The very first thing you should do the very first time you run qCd is configure it. Hit the "Config." (or "Cfg.") button. The configuration popup is very primitive at the moment. I'll improve it at some point.
Some things you might want to configure:
/dev/cdrom
", change the device name.xterm
you started it from,
or if the drive tray won't retract, you don't have the ioctl. Shut off
the option.Look at the next section for more info on databases, especially if you don't have any yet!
After you've made any changes, hit "Save". If you don't, you'll lose all your changes when you quit (this is also the only way to cancel changes, besides re-editing things).
Also, in order for your changes to become active, you need to restart qCd, so you kinda need to "Save".
If you don't have any databases, or have never heard of databases, but want to use them, you must create the appropriate files. qCd won't do this for you, at least not yet.
The first thing to do is decide which type of database you want to use. It really doesn't matter. Pick whatever you want. (You can even use both at once.)
Next, do a "cd ~/
" to go to your home directory, which is
typically a good place to store these things.
If you want to use WorkMan-style databases, do a "touch .workmandb
".
This creates an empty file called ".workmandb" in your home directory.
You could name the file anything, but you must do a "touch
" to create
an empty file! Now enter the full name of this file --- including the
path --- in the "WorkMan Database File:" box.
If you want to use Xmcd-style databases, do a "mkdir .cddb
". All
you need is an existing, empty directory to store the database files in.
Once you have one, enter the full name of this directory --- including
the path --- in the "Xmcd Database Directory:" box.
If you have an existing WorkMan or Xmcd database, just enter the appropriate filename and/or directory name --- including the path --- into the appropriate place in the Config panel.
For those using existing Xmcd databases, note that qCd searches subdirectories. It will only save new entries to the base-directory, however.
If you have several different Xmcd database directories, and they're not all subdirectories under a single base directory, you can specify a colon-separated list of directories under "Xmcd Database Directory:". Example: "/home/me/.foo:/usr/local/lib/xmcddb". qCd searches all of the directories in the list, but only saves to the first directory on the list.
If you have a WorkMan database that you've constructed using Sean
Vyain's xcd
program, you might have a problem.
For some reason, some versions of xcd
used a slightly different entry
format than WorkMan. I noticed this problem in a database of mine from
xcd
version 1.3. Version 2.0 is okay, however. I don't know about versions
earlier than 1.3; they may be WorkMan format, they may not.
If you are using a WorkMan database made with xcd-1.3
, not to worry.
I've written a program that does the necessary conversion:
fix_xcddb
(oldfile) (newfile)
You must specify both an (oldfile) and a (newfile) to do the conversion.
If older versions of xcd
suffered from the same flaw, this program will
work with databases from them, too.
Once you have a database set up, you can start making entries to it. Put a new CD in the drive and fire up qCd. Now hit the "Catalog" button.
You can now enter the title of the CD, the artist, and the names of each track. The buttons "Cancel" "Save" and "Close" all do what you'd expect. The "Undo" button works a bit differently, however. It's like a min-cancel for the track names; it cancels any changes you've made while the Catalog panel has been open and restores the old track name.
One last thing: you must hit "Return" after you finish editing an entry. Don't click the mouse someplace else before you hit "Return;" you'll lose your changes.
Once you've saved an entry to the database, qCd will automagically look it up and read it in the next time you put in that CD!