This text file contains a list of all of the new features included in this version. This file will be added to each time a new release becomes available.
APR 1, 2003 - Version 2.0.0
1. Customizing The PC Jukebox's Appearance
The biggest single change in Version 2.0 is the ability of the user to change the appearance of every screen element. Simply by right clicking on any part of any screen, the user will be presented with a menu of choices to change the look of that element. For example, right clicking on the logo at the top of the main screen will allow the user to pick a new one (IMPORTANT -- When selecting a new logo, be sure NOT to select an animated one by default. To display an animated graphic, select a static one by default, then select the Animated Logo choice in the Options dialog. This will allow you to easily toggle back and forth between static and animated logos. Selecting an animated logo by default will cause an error!). Clicking on any open area of the background will give the user the opportunity to change the background color for that screen. The fonts and colors of all of the text items can be changed. Feel free to experiment changing any and all of the items. You may even find some hidden ones!!
At any time you can restore all of the default color, font, and logo settings back to their original values. Simply click in the upper right hand corner of the main screen to display the Options dialog. Then click on the large red button at the top of the dialog box labeled 'Restore All Default Colors/Fonts/Logos/Party Mode Settings'. A confirmation dialog will display asking if you are sure you want to do this. Clicking 'Yes' will erase all of your custom settings and immediately set all choices back to their default settings.
2. Rebuilding The Music Library
New in Version 2.0 is an improved way to rebuild and update your Music Library. In Version 1.0, each time you wanted to add even a single song, your Music Library would be deleted and recreated from scratch. This could be very time consuming and annoying. In Version 2.0, any song that was previously added to the Music Library and is unchanged will simply be skipped over, thus significantly reducing the time of the rebuild procedure. If there are new songs that have not previously been added to the Music Library, these will be found and added. Also, if the tag information for any previously added song has been updated or changed, The PC Jukebox will now extract this new information and update the Music Library accordingly. This new approach can reduce the Music Library rebuild time from 30 minutes or more to just 3 or 4.
3. Play An Entire Album
If your songs' ID3 tags contain Track Number information, The PC Jukebox will now allow you to play an entire album, in track number order, by clicking a single button. After selecting an artist, simply click one of the album covers on the next screen. All of the songs on that album will be displayed on the right hand side, sorted by track number. If a song does not have the track number as part of it's ID3 tag, a '0' will be displayed by default. To play all of the songs in order, simply click the button at the top of the songs list labelled 'Play All On Album Songs In Order Listed'. The entire album will then be added to the playlist queue. You can also sort all of the songs alphabetically and play them in that order, if you so choose.
4. Customize Party Mode
Another popular suggestion was for the user to be able to hide or display any items of their choosing while in Party Mode. On the initial setup screen, click the 'Advanced' button to expand the dialog box. If you choose to put The PC Jukebox in Party Mode, you can also decide exactly which screen items are shown. This allows you to further customize your experience. Once the program has started, if you decide to change your mind and want to change the view, simply click in the upper right hand corner of the main screen to display the Options dialog. All of the choices you had originally made are shown here. You can make any changes you want and The PC Jukebox will immediately reflect these changes once the Options dialog has been closed.
5. Now Playing Screen Default Time
In Version 1.0, the Now Playing Screen would appear after 30 seconds or so, if that option had been turned on. In Version 2.0, you can decide exactly how long to wait before displaying this screen. In the initial setup screen, click the 'Advanced' button to expand the box. Clicking on the 'Now Playing Screen' checkbox will enable this feature. Here you can also input the number of seconds to wait before the Now Playing screen appears. After the program starts, you can alter this number by opening the Options dialog, typing in a new number, and closing the dialog.
6. Single Key Scrolling To Buttons
If you have a large list of artists and quickly want to get to one that is scrolled off of the list, simply press the first letter of the artist's name on your keyboard and the list will automatically scroll to the first artist whose name begins with that letter. While this may not bring you exactly to the button for the artist you were looking for, it will quickly bring you closer to it. This feature will also work for long lists of songs for a particular artist.
7. Touchscreen Mode
While The PC Jukebox was designed with a touchscreen monitor in mind, one shortcoming in Version 1.0 was the inability of users to easily click and drag any of the scrollbars with their fingers. This was not really a problem for users using a mouse. A temporary solution for this has been employed in Version 2.0. After exapnding the initial setup screen by clicking the 'Advanced' button, clicking the 'Touchscreen Mode' checkbox will widen the scrollbars within The PC Jukebox to making it easier for users to use their fingers. A very important side effect to this feature is that ALL open Windows applications will have their scrollbars widened as well. Once The PC Jukebox is closed, all scrollbars will return to their normal sizes. This feature CANNOT be changed once the program has been started. The program must be closed to change the setting back.
8. Version Number Added
At any time you can see exactly what version of The PC Jukebox you are running now by clicking in the upper righthand corner of the main screen and displaying the Options dialog. The version number will be displayed in the lower righthand corner. Should it become necessary to release maintenance updates, this version number will be increased accordingly. You can always check the website, www.thepcjukebox.com, to see what the latest and current version is.
Keep your suggestions coming and we'll try to get as many of them as possible included in the next version!!
