MORE INFORMATION
In this chapter you'll learn how to operate Windows Media Player 7. You'll see how to play files, use the buttons to navigate, change the settings, use the menus, and switch to different views and modes. You'll also be shown how to find files on the Internet, copy music from CDs, and use playlists.
Playing a file in only three steps
Playing music or video on the Player is a simple 1-2-3 process:
- Go to the Now Playing view.
- Pick a song from a playlist and click the song title.
- Then click the Play button to begin playing.
The three steps to playing a song are shown below in more detail.
Step 1: Start with the full mode Player
When you start Windows Media Player 7 for the first time, and you are connected to the Internet, you should see the full mode Player in the
Media Guide view. Figure 2.1a shows a typical
Media Guide view.
Figure 2.1a: Full mode Player in Media Guide view with Internet connection.
The
Media Guide is a Web site that gives you a doorway into the world of audio and video on the Internet. The contents change nearly every day, giving you new audio and video selections, current entertainment news, and free downloads.
If you are not connected to the Internet, you'll see a screen similar to Figure 2.1b.
Figure 2.1b: Media Guide view without an Internet connection.
You can now get started using Windows Media Player. Click
Now Playing on the left side of the full mode Player. You should see a view similar to Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2: Windows Media Player in full mode in the Now Playing view.
If you don't see something like Figure 2.2, you're probably looking at a skin. A skin may have been loaded by the last person to use the Player; you won't be able to see the Now Playing view when a skin is running. If you are viewing a skin, you will want to return to the full mode of Windows Media Player.
Windows Media Player comes in two modes: full mode and compact mode. The compact mode is used to display skins, and the full mode displays the standard Player. To return to full mode from any skin, right-click anywhere on the skin and then click
Return to Full Mode on the shortcut menu that appears.
The full mode has several different views it can display. Right now, all you want to do is play a file, so click
Now Playing at the left side of the full mode Player. You should now see something that looks close to Figure 2.2. You probably will have a different visualization or a different playlist loaded on your computer, but you're ready to start.
Step 2: Choose a song
There are several ways to choose a file to play, but the easiest way is to use a playlist. Playlists will be covered in greater detail later in this series of articles, but to get you started, use the playlist that should be visible on the right side of the Now Playing view.
Figure 2.3 shows a Now Playing view with a playlist named "All Audio" that contains all the songs that the Player has information about. The third song, "Laure", is selected and playing. You can double-click any item in the playlist to start playing that item.
Figure 2.3: A playlist with more than one item.
You can learn more about using playlists later in this series of articles. There are other ways to choose audio and video files as well, and they will also be covered in this series of articles.
Step 3: Click Play
Now that you've selected a song title, click the
Play button. It looks like an arrow that is pointing to the right. You can see it in Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4: The Play button of the full mode Player.
When you click the
Play button, two things happen. The music starts playing and the button changes. The button now looks like Figure 2.5.
Figure 2.5: The Pause button of the full mode Player.
This new button is the
Pause button. Any time you want to stop the Player, just click the
Pause button. That will stop the music playing and change the
Pause button back to a
Play button.
