Using CD-Covers in CDMagic

CDMagic lets you...:

  scan the CD-cover as image bitmap and maintain it in the database
  display all existing cover-images in 'Thumbnail'-presentation
  show a single image in fullsize view or scale it
  define certain areas of the image as 'Title-Area' and associate them with a track in the database
  start playing a title by clicking on the associated area on the cover image

Get back to the old-fashioned way of handling your CDs:

The cover management facility in CDMagic enables you to visually "browse" through your CD collection just as you did in times when you had "real" CD media in hands.
Let yourself be inspired by looking at the colorful cover images which can bring up emotions of the music much better than pure textual title names can do. Choosing a specific title by visually select it from a picture is much more fun than reading through a title list. Try it out.

Overview:

  1. Facts & Figures
  2. Scanning of a CD-Cover
  3. Using the Cover Thumbnail window
  4. How to create click-sensitive title-areas

1. Facts & Figures

You should keep in mind these facts:
For each CD there may exist up to 9 image files (front-/backside, inlet etc.)
All images are stored in OS/2-bitmap-format (.BMP)
There is no relation between the names of the image files and the name of the CD (they are linked internally to the database record of the CD volume)

Scanning:
You need a TWAIN-compliant scanning device
You also need a scanning frontend program, such as swos2 from the package CFM_Twain
In order for the scanning device and CDMagic to cooperate correctly there must be some parameters specified in the Settings Menu. (s.below)

Continue ('Do The Scan')


Settings-Parameters For Scanning:

(to be invoked by the Main Menu item "Settings"):

Description of parameters:
Name stem for cover images: The images that you scan in the scanner frontend program must be saved under a specific name. This name consists of a name stem and a one-digit serial number (that's why you can only have up to 9 images for each CD):
xxxxxxxn.bmp
where: xxxxxxx is the name stem (max. 7 characters), n is a number 1 to 9.
The name stem you must enter in the Settings window.
Example: You specify in the Settings: COVER
In that case you must name the images when saving them in the scanner frontend program:
COVER1.BMP, COVER2.BMP, ... , COVER9.BMP
 
Full path and name of scanner frontend program: You must specify the full name of the scanner frontend program; if it is NOT in the PATH, then you must specify the program name including its drive and full path, e.g:
C:\CFM_TWAIN\SWOS2.EXE
 
Path for BMP-files: Name of directory, where the image files are to be stored.

[ Scanning of a CD-Cover | Using the Cover Thumbnail window | How to create click-sensitive title-areas ]


2. Scanning of a CD-Cover

Before scanning a CD cover you must have the CD stored in your database, i.e. you must have at least one track from it grabbed and encoded and given a name to the CD volume (that is the normal case).
You proceed as follows:

Recommended scan-parameters:

For an adequate balancing between image quality and file size you can use these values:
Number of colours: 256 is more than enough
dpi (dots per inch): 120
This value determines the pixel-dimension of the image in original (non-scaled) size: the more dpi, the larger the cover image but also the bigger the image file size!)
Brightness, contrast: Depends on the quality of your scanner and your personal preferences.

Facts & Figures | Using the Cover Thumbnail window | How to create click-sensitive title-areas ]


3. Using the Cover Thumbnail window

In order to browse through your CD collection you use the 'Thumbnail'-window.
From the Main window menu bar choose the 'Cover-Images' item. In the upcoming window click the 'Start'-Button.
You now see all your cover images one by one in a 'Thumbnail'-view. You can select a cover for fullsize viewing by clicking the left mouse button on it. In the fullsize image window you now have additional options to choose from, when you invoke the context-menu by clicking the right mouse button:

Previous page / Next page

If your cover has more than 1 page (more than 1 BMP-file) then you can turn these pages backward and forward (Previous and Next). The same effect is achieved by pressing the <PgUp-> and <PgDown>-keys.

Exit

You leave the fullsie view and return to the Thumbnail-view.

Show titles / Assign title to area of cover

This function shows a window with a list of the tracks of the CD (i.e. those tracks that you have ripped and converted; no empty titles)
But mainly this window serves as an instrument for assigning track titles to specially marked areas on the cover image, the 'Title Areas'. This process is described in detail under
How to create click-sensitive Title-Areas.
For that reason only a short overview is given here:
 > Show Title-Areas:
The specially marked 'Title-Areas' are made visible.
 
 > Mark Title-Areas:
Pressing this button starts the marking of the Title-Areas.
 
 > End Title-Marking:
After having marked all titles you must close the process by pressing this button.
 
 > Play whole CD:
Has nothing to do with Title-Marking. Plays CD completely.
 

Facts & Figures | Scanning of a CD-Cover | How to create click-sensitive title-areas ]


4. How to create click-sensitive Title-Areas

A click-sensitive Title-Area is an invisible rectangular area on the cover image which is linked to a track from that CD and which starts this track to play when it is clicked upon. Typically this area is laid over a text string that represents the name of a title.

To create click-sensitive Title-Areas proceed as follows:
Step-1: Select a cover from the Thumbnail-view; invoke the fullsize view by clicking on the thumbnail.  
Step-2: Invoke the context menu (right mouse button); choose 'Next page' until you see the page where the title names ar printed upon. Then from the context menu you choose Show titles / Assign Title Areas. The window named 'Titles of CD' with a list of existing tracks from that CD appears.  
Step-3: You should place both windows side by side: on the left side the picture of the cover while on the right hand the title list window. It is most convenient if both windows do not overlap each other.  
Step-4: Start by clicking the button Mark Title-Areas. Now you mark a rectangular area on the cover: first you click on the upper left corner, then you click on the bottom right corner. Now you should see a filled rectangle on the cover.  
Step-5: Assign a title using Drag and Drop:
With your right mouse button you draw the appropriate entry from the title list window into the filled reactangle (keep mouse button pressed while dragging, release button when over the reactangle).
 
Step-6: Repeat Dragging and Dropping for each title from the title list. (Step-4 and -5)  
Step-7: Finally you must close the process by clicking the End Title-Marking button.  
Step-8: After termination of the marking process both windows are closed and you return to the Thumbnail-view. Click on the thumbnail- image again. Now click on one of the title areas that you have just defined. The title begins to play (i.e. the player program that you have specified in the Settings window is invoked).  

[ Facts & Figures | Scanning of CD-Cover | Using the Cover Thumbnail window ]
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