DONE: simple loop machine for wav, mp3, etc. files

[skwire]

I've tested it on five different machines here and had several DC folks in IRC test it.  In all cases it worked as designed.

[TaoPhoenix]

So humor me o' Master Skwire. How hard is it to include a different engine?

My favorite phrase: "A problem that makes no sense has a solution that makes no sense."

[skwire]

So humor me o' Master Skwire. How hard is it to include a different engine?

-TaoPhoenix (December 15, 2011, 08:48 PM)

The engine has nothing to do with it.  Here, try this version:

Website | Download
v1.0.6 - 2011-12-16
    + Added new progress-based sliders.
    + Added mousewheel hotkeys adjust the new seekbar and volume controls when
      hovering over them.
    - Form is no longer resizable.

DONE:  simple loop machine for wav, mp3, etc. files

[skwire]

Website | Download
v1.0.7 - 2011-12-16
    + Added "Open file" entry to the File menu.
    * Volume now goes up in 2% increments.  (Thanks, Deozaan)
    ! Wheelup/wheeldown bug on the seekbar fixed.  (Thanks, Deozaan)

[TaoPhoenix]

I am very sad!

I also just discovered that it doesn't seem to be playing Tracker files! I have an Impulse Tracker song (for example) that works fine in XMplay and doesn't load at all in Looper.

So maybe some weird setting in my machine is doing the volume thing, and some standard concept that Swire is pulling for Looper is hitting a corner case on my machine.

I'm becoming a pest!   I might be able to search the web and find more countercase programs, but isn't that Apples and Oranges? I just liked the idea of Looper because I just park an mp3 player on a song. But I don't want to drag Swire into a mystery hunt just for me!

[TaoPhoenix]

Hi everyone.

I finally landed on a webpage that probably solves my question.

Take a look at these programs.

http://download.free...er_0.98_NTXP_ENG.zip

http://download.free...es.com/files/jmp.zip
http://download.free...m/files/TrayPlay.exe
http://download.free...les.com/files/M3.zip

They are all mp3 players that loop files ... and all are under about 100k! (Audio player seems to be 101)
They all work on my fickle home machine, and Swire's program seems to work at work, so maybe we can call this aspect satisfied for now!

Skwire thanks for putting up with me.

Edit: My favorite of those four is Audio Player. The others are funny in a "how low in size can we go" but after the novelty wears off they have nuisances.

[doctorfrog]

Hey Skwire,

I use this program every day. It automatically starts playing a quiet ambient loop around 11pm to remind me that, "hey stupid, relax and go to bed."

Anyway, I recently updated it to the latest version, and I have a few requests:

- bring back the old tray icon, currently it is the default AHK "H" icon
- hotkey request: when the app is in focus, let me control volume with + and -
- publish "multiple instances" as a GUI option and make "0" also cause the app to restore when launched again with the "0" setting (current apparent behavior is to restart the program)
- hotkey request: "Ctrl-O" = open dialog
- hotkey request: "P" = play/pause
- retain the ability to tab around the GUI elements and activate them with SPACE (currently can no longer control volume in this way, but +/- will resolve this)

As usual, consider none of these to be demands, just requests from a regular user. Do what you can, if you can, and thanks for a small, useful program!

[shmuel1]

Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and VLC media player all have looping options. Why do you need a special program for it?

[skwire]

- bring back the old tray icon, currently it is the default AHK "H" icon

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 01:29 AM)

Doh, not sure what happened there.  Fixed in my dev build.

- hotkey request: when the app is in focus, let me control volume with + and -

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 01:29 AM)

Added in my dev build.  I added both regular +/- keys and the numpad +/- keys.

- publish "multiple instances" as a GUI option and make "0" also cause the app to restore when launched again with the "0" setting (current apparent behavior is to restart the program)

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 01:29 AM)

I'll consider this.  In the meantime, I've changed it so that multiple attempts to launch the app are just ignored instead of restarting it.

- hotkey request: "Ctrl-O" = open dialog

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 01:29 AM)

Added in my dev build.

- hotkey request: "P" = play/pause

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 01:29 AM)

Hmmm...Looper could never really pause, i.e., clicking the play button whilst playing just restarted the track.  I did add a "P" hotkey for the current play button's functionality, though.

- retain the ability to tab around the GUI elements and activate them with SPACE (currently can no longer control volume in this way, but +/- will resolve this)

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 01:29 AM)

I seem to be able to do with the exception of the seekbar and volume control.  Am I misunderstanding something?

[doctorfrog]

Forget that last point, I'm merely saying that whatever GUI changes you make, keep the ability to tab through the interface available.

Everything else, thanks as usual Skwire!

[superboyac]

just fyi...i still use trout nearly every week for playing drum samples in a gapless loop as a metronome to practice with.

[skwire]

Everything else, thanks as usual Skwire!

-doctorfrog (August 29, 2012, 03:22 PM)

You're welcome.  I sent you an interim build to test out.

just fyi...i still use trout nearly every week for playing drum samples in a gapless loop as a metronome to practice with.

-superboyac (August 29, 2012, 03:49 PM)

Nice!  Good thing we have duct tape and Gorilla Glue holding it together, eh?   

[skwire]

Pretty substantial update for Looper.  Thanks to doctorfrog for the testing and feedback.   

Website | Download
v1.0.9 - 2012-09-03
    + Added proper single/multiple instance handling.  Enable under Edit > Options.
    + Added pause functionality.
    + Added Ctrl+O hotkey to open browse dialog.  (Thanks, doctorfrog)
    + Added +/- hotkeys to control the volume.  (Thanks, doctorfrog)
    + Added "P" hotkey to control the play/pause functionality.  (Thanks, doctorfrog)
    + Added "S" hotkey to control the stop functionality.
    * Changed icons to the Fugue set.
    - Regressed Unicode compatibility for now.
    ! Tray icon wasn't displaying correctly.  (Thanks, doctorfrog)

[TaoPhoenix]

Hi Skwire, I just have a glitch question.

I was going to use Looper again because my habits have changed, and I'm not on that other machine at work, etc.

But when I go for "open with - choose program - always use this program", My machine (XP Pest Edition) completely refuses to acknowledge it as a program. At first it was pulling the copy of XM play I had before, so when I went to unhook XM play, now WinXP-P is trying to install Windows media player!

Any ideas?

[skwire]

You can't even browse to Looper.exe in the Open With dialog?

Right-click audio file > Open With > Choose Program... > Browse... button > Choose Looper.exe

[TaoPhoenix]

You can't even browse to Looper.exe in the Open With dialog?
Right-click audio file > Open With > Choose Program... > Browse... button > Choose Looper.exe

-skwire (September 07, 2012, 05:21 PM)

Naw, more confusing than that. That dialog comes up, I do all the commands, select "always use selected program", and when I hit ok, out comes... "welcome to the Windows Media Setup". And before that it went to the other default music player.

It's just completely ignoring that me as user selected a program to play with and went looking for what it thinks is the default program. Side note: I've seen this a couple times before, notably trying to get certain pictures to open with Firefox, and a few more obscure ones. Do programs need to "register a setting" to be "qualified as programs to open with"?

[skwire]

I've no idea what's going on with your computer.

[TaoPhoenix]

Heh - well okay, then! I'll go back to my back on nonsensical remedies for nonsensical problems!

I'll get it eventually. I had it before.

[TaoPhoenix]

I am very sad!

I also just discovered that it doesn't seem to be playing Tracker files! I have an Impulse Tracker song (for example) that works fine in XMplay and doesn't load at all in Looper.

So maybe some weird setting in my machine is doing the volume thing, and some standard concept that Swire is pulling for Looper is hitting a corner case on my machine.

I'm becoming a pest!  I might be able to search the web and find more countercase programs, but isn't that Apples and Oranges? I just liked the idea of Looper because I just park an mp3 player on a song. But I don't want to drag Swire into a mystery hunt just for me!

-TaoPhoenix (December 16, 2011, 04:23 AM)

I think I found the answer to this too.

When a program says it "wants to associate files" sometimes it "fights hard not to give them up". So XMplay was my program for playing most music. But "behind that" were several other programs based on using this comp for 7+ years. Deliplayer, WinAmp, and more. So the article below (second half) shows that you need to "unhook" the other programs too, especially the icons. But the last wrinkle is that before the "Advanced" button shows up, it says "Restore" first. So you Restore the icons to the second-to-last program, THEN pick a new icon (say from Looper), THEN do OpenWith-Choose Program.

Whew!

http://www.online-te...ps/change-file-icon/