Auto-DJ: How to manage files and playlists. Feature overview.
Components of a files section
1. Radio status and Auto-DJ control
2. File manager
3. Playlists
Radio status and Auto-DJ control
Radio status and Auto-DJ controls are displayed on each administration page above the menu.
On the left there are 3 icons, reload the panel page, open the radio page and play - listen to the radio.
In the middle, the names of the songs currently Playing and Following are displayed - these lines indicate the playlist, the playback mode (with number), the position of the song in the playlist and the name itself with a link to copy to the clipboard.
Just below are the Auto-DJ control buttons:
1. Status - a green circle indicates that the radio is running, and a red circle indicates that it is disabled
2. Stop - turns off the radio completely, this is usually not required
3. Restart - reboots the radio, the reboot usually takes place without kicking listeners off the air, but sometimes this happens
4. Play next song - immediately switches the song to the one indicated in the Should line
5. Change the playlist playback mode: 0 - play in order, 1 - randomly and 2 - shuffle the playlist at the end
To the right is the current number of listeners and the current time at which Auto-DJ works and the schedule.
The time zone can be changed in the settings.
File manager
The file manager was created as convenient as possible for our users, similar to FTP clients and working in Windows.
For convenient control, most functions are implemented in the context menu when you click the right mouse button .
After upgrading this section, folders and files do not have a physical link to the server file system.
You no longer need to create or delete folders, it happens completely automatically depending on whether there are files in the folder.
How to upload files?
Please note that files are uploaded and checked for format validity. If in the settings you specified the conversion of files to your bitrate, for example 128 kbit.
To upload files directly to a new folder, use the function to quickly move to a new folder by simply entering the folder name or the entire path.
Then, to download MP3 files, simply drag and drop the files selected on your PC directly into the file window . The files will be downloaded one by one, and you can add them even during the download process. If you do not want or cannot drag files into the window, then use the file upload icon located on the right or click the right mouse button -> Upload files. At the same time, you can select several files to download at once in a window that is familiar to everyone. All actions in the files section take place dynamically without reloading the page.
How to manage files?
Many functions have been created to manage folders and files:
1. Folder management
- creation and deletion is automatic
- to move to a new folder, use the text field above the file window
- you can open a folder by double-clicking on it
- when you right-click the mouse, the functions to open or rename a folder are available
2. File management
- you can play a file by double-clicking on it
- you can download a file to your PC by simply dragging it to your desktop or to a folder on your PC
- by clicking the right mouse button, the functions play, rename, recode and file information are available
- please note that it is not the file names that are displayed, but the song names: Artist - Song Title , so it is not the file names that are renamed, but the Artist - Song Title, which are then displayed in the player (the way files are displayed can be changed)
- to select files for bulk operations, just click on them with the mouse, you can also select all files at once by checking the box under the files window
- selected files can be moved to another folder, deleted from the server or added to a playlist , to do this, use the right-click menu
3. Adding to playlists
- to add files to the playlist, select them by clicking the mouse and when you right-click the mouse, the item -> Add to playlist will appear
- in the form that appears, you can select the desired playlist or specify a new one, and also set the method for adding selected files
- the add to random checkbox is already selected by default, so the files will be added not in alphabetical order, but randomly
- there are 3 ways to add, at the end of the playlist, after the song with the specified number, insert after a certain number of songs
- after adding files to a playlist, the specified playlist will be updated automatically
Display method Files or Titles
As mentioned earlier, by default, not file names are displayed everywhere, but Artist - Song title, initially obtained from meta tags, which also end up in the player when listening to the radio. However, you can see the names of downloaded files at any time using the selector above the files field. When you select to display file names, they will be displayed in the radio status, in files and in playlists.
Playlists
Playlist management is done in a similar way to a file manager; the main functions are available in the context menu.
For more reliable operation, we periodically check all playlists for file availability in the system.
How to manage playlists?
The following functions are available to you:
- selecting the desired playlist through the selection field
- deleting the selected playlist by clicking the delete playlist button
- creating a new playlist in the form to the right, if you check the box create a playlist from all files , all your files will be in it
- you can also play the file by double clicking
- you can download a file to your PC by simply dragging it to your desktop or to a folder on your PC
- changing the position of a song in the playlist is done by simply dragging the song
- deleting songs from a playlist is the same as with files, you need to select the necessary songs and then in the context menu -> Delete selected
- an interesting and important function in the context menu Assign next song, this function is used to set the next song or the next playlist. For example, you can select the desired playlist and assign the next song from it; to speed up switching, you can use the function include the next song in the Auto-DJ control.
Playlist queue
At the very bottom of the page you can find another function, setting a playlist queue.
In this field, you can specify several playlists alternately separated by commas, and as soon as one playlist plays to the end, the next one in the list will immediately be turned on, and the one that lost will be moved to the end of the list automatically. Thus, the one who is currently playing is displayed first, and the next one is always second. The playlist queue can be left unset or cleared at any time, then the playlist will play in a circle. Please note that if your playlist plays randomly, this function will not work.
We hope that this guide will help you understand the administration of your radio, and also reveal some functions that you may not have known about. For other sections of radio control, a manual will be written later.
We also have documentation on working with SCHEDULE .