# Configuring &amarok;

&amarok; is easily configured from the configuration dialog. The configuration dialog has multiple tabs for configuring different functions of &amarok;.

The configuration dialog can be found by selecting Configure &amarok; in the player &RMB; menu.

## General Options

General Options Screenshot

The General Options tab is divided into two sections, General Options and Playlist Options.

General Options

  In the General Options section you can configure some basic &amarok; options.

  Your first option, Show splash-screen on startup is used to enable the use of the splash screen when you start &amarok;.

  Following the splash screen is the Show tray icon option allowing you to turn the tray icon on or off.

  The Animate tray icon option is used to enable or disable the status animation of the tray icon.

  Next is the Show player window option. Checking this option turns on the Player Window along with the Playlist Window similar to XMMS. Un-checked this option enables only the playlist in a configuration similar to JUK.

  The last option, Default size of cover previews is a spin box for adjusting the size of the album cover image in the Context Browser for Currently Playing:.

Playlist Options

  In the Playlist Options section you can configure the playlist's behavior.

  The first option Remember current playlist on exit is for saving your playlist upon exiting &amarok;. Check this if you want to save your current playlist when you exit &amarok;.

  The Hide playlist with main window option when checked hides the Playlist Window when you hide the Player Window. Unchecked this option allows you to hide the Player Window alone so that you can control &amarok; completely from the Playlist Window.

  The Playlist scrolls with active song option automatically scrolls the Playlist to show the currently playing song.

  The Add directories recursively option is handy when you would like to add media from a directory and all of it's sub-directories all at once.

  The Show statusbar option is used to enable or disable the Statusbar in the Playlist Window.

  Finally, the Auto show Context-Browser option is used to activate the context browser automatically when you start playback.

## Configure Appearance

Configure Appearance Screenshot

The Appearance tab allows you to configure how &amarok; looks. The tab is divided into three sections.

Fonts

  The fonts section is used for selecting the fonts to be used with &amarok;. Selecting the Use custom fonts checkbox enables font selection for &amarok;. The available choices are for the Player Window, the Playlist Window, and the Context Browser. By clicking the Choose button you can choose a font from the Select Fonts dialog.

Color Scheme

  The color scheme section is used to choose the color scheme for &amarok;. The current KDE color-scheme selection makes &amarok; follow your current KDE colors. The classic amaroK, "funky-monkey", theme selection makes &amarok; follow the colors of the original &amarok;. Finally, choosing the Custom color scheme enables color selectors for choosing a custom color scheme for &amarok;.

Tags

  The tags section is for choosing an encoding for your ID3v1 tags. Enabling the Recode ID3v1 tags checkbox enables a drop box for choosing the encoding that you want to use.

## Configure Playback

Configure Playback Screenshot

The Configure Playback tab provides an interface for configuring your audio playback characteristics.

Transition Behavior

  You can configure how &amarok; transitions from one song to the next. No Crossfading provides a silent gap specified in milliseconds. Crossfade provides a nice fading effect, the crossfade period is also specified in milliseconds.

Remaining Options

  The remainder of the Playback tab contains several check boxes to configure the the following options:

  Resume playback on start allows you to resume upon startup the last song that was playing when &amarok; was last closed.

  Use hardware volume mixer configures your &amarok; volume slider to adjust your sound card's mixer to control the volume level.

  Remember effects saves your sound server effects, which are configured with the FX button on the Player Window.

## Configure On-Screen-Display

Configure OSD Screenshot

Configure On-Screen-Display

  The Configure On-Screen-Display tab allows you to activate the On-Screen-Display. If the On-Screen-Display check box is selected an area is activated for configuring the look of the display. When the On-Screen-Display is activated a preview widget will also be displayed allowing you to see the effects of your changes to the look of the On-Screen-Display

  The first option for the OSD is the Font. Clicking the Choose button will open a Font Selection dialog allowing you to choose the font used in the OSD. There is also a Draw shadow checkbox to enable or disable the use of Shadowed text in the OSD

  The next option is for the OSD colors. Checking the Use custom colors checkbox enables the Text color: and Background color: buttons. Clicking the buttons opens a dialog to choose the color OSD Text or OSD Background. If the Use custom colors checkbox is disabled the OSD will follow your current &kde; color scheme.

  The Display Text text input box is used for configuring the text shown in the OSD. By assigning variables you can customize the OSD to suit your needs. Below is a list of the variables and the text they represent.

  Text | Variable
  --- | ---
  Title | %title
  Album | %album
  Artist | %artist
  Genre | %genre
  Bitrate | %bitrate
  Year | %year
  Track Length | %length
  Track Number | %track
  Filename | %file
  Comment | %comment
  Score | %score
  Playcount | %playcount

  The Duration spin box is used to adjust the time, in milliseconds, that the OSD is displayed on your desktop.

  The Screen option is for xinerama users only. This option is used to determine what screen the OSD will be shown on in a multiple monitor setup.

## Configure Engine

Configure Engine Screenshot

The Configure Engine tab allows you to choose a sound engine from a list in the drop box. Some engines may enable more options in this tab and is dependent on the engine you select.

## Configure Collection

Configure Collection Screenshot

The Configure Collection tab is used for configuring all the collection options. These include the folders used in your collection, and the type of database used for the collection. This dialog is divided into two sections, Collection Folders and Collection Database.

Collection Folders

  The Collection Folders allows selection of folders used in your collection by displaying your filesystem in a tree view. The Collection Folders section also has several check boxes to configure how the collection uses the selected folders.

  Enable the Scan folders recursively check box if you would like the collection to scan the selected folders and all of there sub-folders. If you would like the collection to watch for changes made to your filesystem, enable the Watch folders for changes check box. Finally, if you would like to import any playlists found in your collection, enable the Import Playlists check box.

Collection Database

  The Collection Database section is used to select a database to use for the collection. Use the Engine: combo box to select from either Sqlite or MySql. If MySql is selected, additional configuration is required in the MySql Configuration section.

  The MySql Configuration section is for configuring what database &amarok; uses, and where it is located. First is the Hostname:, which is where the MySql database is located. Next is the Port:, which is the network port used when connecting to the database. The Name: option, is the actual database to connect to.

  Use the Username: and Password: text input boxes to specify the username and password used for connecting to the MySql database.

## Configure Scrobbler

Configure Scrobbler Screenshot

The Scrobbler tab configures the Audioscrobbler support in &amarok;. Audioscrobbler submits the tracks that you play and matches your profile with other people having the same musical tastes and generates recommendations based on your profile.

Audioscrobbler Profile

  Here is where you will fill in your Username: and Password: of your Audioscrobbler profile. If you do not have an Audioscrobbler profile you can register here.

Track Submission

  By submitting that tracks you play &amarok; can suggest new music to listen to in the Context Browser. Checking the Submit the tracks I play checkbox will enable this feature and will submit your played tracks to your Audioscrobbler profile.