Welcome to Beta Testing 101
AudioOffice Beta 02C
Notes (New or updated note will appear at the top of this list):
There was a problem when running under XP which should now hopefully be fixed.
Menus have been changed a bit. Still trying to find a good layout for that.
Suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.
I few other minor changes have been made, but nothing noticeable (with the
exception for an issue with XP.
The File WNASPI32.DLL is no longer included with this archive.
You can download the lastest version from adaptecs website.
A link to it will be on the page where you downloaded this from.
Ok, heres soem links to ASPI on adaptecs site:
For Windows 98, NT 4.0, ME, 2000 and XP
http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/driverdetail.jsp?sess=no&language=English+US&filekey=aspi_v471.exe
http://download.adaptec.com/software_pc/aspi/aspi_v471.exe
For Windows 95
http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/driverdetail.jsp?sess=no&language=English+US&filekey=aspi32.exe
http://download.adaptec.com/software_pc/aspi/aspi32.exe
As for getting the CD Burning capabilities going, I'm moving along with that
faster than I anticipated. But it will still be a little while (I don't care
if I make a bunch of coasters, but I don't want you too).
And please when reporting errors (or problems), include things like:
Operating system (and service pack version)
CDROM drive make and model
(Updated Note, very important)
You may end up seeing a file named "debug.txt".
This is a debugging file I use for getting various info.
Send this back to me once in awhile (once a week is fine).
Its a text file. Feel free to read it.
Please send it back to me after the first day.
If you change CD's, you will likely have to click on the "Re-Read Current CD-ROM"
option from the "CDROM" menu. Autoinsert Notification is generally disabled
for CD Burners. Most CD Burning applications will tell you to disable
Autoinsert Notification for that drive.
If you get errors or the CD Information does not show up, try again.
If it still fails to show the CD information, close down AudioOffice
and restart it. This problem is being worked on.
The format of AudioCDInfo.dat may change. But if it does, I will make sure to
have some way of converting it to any new format.
As for the CD Burning part, or lack thereof, Windows XP has built-in functions
that allows other applications to use these function to burn
CD's. I'm not running XP and my CD Burner is dead :(
Its damn dusty where I live, so hardware doesn't live long :(
But I will look into this.
How to Rip a CD:
Put a CD in, start up AudioOffice, or if AudioOffice is already
running, Put an audio CD in and select "Re-Read Current CD-ROM" from
the "CDROM" menu. Edit (rename function is available via a right-click
on the track list) as desired. Fill in the Artist, CD Title, etc. info
as desired. Alternatively, you can select the "Get CD Info From FreeCDDB"
from the "Database" menu and have all the information changed for you.
If it doesn't change, or is incorrect, Check the FreeCDDB messages (available
via the "View FreeCDDB Messages" on the "Database" menu).
(Save that info and send it to me along with the CD info (Artist, CD Title, etc.))
Choose the "Encoding Options" you wish to use from the lower right section.
Choose the "Naming Options" you wish to use. You can click on the button
to the right of the naming options box to edit the way you want your files
named. The naming options dialog has a brief explaination of how they work.
The "Currently Selected Track Example" box will display what the
resulting filename will look like with the choosen naming options you use.
But that only works properly if you have the other info filled out
and have a track selected.
Once all the info is to your liking, click on the "Rip CD" button and choose
the desired menu item. Or select one of the "Process" items
("Process Checked File(s)" or "Process All Files") from the "Process" menu.
Then sit back and relax. You can cancel ripping at anytime during the
process.
If you change CD's, you will likely have to click on the "Re-Read Current CD-ROM"
option from the "CDROM" menu. Autoinsert Notification is generally disabled
for CD Burners. Most CD Burrning application will tell you to disable
Autoinsert Notification for that drive.
If you get errors or the CD Information does not show up, try again.
If it still fails to show the CD information, close down AudioOffice
and restart it. This problem is being worked on.
The format of AudioCDInfo.dat may change. But if it does, I will make sure to
have some way of converting it to any new format.
Currently CD Burning is not implmented. I will get to it
as soon as I can.
You can add files to the queue, but thats about the only feature
available from that tab at the moment.
You can add .mp3, .wav, .pls, .m3u files.
Can only encode from Wav to MP3. MP3 to Wav will be implemented
soon.
Other formats (Ogg etc.) will be implemented before final
release.
If you want Monkey's Audio Codec implemented, forget it.
Currently the licensing for that codec is a bit screwed.
Current plans to implement for encoding to/from other
formats will very likely be done via a plugin engine.
I had written a plugin engine for another application
that I did a few years ago. Ever heard of StarDotZip?
I have also seen at least one other application that
uses Winamp plugins so I MIGHT possibly do that.
If there are any audio codecs you would like to see
implemented, let me know. It would also be nice if you
could include a link to the codec's home page and also
whatever license they may have on the usage of the codec.
CD Ripping should work fine.
You can rip to Wav, or Rip to MP3.
If Ripping to MP3 can also save the ID3 info (ID3v1 and ID3v2)
If Ripping to MP3, the "Speed" value on the progress
dialog will show a ver low number (0.2x or something).
If you rip to Wav, that value wil be more accurate.
This discrepancy will be worked on.
If you have trouble ripping with a particular drive, let me know
the drive information (Model #, etc.). Also make sure
you have your cdrom drive set to enable digital audio.
(My Computer - Right Click on Drive - Select "Properties",
Click on "Hardware" tab - Select Drive - Click Properties button.
Thats on Windows 2000).
AudioOffice uses its own format for saving info on Audio CDs.
But it can also save to a local FreeCDDB format, HTML and cdplayer.ini
You can manually edit the track name via a right
click on the track on the Ripping tab.
You can save Info on Audio CDs from the File Menu (Save Audio CD Info).
This saves the CD info to "AudioCDInfo.dat".
It save Track names, CD Title, Genre, Year, etc so make sure all that info
is correct before you save. You can edit manually, or use
FreeCDDB Get Info (From the Database menu).
Next time you load that CD, it will read from that file to correctly
name all the tracks and display the info on the CD.
When saving to HTML format, AudioOffice uses the file "base.html".
This is used as a template file for the output HTML files.
It can be edited to make the HTML look the way you want, but
read the notes on allowed changes (inside the "base.html" file)
There is also an "HTML Options" dialog that you can use to
configure other aspects of the HTML output.
The HTML Preview window is not perfect.
Nothing nasty, it just doesn't do the preview compeletely accurately.
But its pretty close.
The FreeCDDB Get Info option should work ok.
The Submit option is not yet finished.
And I have not tested with a Proxy Server yet.
If you get am error message when starting up AudioOffice, saying
something about not having wnaspi32.dll, there is a copy included
with this archive. It is contained in wnaspi32.exe which is a
self-extracting rar archive. Extract this file to the same folder
that AudioOffice is in. Wnaspi32.dll currently is only used
for the LocalCDDB.dll file, which I am in the process of removing.
And before you say something like "Why can't you use wnaspi32.dll
for cd burning". Simple; While any developer is allowed to use that
file with their application, they are not allowed to use it for burning.
I imagine if I pay a hefty fee, I would be allowed to use it for burning.
There are other ways to implement burning, which I am currently investigating.
There are also several other DLL files included with the
AudioOffice archive. A few of them will be removed
soon. I am working on other ways to implement The features that
they provide. Several of them are for other codecs that I am working
on.
You may end up seeing a file named "debug.txt".
That a debugging file I use for getting various info.
Send this back to me once in awhile (once a week is fine).
Its a text file. Feel free to read it.
There is probably a whole lot of things I have not mentioned.
Let me know about bugs, feature improvements or ideas.
Legal stuff (Don't let it scare you. Its just a standard disclaimer):
Limited Warranty
The Software is distributed and licensed "AS IS".
The Author specifically disclaims all other warranties,
express or implied, including but not limited to, implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose, with regard to the Software.
Damages
By using the Software you do so at your own risk.
In no event shall the Author be responsible for any damages
whatsoever (including but not limited to, damages for loss
of business profits, business interruption, loss of
business information, or any other pecuniary loss or any
other real or consequential damages) arising out of the
use or inability to use this product.
Liability
In the event of failure of the Software for any reason,
the Author's sole liability shall be to refund the purchase
price of the Software or to provide a corrected version
of the Software, at the option of the Author.
Copyright
The Software and the Intellectual Property embodied in
the Software shall always remain the property of the
Author and is protected by United States Copyright Law and
International Treaty Provisions.
Agreement
Your use of the Software indicates your agreement with the above
terms and conditions. If you do not agree with these terms
and conditions then you should destroy all copies of the software
and return the original copy of the software (where it has been
supplied on diskette) within 14 days for a refund.
Consumer Rights
If any clause in the above Software License Agreement is in
violation of your consumer rights under your local laws then
that clause will be deemed to be excluded in your specific
case without effect on the remainder of the agreement.
Have fun and Thanks
Rob