Windows XP - Windows Media Player, What's New?

Windows Media Player
What's New?

Windows Media Player

This new tool that Windows XP incorporates allows us to listen to music from a CD, tune radio stations, play a video etc. It also lets us burn record songs from a CD to our hard drive so that we can set up a playlist to listen to the songs.

Next we will see the different options that the player offers us.

To run the media player we can click on the shortcut icon that Windows creates when it is installed, we can also access it through the Start menu by selecting All programs and then clicking on Windows Media Player. We can also run it from the quick access bar if it is visible.

Currently playing

The window shown below is the window that will appear with the media player. The appearance can vary since Windows lets you customize it.

Step 1

Firstly you have to insert cd in CD ROM then you have to open your media file (avseq) like below where we are inserting cd in cd ROM and media player is playing movie .

1- To play a CD or songs that are saved to the hard drive we need to select Now playing, next display the File menu and select Open..., next look for the songs that we want to listen to. To choose several songs use the Ctrl key and then click open. The selected files will appear on the right side of the window in list form.

2- If what you want is to play a CD it is not necessary to use the File menu since the media player will automatically load the songs on the CD.

3- If you want to listen to a song on the list simply double-click it and it will begin to play.

4- The play order will be the same order that the songs appear on the list to the right. If you want to change the order simply select the songs with the left mouse button and drag the song to where you want it.

5- To change the name of a file from the playlist you have to right click on it and select Edit, then write the new name.

6- When playing a song, there is an image on the left side; this image has movement and it can be changed.

To do this click on the arrows that appear here

Handling the Player

These are the commands to handle the player:

The large round button is used to play as well as to pause. This means that this button is used to start and pause a song.

This button is used to stop the song or video being played.

The following buttons are used to move ahead or skip back.

The button skips back to the previous song on the list. For example from song 7 to song 6.

The button is used to skip to the next song or video on our playlist.

To move forward or move backward in a song you can also use the bar that indicates the progress of the song we are listening to.

Click with the left mouse button on the bar and drag it to the right to move forward of to the left to move back.

We can also control the Volume by dragging the volume bar.

On the top right we can see a small box

in which we have the playlist. These lists include files that we have wanted to add, such as creating a list of songs that you like from various CDs. This way you create your own playlists.

How to create a playlist

To create a playlist we need to select Library tab

Click on Playlists and then on New Playlist.... In the dialog box that will appear put the name of the list you want to create and click OK.

Then check in My playlists to see that your new playlist appears.

The CD Player

To play a CD you use the option audio CD. With it you can listen to a CD as well as copy songs from a CD to the hard drive.

Normally the multimedia player will start up automatically when we place a CD in the computer.

The window you can find when listening to an audio CD is similar to the one shown below

This window will show you the song list that the CD contains and at the same time shows you the name of the song, the singer, and the length of the song.

To play a song on the CD simply select it and click Play button.

Copying a CD

We can copy a music CD onto the hard dis or simply the songs that we like best to add on to our list

To copy a CD we need to check the box that is next to the song that we want to copy and then click on Rip music.

When it begins to copy the songs it will show you the progress of the process.

If you want to copy the entire CD you need to select all the songs (Ctrl+E), and click

and then click on Rip music.

The folder where the songs are saved to is usually in c:\My documents\My Music but we can tell it that we want to save them on another folder. To do this before you click Rip music display the menu Tools and select Options...

A window similar to the one shown will open.

To indicate where we want it to copy the songs we have selected we can click on the Change... button, then we will tell where we want it and click OK.

We can even change the quality with which we want the music to copy by dragging the bar Audio quality.

One of the new features is the capability to copy a song while listening to it, although this increases the copy time.

What's New?

XP Documentation-PCE

The program is not usually listed in the Start- All Programs menu. The program file is eudcedit.exe and is in the system folder \Windows\System32\. To open the program, go to Start-Run and enter "eudcedit" (without quotes).

The grid shows the hexadecimal code that will be assigned to your new character. In above picture, a character with code E000 has already been created in the first box and the second box, whose hex number would be E001, has been selected.

The next step is to click "OK" and the palette window (Figure 2), where you can draw a new font, will open. There is a toolbar on the left with some basic tools. Shown in the figure is the "pencil" used for freehand drawing. In addition to the toolbar, there is a "Tools" menu. Figure 3 shows the menu with a list of the available tools

Note: The tools are similar to those in Paint and will be familiar to anyone who has used a graphics program.

Figure 4 shows my shaky effort at making a font of my initials to put into e-mail as a signature. Those with a steadier hand and better calligraphy will be able to do a much nicer job. Keep in mind that the actual size of the palette is 50 pixels square. When making a custom font, you have the choice of associating the new font with a particular font family or with all fonts. If you choose a particular font family, your custom font will be available from there only. After you have drawn and edited the figure to your satisfaction, save the font. Note that the "Save Character" operation is in the "Edit" menu.

The next step in actually using the custom font is to open the Character Map. The font will be listed as "All Fonts (Private Characters)" or under a particular font-private characters if you chose that option. Figure 5 shows the Character Map display. Select the custom font and click "Copy". That places it in the clipboard where it can be pasted into any document in the regular way.

Figure 6 shows the custom font pasted into an e-mail in Outlook Express. One thing to remember is that the regular operations applicable to a font hold (size, bold, italic, and so forth). In the figure the custom font is 20 point while the text is 10.

New Views and Options in Folders

In folder that store pictures, you may notice that pictures will display a bit different. This is the Filmstrip View. Use the arrow buttons to click through a slideshow of the photos in the folder.

Use the left Panel options to burn a CD, order pictures, or other options. Click the double arrows on the upper right side of each small window in the left pane to display or hide the options.

Rotating Photos in Window View

You can rotate photos in the Window View without the help of a graphics program. Right-click over a photo and choose Rotate Clockwise or Rotate Counter Clockwise depending your preference for the photo. It may take a few seconds for the change to occur.

Navigating the Control Panel

In the XP Theme, the Control Panel appears differently than in Windows 2000. In Windows XP, the Control Panel will display in Category View. To switch back to Classic View, click the link, Switch to Classic View, on left hand side of the Control Panel.

New and Improved Taskbar

The Taskbar has a couple of new features that make it easier to manage open files and programs.

Example: In Internet Explorer, in the example below, there are several windows opened on the desktop. Windows XP will display only one button on the Taskbar for Internet Explorer windows that are opened.

This will group all windows of each program opened making the Taskbar look neater and more organized. When windows are grouped, a small white arrow will display on the Taskbar button. Follow the steps below for Maximinze and closing windows open on the Taskbar.

1. Click the Taskbar button for Internet Explorer (or the program opened) and all the windows will display in a pop-up menu.

2. Several options will be available:

o Select the desired window of the program to maximize.

o If desired to close only one program window, click the Taskbar button and select the window and right-click over that window button in the popup and choose Close.

3. When the Taskbar button is right-clicked, options to Close Group, Minimize Group or choose a Tile option will display.

Changing Options for the Taskbar:

1. Settings for the Taskbar can be changed by right-clicking over an empty area of the Taskbar and choosing Properties from the shortcut menu.

2. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box will appear. Choose the desired settings for the Taskbar appearance and Notification area.

3. Click the Customize... button to customize the Notification area if desired.

4. Click OK when done.

Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box

Burning a CD Using Windows Explore

With Windows XP, it is possible to burn a CD directly from the Window's Explorer window. Follow the steps below to burn a CD.

1. Open the Windows Explorer by right-clicking over the My Computer icon and choosing Explore from the shortcut menu.

2. Select the desired files and folders and drag them to the DVD/CD-RW Drive icon. The Copying... dialog box will appear as the folders and files coping over the DVD/CD-RW Drive.

3. Once the files have been copied, a small balloon window will appear in the lower right hand corner of the desktop. Click the balloon to the see the files that are ready to burn to the CD.

4. A window for the DVD/CD-RW Drive will appear with dimmed icons representing the data ready to be burned. In the Left Pane, click the link, Write these files to CD.

5. The CD Writing Wizard will appear. Follow the instructions in the Wizard to complete the task of burning the CD. Click Next as prompted.

6. The next screen will prompt for a burnable CD to be placed in the CD-RW drive. Click Next when ready.

7. The next screen will display progress bar. Click Next when it appears not grayed out.

8. The next screen will display that the files have been successfully written to the CD. Click the checkbox next to Yes, write these files to another CD to make another copy of previous CD or Click Finish when done.

Security Center

One new feature of Windows XP is the Security Center. The Security Center provides a place where you can check the settings of three ways to help secure your computer:

• Windows Firewall

• Automatic Updates

• Antivirus Software

Windows Firewall

The Windows Firewall helps to protect your computer from attacks by restricting how other people can access your computer over the Internet. It helps to ensure that nothing gets into your computer that you want to keep out, like viruses or other threats.

The Windows Firewall is on by default, and you can check the status of the Windows Firewall by opening the Security Center. You can also set up exceptions for the firewall and change advanced settings in the Security Center.

Automatic Updates

Automatic Updates is a Windows XP component that allows your computer to automatically get important updates from Microsoft. Occasionally, someone finds a vulnerability in Windows XP that could be used to harm your computer. Microsoft releases updates that fix the vulnerability. If Automatic Updates is enabled, Windows XP will automatically get the update and install it for you when you're connected to the Internet.

You can check the status of Automatic Updates in the Security Center. You can change some settings for Automatic Updates in the Seucirty Center, such as setting Automatic Updates to alert you when updates are available instead of downloading and installing them automatically.

Networking

The Windows XP Network Setup Wizard simplifies the process of setting up a network.

Windows XP makes networking easier than previous version of Windows did. With the networking tools in Windows XP, you can easily setup your computers to share an Internet connection, files and folders, and hardware like printers and scanners.

The Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP helps to automate the process of setting up your home or small office network. You physically connect your computer, then run the Network Setup Wizard to setup your network.

With the wizard, you can:

• Share an Internet connection between all the computer in your network.

• Give your computer a name and description so you can easily identify it on the network.

• Setup your network to share files and hardware (printers, scanners, etc)

Once you have the network setup on your Windows XP computer, you can run the Network Setup Wizard on the other Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows XP computers in your network.

Browsing the Internet

Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger in Windows XP offers improvements over previous versions of Windows when it comes to browsing the Internet. Windows XP offers better security and privacy when browsing the Internet, plus new features for MSN and Windows Messenger users.

Along with the Security Center and Firewall Windows XP also includes the most recent and most secure version of Internet Explorer. The four security zones in Internet Explorer allow you to set different security options for sites you trust, your local intranet, the Internet, and sites you don't trust. Combined with Windows Firewall, the improvements to Internet Explorer and Microsoft's timely patches for newly discovered security flaws ensures that browsing the Internet on a Windows XP computer is much safer than browsing the Internet on a computer running a previous version of Windows. Security isn't the only improvement for browsing the Internet using Windows XP. Windows XP also comes with new versions of Windows Messenger and MSN Explorer.

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Windows XP - Windows Media Player, What's New?

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