Moving and skipping tracks

With the Next button you can move a selected track to the position after the currently playing track. To exclude a track from being played select it and press the Skip button. Skip and Next can also be found in the file context menu. Selected tracks can also be dragged with the mouse or moved up and down with the buttons Shift+(Page) Up/Down. To select a track click it once with the left button or use the (Page) Up/Down keys. If the folder is changed or reloaded any exclusions or position changes will be forgotten.

Tip: If you want the player to continue at another position in the list after the currently playing file simply press skip on the current file and select the next track to be played.

Sort and shuffle files

You can sort your tracks in the file list with the tabs as you possibly know it from the explorer. The current sort mode is shown in the tab button with the sort direction (+) or (-). In shuffle mode no tab is marked because sort is disabled.

Shuffle (random file listing) is enabled by the Shuffle button in the button bar. To re-shuffle press the same button. To leave the Shuffle mode simply press one of the sort tab buttons.

Jumping into random directories is not possible. If you want to play a whole path shuffled it is recommended to use the file finder (see below).

Repeat modes

• Regular play, one track after the other
• Repeat all files of the folder or the whole drive (depending on "Auto search dirs" set)
• Repeat the current track (works not with Cue sheets)
• Play only one file (works not with Cue sheets)

Auto insert

This feature may be useful for special purposes as jingle automation. Briefly how it works: In an adjusted time interval it puts a file from an own list to the upcoming position of the normal playlist. Select a folder from the tree view which contains the files for time controlled insertion. If the Auto Insert window is open, the function is active. To disable it, close the window. The simple list shows the files of the selected folder and can be sorted or shuffled, single files can be skipped. If the adjusted time is elapsed the next file of the list will be inserted. With the 'Set now' button a file can be manually inserted. Only one file can be put to a position, before and after it there must be a normal list entry. It is possible to activate multiple Auto Insert windows at the same time.

Line in

The live input feature allows you to use the built in enhancer for any audio source. After opening it from the tree view context menu you can adjust the buffer size which by default is smaller than in audio player mode to give a fast response. When you start the line input 1by1 records from the selected wave in device, applies the dsp (if enabled) and sends the signal to the wave out device. Which connections you need to get a correct output must be managed by your hardware or audio drivers. 1by1 allows only adjusting the nessesary devices.

Find and list

Directory finder

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.

To search a folder forward or backwards press the Find previous/next folder button (between track skip and repeat button). If "Auto search dirs" is enabled 1by1 will search the next folder when it reaches the end of the current.

If you don't want the searcher to find playlists and Cue sheets (e.g. to prevent files from being played twice) check the "Search skips playlists/Cue sheets" option in the control settings.




File finder

The find dialog can be reached by F3, Ctrl+F, the main menu or the tree context menu. It searches under the current path (always including subfolders) for files with supported types (MP3 and plugin depending).

You can enter a search string (e.g. part of a track name or an extension), a date range, a size range or a combination of all ("AND" combined). To list all (supported) files within a path press Search with no search text. You can interrupt the search process by pressing ESC. Scanning all drives at once is not possible.




Playlists and Cue Sheets

Playlists (*.m3u) and Cue Sheets (*.cue) appear like folders in the tree. A playlist shows names and path of each file. The list can be shown original order, sorted by filename or path or be shuffled. Cue sheets are used to display large files, e.g. CD images or DJ sets with track indices and titles. A Cue sheet 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. There also may be small time differences between an MP3 which is decoded by ACM/mglib or by a plugin.




Playlist View

A second list can be opened to compile playlists from different folders. Use the Playlist button in the toolbar (or Shift+F5) to switch it on or off. Initially the playlist view is disabled. If you quit 1by1 or close the list the content will be remembered.

To add selected files simply drag them from the file list or press Ctrl+Return or choose Enqueue from the file context menu. You can also enqueue a file at the command line by starting 1by1 with the command line option /enqueue (see Command line options). Also files from the explorer can be dropped over the playlist view.

To add the content of other Playlists (*.m3u) to the playlist view simply copy the whole list from the normal view to the playlist view by selecting all (Ctrl+A). If the file of a playlist entry does not exist it will not be copied to the playlist view.

To export any list or selection to a playlist file open the context menu over a file and select "Save/append ... to playlist" (depending on what you want to save - selected files or the whole list). This works even in the normal file view.




Big Title View

If wanted, 1by1 shows title informations in an extra window with free adjustable font size, color and style. To set up the title display call it manually from the main menu (F1) or with Ctrl+B. By right clicking into the window you'll reach the settings menu. Please note, that the "Bring to front" option does not recognize keyboard input when in background. If font smooting is activated in your system and the vu meter display is enabled, 1by1's cpu consumption may raise significantly.

Shortcuts and external control

Keyboard shortcuts

Up/Down/Left/Right PgUp/PgDown Home/End Tab or Ctrl+PgDown	Navigate
Return	Play
Space	Stop/Resume
Left/Right	Track position (or folder tree control)
Ctrl+Up/Down or Numpad [+] / [-]	Volume
Ctrl+Left/Right or Numpad [/] / [*]	Play prev/next track
Shift+Left/Right or [,] / [.]	Search prev/next folder
Shift+Up/Down Shift+Page up/down	Move track up/down
Ins	Move track after current
Del	Skip track
Alt+Return or Ctrl+I	File info window
Ctrl+A	Mark all
Ctrl+B	Toggle Big title view
Ctrl+D	Auto search dirs on/off
Ctrl+E	Audio enhancer on/off
Ctrl+G	Gapless mode on/off
Ctrl+H or Ctrl+Home	Go home (to current track)
Ctrl+L	Line in panel
Ctrl+O or Ctrl+PgUp	Cycle track order type
Ctrl+P	Toggle order direction / re-shuffle
Ctrl+Q	Quit program after current track
Ctrl+R	Cycle repeat mode
Ctrl+T	Show remaining/elapsed/both/no time
Ctrl+U	Show upcoming/current file
Ctrl+V	Add current track and position to Favorites
Ctrl+W	Equalizer on/off
Ctrl+X	Explore folder or edit Cue sheet/playlist
F1	Main/Favorites menu
F2	Rename/move file
F3 or Ctrl+F	Find files
F4	Toggle tree view
F5 or Ctrl+End	Rescan tree and file list
F6 or Ctrl+S	Settings window
F7 or Ctrl+C	Toggle compact view
Shift+F5	Toggle playlist view
Shift+F6 or Ctrl+Return or drag	Enqueue file(s) after playlist view selection
App key	File menu




Global Hotkeys

By global Hotkeys you can reach the most important play functions without switching to the application. The Hotkeys can be enabled in the Control section of the settings window. The Hotkeys are F8 - F12 (see table), optionally combined with Alt, Ctrl or the Windows key. In Windows 2000/XP F12 may not work as an individual Hotkey so you should use the Alt or Ctrl combination.

(Ctrl/Alt/Win+) F8	Stop/Resume
(Ctrl/Alt/Win+) F9	Previous track
(Ctrl/Alt/Win+) F10	Next track
(Ctrl/Alt/Win+) F11	Volume down
(Ctrl/Alt/Win+) 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 the Systray icon
/enqueue	Enqueue the given file to the playlist view
/newinst	Starts a new instance ignoring the 'Only one instance' setting

Configuration

Settings window

The Settings dialog can be reached with the Settings button, by pressing F6 or Ctrl+S or from the Main/Favorites menu which is opened with the right mouse button in the control button area or F1.




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 quality but 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.




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 additionally supported files then also will be shown in the file list. Without plugins the program shows only mp3 and mp2. For playing mp3 it's recommended to use ACM/mpglib rather than a plugin.

The plugin support is not 100% and 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+2.06), in_vorbis (1.2b19+1.32), in_CDReader (1.95). Even working well: in_vorbis (1.13a), in_mp3 (2.75j, 2.81b, 2.91; problems with seek on VBR files with no "TOC" in the header), in_mp3pro (1.1), in_mod (2.2.10b29; even on 24 bit), in_mad (0.14.2b, 0.15.1b; problems with seek on CBR files; 24/32 bit output successfully tested), in_mp4 (2.1b). At least playing a file (not further tested): in_mpp (1.7.9f), in_mod (1.3).

Plugins which don't use the wave output are also supported. But note that waveout features like volume control, gapless or audio enhancer are not working with (the non-waveout mode of) these plugins. Successfully tested: in_midi (0.6), in_midi (3.01 - but slightly strange in mode "DirectMusic with output"), in_cdda (2.90a).




Audio settings

Maximum wave buffer: Maximum size of a single wave buffer. The default value is 32 KB. Enlarge it if a longer buffer time is needed, e.g. for Overlap usage or on low resources (play interruptions). You can also try to vary this value if the output is disturbed by periodical clicks.

Number of buffers: Default is 8. Increase if a longer buffer time is needed, e.g. for Overlap usage or on low resources (play interruptions). Values below 4 are not recommended.

Gapless output: This option allows continuous audio output when the program starts the next file. E.g. when using the CDReader plugin the transitions of mixed CD tracks will not be interrupted. Gapless enables the additional options Silence skip and Overlap.

Note: All gapless functions work only if the samplerate and the channel number do not change. This means: A song with 44.1 kHz and another one with 48 kHz cannot be played gapless. In such a case 1by1 will reinit play after a short freeze until the old track is finished. Gapless works only with 16 bit output.

Use with plugins: Means that the gapless feature will be used for plugin played files, too. In some cases gapless play with plugins may be faulty. So the feature can be disabled seperately for plugins.

Skip silences: If enabled parts below -55 dB will be shortened. On plugin usage silence skipping may cause play interruption in rare cases. This function also improves the Overlap feature on tracks with pauses at the beginning or the end.

Overlap: Allows mixed track transitions. Disabled by default. As the maximum mixing time depends on the total wave buffer size, you need large buffer settings, e.g. 20 buffers with a size of 64 KB. With the Threshold value you can adjust the level of the ending track at which the new track will be started and mixed over. The default value is -9 dB. Note: Overlap works only with ACM or mpglib - not with plugins.

Auto space: Waits the entered time (in millisecons, 1 second = 1000 ms) before starting the next track. Maximum is 10 seconds. Disables the Gapless output. Disabled by default.

Reverse balance (internal): Even 1by1 doesn't allow to adjust the balance it can store it if set somewhere else (e.g. in the Windows mixer). And some sound devices need a swapped balance. Only for these cases this option may be useful.

Alt. volume setting: If the sound driver does not support Windows' volume setting, this option can be used to calculate the volume internally. Disabled by default. Only working on 16 bit output.




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 (130...80 ms) combined with a faster 'Amp reduce' value (0.6...0.8 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 0.6 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.

Input HP cutoff: if enabled the compressor uses a highpass filtered (less bass) analyze signal. This can help to reduce ugly "breathing" or "pumping" sounds of the compressor output. The result may sound more stable and fuller. On the other hand it may create bass distortions (especially on soft scenes with much deep bass). So a higher cutoff frequency may often require to lower the Threshold value.

Stereo separation: enhances the channel separation on a scale up to 50% before passing the compressor. On no extra stereo enhancement it shows "normal".

Prelisten mode: Only enabled while play. It switches to short buffers to give you a fast response of the enhancer and equalizer settings.

Enhancer presets: Can be created by entering a name and pressing Add. Delete by selecting a set and pressing Del. The program presets at the beginning of the list cannot be deleted.

3 Band Equalizer: Works only on 16 bit output. To reset all sliders to 0 dB press Reset. The EQ takes a considerable amout of cpu power which can be reduced: each slider on 0 dB does not use cpu.




Control options

External Programs: Allows starting other programs by the context menu of a selected file, folder, playlist or Cue sheet. If you want to start an external program with additional parameters you must create a batch file and set it as the external program instead of the program itself. Example: for calling the Lame encoder from 1by1 create a file "Lame.bat" containing a line like "C:\Windows\Lame.exe -m j -q 1 -b 128 %1", where %1 is the placeholder for the file sent to the external program.

High Priority: Disabled by default. Only recommended if other applications interfere with 1by1 and setting larger buffers and more buffers does not help.




Display options

Show created date: Disabled by default. If enabled the last row of the file list shows the creation date of a file instead of the date of the last modification.

Month colors: This special feature may be useful for people who care for the date of their tracks (as me). It associates a color range to the 12 months of the year allowing a better overview of the seasons the files are dated.

Allow sort by month: Gives you an additional sort option in the date row (indicated with "->M") which sorts the list at first by month and then by year.

Bitmap file for the toolbar buttons: Lets you select an external image file for individual toolbar styles. The BMP file must be a row of 21 images of the same size. Its color depth should be 4 or 8 bit (16 or 256 colors). The color of the first pixel will be interpreted as the transparent color. As 1by1 saves not the path of the BMP file, it must be in the program directory. Important: Allowing individual styles for the toolbar buttons does not mean, that 1by1 is on the way to support "skins". And there WILL NOT be any icon collection at the homepage.

What's new

v1.54, 2006-03-25
- Systray icon restored
- Big title view switch modified

v1.53, 2006-03-23
- ACM play hang problems fixed
- Plugin problems fixed
- Storing maximized window state
- Settings plugin list box changed to list view
- Optional static window title (no times and tracknames)
- Filetime summary slightly improved
- Always scan for times option improved
- Display for remaining+elapsed time modified
- Alternative layout for Big Title
- Repeat mode tooltips improved (showing current state)
- Some minor corrections

v1.52, 2006-03-09
- Optional Big Title Display
- Always scan for times option
- Cue sheet finder (works in current folder)
- ID3v1 tags can be removed
- Audio file access modified
- Upcoming file display corrected - Thanks Tobias
- Some other changes

v1.51, 2006-01-11
- Drag & drop for file- and playlist improved
- VU meter improved
- Default button style changed, old buttons loadable from bitmap file
- Now always keeping playlist content (no more clear on close)
- Gapless bug fixed (crashed on switch from plugin to mp3)
- ID3v1 genre bug fixed - Thanks Uwe
- Clicking explore on some folders did not work correctly - Thanks Eric

v1.50, 2005-10-03
- Toolbar:
   Return of the optional text button style!
   Buttons slightly re-drawn
   Alternative button images loadable from bitmap file
   Buttons for Refresh and Home
   Time button: scans whole list for file lengths
   Enqueue button removed
- Simple (very simple!) drag & drop for enqueuing tracks to the playlist view
- More playlist view enqueue options (doubleclick, Strg+Return)
- Showing total file size or time of a list in status bar
- Adjustable minute character (' or :)
- Fixed: EQ was switching off with no enhancer, gapless or settings window
- Fixed: Media key selection for Hotkeys was not saved - Thanks Cliff

Frequently asked questions