ProppFrexx ONAIR User-Forum

I had several ideas while using this software that would make it easier to use. I didn't want to make several posts so I waited until I had enough ready to post all together.
Here are the things/options I'd love to see:

1.) The ability to choose the color for the Timecode countdown text/numbers. Red is sometimes harsh on the eyes.

2.) The ability to have the Time or Timecode always Visible in the main/other Toolbar Ribbon Blank Area next to Quick Monitor Player or in exchange for. Be able to choose to display Quick Monitor Player or Timecode) Since I don't use the quick player, it would be more useful to put the Timecode there to free up more tabs and have the Cardwalls etc. always visible. It's difficult when depending on the Timecode and trying to use the Cardwall at the same time.

3.) In the player windows, Have the ability to have the ZERO'S faded so it makes it easier on the eyes to quickly look at the players and see remaining time. There is no reason to have so many zeros all orange when they are not in use. It makes it hard to see the actual time counting down. This would really be helpful when you have to quickly find and see remaining times on a player. So basically 00:05:15 the zero's in this time would be a lighter color that the actual 5:15 numbers that are counting down. I had a physical player like this and it was great!

4.) In the player windows, have the player labeled as "NEXT" have the word "NEXT" (above the player name A,B C..) blinking or flashing in the window so you can quickly glance up and know right away what player/track is cued to play next. Currently the word "NEXT" is so tiny it's hard to quickly look and figure out what player is next especially if time is runing out. Perhaps have the word "NEXT" Flashing slowly so our eyes can catch it super quick by glancing up at the screen. This would be really helpful!

5.) Have the ability to find tracks by 'time' in the "FIND" window. An easy way to search a track based on time. This would make live shows easier to do when time remaining is low and you need a song to drop in quickly to get a perfect end time or when compiling a playlist based on time remaining.

6.) In the playlist, have a column, showing Scheduled end times for tracks so you can see when a track will end. Easier for timing top hours etc. The "Schedule" column only shows the start time. It would be really helpful to add a column that shows the Scheduled END TIME. So you can see exactly when the tracks are going to end as well. Helpful in all cases actually!

7.) The ability to add "FULL PATH" in the info panel window and/or column in the "FIND" tab. To make it easier to determine duplicate tracks in different folders due to sorting for various reasons. Helps us to pick the one we want. For example if you had a duplicate track but one is higher quality or slightly different recording, in the "FIND" window, it just says the same name so there is no way to determine which track, from what folder it is.

8.) The ability to 'ZOOM' on waveforms when setting cue points etc. in the PFL Player.

9.) When loading files into the PFL player it should display your custom set cues points etc, right away. Currently it only displays ACPD. So when I load a track that I have already set and saved cue points, it just shows up as a blank wavform and I have no idea where I set my points and can't see them to adjust them. There is no way to get them to appear. It would be great when loading tracks into the PFL player that it will display custom set points you have previously set/saved.

10.) In the "EXPLORER" window, have the ability to add columns. Currently there are none to add. It would be really helpfull to have a time column, so we can see length of songs when manually navigating the explorer. A few other options would be good to add there as well. The column chooser is empty!!!

Those are my dream choices! I really hope you can implement them as standard but preferably in the General Settings & Options since everyone might have slightly different opinions for the visual things. I feel these will help using the program even better! For me they will! Please consider.

It would be cool to be able to use the Last.fm plugin as well that Winamp uses. I've tried, but it doesn't work. I hope this can be possible at some point. I'd love to send my tracks to Last.fm since I use ONAIR as my general music player too.

Also.. faders for the players, either on the players in expanded mode, or in the 'MIXER' section. For some reason I don't have separate mixers for the players since I use a external usb audio device. I can't seem to add them either.

Thanks for reading! you are the best!!

1.) The ability to choose the color for the Timecode countdown text/numbers. Red is sometimes harsh on the eyes

That can easily be added I guess.

2.) The ability to have the Time or Timecode always Visible in the main/other Toolbar Ribbon Blank Area next to Quick Monitor Player or in exchange for.

Guess this is already possible.
Note, that you can freely arrange all the dockpanel windows (except the playlist window, which always stay as document windows in the main window).
You can simply rearrange any dockpanel window by either dragging its tab or its title bar and position it wherever you want including the creation of new floating group panels etc.
As such dock panels can be:
- auto hidden (when clicking the little pin icon in the title bar)
- closed completely
- docked to the left, top, right or bottom of any other container window
This allows you to freely rearrange any dockpanel just as you like them to be

The Quick Monitor however is an integral part of the ribbon tool bar and as such can not be rearranged.

3.) In the player windows, Have the ability to have the ZERO'S faded

That can easily be added I guess.

4.) In the player windows, have the player labeled as "NEXT" have the word "NEXT" (above the player name A,B C..) blinking or flashing in the window so you can quickly.

That can easily be added I guess.

5.) Have the ability to find tracks by 'time' in the "FIND" window.

This is already possible today.
When clicking on the '?' icon next to the Find Text you can invoke the find expression builder (hold the CTRL key for the simplified expression builder).
Here you can specify the 'Duration' for tracks to find.
E.g. to find all tracks between 2 and 3 minutes you might use...
Complex Expression: or
Simple Expression:

In the playlist, have a column, showing Scheduled end times for tracks so you can see when a track will end

The "Schedule" column already provides that info.
It effectively shows the scheduled (start) time of the track, but as such the time when the track is scheduled to end is the scheduled time of the next track within the playlist!
So I guess there is no real need to add an extra column for that?
However, I might provide an extra 'End Schedule' column if that is really needed.

Also note, that when planning a playlist you might deactivate the 'Start with current Time' option under the 'Playlist Backtiming' menu in the 'Playlist' ribbon and specify a dedicated 'Start with:' time instead.

7.) The ability to add "FULL PATH" in the info panel window and/or column in the "FIND" tab

Should already be available!
The column is called 'Filename' and shows the fully qualified filename including its full path.
The info panels also show the fully qualified filename at the bottom (to the right of the year and genre).
In the Find window there is in addition a column available called 'Media Library' - which shows you in which library the track was found in.

8.) The ability to 'ZOOM' on waveforms when setting cue points etc. in the PFL Player.

This is also possible today (for all players, not only PFL).
Make a single click onto the lower part of the WaveForm (to select it) and then use the CTRL key together with your MouseWheel to zoom in/out of the wave form.
In addition you can quickly zoom in and fully out by making a double-click onto the lower half of the WaveForm.
Left-Click:
In lower half: Selects the WaveForm only
In upper half: Jumps to the selected track position.
Left-Double-Click:
In lower half: Changes the zoom between full and zoomed.
Right-Click:
Opens the context menu.
Ctrl+MouseWheel: Changes the zoom distance (zoom in/out).

9.) When loading files into the PFL player it should display your custom set cues points etc. right away.

This is already the case - if the PFL Player doesn't display any Cue-Points, then you have no persistent cue-points defined so far for that track!

It actually depends a bit where/how and if you saved cue-points and what type of media library you are using!
E.g. when using folder-based media libraries you MUST explicitly save the Cue-Points to either the TAG data or to the extra .pfmd file - else they would not be persisted.

So please explain a bit more in detail how you test these things...

10.) In the "EXPLORER" window, have the ability to add columns

The explorer window currently only shows the plain file system information like (all available columns are shown by default).
As such the explorer doesn't perform any extra TAG reading (ie. to display the duration or other meta data) - this basically due to performance reasons.
E.g. if you display a folder with a couple of hundred audio files in it...this would take considerable time to read-in all the meta data and might lead to quite heavy disk I/O (as each single file needs to be opened and scanned).
However, I'll see, if I can add something to one of the next versions...

Last.fm plugin

Do you mean the Last.Fm Scrobbler plugin?
If yes, note, that this is plugin provided by Last.Fm and can not be provided by myself.
If not, what Last.Fm plugin features are you exactly looking for?

The Winamp plugin of Last.Fm is actually not a DSP plugin, but a MediaLib plugin for Winamp. ProppFrexx however only supports Winamp-DSP plugins!

Also.. faders for the players

The extra DJ Player faders can be shown by clicking on the Peak Level Meter display of the DJ Player.
However, you might also create individual Mixer-Output-Channels for the DJ Players if needed.
E.g. when using 3 DJ Players for the Playlist, you might create 3 Mixer-Output-Channels (DJ A, DJ B, DJ C).
Use the 'NONE' driver model to create a virtual sub-bus and specify the effective output mixer channel in the 'Output To' configuration option.
Then go to the general settings, section 'Routing' and assign the newly created mixer-channels to your DJ Players.
That's it.

It actually depends a bit where/how and if you saved cue-points and what type of media library you are using!
E.g. when using folder-based media libraries you MUST explicitly save the Cue-Points to either the TAG data or to the extra .pfmd file - else they would not be persisted.

I save my cue points etc. direct to a tag inside the mp3 files. Working from the Explorer.

Do you mean the Last.Fm Scrobbler plugin?

Yes That is correct. I want to send what' splaying in ONAIR to last.fm

Thanks for considering the other things. I didn't realize the players had faders if you clicked the meters.


The finding tracks by time is still difficult the way you explained, but I guess manageable.

It effectively shows the scheduled (start) time of the track, but as such the time when the track is scheduled to end is the scheduled time of the next track within the playlist!
So I guess there is no real need to add an extra column for that?

Well it's needed for when you come to the end of a playlist and there is no further tracks in the list. So you will not get an end time without a track loaded. I use mini playlists for things, and so I can't see the end time after the final track. Hope u see what I mean.

The info panels also show the fully qualified filename at the bottom (to the right of the year and genre).

Not here, it just shows BPM to the right in the info panel.

As for moving the Timecode somewhere out of the way without reducing the size of the other windows, I will need to try that.

Thanks again!

I do not fully understand why this is complex?

Cuz I'm a girl? LOL!
Ok, I will try using this.. I'll get back to you.

Is it only the 'NowPlaying' feature or also the 'Scrobbling' feature you are interested of?
Note, that the Winamp plugin offers both?!

Both would be cool. If the lower right hand corner had a tab for reading Last.fm artist info, that would be a great asset!! Since you have a browser built there, I assume it could be possible. Otherwise just sending the track info via the SCROBBLER would be good. So it would list my tracks on my Last.fm page.

Which window are you talking about (I assumed it was/is the Playlist window)?

The Find window contains the full qualified filename in the Filename column

Yes, but I'm talking about the FIND tab/window, at the bottom (Status Bar?) NOT the column. I guess I want to see it in the status bar with the other info that appears.

Thanks again!

I save my cue points etc. direct to a tag inside the mp3 files. Working from the Explorer

When changing the Cue-Points from the Explorer-Window and then saving TAG data, you need to actually Reload resp. Rescan your folder media lib from within the Media Library Management.
This is because the Explorer doesn't 'know' anything about your media libs and as such just see the files as is - but does 'update' the media lub related entries.

Note, that ProppFrexx caches all media entries loaded from a media lib!
Please see this post for details: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11

A better way to 'edit' your media lib files is to open them within a playlist.
I.e. select "Open - Media Library - ..." from the Main ribbon...
This way ProppFrexx knows, that you are now working on a media lib and will automatically update the related media entries of your lib accordingly.
(the same happens btw when you edit a media entry from within the Find window)

The finding tracks by time is still difficult the way you explained, but I guess manageable

I do not fully understand why this is complex?
I mean, if you want to seach for tracks having a certain duration...you must specify this duration...
So you can either use the two find expression builders to easily enter the desired Duration value(s)...or if you know the syntax, you might directly type it into the find text field...
What would be an easier way to your mind?

Last.FM ?

Is it only the 'NowPlaying' feature or also the 'Scrobbling' feature you are interested of?
Note, that the Winamp plugin offers both?!

The info panels also show the fully qualified filename at the bottom (to the right of the year and genre). Not here...

Which window are you talking about (I assumed it was/is the Playlist window)?
The Playlist window contains the full qualified filename in the info panel and in the Filename column.
The Explorer window contains the full qualified filename in the status bar and in the Filename column.
The Find window contains the full qualified filename in the Filename column and might shows the Media Lib name in an extra column.

Almost all of your above wishes have now been added to the latest v3.0.11.46

The Last.FM scrobbling stuff isn't included yet, as a few commercial things would have to be sorted first with Last.FM...

Thank you so much! You are a wonderful person! This software is getting better all the time! I love it!
I'll download it and try it tonight and let you know how it all works for me.

HI again, just a few questions.
As you added the things I was requesting, I should report to you how they are working.

Changing time code colors = Perfect!

Flashing "Next" in the players = OK, but could be better. Right now it only flashes a few times at the loading of the track or when a new track starts, and when a track gets near the end. It flashes a bit quick, only a few times. Is it possible to have the "Next" slowly flashing throughout the entire playing of the track before it? This would be more helpful so that it's constantly there to remind you. (Question: You have a flashing bar. Was it not possible to have just the text "Next" flashing maybe from black to it's normal color?)

Leading Zeros hidden = OK, It's nice, but I'm wondering, rather than have them completely missing, is it possible to have the zeros there, but shaded to grey color? It might look nicer.. perhaps. If not then this is fine.

End Schedule = Perfect! It's even better and more useful than I thought! One thing, can you make it so i can put it in the farthest right columns with the other Schedule and Playtime columns, so I can put them both at he end (last in the line). now I can only put it with the others left of the divider line with BPM etc.

Sorry to sound bothering.
That's all for now. Thanks!

Ok, for the flashing "Next" you could always make it an option so we have the ability to choose the style of flashing we like. (Continuous, or only certain intervals or none at all.) If it was just the text flashing rather than a color bar, it might not be as distracting, which i think you are referring to, that you don't like.

I forgot to mention:

Meta Data in Explorer = Really cool! Now I can see times. I can't remove the other 2 original columns though. I tried, but I can't take them off. For me, I just want to see the time. Byte size is not important, but it's stuck there. Is it possible to make it so we can remove those 2 columns?

That sounds possible...for one of the next releases