- instead of having to use one of the predefined cover layouts, you can now create your own layouts with several cover panes on one sheet of paper
- you can save and of course open cover layouts
- you can save covers layout as templates as starting point for new covers
- supports iTunes playlist files
- supports ID3v2.2 tags
- supports all QuickTime supported image formats
- you can rearrange the track order using drap and drop in the track dialog
What's on the list for the final 1.4 release
- support for MacOS X
- support for ID3 tag standard 2.3 and 2.4
- support for internet cd databases (see www.freedb.org)
- support for reading audio cd information
- support for reading audio cd information form the CD Remote file
System Requirements
MacOS 8.6 or later
CarbonLib 1.0.4 or later
8 MB free RAM
Creating a new cover
UnCoverIt 1.4 lets you create your own cover layouts. In addition, UnCoverIt comes with cover templates for the most common media types. When creating a new cover, the cover assistant lets you decide wether to start with either a data or a audio template. Choose data template when you are going to create a cover for a data storage media type like ZIP, Jaz or CD-ROM. You will get a cover listing the files and folders on the storage media you select as data source.
When you are going to create an audio cover, you will get a track listing showing the tracks index and the tracks playing length. UnCoverIt can read this track information from various sources, including MP3 files and iTunes™ playlists.
Working with MP3 Files
There are several ways to create audio covers from a selection of MP3 files:
- when creating an audio cover with the cover assistant, choose MP3 Folder as audio source
--OR--
- drag MP3 files to an audio pane
--OR--
- drag a folder containing MP3 files to an audio pane
UnCoverIt will attempt to read the song names from the ID3 tag info inside the MP3 files. You can edit and view theses tags using iTunes or one of the many ID3 tag utilities. UnCoverIt supports tag info versions ID3v1.0 and ID3v2.2. Most MP3 Tag utilities let you convert between the different versions of the ID3 tag standard.
If, for any reason, the ID3 tag containing the songs name isn't found, the file name is used as song name instead.
Working with iTunes
To create a cover from a custom playlist in iTunes:
- export your playlist to a text file via the Advanced Menu
- choose this text file when creating an audio cover with the cover assistant choosing "iTunes playlist" as audio source
--OR--
- drag the exported iTunes playlist to an audio pane on your cover
--OR--
- drag the tracks directly from iTunes to an audio pane
Working with Pictures
When creating pictures shapes in UnCoverIt, please keep in mind that the picture file associated with it is not imported into the cover file. Instead UnCoverIt saves a link to that picture file. In case you delete the picture file, the picture shape will remain empty because UnCoverIt will not be able to find the original file. When sending your cover file to somebody else, please included any picture files used in that cover layout.
Known Bugs
Here is a list of known bugs, which are nasty but not fundamental. I'm going to fix them as soon as I find some time:
- save requester appears above wrong window
- scrap contents gets lost when app gets send to background
- document window isn't put back on duty after info window editing, commands won't work
- volumen capacity/free space not saved to file
Note about MacOS X
Although UnCoverIt 1.4 is a carbon application, there are some issues that only appear under MacOS X. The main issue is that Drag & Drop from the new Finder doesn't work like it used to be. Since drap & drop is heavily used in UnCoverIt, you won't be able to use most of its features. There seems to be an issue with data volume scanning, too, that results in UnCoverIt crashing.
On the other hand you can at least open saved covers created under MacOS 9.
