CDmax                                                 3/30/1999
Version 1.7 Build 1.7.5.0


CDmax is a 32-bit Windows Audio CD player program.
It was originally developed and tested on Windows 95 OSR2.
I now use NT4 sp4 at work and NT4 sp3 at home as well
as the above mentioned Win95 box.
 

Please Note
===========
1)  CDDB has made some changes lately.  They have added a new 
    method of accepting submissions through HTTP.  
    Additionally, they have changed their requirements on 
    the CDDBP protocol.  All said, this means that HTTP is now 
    the only required protocol.  CDmax now only supports HTTP 
    for retrievals and submissions go through HTTP as well.

2)  Please set the mixer device that is controled by the 
    volume component by accessing the right-click popup menu.

3)  For CDplayer.ini "stuff" - the disc IDs used by CDDB and
    the standard Windows CDplayer are different.  If you 
    already have a local CDmax (or CDDB) library built up,
    you will have to re-insert a disc before its CDplayer.ini
    disc ID is known.  I'm sorry, but this cannot be helped.


Version 1.7.5 changes
=====================
1)  obscure bug fix
2)  minor UI adjustments


Version 1.7.4 changes
=====================
1)  CDplayer.ini export now "merges" instead of replaces existing
    files.  The CDmax local library is output then any entries
    from the existing file that do not exist in the CDmax local
    library at appended to the end of the file.
2)  a device button has been added to the volume control area.
    A lot of folks were having problems finding the device
    setting popup menu that was "hidden" behind a mouse 
    right-click.  This should help with configuring the 
    volume/mute.


Version 1.7.1 changes
=====================
1)  RAS support - Dial-up networking has been added.  If you
    dial into the Internet, CDmax can now control your
    entrance and exit.  Check out the Connection tab under 
    Options.
2)  CDDB Queue - CDmax now has a queue for CDDB retrieves 
    and submits.  So you can queue your retrievals (or 
    submits) off-line.  When you decide, you can go on-line 
    and do all of your CDDB business at once.
3)  User-defined categories - You can now define your own
    categories for your CDs in the CDmax local library.
    Each new category created is given an associated CDDB
    category which is used for submissions.
    Check this out in the Contents editor.
4)  Play on Disc Insert - a switch has been made available
    in Options to allow you to determine whether play 
    begins automatically (or not) when a disc is inserted.
5)  Set Default Player - This operation have been moved back to
    the Options panel (where it belongs).  I believe I have the 
    NT security problem resolved.
6)  CDmax version notification - new feature added that 
    notifys you when a new release of CDmax is available.
7)  CDDB sites and categories - these lists which are 
    retrieved from CDDB used to have buttons for the 
    retrieval process.  They are now refreshed automatically
    once a week when you are online.
8)  Local storage - a new option has been added that allows 
    for queuing of retrievals to when a disc is not found.
    This makes it possible to load up a number of discs
    while off-line and have the ones that aren't a part of
    your CDmax local library queued for later retrieval.
9)  SysTray - No Action and Eject/Load have been added as 
    possible actions under the click options.
10) Disc checking and Insert notification options added
11) New command line switches added


Internet connection
===================
If you use Dial-up Networking to access the Internet, CDmax can
now control your access.  There are a number of configuration
options.  CDmax can dial in when you make a request or can 
prompt you if you like being asked.  Also, it can drop your 
connection when your request is completed, prompt you, or 
never drop you connection so you can do it yourself.  

Dial-up networking phonebook entry configuration is not included.  
Use the Windows configuration panels for this.

For options within CDmax that cause your browser to be started,
the dial-up options are used but since the browser is not under
CDmax's control it will not hang-up the connection automatically.

If you have a LAN or cable connection and don't dial in, just
check the LAN/cable/other option.  Also, if you use some other
dial up mechanism than Windows Dial-up Networking use the 
LAN/cable/other option.


Disc checking
=============
CDmax uses disc checking and insert notification to determine the 
state of the drive that it is using.  While an Audio disc is
in the drive it updates status every second.  You can see this 
occur on the main panel when the clock changes.

When a data disc or no disc is in the drive, CDmax releases
control of the drive so that it will not conflict with other
system devices.  Some systems allow for programs to be 
notified by the operating system when a new disc is inserted,
others do not.  

Two disc checking methods are available, along with a switch
for using insert notification.  I have used both of these
methods over the last couple of releases and both seem to 
work well, but one or the other seems to be better on 
different systems.  So I made them both available.

If you need to tune the amount of CPU that CDmax uses, try
different combinations of these, one should be good for
your system.


Installation
============
CDmax is distributed as a ZIP file containing two files:
1)  ReadMe.txt (this file)
2)  Setup.exe  (yes, a "real" install)


Log files
=========
Several log files can be created that will help me with
debugging if you have problems.  You turn them on in
the File menu.  They are created in the directory where
the CDmax.exe resides.

If you can include these with any bug reports it 
would be helpful.

  cmxMainLog.txt - main processing log
  cmxComLog.txt  - communications log
  cmxDunLog.txt  - dial-up networking log


Command-line switches
=====================

Switch	 Action
------	 ------
-play	 start play
-stop	 stop play   
-pause	 pause play
-next	 skip to next track
-prev	 skip to previous track
-eject   eject/load a disc
-info    create file with current disc's info
-current create file with current track info

To control which track is played, put d:\Trackxx.cda after
-play.  Where d is the drive letter and xx is the track
number, with 01 being the first track, 02 being the second,
etc.  If you double click a track from Explorer this is
what is passed to the program.  Example : 
  -play E:\Track01.cda

For -info and -current, include the file name after the parm
switch.  Also, file name should end in .txt
  

Features, Change History, Future developments
=============================================
Check the website listed below for features, future 
developments and a history of changes. 
Please use the website as a source of information on CDmax.  
It is a more dynamic environment than this type of document.


CDDB
====
Music CD-related data is provided through the Internet
from the Escient CDDB(tm) Music CD Database.
Copyright 1998-99 Escient LLC, All rights reserved.


Legal stuff
===========
This program is provided for your enjoyment and is free for your use.
While every attempt has been made to insure that the software is free 
of problems, the developer cannot warrant it or accept any 
responsiblity for problems it may cause you or your system.

CDmax - Copyright 1998-99 Clark Tisdale, All rights reserved.


Status
======
Freeware.
Freely distributable.


Contact Information
===================
Developer: Clark Tisdale
Email: clark_tisdale@mindspring.com
Web: http://www.mindspring.com/~clark_tisdale/CDmax/
