Amarok/Manual/ConfiguringAmarok

Configuring Amarok

On first start, some basic configuration is done; see also Quick Start Guide: Getting Started. But there is more under the hood.

To access the Configuration Menu, go to Settings -> Configure Amarok... and see the following dialog:

General

In the screenshot above, see some General Options you can set. Depending on the distribution, the default settings can vary; sometimes the Splash Screen is disabled for example. When hovering over the options with the mouse pointer, a tooltip will show to explain the individual settings.

General options:

Option	Tooltip
Show splash-screen on startup	Check to enable the splash screen on Amarok startup.
Show tray icon	Check to enable the Amarok system tray icon.
Automatically retrieve cover art	Check to enable the automatic retrieval of cover art from the internet.
Enable context applets collapse animations	Check to enable animations when context applets collapse.
Automatically scroll playlist to current track	Check to make the playlist scroll so the current track is always visible.
Show Moodbar in progress slider	The Moodbar makes it possible to navigate in your music visually. Please note that this feature requires the external Moodbar Generator tool, or a script.
Moodbar style	Choose the mood display style.

When you enable the Moodbar, be aware of the following requirements: the Moodbar will only display if your tracks have been tagged with moods. For more about the Moodbar, refer to: Moodbar.

Local Collection

This dialog shows your file system in a tree structure, called Collection Folders. Selecting a folder always includes its subfolders. These folders will be scanned for media to make up your collection. You can right-click on a folder to individually rescan it, if it was previously selected.

Collection options:

Option	Tooltip
Fully Rescan Entire Collection	Rescan your entire collection. This will not delete any statistics.
Import	Imports ratings and/or statistics from older Amarok versions, the batch scanner, or media players.
Scan folders recursively (requires full rescan if newly checked)	If selected, Amarok will read all subfolders.
Watch folders for changes	If selected, the collection folders will be watched for changes. The watcher will not notice changes behind symbolic links.
Importing Music: Transcode tracks	Whether Amarok should transcode tracks when they are copied or moved to Local Collection.

Import Statistics

This option allows you to import statistics, e.g. ratings and scores from either

• an older Amarok 1.4.x version (from SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL databases)
• from iTunes

It does not import statistics from an Amarok 2.x database, so if you want to merge an older 2.x database version, you will need to do this by hand.

Metadata

This dialog will allow you to configure the settings for metadata handling. This is a separate page starting with Amarok 2.7

Metadata options:

Option	Tooltip
Write statistics to file	Check to write play-changing statistics as tags back to the audio files.
Write covers to file, maximum size...	Check to write changed covers back to the audio files. This will replace existing embedded covers. Select a value from the drop-down list to set the maximum size of the cover.
Enable character set detection in ID3 tags	If checked, Amarok will use Mozilla's Character Set Detector to attempt to automatically guess the character sets used in ID3 tags. If your tags are correct, it is more safe to leave this option turned off.

Statistics Synchronization

This dialog will allow you to keep statistics of your collections synchronized. Make sure to only check collections between which you want to synchronize metadata.

Statistics Synchronization options:

Option	Tooltip
Synchronize Rating	Check to synchronize ratings between collections.
Synchronize First Played	Check to synchronize first played dates between collections.
Synchronize Last Played	Check to synchronize last played dates between collections.
Synchronize Playcount	Check to synchronize playcounts between collections.
Synchronize Labels	Check to synchronize labels between collections.

Playback

Configure the playback options, as well as the KDE multimedia framework Phonon.

Option	Tooltip
Fadeout on stop	If checked, Amarok will slowly fade the volume of the playing track on stop or at the end of the playlist, or stop playback immediately.
Fadeout duration	The length of the fadeout, in milliseconds.
Resume playback on start	If checked, Amarok will resume playback where you left it the last session -- just like a tape-player.

Configuring Phonon

Phonon is the multimedia framework used by Amarok. It was created to allow KDE 4 to be independent of any single multimedia framework such as GStreamer or VLC and to provide a stable API for KDE 4's lifetime. As an added bonus, it simplifies development by providing a simple API that works across different platforms such as Windows and OS X.

The result of all this for you, the user, is that you can choose the multimedia framework that works best for you. This is usually pre-configured by your distribution.

Playback problems in Amarok are typically not Amarok issues, but rather Phonon issues, as Amarok doesn't handle sound directly anymore.

Device Preference tab

Depending on your OS and distribution, you may need to use ALSA, OSS, PulseAudio, or something else as your default playback device. Find one that works for you with the Test button and apply to all types of output. If you would like different types of output to go with different devices, this is possible as well.

Speaker Setup tab

Should you wish to change the standard speaker setup, here is the place to do it.

Backend tab

Depending on your operating system you may see options such as Gstreamer, VLC, or DS9 (Windows) here. The recommended phonon-backend for Linux users is VLC or Gstreamer.

If you don't see VLC or Gstreamer, install the package for it. For most distributions the package for VLC, for example, would be phonon-backend-vlc.

Each backend comes with its own codecs, so depending on the backend you choose you will need to also download the codecs, as most distributions don't ship them for legal reasons.

Notifications

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Option	Tooltip
Use On-Screen Display	Check to enable the On-Screen Display. The OSD briefly displays track data when a new track is played. Once checked, the OSD will be visible on your screen and you can drag it to the location you prefer.
Duration	The time in milliseconds for which to show the OSD. The value must be between 500 ms and 10000 ms.
Screen	Allows you to choose the screen that should display the OSD if you have a multiscreen setup. Default is 0.
Translucent	Check to enable translucency if supported by your desktop system.
Font scale	(choose the size of the font in the OSD)
Don't show when a fullscreen application is active	Do not show On-Screen Display if another application is focused and running in fullscreen mode.
Use custom colors	Check to enable custom colors for the On-Screen Display text.
Text color	Click to select the color of the OSD text.
Use system notifications	Check to use the system notification. This can vary depending on your desktop system and/or distribution.

Database

The default database is already set to use embedded MySQL. For most users there is no need to configure an external database, as there is no change in performance. If you want to share your database or use it remotely, you can configure an external MySQL database.

Amarok expects the external database and user account to already exist. The user also requires full access to the database. You MUST restart Amarok after changing these settings.

If your database is not already set up, you can use the SQL commands in the field at the bottom to do so, after replacing the password with the correct one.

Option	Tooltip
Use external MySQL Database	Check to enable the use of an external database.
Server	Enter the name of the existing MySQL server.
Port	Enter the port number to access the server. Default is port 3306.
Username	Enter the username to access the database with full access privileges.
Password	Enter the password for the default user.
Database	Enter the name of the database. Default preset is amarokdb.

You can find more information about the External Database here.

Plugins

(Click to enlarge)

Plugins configuration controls Collections, Internet Services, and Local Collection Backends.

Collections

Amarok offers you access to the following Collections, if they are available:

Collection	Description
AudioCD Collection	AudioCD collection plugin for Amarok
DAAP Collection	DAAP collection plugin for Amarok
iPod, iPad & iPhone Collection	Plugin to use iPod-like devices as collections in Amarok
MTP Collection	MTP collection plugin for Amarok
Universal Mass Storage Collection	UMS/USB collection plugin for Amarok
UPnP Collection	UPnP collection plugin for Amarok

Internet Services

Amarok offers by default the following Internet services:

Service	Description	Needs configuration
Ampache	Use an external music server	Yes, Ampache server needed
gpodder.net	Podcast service. See also gpodder.net	No
Jamendo	Listen to free music published under Creative Common licenses. See also Jamendo.com	No
Last.fm	A popular internet radio service, streaming only for subscribers. See also Last.fm	Yes, personal information to scrobble
Magnatune Store	Preview and buy music from a non-evil record label. See also Magnatunes.com	Only for downloads
MP3 Music Store	Access the Amazon MP3 Store directly from Amarok	Yes
mp3tunes	A personal mp3 locker. See also mp3tunes.com	Yes
Podcast Directory	Browse and subscribe to a huge choice of podcasts	No

Other service are available through scripts.

Local Collection Backends

Amarok offers you access to the following Local Collection Backends, if they are available:

Devices	Description
Local Files & USB Mass Storage Backend	Local Collection folders on local and pluggable disks
NFS Share Backend	Local Collection folders on remote NFS shares (Network File System)
SMB (Windows) Share Backend	Local Collection folders on remote Samba (Windows) shares

Ampache configuration

If you have access to a remote Ampache music server, click and enter the necessary information. You can configure access to more than one Ampache server. For more information see the Ampache section in what follows.

Last.fm configuration

While streaming is free with Last.fm's own online player for residents of the US, the UK and Germany, it only works in Amarok for paid subscribers. Scrobbling is free, however, provided you enter your Last.fm username and password by clicking . Amarok allows you to store the password in the secure KDE Wallet. If you decline the use of Kwallet, your password will be stored in clear text instead.

Magnatune Store configuration

Listen to the music offered by Magnatune for free and buy it directly through Amarok. Click to add your membership credentials if you are a member and/or add your email address to re-download music you previously have downloaded from Magnatune.

To download, you then go to the Media Sources pane, select the Internet section and click on the Magnatune Store. It will then download the catalog where you can search and select the music you want to buy.

MP3 Store configuration

Access the Amazon MP3 Store directly from Amarok.

The Amazon MP3 Store needs to know what country you are located in because it offers different items depending on your location. The following countries are allowed:

• France
• Austria, Germany, Switzerland
• Japan
• United Kingdom
• United States (default)

NOTE: Changing the country invalidates your shopping cart. If your country is not in the list, you cannot use the Amazon MP3 Store because it is not supported by Amazon.

mp3tunes configuration

If you have a personal mp3tunes locker, click and enter your username and password. You will then be able to access your online locker.

Scripts

Scripts configuration dialog (click to enlarge)

Script Configuration in Amarok covers Generic, Lyrics, and Scriptable Service scripts. Scripts are added in the Manage Scripts dialog.

Generic scripts

Generic scripts add functionality to Amarok. The Amarok Script Console is available by default; other scripts which add CD burning, cover image storage, games, and many other choices are available. If installed, these scripts will show up in the Tools menu.

Lyrics scripts

A variety of lyrics scripts are available; Ultimate Lyrics is provided by default. Your chosen lyrics scripts will provide the lyrics shown in the Lyrics applet in the Context pane.

Scriptable Services scripts

Scriptable services, if enabled, will show up in the Internet Services in the Collections pane. Many collections of streams are available, in many languages, and from many sources.

Manage Scripts

At bottom of the configuration dialog are two options:

• Automatically update built-in scripts

Automatically download and install updates for the built-in scripts from the Amarok website if available. Enable if you usually have a working Internet connections, and want your scripts automatically updated. This will not update user-supplied scripts from KDE-apps.org.

• Manage Scripts button

Browse, install and uninstall user-supplied scripts; also search, sort and rate the scripts in the Amarok Add-on Installer.

Add-on Installer

Amarok Script Manager

Using the Add-on Installer, one can install the latest user-contributed Amarok scripts. There are also options to search, sort and rate the scripts.

The Install Scripts and Uninstall buttons can be used to manage scripts. One can install script packages of type amarokscript.tar, amarokscript.tar.bz2, amarokscript.tar.gz

Script Information

Learn more about a script using the button.

A script can also be executed directly in the Amarok Script Console. This is activated by selecting the Script Console and confirm the selection by hitting either the OK or the Apply button. To deactivate the Script Console deselect it and confirm again.

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