1by1 - The Directory Player
Copyright © 2001-2003 Martin Pesch
Contents
Instructions
The Directory Player
1by1 is a free audio player for MP3, MP2 and plugin supported audio formats like WAV, OGG or CD Audio. Without the need for a playlist it plays multiple files from a directory or a whole disk. You can simply start your tracks in an explorer-style file view, load them through the command line (e.g. linked with file type) or drag them over the window.
The player is designed for easy track handling, you won't find visual goodies like fullscreen plugins or skins. On the other hand 1by1 has a dynamic audio enhancer and supports Cue sheets which show large files like CD images wich track indices, title and time informations. There is a even a simple Playlist support.
Resume Play and Auto Resume
The Resume Play function remembers the last played file and the position. Resume Play is activated by pressing the Stop/Play button (works like Pause) after starting 1by1.
With Auto Resume 1by1 will resume immediately after starting. It's enabled by setting "/r" in the command line. For extended Auto Resume options see under command line options.
Favorites
The Main/Favorites menu can contain up to 30 of your favorite tracks. Also the track position will be saved. If you want the Favorite to play from beginning you must set it within the first 5 seconds. The Menu appears by pressing the right mouse button in the control button area or by pressing the Application key.
Directory searcher
1by1 can scan for folders, playlists and cue sheets which contain known file types. Which folder will be found next depends on depth and alphabetical order of the folders.
If "Auto search dirs" is enabled 1by1 will look for following folders when it reaches the end of the current. You can also manually switch between folders with the buttons [\..<<] (previous found dir) and [>>\..] (next found dir).
If you don't want the searcher to find playlists and cue sheets (e.g. to prevent files from beeing played twice) check the "Skip playlists/cue sheets" option.
Moving and skipping tracks
With the [Next] button you can move a marked track to the position after the currently playing track. To exclude a track from playing select it and press [Skip]. Skip and Next can also be found in the file context menu. To select a track click it once with the left button or use the Page up/down keys. A selected track (not the playing) can be moved up or down with Ctrl+Page up/down. If the folder is changed, reloaded or resorted any exclusions or position changes will be forgotten.
Sort and shuffle files
You can sort your tracks in the file list with the tabs as you know it from the explorer. Exception: the row that shows the file extension has a tab labeled "Shfl/Ext". This button enables track shuffling: files are sorted randomly each time a directory is reloaded. Even the row shows extension sorting by extension is not possible. To disable shuffling press one of the other sort buttons. Jumping into random directories is not possible.
Repeat modes
Playlists and Cue Sheets
Playlists (*.m3u) and Cue Sheets (*.cue) appear like folders in the tree. A playlist is shown with only names and extensions of the tracks, no dates and sizes. The files can be listed in original order (Name tab) or shuffled. If a file of a playlist is not found the program skips to the next. Cue sheets can only be played in the given order. Start times must always be ascending.
Note: Cue sheets used together with VBR files will usually create incorrect cue positions. It is not possible locate exact positions in VBR files by time values. On plugin played MP3 files Cue sheets may be slighty incorrect even on CBR files. An MP3 plugin often calculates the track length of CBR files with the nominal bitrate (e.g. 128.000 bit/sec). But the real bitrate could be somewhat lower (e.g. 127.706 bit/sec). If this is not considered a cue is the more incorrect the longer a file is. 1by1 calculates the track length using the real (average) bitrate - but only if an ACM or the mpglib is used for decoding.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Up/Down/Left/Right PgUp/PgDown Home/End, Tab |
Navigate as usual |
| Return | Play |
| Space | Stop/Resume |
| Ctrl+Up/Down or Numpad [+] / [-] |
Volume |
| Ctrl+Left/Right or Numpad [÷] / [×] |
Play prev/next track |
| Shift+Arrows or [,] / [.] | Search prev/next folder |
| Left/Right | Track position (or folder tree control) |
| Alt+Left/Right | Track position |
| Alt+Up/Down | Move track up/down |
| Ins | Move track under current |
| Del | Skip track |
| Ctrl+I or Alt+Ret | File info window |
| Ctrl+A | Add current track and position to Favorites |
| Ctrl+H | Go home (to current track) |
| Ctrl+T | Show remaining/elapsed time |
| Ctrl+U | Show upcoming/current file |
| Ctrl+R | Cycle repeat mode |
| Ctrl+O | Cycle track order type |
| Ctrl+P | Toggle order direction / re-shuffle |
| Ctrl+D | Auto search dirs on/off |
| Ctrl+G | Gapless mode on/off |
| F1 | Main/Favorites menu |
| F2 | Rename/move file |
| Ctrl+C or F3 | Toggle compact view |
| F4 | Toggle tree view |
| F5 | Rescan tree and file list |
| Ctrl+S or F6 | Settings window |
| App key | File menu |
Global Hotkeys
With global Hotkeys you can reach the most important play functions without switching to the application. Hotkeys can be enabled in the Control section of the settings window. The Hotkeys are F8 - F12 (see table), optionally combined with Alt or Ctrl. In Windows 2000/XP F12 is already used as a global Hotkey so you should use the Alt or Ctrl combination.
| (Ctrl+ / Alt+) F8 | Stop/Resume |
| (Ctrl+ / Alt+) F9 | Previous track |
| (Ctrl+ / Alt+) F10 | Next track |
| (Ctrl+ / Alt+) F11 | Volume down |
| (Ctrl+ / Alt+) F12 | Volume up |
Command line options
Usage: 1by1.exe <audio file / folder / Cue sheet / playlist> <options>
| Auto Resume options: | |
| /r | Resume the last track and position |
| /rt | Play the last track from the beginning |
| /rd | Play the last directory from the beginning (depending on how it is sorted) |
Other options: | |
| /close | Close the program after playing one track |
| /hide | Hide the window and enable Systray icon |
Configuration
Settings window
You reach it from the Main/Favorites menu which is opened with the right mouse button in the control button area or the Application key. Alternatively the settings can be reached by pressing Ctrl+S.
Supported MPEG audio decoders
ACM Codec for MP3: recommended for MP3 decoding. Decodes Layer 3 only. It must be installed in the system. See under Multimedia settings / Audio Compression Codecs if you have one.
mpglib.dll: alternative decoder with good sound but a bit more cpu usage. Must be in 1by1's folder or your path. Version 0.92 decodes Layer 3 and Layer 2. It is available at 1by1's homepage and distributed under GNU LGPL.
Winamp Input Plugin Support
1by1 can use Winamp 2.x input plugins for playing different file formats.
Usage: put the needed plugin DLL files (in_*.dll) into your 1by1 directory. The program scans for them at startup. The additional supported files will be shown in the file list, too. Without plugins the program shows only MP3 and MP2. For decoding MP3 it is recommended to use an ACM rather than a plugin.
The plugin support is not 100% because the several plugins behave very
differently. I have tested the following plugins - some in detail, others briefly.
These plugins seem to work reliably:
in_wave 2.0, in_vorbis 1.2b19, in_CDReader 1.95.
Even working well: in_vorbis 1.13a, in_mp3 2.75j, in_mp3pro 1.1,
in_mad 0.14.2b (but mad makes problems with Resume and Cue sheet play:
as Resume is not provided by plugins, 1by1 must use a trick: it starts the
plugin and jumps to the resume position immediately. For some reason this
doesn't work well with mad. 24/32 bit output of mad may work but I can't test it).
At least playing a file (not further tested):
in_mpp 1.7.9f, in_mod 1.3.
Plugins which don't use wave output, e.g. in_midi or in_cdda, are
not supported, they won't be listed in the configuration window.
Audio settings
Maximum wave buffer: The default size is 32 KB. Vary this if the sound output is faulty. Shorter values may cause more cpu use.
Number of buffers: Default is 8. Increase this if the sound is interrupted. Values below 4 are not recommended.
High Priority: Disabled by default. Only recommended if other applications interfere with 1by1 and setting larger buffers and more buffers does not help.
Gapless output: Disabled by default. This option allows continuous audio output when the program advances to the next file. E.g. when using the CDReader plugin transitions of mixed CD tracks will not be interrupted. With the Skip silences option parts below -55 dB will be shortened. Problems: switching from ACM/mpglib played files to plugin played files in gapless mode may be faulty in some cases (especially if samplerate or stereo mode change).
Built in audio enhancer and stereo wider
The DSP gets rid of tracks in different volumes. Depending on the settings and the audio material it can also drastically enhance the sound of tracks which already have full level. Note: The enhancer works only with 16 bit output (mono or stereo).
Max amp: maximum amplification (up to 20 dB = 10x)
Amp raise: time the enhancer tends towards the maximum amplification level. Faster raise will enhance more but can also cause more distortions on some input material. To keep the sound of dynamic music natural choose longer values (500 ms or more), to enhance the presence try shorter values (80..130 ms) combined with a faster 'Amp reduce' value (0.5 ms).
Amp reduce: if the maximum output level is too high the amplification will quickly be reduced with this speed. To minimize distortions it must not be too slow but even not too fast. Recommended values are from 0.5 ms to 1.0 ms.
Threshold: if enabled the enhancer tries to look ahead to reduce the amplification if the output level would pass the adjusted value. The output level is not generally limited to the threshold. It rather represents a 'headroom' to catch audible distortions if 'Amp reduce' does not react fast enough.
Treble enhance: raises upper trebles on a scale from 0 to 10.
Stereo width: enhances the channel separation on a scale up to 50% before passing the compressor. On no stereo enhancement it shows "normal".
What's new
v1.38, 2003-08-30 - Tab navigation in the settings window finally works now - Now reading VBR "Xing" headers on ACM/mpglib play (accurate times, VBR files with header open faster) - Faster moving tracks with Alt+Page Up/Down - Track titles of Cue sheets shown in window title - Accessing lists from Favorits did not work in 1.37 - No more useless times on Favorite folders/lists shown - Some other thingz v1.37, 2003-08-19 - Keyboard control for file list and folder tree improved, keys for volume and track position changed (see keyboard shortcut table) - Hotkey function slightly expanded - Settings button - "Go home" function (Ctrl+H), returns to folder of current track - Now reads unix-style playlists (with / instead of \) - Some other modifications v1.36, 2003-05-05 - Reduced disk access when playing with ACM/mpglib - Gapless slightly improved: play continues (but with a gap) when samplerate or stereo mode changes - Buttons for toggling tree and compact view added - Button style of 'Skip' and 'Next' changed - Compressor: fixed lookahead time is now 3.4ms (@ 44kHz) - Fixed: Cue sheets/Playlist did not start when opened via command line - Thanks Horst - Fixed: On command line open sometimes wrong folder was shown - Fixed: Some Playlist entries beginning with special/cyrillic chars were still not shown - Some keyboard shortcuts added/changed - Minor corrections v1.35, 2003-03-27 - Balance was full on left when program was started first time - Reverse balance option added and saving volume for seperate channels enabled (1by1 has no own balance controller, but if changed from other appz) - VU meter: enhanced bar for mono did not work - Next, Move and Skip now disabled if auto reload used (because they make no sense then) - Compressor: longer fixed lookahead time (2.3ms @ 44kHz) for less percussive distortions - Option: show created instead of modified date - Favorites: Add option now in file menu - Favorites: 'Add list' option (for folders, Cue sheets, playlists) v1.34, 2003-02-26 - Program recognizes volume changes from other appz - VU Meter improved (better synchronized) - Extended file list style: fullrow select and opt. gridlines - Option for auto reloading file list - File menu: Explorer option - File menu: New info dialog with ID3v1 tag - Playlists: save function creates relative paths - Playlists: Files with some special or cyrillic characters where not shown - Thanks Anton - Some more improvements v1.33, 2003-01-19 - Optional Systray icon with menu - Starting maximized or minimized via link possible - Option "Quit after current track" or /close from command line - Command line option /hide hides window and activates Systray icon - Enhancer: Adjustable "Threshold" replaced checkbox "Reduce distortions" (for old "checkbox value" set to -0.5 dB) - Enhancer: Combobox for presets - About: buttons to call manual and homepage v1.32, 2002-12-23 - Keyboard control for the folder tree (see shortcut table) - Some new or changed keyboard shortcuts (see table) - Option for opening Playlists or Cue sheets with Notepad - MPEG 2.5 (low samplerates) supported with ACM and mpglib - F5 now reloads file list and folder tree - Program remembers when it was in a Playlist or Cue sheet - Number of wave buffers adjustable - Smaller corrections v1.31, 2002-10-28 - Fixed: MP3s with large ID3v2 Tags (>50K) using ACM or mpglib did not open - Fixed wrong calculated times on larger ID3v2 Tags - Enabled Application key for Main menu and Ctrl+App for File menu - Plugins: Gapless play handles different output formats - Plugins: Enhancer now automatically skipped if output is not 16 bit - F2 opens rename/move dialog - Single files can be appended to playlists - Some more modifications v1.30, 2002-09-30 - Optional global hotkeys (see instructions) - Option for reusing application instance - Some plugin related modifications and other things v1.29, 2002-09-03 - Wave device selectable - Free file movement with Ctrl+Page up/down - Pressing 'Next' with no file selected produced a line of trash - fixed - Directory re-scan with F5 - Memory leak in the plugin scanner fixed: 'switched off' plugins (in_mp3pro, in_mad...) were not found in some cases - Thanks Peter - Some other modifications and corrections (e.g. plugin related favorites issue fixed) v1.28, 2002-08-12 - Modified "End of song recognition" for plugins: should cause less hangs at ends of tracks - Gapless output refined: sometimes a small audio part was missing - Fixed this: the first time a Cue sheet was started it began always with track 1 (even another track was selected) - Tooltips for main window (disable-able!) - Some other corrections v1.27, 2002-07-06 - Tabbed configuration dialog - Playlists and cue sheets show plugin supported types - Cue sheet parser improved - Relative paths of files in playlists are accepted - Simple playlist export - Directory search skip option for playlists and cue sheets - Track seeking improved - Optional gapless output implemented - Ini file creation issue fixed - Some minor corrections and improvements (e.g. calling plugin settings with double click enabled, file wasn't highlighted in some cases when selecting a favorite or drag&drop a file) v1.26, 2002-06-16 - Fixed a stupid crash on program exit that came when the .ini file had to be created - Thanks Benjamin - Fixed a crash on pressing About/Settings in the Plugin Window when no plugin was there - The directory searcher crashed also. Fixed. v1.25, 2002-06-14 - Support for Winamp input plugins (no 100% implementation... see under Plugins) - File info option in the context menu - Amplification bar added to VU meters in settings window - Directory searcher finds Cue sheets and playlists - Directories, Cue sheets and playlist can be opened with Drag&drop or command line - Fixed that drive names were not shown in some cases - Skip/Move disabled for Cue sheets (because doesn't work) v1.24, 2002-05-18 - Cue sheet support implemented! - Files can be deleted from context menu - Files can be moved/renamed from context menu - Date now initially sorted descending - Sort type and direction shown with +/- - Names of drives are shown - Font height can be set to default (Windows') - Auto Resume extended with /rt and /rd switches (see under Command line options) - Shortcut for toggling time display (elapsed/rem.) - Minor adjustments - Manual extended and converted to HTML v1.23, 2002-04-16 - Simple playlist support implemented (see above) - Last release could not select files from a root dir - Thanks Bill - Enhancer: distortion reduction implemented additional boost removed settings grayed when not used - Shortcut for repeat mode added - Shortcuts for Compact view and Settings changed - Minor adjustments v1.22, 2002-04-08 - Major TreeView error fixed: in some cases one subdir in a directory was not reachable - Resume file handling improved - Selection handling improved - Current file is now always highlighted - Dirs are now stored with the filenames - Allocated wave buffer size is now adjustable - Drive letters are now capital - Minor display issue in the file open failed message fixed - Active audio enhancement is now indicated as "[ENH]" - Auto search dirs mode indicator implemented: "[SRCH]" - Small adjustments, e.g. bit nicer Favorite list v1.21, 2002-03-19 - Opening with external program now possible with any file from the list, not only with playing - Switching to Compact view disabled in maximized window - Button background used wrong system color - Thanks Manuel - Wrong window position was saved when minimized - Fixed possibility of crash when starting play near end of files - Any extentions in dragged or command line files accepted - Size info of a moved file was corrupted v1.20, 2002-02-28 - Main Window completely rewritten - Buttons show small bitmaps - File and folder view much more explorer like (folder tree and file list with sort buttons) - Name, date or size sorting in both directions - File and folder information in a genuine Status Bar - Compact view option added (reduces window size to buttons and sliders) - Font size selectable - Key accelerators enabled - Show extension option removed - Option for high priority added (recommended only if running with normal priority is unsatisfactory) - VU monitor now graphic and stereo at stereo files - Color selection for file and folder view enabled - Optional use of double sized wave buffer (increases audio stability on slower or busy systems)
If you find the software behaving strange or if you still have questions after consulting this manual you can contact the author here. Please note: I read every mail, but I can't promise to reply (quickly) on every. Please keep your questions, bug reports or suggestions brief and don't send large attachments (mails over 10KB do not arrive). Before you ask for a random/shuffle function click here. Thanks ;)
Thanks for using 1by1, have fun!