CLAMP is, a stand alone program. This means that after it has been downloaded it requires no installation but in spite of it being a simple program actually getting it to work for me hasnt been easy.
Can somebody help me with this please&...
I already know I can use CLAmp thus;-
By my activating Clamp from the command prompt and by my giving it the right instructions I know that then simply by my pressing any key on my keyboard winamp will then play, in sequence, a predetermined collection of numbered MP3 files for me.
It will also do this for me in a certain kind of way.
I want Winamp to play each next MP3 from beginning to end and then pause with the next MP3 que-ed and ready to play but not actually be playing them (also from beginning to end) until I specifically give the command (again by pressing any key).I know from stuff already on the experts exchange knowledge databases that this is doable. However when Ive tried it I have hit up against problems.
If you follow what I have done so far (before hitting the wall) you might be able to help me by telling me what Ive missed or what Ive done wrong ( and for this I will be immensely gratefgul because Ive just been stuck & frustrated for quite a while already)
Heres what I did before hitting the wall
I downloaded and installed winamp the usual way and I dowloaded CLAmp to my executable floder thus;-
I followed this path
1) I clicked on this link -
http://membres.lycos.fr/clamp/2) I looked to the left side of the page that loaded.
3) I read down the links from the top as follows;
Licence
Usage
Download - and I click on this link
4) from the next page that loaded I then download the most current up to date version of CLAmp by clicking on this link;
CLAmp.exe
and when the run/save dialogue box appeared, I chose:
My Computer - Local Disc C - Save
With clamp thus loaded to my executable folder I found that I could then control winamp with it from my command prompt.
Before I could get Clamp to respond to me from the Command Prompt I had to first type
in cd C:\ and then hit enter. With my prompt looking look like this:
C:\>_ only then did ClAmp started responding to all the pre-programmed instructions that I was giving to it it (and Winamp was now responding magically without me even touching it ) I proved this to myself and so can you (as you can get a list of these pre-programmed instructions that conbtroll Winamp by typing in clamp.exe /? at the C:\>_ prompt)
So what it meant was that, thus far it was happy days and plain sailing for me.
Then I read back over what had already been said by experts (and had been accepted by other questioners as their solution) to then be able to go on and get CLAmp make winamp actually do what I first stipulated at the beginning of this question and all that happened was then I became confused and frustrated (I.e then I hit the wall ).
I thought that by my sifting through the stuff on the database that I had actually learned something about creating batch files in notepad (but then they do say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing dont they?) and going off very sketchy instructions (and basically guessing ) I thought that I had, (after first putting my chosen MP3s in the right place on my hard drive) now (through my batch file) the means to get winamp to do what I wanted it to do all along was already mine. But I was wrong and, unfortunately, heres where my frustration began in earnest.
Two different experts had offered (to another questioner on this subject) this sort of advice;
EXPERT 1 - "You could use Clamp to make a batch file with the pause command between sound clips in order to make that (my stipulated way of clamp controlling winamp) happen
@Echo Off
@Echo Playing MySong1
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "MySong1.mp3" /PLAY.
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong2
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "MySong2.mp3" /PLAY.
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong3
EXPERT 2- Or You could Download and install the clamp files to a folder on your Windows hard drive. For this we'll use c:\clamp as an example.
Now you have a c:\clamp folder with all the clamp files inside it.
Then click on start -> run and type in
notepad c:\clamp\play.bat
Then hit enter. That will open up an empty notepad window.
Type in the following into that blank notepad window:
@Echo Off
@Echo Playing MySong1
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\MySong1.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong2
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\MySong2.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong3
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\MySong3.mp3" /PLAY
Of course, you'll need to change the path to reflect where on the computer the files you are wanting to play are actually located. You can do as many of those lines as you want. It will use clamp to play the file. Once that file is done it will go to the next command in the batch file which will be pause. It will wait until a key is struck and then it will move on to the next command which will play the next song in the file.
And that other questioner had actually accepted EXPERT 2's advice as his final solution.
Unfortunately I didn't understand either bit of advice!!!!!!
If you want to browse the question that I'm talking about then it is this one -
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Apple/Hardware/iPODs/iTunes/Q_23458131.htmlIn my case CLAmp hadnt needed "installing" (for it to then be automatically putting any files inside a folder that it would then call clamp and that would then live alongside all the other installed programs in the program files bit of my hard-drive) In my case Clamp had consisted of just one file that had downloaded to my c drive and had, from there then immediately became usable from my command line.
Like Ive already said All I had had to do once it was thus loaded was first type in: cd C:\ and then hit enter and then when the prompt changed to C:\>_ I found that from there all the clamp commands were working fine so I was already confused by what the previous questioner had been able to accept as his solution
As for building batch files ? Well this was completely new territory for me!
I posted a detailed question detailing my confusion and asking for help learning this new skill (on where to put my MP3s and on how to bnuild my batch files so that my batch file, my MP3 files, my CLAmp, my Winamp and my Command propt would all work properly together) but it then it only became a neglected question and I am still awaiting some help with it even now.
Since then I have eventually requested attention for my neglected question and have been guided by an expert (higher up) to just completely restart my question from scratch (to help people be able to answer my difficulty in one go) which is what I am doing now.
If its any help to anyone to tell you what Ive already done so far (via complete guesswork and through reading stuff about .bat files in other free forums) all I can say is that in so doing Ive. not got very far.
Heres what Ive done.
1) To test out the intended future set up Ive downloaded 7 files (free sound effects files that came down in WMA format with long-arsed file names). First Ive converted them to MP3 files and then Ive given them simpler names (and also included the .mp3 suffix at the end of each one).
2) Ive saved them to the same place on my hard drive as my CLAmp application file (I.e. My executable folder) and Ive called the folder Clamp (and the names of the seven files inside the folder are names like Foghorn.mp3 or Crazy Whistle.mp3. 00)
3) Ive created a note pad file with code in it that relates to what those experts seemed to be saying was the answer to that other questioner.
It looked like this when I was finnished
@Echo Off
@Echo Playing MySong1
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\Fog Horn.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong2
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\Fall Down Sound.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong3
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\Crazy Whistle.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong4
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\Car Horn Honking.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong5
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\School Bell.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong6
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\Jet Airplane.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
@Echo Playing MySong7
CLAMP /PLCLEAR /PLADD "c:\clamp\Door Knocker.mp3" /PLAY
PAUSE
4) finally Ive saved this file (and its contents) with the name Clamp.bat and Ive saved it in the all files format.
5) Having thus created my batch file Ive found that I can activate clamp 2 ways
a) Either I can double click on my batch file (and it opens up the Ccommand Prompt where the screen immediately tells me that it is trying to play my Fog Horn.mp3 file)
a) Or I can open Command Prompt myself (from Run and then type in cmd ) and then I can start CLAmp by typing in cd c:\ at the command line. Once I see the c:\> prompt then all I have to do is type in Clamp.bat
And both ways ClAmp manages to open Winamp for me.
The thing is, although it does opens Winamp for me it doesnt manage to get Winamp to play any of the files. If I do just keep on pressing any key eventually the Command Prompt screen just ends up looking like this;
Microsof Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
<C> Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp
C:\WINDOWS>cd c:\
c:\>Clamp.bat
Playing MySong1
No matches found for Fog Horn.mp3
Press any key to continue . . .
Playing MySong3
No matches found for Crazy Whistle.mp3
Press any key to continue . . .
Playing MySong4
No matches found for Car Horn Honking.mp3
Press any key to continue . . .
Playing MySong5
No matches found for School Bell .mp3
Press any key to continue . . .
Playing MySong6
No matches found for Jet Airplane.mp3
Press any key to continue . . .
Playing MySong7
No matches found for Door Knocker.mp3
Press any key to continue . . .
I dont know what Ive missed/am doing wrong so please somebody do help me.
Many thanks in advance
