Niels Avonds - Windows Media Player Info - History iTunes Info

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Information

Windows Media Player Info - History and iTunes Info - History are useful programs that set the song you are currently playing in Windows Media Player or iTunes into your Skype mood message, also known as the status message. An other function in the plugins is the history. This list saves up to 50 songs you have last played.

How to install

To be able to use WMPinfo, you need the now playing plugin of William Mahoney. This plugin writes the current song playing in Windows Media Player into a text file that is used by my program. The dll-file of the plugin is installed by the sparc file (*) that you can find in Skype's extra's gallery. The plugin will automatically be registered to Windows Media Player. The iTunes version doesn't need any plugin. For further reference on updates, check update note.

The English version of WMPinfo can be obtained in a sparc file (*) in Skype's extra's gallery. Visit https://extras.skype.com/960/view to download it.

To download the version for iTunes, visit https://extras.skype.com/961/view.

(*) Sparc files are installation files used by Skype's extra's gallery to add plugins to Skype in a very easy way.

Update Notes for Windows Media Player Info - History

Version 5.11.23

*Started sharing the plugin online after a long period of private testing by me and some friends.

Version 5.11.28

*Fixed a bug that caused the status message to be changed incorrectly in the first five seconds of a song.

Version 5.12.16 (English only)

*Added automatic plugin registery.

*Fixed several bugs that came along with this new function.

Version 5.12.21

*Added automatic plugin registery to the Dutch version.

*Fixed translation bug.

*Fixed bug that caused the about box to be changed too.

*Warning: if you have downloaded any version prior to this one, delete the Wmpdir.ini file that has been created in the directory of the program. It might cause the plugin not to be registered properly.

Version 5.13.16

*Added ability to select the drive where Windows Media Player is located.

*Fixed a bug that caused the formatting textbox and label to be arranged wrong on the screen after maximizing the window.

*Fixed a bug that caused an error to appear on first startup after an error.

Version 5.14.3

*Added Open webpage button to the system tray menu.

Version 5.14.29

*Removed several small bugs that were reported by Skype users.

Current version

The current version of Windows Media Player Info - History on the Skype website is 5.14.29.

Please download the latest version to avoid bugs or errors.

Known issues

*The Icon on the task bar does noet provide the standard Windows menu to close, minimize or maximize the window. (To be fixed in the future)

*Options are not being saved. (To be fixed in the next version)

*Rare crashes stating error numbers 70 or -2147220992. (To be fixed in the next version)

*Error occurring when the Skype component is not correctly registered has a weird explanation. (To be fixed in the next version)

*A bug is causing the plugin to say "Skype has been closed" whenever you start Skype and the plugin is running. (To be fixed in the next version)

*The song you are listening to when you start the plugin is not shown in Skype immediatly. (To be fixed in the next version)

Update notes for iTunes Info - History

Version 5.14.3

*Made an iTunes version of WMPinfo so that also the users of iTunes can share their music with everyone.

Version 5.14.29

*Removed several small bugs that were reported by Skype users.

Current version

The current version of iTunes Info - History on the Skype website is 5.14.29.

Please download the latest version to avoid bugs or errors.

Known issues

*The Icon on the task bar does noet provide the standard Windows menu to close, minimize or maximize the window. (To be fixed in the future)

*Options are not being saved. (To be fixed in the next version)

*Rare crashes stating error numbers 70 or -2147220992. (To be fixed in the next version)

*Error occurring when the Skype component is not correctly registered has a weird explanation. (To be fixed in the next version)

*A bug is causing the plugin to say "Skype has been closed" whenever you start Skype and the plugin is running. (To be fixed in the next version)

*The song you are listening to when you start the plugin is not shown in Skype immediatly. (To be fixed in the next version)

Usage

The first time you start the program, or the first time you restart it after it was closed incorrectly, you will have to choose the path where Windows Media Player or iTunes is located. After that, the main screen appears and you can start using the program. If Skype is already running your music will automaticly be shown in the mood message, otherwise go to Options and select the appropriate option. This program automatically launches Windows Media Player or iTunes once you have selected the correct path, so you can use it as your Windows Media Player or iTunes launcher.

On top of the information page you see which song is currently playing in Windows Media Player or iTunes. Underneath this information you see three buttons. The button on the top (Refresh) refreshes the information. Normally you don't need to do this as the plugin refreshes the song automatically every five seconds. With the other two buttons you can change the history log that the plugin makes. It saves up to 50 songs you have last played in Windows Media Player or iTunes. You can either remove the selected item or clear the entire list by clicking the correct button.

At the bottom of the information page you can see three buttons. The left one can be used to connect the message that you've typed in the textbox (right above these three buttons) to the current song. So every time you play that song this message will be added. The message replaces the %S% that you've typed in the format box on the options screen (see below). The button in the middle sets the message as standard, so it will be added to all songs that have no message connected to it or to its artist. When you are not playing a song your mood message will be changed to this standard message too. Please note that when you have no message set to standard and you are not playing a song a standard message will appear. The button to the right connects the message to the artist. This way the message appears every time you play a song by the same artist. To disconnect a message from a song or artist, you leave the textbox empty and click the appropriate button. A messagebox will prompt asking you if you are sure.

On the options screen you can see three checkboxes. The first one is to show your music in Skype and if the second one is checked you will be warned every time your mood message is changed by the plugin. If you check the third checkbox, Windows Media Player or iTunes will be closed whenever you close the plugin (not the other way around). Underneath these checkboxes you can see another textbox. This is to change the format in which the songs are displayed in you mood message. E.g. : %T% by %A% - %S%

%T% is replaced by the title of the song. %A% represents the artist and %S% represents the message you can type yourself on the information page (see above).

These programs are totally free and you are free to share them with your friends. Please link them to this website or to the Skype extra gallery to get their own copy!

Windows Vista

I now have Windows Vista running on my own machine and soon found out that running the program in a standard configuration is nearly impossible. The only way to ensure that the plugin works completely is turning off the User Account Control (UAC). To do this, go to the control panel and type "UAC" in the search box. Click User Accounts and select "Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off". Disable the checkbox in front of "Use UAC to help protect your computer" and click OK. The plugin should now function normally on Windows Vista. If you still encounter any problems, please check the FAQ section below or contact me (see below).

Contact

Feel free to send questions, reactions or bugs to me at niels.avonds@gmail.com, but please check the FAQ section first. Use "WMPinfo" or "iTunesInfo" as the subject of your mail and I will react as soon as possible. You can also post a comment in the correct section on the Skype website. I'll try to check these as much as possible. If really needed you can also add me to Skype, my skypename is niels_avonds.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Windows Media Player Info - History is not showing me the correct song. It shows nothing or a song I played very long ago. How can I fix this?

A: Please check if the Now Playing plugin is selected in Windows Media Player. To do so, check Tools, select Plugins and make sure the checkbox in front of Now playing plugin is ticked. For this issue in Windows Vista, please check the Vista section. In some cases this might not solve the problem. If the problem persists, please try looking for the directory of the plugin and delete the WMPdir.ini file. (Please close the plugin before doing so.) Aferwards restart the plugin and everything sould work normally.

Q: On startup I always get Run-Time error 339, saying that a Skype component is missing. How can I fix this?

A: The easiest way to fix this is installing Skype all over again. The installer will register the component and everything should be fine.

Q: This plugin is not starting whenever I start the selected media player, so I have to launch three programs. Is there a way to do this shorter?

A: This plugin automatically launches the media player it is connected to whenever it gets started. So instead of starting your media player, just start this plugin and they'll both get launched.

Q: I'm using Windows Vista and I'm unable to select the path of the media player. The plugin states "access denied".

A: Vista's User Account Control is denying the plugin to copy a file. Please check the Vista section for more info.

If you have any other questions feel free to contact me (see contact section).