PopupCD is distributed as SHAREWARE. You are allowed to try out the program free for 15 days. If, after the trial period, you decide to keep the program, you are required to pay the registration fee. The first time you install PopupCD and restart, a shareware message will appear after startup is complete. During the trial period, all reminders will be disabled, but will resume after the trial period has expired. The unregistered version of PopupCD is otherwise not disabled in any way. When you register you will receive a registration serial number that will personalize your copy and banish the shareware reminders forever.
Please respect the time and effort put in by the authors of this and other shareware products, and pay for shareware that you use regularly. This not only grants you peace of mind, but encourages the authors to continue to support and develop their programs.
ABOUT PopupCD
PopupCD is a unique popup remote control for quick and easy access to your CD audio discs through your CD-ROM drive. It installs as a control panel / extension in your Control Panels folder, and is always immediately accessible with a quick mouse click anywhere on the screen from within any application. The attractive and realistic-looking remote control includes all functions normally used on conventional CD players, as well as a very functional display and playing time indicator. Best of all, PopupCD remains inactive and totally hidden until called up, conserving precious screen space. All functions can be accessed through the on-screen remote or with configurable keyboard hotkeys. If you're tired of launching or switching applications just to control your CDs, PopupCD is an elegant and unobtrusive alternative.
REQUIREMENTS
• An internal or external CD-ROM drive.
• System 7 or greater with Color QuickDraw.
• The 'Apple CD-ROM' extension version 5.0 or greater installed in your Extensions folder.
• You will also need to have 'Foreign File Access' and 'Audio CD Access' present in your Extensions folder in order for the CD-ROM drive to recognize audio CDs. These are included with Apple System Software. If you can currently play audio CDs using the AppleCD Audio Player, don't worry about this, you should already be set up to use PopupCD.
FEATURES
• Complete audio CD functions including play, pause, stop, eject, track skip and scan, volume, and shuffle play (random track playback). Eject function opens the tray even if no disc is loaded. Automatic play option plays discs automatically upon insertion.
• Unique popup remote control, with LCD track and time display and volume level indicator, pops up with a single mouse click, right at the current mouse location! Customizable popup key modifiers. Remote stays on-screen as long as the modifier keys are held down. Allows repetitive mouse clicks while the remote remains active!
• Informative multi-color track/disc elapsed time bargraph and track pointer, and lighted playback buttons show playback status at a glance.
• Track and disc elapsed and remaining time displays, as well as track count and total disc time display, easily selectable by clicking in the display area.
• Full access to all audio CD functions from the popup remote control, or with configurable keyboard commands.
• Responsive continuous-action keyboard commands for scan and volume control. Just hold down the key as long as you want the volume to increase/decrease or the audible scan to continue.
• Unique direct track access keyboard command - access any track directly by number by pressing and holding the configured key modifiers, then type in a one- or two-digit track number. The desired track is played as soon as the modifier keys are released!
• Control panel allows full configuration of keyboard commands and popup key modifiers, as well as the auto-play option. Full balloon help is available in the control panel and all associated dialogs.
INSTALLATION
To install PopupCD, drag it to your closed System Folder, or directly to your Control Panels folder, and restart. Upon restart you will see a notification that PopupCD is shareware and you have a 15 day trial. Startup reminders will not appear during the 15 day trial, but will begin after the trial period.
OVERVIEW
PopupCD consists of two parts, both of which are included in the single 'PopupCD' file that resides in the Control Panels folder. The PopupCD control panel is used to set certain options such as key assignments, as well as to register the program. The PopupCD remote control is installed at startup as an extension and remains in memory. The remote control includes the actual interface used to control playback of your audio CDs, through mouse or keyboard commands.
THE CONTROL PANEL
The PopupCD control panel is used to set options used by the remote control. You can disable the keyboard control keys (together or individually), the popup modifier keys, and/or the entire remote control using options in the control panel. You can also set which keys you wish to use for each command, as well as the modifiers you wish to use in combination with a mouse click to pop up the remote control.
• The 'On' checkbox controls whether to enable or disable all functions of PopupCD. This also controls whether to load PopupCD into memory on subsequent restarts. If this button is not checked, PopupCD is disabled immediately, and will not load each time you restart your Mac. You must check this button to enable PopupCD and allow loading at startup.
• The 'Auto-play' checkbox determines whether to automatically play audio CDs when you load them into the drive. If this option is checked, PopupCD will begin playback as soon as a CD is loaded and mounted on the desktop by the Finder.
• The 'Show Startup Icon' checkbox determines if the PopupCD icon is displayed at startup when it loads. You would normally leave this button checked.
• The 'Popup keys' checkboxes determine which keyboard modifiers (the shift, control, option, and command keys) are used along with a mouse click to popup the remote control. The default is the shift, control, and option keys. Select these carefully to avoid possible conflict with another program you may use regularly. If none of these four buttons are checked, the popup remote is disabled (key commands are still available).
• The 'Keyboard control keys' - 'Enable' checkbox determines if keyboard control of PopupCD is enabled, and the 'Set...' button brings up the "PopupCD Control Keys" dialog, allowing you to set the keyboard keys you wish to use for each function. To assign a different key to a function, click on the editing field associated with the function you wish to modify, and press the desired key combination. The 'Direct Track Access' function is permanently assigned to the '0'-'9' numeric keys, so you can only change the modifiers for this function. Again you should choose your key commands carefully to avoid conflicts with your other programs. You can also disable an individual function from keyboard control by pressing the 'delete' key instead of a key combination. 'Undefined' will appear in the editing field to indicate the function does not have a defined key equivalent. All CD functions are explained if you activate balloon help and move the mouse over the function names down the middle of the dialog. To revert back to the factory default key settings, press the 'Default' button. The 'Cancel' button ignores changes made since the dialog was called up. The 'OK' button accepts all changes and applies them immediately.
• The 'About' button displays a dialog with the PopupCD logo as well as version and contact information.
• The 'Register...' button (not available when registered) brings up the registration dialog that allows you to print or save a registration form ready to be mailed, faxed, or emailed. Balloon help is also available within the registration dialog. See "REGISTRATION" below for more information.
THE REMOTE CONTROL
The PopupCD remote control is the main interface you use to interact with your CD-ROM drive and control audio playback. To popup the remote control at any time, press and hold the modifier keys configured in the control panel (shift-control-option by default), and click the mouse button. The remote will appear centered at the mouse location, and will remain on-screen as long as a modifier key or the mouse button is depressed (you do not necessarily need to hold all configured modifiers down, just a single key will do).
The remote consists of a display area at the top, eight playback control buttons (described below), and two volume control buttons with level indicator towards the bottom. The display area includes a large track display, a smaller time display to its right, disc and remaining time mode indicators above the time display, and a disc status bargraph and pointer at the lower part of the display. The pointer indicates the current playback position in relation to the rest of the disc. The bargraph shows the current track in green, and if shuffle play is active, played tracks in red. The length of the track segments are proportional to the playing time of the track relative to the entire disc. Each track is shown as a separate segment if possible. However, because of limited resolution, the display will revert to a solid bar if there are too many tracks to display accurately as separate segments. A quick glance at this display will tell you all you need to know about the status of playback. Indicator lights on the shuffle play, play/pause, and stop buttons turn green to further indicate the current playback state.
The remote includes most of the controls present on a 'real' CD player.
• 'Shuffle Play' - generates a random play list of all tracks on the CD, and begins playback with the first track in the list. You can use the 'Track Skip' functions to skip forward and back through the play list, or the 'Audible Scan' functions to scan forward and back through the current track. Performing this function while shuffle play is in progress cancels shuffle mode and continues playback in normal track order. [Default key equivalent: shift-control-return]
• 'Eject' - ejects the CD currently in the drive, or opens the tray if the tray is empty and you have a tray-loading drive. This also unmounts and removes the CD icon from the desktop. [Default key equivalent: shift-control-option-up arrow]
• 'Play/Pause' (toggle) - 'Play' begins playback at the current playback position. The playback position can be set while in 'Stop' mode using the skip and scan functions on the remote control. If play is in progress, this button changes to the 'Pause' function. Pressing 'Pause' pauses playback without moving the playback position. [Default key equivalent: shift-control-space]
• 'Stop' - stops playback and resets the playback position to the start of the disc. If a disc is not currently playing, this function simply resets the current playback position to the start of track 1. [Default key equivalent: shift-control-delete]
• 'Reverse Track Skip' and 'Forward Track Skip' - skips to the next track or start of the current track. If the playback position is within the first second of a track (the display reads 0:00 ET), this function skips to the start of the previous track. If the disc is stopped (neither paused or playing), you can use these buttons (but not their key equivalents) to change the playback start position. [Default key equivalents: shift-control-left & right arrow]
• 'Reverse Audible Scan' and 'Forward Audible Scan' - continuously scans the disc at high speed playing audio samples as you hold down the button (or key equivalent). If the disc is paused, this function still works, but the disc remains in pause when the scan is stopped. If the disc is stopped, you can use these buttons (but not their key equivalents) to change the playback start position. [Default key equivalents: shift-control-option-left & right arrow]
• 'Lower Volume' and 'Raise Volume' - lowers or raises the playback volume continuously as you hold the button (or key equivalent) down. [Default key equivalents: shift-control-down & up arrow]
There is an additional function available only from the keyboard called 'Direct Track Access' that allows immediate access to any track on the CD. Press and hold the modifier keys assigned in the control panel (shift-control by default), and type in a one- or two-digit track number on the keypad or numeric keys. Playback will start at the requested track as soon as you release the modifier keys, whether the disc is currently stopped, paused, or playing.
You can also change the display to show track remaining time, disc elapsed time or disc remaining time by repeatedly clicking in the display area of the remote control. The display reverts to the default track elapsed time the next time you popup the remote. Press and hold the mouse in the display to show total number of tracks and total disc time.
REGISTRATION
PopupCD is shareware. There is a 15 day free trial period so you can try out the program to determine if it suits your needs. After the 15 day free trial expires, you should either register the program, or discard it. Registration removes the startup shareware notices, and personalizes your copy of PopupCD by displaying your name in the control panel as the registered owner.
To register, open the PopupCD control panel and click on the 'Register...' button. Fill in the registration form that appears, print it out, and mail it to the address that will appear on the form. Payment is currently accepted in US dollars only in the form of check (drawn on a US bank only, please do not send EuroChecks or Canadian checks), cash, postal or personal money order, MasterCard, or Visa. If you elect to pay by credit card, you may also register by saving the form to a text file, and emailing it, or by faxing the printed registration form. Registration is $15 for a single user, or $10 per user for a 5 or more user site license. You will receive by return mail a registration serial number which will register PopupCD and disable the startup reminders. You can also order an official PopupCD disk with the most recent version of PopupCD (which may or may not be different from your current version), for an extra fee. Just check the appropriate box in the registration dialog. Disks are included with site licenses at no extra charge.
SUPPORT
I hope you enjoy PopupCD. If you have any suggestions for improvement, new feature requests, or most of all, bug reports, please contact me at one of the following addresses.
EMAIL
johnbrochu@aol.com
US MAIL
John Brochu
PO Box 645
Beverly, MA 01915
FAX
(508) 927-7633
UPGRADES
The latest version of PopupCD will always be available on AOL (Mac Utilities Forum), CompuServe (Mac Applications Forum), and eWorld (ZiffNet/Mac), as well as from the Info-Mac archives at sumex-aim.stanford.edu (or mirror sites). Your registration serial number will be valid for all future versions.
If you like PopupCD, you might want to try my other shareware product, "CalcWorks", an award-winning multi-function calculator, available online at the sites listed above.
SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to everyone who helped in testing PopupCD, including Jim Stout, Rex Maximilian, Tim Rice, and Chris Schweda. Also a big thanks to Ken Worley, whose 'sample cdev' code this product is initially built upon.
DISTRIBUTION
Unlimited non-commercial distribution of PopupCD is granted provided this document accompanies the PopupCD program, with the following provisions. PopupCD may not be sold or distributed for profit in any form, either with other products (commercial, shareware, or freeware), or in shareware/freeware collections sold for profit, without the prior written consent of the author. PopupCD may be distributed freely provided it is distributed in a non-profit manner, and is provided in its original unmodified form. However, please contact the author if you wish to distribute PopupCD in non-profit collections on disk, CD ROM, or other media, so that I can supply you with the most recent release.
DISCLAIMER
The author, John Brochu, makes no warranties regarding this program, its performance, or fitness to any purpose. The author is not responsible for any damage or data loss caused directly or indirectly through the use of this program.
REVISION HISTORY
1.0.2 July 9, 1995
• Added Finder balloon help.
• Additional minor tweaks.
1.0.1 July 8, 1995
• Fixed a problem on some systems that caused the buttons to appear blank with no icons on them.
