media player help

Introducing Windows Media Player You can use Microsoft® Windows Media® Player to play and organize digital media files on your computer and on the Internet. In addition, you can use the Player to listen to radio stations from all over the world, play and copy CDs, create your own CDs, play DVDs, and copy music and videos to portable devices, such as portable digital audio players and Pocket PCs.

This section covers:

l Common tasks. Highlights some of the most basic tasks that you can accomplish with the Player.

l Special features. Lists the features that are only available on select versions of the Microsoft Windows® operating system.

l Player areas and buttons. Describes the primary user interface elements of the Player, including the playback controls and information display areas.

l Using the Player Help system. Describes how to use the Player Help system.

Related topics

l Using the Player l Customizing the Player l Understanding digital media concepts l Accessibility for people with disabilities

© 2000-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Common tasks To help you get up and running quickly, this section highlights the most frequently used tasks you can accomplish with Windows Media Player.

l To play files l To play a radio station on the Internet l To adjust the volume l To copy tracks from an audio CD l To create your own CD l To copy files to your portable device l To play a DVD l To play a VCD l To add audio and video files to Media Library

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l To create a playlist l To switch between display modes l To apply a skin

Related topics

l Introducing Windows Media Player


Special features The following Windows Media Player features are available only on computers running the Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional operating systems.

Feature For more information

Add static lyrics to a file To add static lyrics to a file

Add synchronized lyrics to a file To add synchronized lyrics to a file

Advanced Tag Editor To add or edit media information by using the Advanced Tag Editor

Automatic VCD playback To play a VCD

Color Chooser To change the color of the Player

Commands available when right-clicking a digital media item in Media Library or My Computer:

l Add to Playlist l Copy to CD or Device l Queue-It-Up

See the following topics, respectively:

l Adding items to playlists and Media Library tips

l Copying to a CD or portable device tips l To temporarily add items to a playlist

Create and edit auto playlists To create an auto playlist

DVD playback Using DVDs

Enhanced audio playback (High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD®) decoding and playback, multichannel audio playback, volume leveling, crossfading, Quiet Mode)

Playing music from CDs

To configure the Player to play HDCD CDs using 24-bit audio

Using multichannel audio


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Related topics



Player areas and buttons Windows Media Player consists of several areas. Some areas contain controls that you can use to perform an action, such as playing a CD or adjusting graphic-equalizer levels. Other areas display videos, visualizations, or information, such as details about the music you are listening to.


l Features taskbar area l Playback Controls area l Quick Access box area l Mini Player toolbar

Using volume leveling

Using audio crossfade

To adjust audio dynamic range (Quiet Mode)

Enhanced Copy from CD (Windows Media Audio Lossless)

Compressing copies of CD tracks to use less disk space

Enhanced Copy to CD (data CDs, Microsoft HighMAT™ CDs, volume-leveled audio CDs, erasing CDs)

Creating your own CDs

Comparing audio and data CDs

Enhanced user interface (full color, full-screen audio and video controls)

Player areas and buttons

Find media information for music copied with another program

To change how media information is updated

Info Center View To view information about content

Mini Player Mini Player toolbar

Monitor Folders To add audio and video files to Media Library

Play Speed Settings To play content at variable speeds

To fast-forward a file


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l Now Playing area

Related topics



Features taskbar area The Features taskbar contains buttons that link to the key Player features: Now Playing, Media Guide, Copy from CD, Media Library, Radio Tuner, Copy to CD or Device, Premium Services, and Skin Chooser. This area also contains a button that shows or hides the menu bar at the top of the Player, a button that shows or hides the Features taskbar on the side of the Player, and a button that opens the WindowsMedia.com Getting Started Web site.

The following table explains the function of each feature.

Click To

Now Playing View a video, visualization, or information about the content that is playing.


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Note

l To display a shortcut menu of Feature taskbar commands, right-click the Show or hide taskbar button.

Related topics

l Player areas and buttons


To quickly select a CD, DVD, VCD, album, artist, genre, playlist, or radio station to play, click the Quick Access Panel button (the arrow next to Now Playing).

Media Guide Find digital media on the Internet.

Copy from CD Play a CD or copy specific tracks to Media Library on your computer.

Media Library Organize digital media files on your computer and links to content on the Internet, or create playlists of your favorite audio and video content.

Radio Tuner Find and listen to radio stations on the Internet and create presets of your favorite stations so you can access them quickly in the future.

Copy to CD or Device Create (burn) your own CDs from tracks you have stored in Media Library. You can also use this feature to copy tracks to a portable device or storage card.

Premium Services Get access to digital media by subscribing to an online subscription service.

Skin Chooser Change the appearance of Windows Media Player by using skins.

Show or hide menu bar button

Show or hide the menu bar at the top of the Player.

Show or hide taskbar button

Show or hide the Features taskbar on the side of the Player.

Getting Started button

Go to the WindowsMedia.com Getting Started Web site.


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Playback Controls area The playback controls are displayed at the bottom of Windows Media Player. Use these controls to adjust the volume level and to control basic playback tasks such as playing, pausing, stopping, rewinding, and fast-forwarding audio and video files. Other controls shuffle the order of items in a playlist, change the color of the Player, and switch the Player to skin mode.

The following table explains the function of each control.

Click To

Play button

Play a selected item. When an item is playing, the Play button becomes the Pause button except if you are playing a live event that is being streamed.

Pause button

Pause a selected item. To resume play, click Play. When an item is not playing (that is, it is either paused or stopped), the Pause button becomes the Play button.

Stop button

Stop playing a selected item.

Seek slider

Play an item at a specific point. The Seek slider indicates the playback progress of a selected item. When the Seek slider is available, you can move the slider to the place in a selected item you want to start playback.


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Note

l The Change Player color button is only available on select versions of Windows. For more information, see Special features.

Related topics



Mute button

Turn the sound on or off.

Volume slider

Control the volume level.

Previous button

Play the previous item, if applicable.

Rewind button

Rewind an item, if applicable.

Fast Forward button

Fast-forward an item, if applicable.

Next button

Play the next item, if applicable.

Shuffle button

Turn shuffle on or off. When shuffle is turned on, items in a playlist or tracks on a CD are played in a random order.

Change Player color button

Change the color of the Player.

Switch to skin mode button

Switch the Player to skin mode.


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Quick Access box area The Quick Access box area includes a box from which you can select a playlist or other item to play, such as a CD, DVD, or VCD.

The following table explains the function of each control.

Note

l To specify which categories appear in the Quick Access box list, right-click the Quick Access box, and then click the categories you want to appear in the list (a check mark indicates that the category appears in the list).

Related topics



Click To

Quick Access box

Play an item or category, such as a playlist, artist, album, CD, DVD, or VCD.


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Mini Player toolbar The mini Player enables you to perform basic playback functions even if the Player is minimized. When you have enabled mini Player mode and you minimize the Player, the playback controls appear in the Windows taskbar.

Related topics

l Player areas and buttons l To switch between display modes


Now Playing area The Now Playing area contains a number of panes you can use to view videos, visualizations, media information, audio and video controls, and the current playlist. You can show or hide these panes to suit your needs.


l Video and Visualization pane l Info Center View pane l Enhancements pane l Media Information pane l Playlist pane

Related topics




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Video and Visualization pane A component of the Now Playing feature, the Video and Visualization pane displays the current video or visualization that you are playing. You cannot display the Video and Visualization pane and the Info Center View pane at the same time.

Notes

l The Video and Visualization pane appears automatically when you play a video or DVD. If you have switched to another feature (for example, Media Guide) and you are playing a video or DVD, you can return to the Video and Visualization pane by clicking the View menu and then clicking Show Video.

l If you have switched to Info Center View and you are playing audio content, you can return to the Video and Visualization pane by clicking the View menu, pointing to Visualizations , and then clicking a visualization.

Related topics

l Now Playing area



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Info Center View pane A component of the Now Playing feature, the Info Center View pane displays detailed information, if available, about the content you are playing. Click the links at the top of the pane to display specific information, such as artist information, album information, or lyrics.

You cannot display the Info Center View pane and the Video and Visualization pane at the same time.

Notes

l To show the Info Center View pane, on the View menu, point to Info Center View , and then click Show Always or Show Only When Detailed Media Information Is Available.

l If you click Show Only When Detailed Media Information Is Available and no detailed media information about the audio content you are playing is available, the last visualization (or a previously enabled plug-in) appears instead.

Related topics

l Now Playing area



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Enhancements pane A component of the Now Playing feature, the Enhancements pane contains several controls that you can use to adjust graphic-equalizer levels, video settings, audio effects, play speed, and the color of Windows Media Player. In addition, you can use this pane to share a streaming media clip with a friend.

Note

l To show or hide the Enhancements pane, on the View menu, point to Enhancements, and then click Show Enhancements.

Related topics

l Now Playing area


Media Information pane A component of the Now Playing feature, the Media Information pane displays a subset of information, if available, about the content you are playing. For example, for music you have copied


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from CDs, the Media Information pane displays the album art and album title.

To see more detailed information, if available, display the Info Center View pane.

Notes

l To show or hide the Media Information pane, on the View menu, point to Now Playing Options, and then click Show Media Information.

l To hide the Media Information pane quickly, right-click anywhere in the Media Information pane, and then click Show Media Information.

Related topics

l Now Playing area l Info Center View pane


Playlist pane A component of the Now Playing feature, the Playlist pane displays the items in the current playlist. For CDs, the playlist pane displays the CD track names and durations. For DVDs, the playlist pane displays the DVD title and chapter names.


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Notes

l To show or hide the Playlist pane, on the View menu, point to Now Playing Options, and then click Show Playlist.

l To show the Playlist menu, click the Select playlist options button at the bottom of the Playlist pane. This button is also available in Media Library.

Related topics

l Now Playing area


Using the Player Help system The Windows Media Player Help system consists of two parts:

l Windows Media Player Help. Provides a wide range of overview and how-to topics that explain how to accomplish specific tasks by using the Player. This section contains tips and tricks for using Help effectively.

l Error message Help . Provides information about troubleshooting Player error messages that you may encounter. This section contains tips and tricks for using the Player Error Center and Web Help effectively.

Related topics




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Windows Media Player Help Windows Media Player Help provides conceptual and how-to information about using the Player. The following table lists a number of tips and tricks for using Help effectively.

To Do this

Show Help topics l On the Help menu, click Help Topics. l When using Windows Media Player,

press F1. l In a Windows Media Player dialog box,

click the Help button.

Browse topics 1. Click the Contents tab. 2. Click a book or topic title.

Search for an index entry 1. Click the Index tab. 2. In the box, type a word or phrase that you

want to search for. 3. Double-click an index entry.

Search for a word or phrase in a topic 1. Click the Search tab. 2. In the box, type a word or phrase that you

want to search for. 3. To limit search results, do any of the

following: l Enclose the phrase or multiple

words in quotation marks to limit the search to topics in which those words appear next to each other.

l Click the right arrow button to insert Boolean operators (AND, OR, NEAR, NOT).

l Select or clear the Search previous results, Match similar words, or Search titles only check boxes.

4. Click List Topics, and then double-click a topic title to view it.

Refine a previous search 1. Click the Search tab. 2. In the box, type the new word or phrase

you want to search for. 3. Select the Search previous results check

box. 4. Click List Topics.

Sort the search results 1. Click the Search tab. 2. Perform a search.


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Related topics

l Error message Help l Using the Player Help system


Error message Help Occasionally, you may encounter a program error while using Windows Media Player. When this occurs, a message is displayed that indicates briefly what the problem is and what you can do, if anything, to solve the problem.

In some cases, more detailed information may be available to help you troubleshoot the problem. Windows Media Player has two mechanisms for providing you with supplemental information about a message.


l Windows Media Player Error Center l Windows Media Player Web Help

Both of these resources contain the same type of information. The difference is primarily where the information is stored (on your computer or on the Internet) and how you access it.

3. Click the Title or Rank column headings.

Topics are ranked by the number of times the item you searched for appears in the topic.

Turn on or off search highlight 1. Click the Options button, and then click Search Highlight On or Search highlight Off.

2. Press F5 to refresh the screen.

To print one or more topics 1. Click the Contents tab. 2. Right-click the book or topic that you

want to print, and then click Print. 3. Select one of the print options.

To expand or collapse all books 1. Click the Contents tab. 2. Right-click a book or topic, and then click

Open all or Close all.


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Related topics

l Windows Media Player Help l Using the Player Help system


Windows Media Player Error Center If you encounter a problem while using Windows Media Player, an error message is displayed that indicates briefly what the problem is and what you can do, if anything, to solve the problem. In some cases, more detailed information may be available on your computer to help you troubleshoot the problem.

To view supplemental information about errors, do one of the following:

l If the error message is displayed, click More Information. l If the error message is not displayed, open Windows Media Player Error Center. Use the

Search tab to enter keywords or the complete error message ID (for example, 0xC00D0BC2), and then click List Topics.

Notes

l Not all error message dialogs include a More Information button. If a More Information button is not displayed, click the Web Help button to access a Microsoft Support Web site. You must be connected to the Internet to view Web Help.

l By default, the Windows Media Player Error Center file is stored on your computer at C:\Windows\Help folder\plyr_err.chm.

Related topics

l Windows Media Player Web Help l Error message Help



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Windows Media Player Web Help If you encounter a message and no additional information is available on your computer to help you troubleshoot the problem, a Web Help button is displayed in the message. To see if any new information is available on the Web site, click the Web Help button.

Notes

l Not all error messages have Web Help topics. l You must be connected to the Internet to view Web Help. l If more detailed information is available on your computer to help you troubleshoot the

problem, a More Information button is displayed on the message instead of a Web Help button. To read the topic, click the More Information button. A Web Help link appears at the bottom of all Error Center topics.

Related topics

l Windows Media Player Error Center l Error message Help



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