.
Cause music files to play when you open them	Uncheck the box labeled Enqueue as default action in Windows Explorer.
Just queue up files in the Playlist when you open them	Check the box labeled Enqueue as default action in Windows Explorer.
See QCD commands when you right-click on folders	Check the box labeled Add folder context menus in Windows Explorer. This causes Windows to display the commands Play in QCD and Enqueue in QCD when you right-click on a folder. Selecting these commands performs that action on all music files contained in the folder for which QCD is the default player. Note: These two commands automatically appear whenever you right-click on a music file for which QCD is the registered default player.
Keep QCD minimized if you open new files	Check the box labeled Don't restore minimized player for new media. If you minimize the QCD window, this causes QCD to stay minimized when you open other music files. If you uncheck this box, opening a music file will maximize the QCD window.