Lean CD Player Version 2.3

[ Installation | Operation | How to Order ]

Installation

If you downloaded the installer you can skip this paragraph, as LeanCD is already installed. Otherwise: Place the program files wherever you want to keep them, such as in the c:\program files\LeanCD folder. If you want to make LeanCD just a couple clicks away whenever you want to run it (highly recommended), make a shortcut to LeanCD on the desktop. Or even better, since LeanCD doesn't take up much space on the screen or in memory, just make a shortcut and place it in the startup folder (usually c:\windows\Start Menu\programs\startup\). Now LeanCD will open automatically every time you start your computer. You can also make LeanCD start whenever you insert an audio CD intro your drive, read the advanced operation section for details.

There is one other step, which you shouldn't have to worry about, but just in case....

LeanCD requires two support files, MFC42.DLL and MSVCRT.DLL. Together, these files can take up over a megabyte zipped, which means you don't want to download them unless you must. Since many programs require these two files, it is highly likely that you already have them. Try LeanCD out, and if it asks for any DLLs download them here. You can obtain the DLLs in several ways:

Download a DLL installation program, which will copy the latest versions of both DLLs to the corect place:

Download mfcvc_dll_inst.exe

Download just the DLL you need, and install it yourself (unzip the archive, and move the included file to your \windows\system directory):

Operation - Quick Start

This graphic explains 90% of LeanCD's features. Read on to get the most of this program.

Operation - Advanced

The following instructions are too involved to explain visually. They usually involve features that are not immediately obvious, but can be very useful.

Making LeanCD work with CD autoplay. LeanCD can be set to automatically start when you insert an audio CD into your drive. The simple way to do this is to rename/backup cdplayer.exe in the \windows\ directory and then rename LeanCD.exe to cdplayer.exe. The more advanced way is complements of Jason Settle. In any explorer window, select the [view|options] menu. Click on the File Types tab and double click on AudioCD. Finally, click on Edit, and change the path from cdplayer.exe to the current location of LeanCD.exe. Be sure to leave the /play command line argument intact.

Make LeanCD automatically start when you boot, and play the current CD. The first part is simple. Right click on the Start button and select Explore. Open the StartUp folder (perhaps under the Program Files directory), and drag the LeanCD icon into it. This will create a shortcut to LeanCD.exe. Then right click on the new shortcut, and select properties. Click on the Shortcut tab, and then in the Target edit box, add a space, and the text /play.

Smart Resume. If you start LeanCD with the /play switch it will automatically resume at the start of the last played track if LeanCD was shut down within the last 5 minutes. This is great for those of us to have to reboot all the time. No more trying to remember which track you were on last, LeanCD will do it for you!

Supper Seek. Want to fast-forword or rewind faster than normal, but don't know exactly where in the track you want to jump? You can easily seek within a track 3 times the speed of a normal seek. Just start seeking as you normally do by right clicking, and then while holding the mouse button down, move the mouse over the track selection button (the one between the two seek buttons). As long as you hold the mouse there you will continue to seek in the direction you started seeking, but will do so at 3 times the rate.

Tray Operation. Right click on the tray icon (it looks like a CD), to bring up the main menu, where you can quit, find out info about LeanCD, and more. Left click to make LeanCD visible, which is really useful when you do not run in Always On Top mode. Note, since LeanCD is so small, I recommend that you run it in Always On Top mode, and stick it in the upper right hand corner of the screen next to the window control buttons. This way, it takes up space that is unused otherwise, and makes it very easy to control your CD player from within any program.

HotKey Support. You can set up LeanCD to offer the main CD controls through keyboard hotkeys. Switch tracks, and pause/resume playback without ever taking your hands off the keyboard. To enable hotkeys, you need to make three shortcuts to LeanCD, and store them in a directory other than the one LeanCD is in (this appears to be a strange Windows95 bug, and may or may not be required under NT/98). Set the properties of the three shortcuts so that each runs LeanCD with a different parameter (all lowercase letters): l, r, or p. Then set the hotkey that runs the shortcut to the appropriate keyboard combination (I like control+alt and the <,>,/ keys, respectively).

The l parameter seeks the player to the previous track.
The r parameter seeks to the next track.
The p parameter toggles between pause and resume.

It would be great if we could automate this procedure for you, but shortcuts are not portable across machines, and there seems to be no way to create one that has the hotkey specified. It may be a lot of work, but once you have it set up, you will find yourself making use of it all the time. Yet another example of a really useful feature that only LeanCD offers, and one that it offers without consuming outrageous resources.

Why I wrote this

I think programs should not waste screen space like most apps wantonly do. My program may not do all the things other players do, but it does more with its small amount of screen space than any other CD player I have seen. I wrote this program after trying just about ever shareware CD player written for Windows95 and 3.1, and I know of not one I would prefer using. If nothing else, I have written a program I would register if it was written by somebody else. I hope you feel the same way.

The CD Suite

LeanCD is part of the CD Suite, a set of software for playing audio CDROMs.When you register LeanCD you automatically get registered copies of all the software in the suite. In addition, you receive some special editions of our CD players are only available to registered users.

Lean CD - CD player for the space impaired. This program is feature rich, but only takes up 138X15 pixels.
LeanCD Classic - the same code base as LeanCD, but with the old interface, where pause and play are different buttons.
QuartZ CD - Slightly bigger CD player, which offers the same features, but with a simpler and less compact interface.
Lean CD Large Edition, which has the same interface as LeanCD, but is twice as large, making it ideal for 1600X1200 display users.
Lean CD, New Interface Edition, which is only 16 pixels larger than the standard edition, but offers its features in a slightly more traditional interface.
Maxi Minimum CD, a CD player which is about half the size of LeanCD, and is also more memory and cycle effect (not that Lean CD is a memory or cycle hog, by a long shot, but this program trims it down to only the bare necessities).

How To Order

If you have not purchased LeanCD you should consider registering. Registering entitles you to all of the programs in the CD Suite and free upgrades for at least a year after purchase. The registration cost varies by delivery method:

$8: 3.5" disk sent by US mail.
$5: Zip file sent by email attachment.

Please send cash, or a check made out to Alan Robinson.

Click here for a handy order form ready for printing

Contact Info

Smail:

HCI Design
Hampshire College Box 980
Amherst, MA 01002

Email: leancd@hcidesign.com

Lean CD's web page

HCI Design's web page