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Sound Mill X3 Changelog

What's new in Sound Mill X3 3.34.0.0

Feb 22, 2022
  • New feature - Now Playing Screen for the Automator provides a display of music ID3 tags (aka Mp3 tags) (Song Title, Artist, Album Name and Album Artwork):
  • Screen can be displayed full screen on large display for audience viewing.
  • Screen visual styling is highly customizable including: fonts (any font family on your computer), font size, colors. Style settings are set in the Automation Options.
  • Album Artwork can be embedded inside each media file, or add an artwork image file to the folder which holds the music files (will be aoplied to all files.
  • Screen Background can be a Solid Color or a Custom Image.
  • Announcement media files can be customized to provide visual signage related to the Announcements.
  • Media file Mp3 tags can be easily edited with a third party Mp3 tag editor (free). Many media formats support Mp3 tags (not limited to just Mp3 files).
  • New Automator visual settings allow you to control: Automator Theme Colors; Progress Bar thickness; Show/Hide various panels of the Automator.
  • Enhanced support for playing Audio CDs from a DVD/CD player:
  • New feature - Track lengths are now calculated prior to playback. Features are added to get CD track names from the Internet and auto-fill Sound Item names (productivity).
  • New feature - Import Audio CD menu item imports tracks from an Audio CD.
  • New feature - View DVD/CD Drive menu item let's you view drive contents before importing.
  • New feature - Select Another Target DVD/CD Drive menu item. On a system with multiple connected DVD/CD Drives, you can pick the target drive for soundmill CD operations.
  • New feature - CD Info - These menu items provide for managing Audio CD information ( track names, artist, album, etc) once retrieved from the Internet.
  • New feature - My CD Collection provides a way to save CD Info for future use. Can be useful for managing a library of custom burned CDs (ie CDs not manufactured by a music label).
  • Miscellaneous:
  • New feature - Create Playlist for Imported Media Files - (menu item, click to toggle) When checked, a playlist (Automator Script) will be created from media files that are imported to a soundlist.
  • Feature change- Remove Lost Passwords (for forgotten passwords) now uses a different Authorization Key. If you are using Sound List passwords, request an Authorization Key from Support.
  • Enhancement - Sound List Name now set to playlist name when importing a playlist (M3U file).
  • Enhancement - Sound List Report now shows tags for Song Artist and Album Name when available in audio Mp3 metatags. To acquire the tags for a previously created Sound List, click Edit Sound Item menu > Media File Information > Reacquire Info for Multiple Items.
  • Bugs fixed:
  • Bug fixed - SoundItem names containing periods('.') would get truncated at the period. (ex. "Mr. Jones.mp3" would produce "Mr" for a Sounditem name)
  • Bug fixed - File > Import a Folder of Media Files menu item was not honoring the 'When Importing a Folder of Files, Include Subfolders' option.
  • Bug fixed - File > Import a Folder of Media Files menu item would cause error when import was attempted from the DVD/CD drive when it is ejected.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.33.0.0 (Jan 6, 2021)

  • Prerequisite Upgrades:
  • Prerequisite .Net Framework 4.8 Upgrade - This release upgrades to .Net Framework 4.8 which contains some .Net improvements (performance, high DPI display support, more) and bug fixes. This version of .Net should have been installed via Windows Update on most systems.
  • NAudio V1.10 Library Upgrade - This Library is the primary code behind the Windows Audio driver. This upgrade includes performance improvements and bug fixes.
  • Output Groups and Devices Redesign:
  • This is a recommended release upgrade for all customers using the Output Groups feature.
  • Bug fixed - Output Groups were sometimes not playing audio to the expected target device(s). The Output Groups feature was redesigned to fix this issue.
  • Enhancement - The redesign now auto-detects when USB soundcards are added or removed (while soundmill is running, no restart required). It also auto-detects when changes are made to the Windows audio subsystem (ex. Windows Default Playback Device changed, etc.)
  • Unfortunately migration of your old Output Groups is not possible due to new design controls. It requires a Reset of all Output Groups and Devices which will be done automatically when you install and run this release.
  • Recommend that users save a listing of their current Output Groups setup as a guide BEFORE installing this release. Click Tools > Outputs/Devices > View Output Groups and Devices.
  • Editing and setup of Output Groups remains basically the same.
  • Removed - Device Volume Override setting - This setting was redundant with the existing Windows Taskbar Speakers icon that allows you to set the Device Volume for individual devices. Simplifies Soundmill volume settings.
  • Other Changes:
  • Bug fixed - Maximum Volume - Master Controls was not being enforced in all cases.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.32.0.0 (Dec 11, 2020)

  • This is a recommended upgrade for customers using Announcements with Music Programming. Announcements functionality/flexibility has been significantly expanded and improved.
  • New feature - Insert Announcements - You can now insert more than one Announcement at a time by setting the new Insert Announcements Grouping number. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Interval Announcements - You can now play more than one Announcement at a time by setting the new Interval Announcements Grouping number. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Standard Announcements Script can now run non-timed Play steps sequentially (like a playlist, any number of steps). And the Script can be set to repeat periodically. Previously Standard Announcements could only use Offset-Timed or Scheduled Steps. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Run Standard Announcement Script (manually) - This will pause all media while the announcements play. Useful for adhoc announcements that are not scheduled. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Clear Announcements - menu item added to the Announcements menu. Clears (stops processing of) Announcements for a selected script if currently running. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Clear Announcements - menu item added to the Scheduler menu. Clears (stops processing of) Announcements for the Scheduler if currently running. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Add Selected Script to Scheduler menu item added to the Scheduler menu. Adds a Script manually to the running Scheduler. Scheduled scripts will start at their scheduled time. Non-Scheduled scripts start immediately. Used in conjunction with Clear Announcements, this is a good way to manually swap Announcement sets in and out of the Scheduler while leaving a music playlist playing uninterrupted. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Clear Announcements - Two levels of clearing are now available (All, Running Only). Running Only lets you clear current running announcements but keep other announcements you may have scheduled for later. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Duplicate timed Step detection - When 2 identical Steps are timed for the same execution time, the duplicate is ignored and a warning message is added to the Automator Log.
  • Enhancement - Offset timing accuracy of Offset Repeating Scripts and Steps with Auto-Reset is improved, especially for cases with many repeats over long periods.
  • Bug fixed - Offset Repeating Announcements script could intermittently skip an announcement due to a race condition.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.31.0.0 (Nov 9, 2020)

  • New feature - ( Remote Media Manager (RMM) interoperability - RMM is a new program that provides remote management of Soundmill and Videomill over a network (using IPC). RMM replaces Net Comms which is now transitioned to legacy. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Create Cue List for Remote Media Manager - Soundmill and Videomill can create cuelists for use with RMM. Under Tools > Automation. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Shuffle Announcements - Interval and Insert announcements can now be shuffled (played in random order) when used in scripts. (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Client > Subscribe to Media Events - New checkbox in the IPC Client Profile Editor to designate that a remote client should be sent Media Events (such as Play started or ended, etc. Used with RMM) . (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Client > Disable Client - New checkbox in the IPC Client Profile Editor to designate that a remote client should not be included when IPC is started. Previously clients all defined clients were always made active. Disabling a client that is not in use can help save CPU and unnecessary network traffic. (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Toolbar added for quicker access to IPC functions. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Remote Tools - Multiple Remote Tools functions were added under the Tools > Automation menu (also a toolbar). Provides some basic management of remote client apps (using IPC). (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Port Client Definitions - New menu item added to Import or Export IPC Client Definitions. Useful if moving a setup to a new venue. (productivity) (Learn more )
  • New feature - New IPC Commands available - IPC Commands were added to facilitate remote app management by third party tool integrators. (Learn more )
  • New feature - New IPC Connect Tool (Free tool, intended for System Integrators) - This provides a two way communication method to send IPC commands to a third party app and for some commands to recieve a response back. Can be used with Sound Mill and Video Mill. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - IPC Reliability - Improved auto-recovery from cases when a remote app does not accept an IPC connection (usually associated with this message: "An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host"). Previously required that IPC be manually restarted.
  • Enhancement - Sound List Validation now flags list settings issues when using Script > Step > Output Group Override. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - SoundItem Ids - When Show Ids is checked in the Reports Options, the Ids are no longer shown in the Soundlist selection items. Ids continue to be added to Soundlist Reports for diagnostics. SoundItem Ids are always displayed in the Descriptors control panel.
  • Bug fixed - Play logging was not working in all cases.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.30.0.0 (Feb 24, 2020)

  • New feature - Automator Progress Bar Mode - The Automator Progress Bar can display progress in two modes: 1) Media Playback Position, 2) Script Step Execution. Select the mode preference from the Automator > View menu. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Playlist Logs - Menu items are added to the Soundlist Editor Tools menu for 1) View Today's Playlist Log, 2) Pick Playlist Log to View. (Learn more )
  • New feature - New 'Stop All Scripts' Step type is now available as a Script Step. It stops all running Scripts and may stop the Scheduler if it is configured in the Automation Options. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Scheduler Activity Reporting - Scheduler Activity such as Script Play step execution is now reported (visible) in the Automator user interface including Script execution progress on the progress bar and current playing media file with current position and length.
  • Enhancement - Playlist Logs content - You can now specify any of 3 data fields to include in Playlist Log entries: Media Filename, SoundItem Name, SoundItem Description, and SoundItem Media Duration. (Example: 2/22/2020 8:04:07 PM,Something.mp3,Something - Beatles - Abbey Road 1969,00:03:00) (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Playlist Logs CSV character - If you are using the Logs as comma separated value(CSV) import files, you can now change the CSV delimiter as needed (default is a comma). (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - About dialog now shows the license id (activation code).
  • Enhancement - Automator Log Maximum Size - This log is now reset after accumulating 10,000 lines to prevent excessive memory usage. With long running installations (many weeks without a computer reboot) and using Script playlists, this log could cause significant memory usage.
  • Bug fixed - File Not Found error in looping playlists - In a case where the media files are stored on an external device but the device is not connected to the computer (or the media was moved to a different harddisk folder), a playlist script that is set to Loop may spin out of control and end with a debug popup. Scripts are now aborted after 100 File Not Found errors are detected.
  • Bug fixed - RunScript Step error - When using a RunScript step in a Script and checking the "Spawns New Thread" checkbox in the Step Editor, a "cross-thread" error occurred.
  • Bug fixed - Automator progress bar was not being updated correctly (as progress to completion) when script is set to "Shuffle Steps".
  • Bug fixed - Playlist Log filename is now changed at midnight for long running environments. Previously, it was only set on program startup so multi-day runs used the same log file.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.29.0.0 (May 29, 2019)

  • Prerequisite .Net Framework Upgrade - This version upgrades to .Net Framework 4.7.2 which contains some performance improvements and bug fixes.This version of .Net should have been installed via Windows Update by June 2018 on most systems

New in Sound Mill X3 3.28.0.0 (May 2, 2018)

  • New feature - M3U Export - You can now export a selection of Sound Items or a Script to an M3U playlist file. (Learn more )
  • New option - M3U Import Creates Script - When enabled, a new playlist Script is created in the Automator when importing an M3U playlist file. Works from the File > Import menu or drag/drop files. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - M3U8 playlists can now be imported and exported. (aka M3U playlist in UTF-8 format)
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous UI and log improvements.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.27.0.0 (Dec 6, 2017)

  • New feature - Auto-Fade - Auto-Fade In/Out can now use different fade durations for Play, Stop, Pause and Resume. Previously all used the same duration. These are now set in the Options > Sound Item dialog.
  • Feature change - Fade Marker Speed is replaced with Fade Marker Duration which specifies the amount of time is will take to fade the full volume range (from 0% to 100% volume or vica versa). Duration is more accurate than the old Speed setting. Sound lists are automatically migrated to the new Duration setting. It is recommended that you check existing fade markers to ensure correct timing.
  • Feature change - Auto-Fade buttons on the Play controls panel now use a Duration setting (previously used Speed).
  • Option removed - Auto-Fade-In on Play, Always Start from 0% Volume - No longer needed.
  • UI Change - Auto-Fade Duration button on the Auto-Fade toolbar is removed. Duration are now set in the Options > Sound Item dialog (listed above).
  • UI Change - Easy Player Shortcuts Changes - Added flexibliity in managing shortcuts used for remote control device operation. ?New feature - Enable Actions Shortcuts allows processing of Actions Shortcuts to be toggled on/off.
  • ?New feature - Enable Ad Hoc Shortcuts allows processing of Ad Hoc Shortcuts to be toggled on/off.
  • ?UI change - Select Current Actions Shortcuts - moved to Tools menu.
  • Enhancement - Easy Player Mute Icon - Clicking on the icon will now toggle mute on/off. Previously it was only a state indicator icon.
  • Enhancement - Sound List Report can now include program Behavior settings. Check the Program Behaviors checkbox in the Options > Reports dialog.
  • Bug fixed - Volume trackbar was enforcing Sound Item Max Volume even when the enable Max Volume checkbox was not checked in the Play Modifiers.
  • Bug fixed - Easy Player > Behavior > "Auto Move to Next Cue Button When Stop is Clicked" was not working in all cases.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.26.0.0 (Oct 18, 2017)

  • New feature:
  • Eight(8) Band Equalizer added. (Ultimate edition) (Learn more ) â—¦Save Equalizer settings as DSP effects. Include Equalize(EQ) DSP effects in DSP Chains.
  • Each Band Center Frequency is adjustable.
  • Load a saved EQ DSP effect into the Equalizer Tool.
  • Enable/disable EQ DSP effect with one button click while audio is playing.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.25.0.0 (Oct 2, 2017)

  • New feature - DSP Chains now allows you to combine multiple DSP Effects into a composite effect sound (Example Chain: Reverb + Fuzz). Previously only one effect at a time could be applied to playback. (Ultimate edition) ?Change - DSP Chains are now used to designate which effect(s) will be applied when a Sound Item is played.
  • Change - New Tools menu items added to Manage DSP Chains.
  • Change - Play Modifiers panel - DSP buttons now selects DSP Chains (previously selected effects directly).
  • Change - Global DSP now designates a DSP Chain (previously selected an effect directly). You will need to select the Global DSP Chain from the Tools menu.
  • Change - Soundlist Migration to the new DSP Chains method is done automatically when you open the Soundlist with this release.
  • New feature - File Entry Dialog is added that allows you to paste a File Path or Web Link from the Windows clipboard. It also has a Browse toolbar button to open a File Browse dialog. This replaces most file edit buttons that previously only opened a File Browse dialog.
  • New feature - Listbox Colors for Sound List Editor and Automator windows can now be set to desired colors.
  • UI Change - File Browse button removed from the Sound Item Descriptors panel. The adjacent Web Link button pop-up dialog now has a File Browse button which performs the same function.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.24.0.0 (Sep 4, 2017)

  • Enhancement - Net Comms support - This release adds support for the new Net Comms Tool add-on This release is required if you want to use Net Comms with Sound Mill
  • New feature - Create Cue List for Net Comms menu item added to Tools > Automation > IPC menu (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Paste Attributes menu item - DSP Effect added as an attribute selection
  • Enhancement - IPC Commands - Three new commands added for IPC usage: StopScript, PauseScript, ResumeScript
  • Bug fixed - IPC message receive exception caused when the IPC command had leading space(s) (ex " Play" instead of "Play")

New in Sound Mill X3 3.23.0.0 (Sep 4, 2017)

  • New feature - DSP Effects (Digital Signal Processing: Reverb, Volume Wave, Fuzz, Echo, and Pitch Shifter) can now be applied to Sound Items(Ultimate edition) (Learn more )
  • New feature - A DSP Editor is provided to allow you to create customized DSP effects (Learn more )
  • New Option - Latency setting for Windows Audio Driver allows you to tune the driver to remove jittery sound (if encountered) The Default value will work fine on the majority of systems (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Text Edit Dialogs now have Copy and Paste buttons(productivity)
  • Change - Set Find Target Field selector is moved to the Edit SoundList menu Previously on the Find toolbar
  • Bug fixed - Multi-Play Number spinbox was not always correctly enabled/disabled (in Play Modifiers panel) Now it is only disabled when the Loop checkbox is checked

New in Sound Mill X3 3.22.0.0 (Sep 4, 2017)

  • New feature - Go-To Markers toolbar, jumps playback time position to a preset position before or during audio playback Virtually no limit to the number of markers you can set Useful tool for rehersals when you need to reposition audio to a special starting position repeatedly Go-To Start-At/End-At times, plus five configurable Go-To buttons May require View > Toolbars > Show Toolbars to expose this toolbar (Ultimate edition) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Paste Attributes Selection into Media Items Selection You select multiple attributes, then select a set of Sound Items to recieve the attributes There is also a menuitem to set all attributes at once (Learn more )
  • New feature - Copy Attributes menu item copies the attributes of a selected Sound Item to the clipboard Used in conjunction with the Paste Attributes feature above (Learn more)
  • New feature - IPC Encryption Password - This adds more protection from network hackers trying to interfere with IPC network communications Video Mill will include this feature in its next release so IPC between Sound Mill and Video Mill can use a password (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Time and Date Edit Dialogs now have Copy and Paste buttons so you can set an attribute value from a copied value (productivity)
  • Removed feature - Tools > Mass Updates (aka Power Editing) was removed and replaced by the Paste Attributes feature above which provides more flexibility
  • Enhancement - Schedule Editor would change position on the display when opening and closing controls sections Annoyance fixed
  • Removed Option - Time Format from the General Options tab This is no longer needed Clock times (for schedules, etc) are now always displayed in the local country time format (AM/PM or 24 hour time) Time dialogs are formatted based on the same format

New in Sound Mill X3 3.21.0.0 (May 21, 2017)

  • IPC (Inter-Process Communications):
  • Developer's Note - This release brings Sound Mill up to parity with Video Mill for IPC feature support.
  • New feature - Send Adhoc IPC Command is now a separate tool that can stay open to issue multiple IPC commands over time. It allows you to select the remote client to send commands to and has a recall command feature.
  • Enhancement - Sound Mill to Sound Mill IPC is now possible. Previously only Video Mill to Sound Mill IPC was possible..
  • Enhancement - Number of Remote Clients is now virtually unlimited. This allows you to create a networked group of Sound Mill instances. One Sound Mill instance can be the master to control timing of automation on the other instances.
  • New feature - Encrypt Messages - When option is checked, IPC messages sent across the network will be encrypted.
  • Enhancement - New IPC commands supported: Play, Stop, Pause, Resume, StopAll, Msg, and Ping. Previously only the RunScript command was supported.
  • New feature - Send Adhoc IPC Command tool now has a picker dialog to select commands.
  • New feature - IPC Log - A separate IPC Log can be viewed to see Send/Receive traffic and errors. Useful as a debug aid if IPC is not working as expected.
  • Enhancement - IPC Restart - The Start IPC action now handles restart in one action. It no longer requires that you Stop IPC, then Start IPC.
  • Bug fixed - IPC connections could, in some cases, time-out after a few minutes. This is an important fix for long running automation.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.20.0.0 (Apr 6, 2017)

  • Easy Player Additions and Changes:
  • Detailed Listing of Easy Player Features and Changes for this release can be found in this Sound Mill. There are significant new feature additions and changes to the Easy Player with this release. It is a recommended release upgrade for Easy Player users. Be sure to read the KB article before installing to understand what has changed.
  • Other Release Changes:
  • New feature - HTTPS Support (secure http) - With this release, the Windows Audio driver now supports HTTPS web linked media. The Media Player driver does NOT support HTTPS (a Microsoft driver limitation). Both audio drivers support HTTP (NON-secure http) Web Links. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Web Streaming with Output Groups - Now that the Windows Audio driver supports HTTP and HTTPS, you can use Output Groups to pipe streams to multiple speaker systems. (Learn more )
  • New feature - More audio formats and some video formats (like MP4, WMV, AVI etc) are now supported with the Windows Audio driver. Previously, it was limited to only a few audio formats. (Learn more )
  • New Option - "On Sound Item selection, show media info" - Show media file name and time duration on the status bar. (productivity). (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Improved acquisition of media time durations especially for Web linked media and file types for which Windows does not report a duration from the file system.
  • Enhancement - HTTP protocol is now added to a Web Link if it is missing when entered in the Web Link dialog.
  • Enhancement - Web Link indicator icon is changed to a standard industry icon.
  • Enhancement - Automation Script Duration is now calculated by the Script Editor (total time duration of all Play steps in the script). For existing scripts, you need to open the script in the Script Editor, then click OK to save the duration.
  • Removed - Set Streaming Media Indicator menu item was removed. No longer necessary with improved HTTPS Support.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.19.0.0 (Jan 4, 2017)

  • Enhancement:
  • Wireless Remote Control Device support is added for the SoundList Editor (Ultimate edition).
  • New features:
  • SoundList Editor - Custom Shortcuts Keys -Allows you to change keyboard shortcuts for actions which is also helpful to configure actions for running the SoundList Editor by wireless remote control device. (Ultimate edition)
  • Select Sound Item menu items are added to SoundList Editor for Next, Previous, Page Up, Page Down, First, and Last. These are useful for programming Custom Shortcuts Keys to match buttons on a wireless remote control device.
  • Simple Play/Pause Mode - In this mode the Play button will operate as a Play/Pause button -- eliminates the need to use the Pause and Resume buttons. Enables remote control devices that do not have a Pause button. (All editions)
  • Bugs fixed:
  • Easy Player, View Playlist Summary did not correctly list play buttons that reference Scripts.
  • In certian cases, an error could occur when the Easy Player executes a Script but the Automator window was not open at the time.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.18.0.0 (May 16, 2016)

  • UI Change - New Script - Music Playlist menu item in the Automator is moved to the Edit Script menu.
  • •Enhancement - User Interface - Improved input error checking/handling to several input dialogs.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.17.0.0 (Feb 17, 2016)

  • New feature - Acquire Media File Information - You can now re-acquire the media information from an audio file that has been edited/changed. See Media Information enhancement below. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Track Number - This attribute has been added to the Sound Item. You can sort the list by Track Number. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Track Numbers - Reset by List Position - This menu item resets all Track Numbers based on the Sound Item's list position. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Set Media Type menu item is added so you can manually change a Sound Item's Media Type if it is not correctly detected. (also see Media Type enhancement below. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Time Readout - Toggle playback time readout between Current Playback Time Position or Time Remaining by clicking on the time readout text. Works on both the Soundlist Editor and the Automator. Separate Time Remaining readout has been removed since it's no longer needed.
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous User Interface updates - Most notably, all the number input controls are replaced with a Numeric Up/Down control with better UI qualities.
  • Enhancement - Media Information - When you create a Sound Item, the Media File Information, time duration and media type, is acquired and initializes some attributes. A new acquisition method is now used which is much faster. This will be especially noticable when adding a large number of audio files by drag/drop. Some new Media Information is now being sourced from media file ID3 Tags (aka MP3 tags) when available. ID3 Tags include: Title, Track Number. The Sound Item Name is set to the Title tag if available.
  • Enhancement - Media Type - Playback is now limited to audio and video files. Avoids waiting for time-out of files that cannot play (text, image, etc). Media Type is detected when a Sound Item is created or it's Media File is changed.
  • Removed feature - App Skins - The App Skins feature is removed with this release. Skins was a legacy feature needed for Windows XP. Windows High Contrast Themes provide a better, more complete implementation of this functionality.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.16.0.0 (Dec 21, 2015)

  • New feature - Playlist Cross-Fade - Music playlists (ie Automator Scripts) can now cross-fade one track into the next. Current track fades-out while the next track fades-in.
  • New feature - WPL Playlists - You can now import Windows Media Player (WMP) Playlists either selected via file dialog or by drag and drop.
  • Enhancement - Automator > Next Step - Now when using Auto-Fades, when clicking the Next Step button (or Previous Step), the current playing Step fades out. Previously, it would cause an abrupt stop to current playing Step.
  • Removed - Automator > Set Time Overlap on All Play Steps - This function is replaced by the new Automator Cross-Fade feature above. If you have used this function to create a cross-fade, simply disable the Offset Times for the Play Steps and use the Cross-Fade feature instead. The Script Editor allows you to disable all Step Offsets in just a few clicks.
  • Bug fixed - The File menu item "Import M3U Playlist > From Local Machine" was not applying the M3U filter to the selection list.
  • Bug fixed - Automator Script could get Null Reference exception when playing announcements or preemptive steps. (rare race condition)

New in Sound Mill X3 3.15.0.0 (Dec 4, 2015)

  • New feature - Scripts - A new Script Step type is added for Scheduler actions: Start, Stop, Pause or Resume the Scheduler.
  • New feature - Import an M3U Playlist of Files - You can import the M3U playlist file from your local machine or from the Web via a Weblink. Weblink M3U files give you access to playlists popular Web music sites including Archive.Org.
  • Enhancement - Time Edit Control - Improved Time Edit Control for setting time values.
  • Enhancement - The Play Length of Web linked media (http urls) is now acquired when you play the Sound Item rather than at Sound Item creation time. This makes adding Weblinks much faster. It's play length will be set to the Default Streaming Media Time Length until acquired during playback.
  • Enhancement - Edit SoundList (Add/Delete Sound Items, etc.) can now be done without interrupting currently playing Sound Items or running Scripts.
  • Enhancement - Pause Indicator is added to the Automator progress bar. Indicates when the selected Script is in paused mode.
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous user interface improvements.
  • Bug fixed - Automator Toolbars - Show All / Hide All was not working in all cases.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.14.0.0 (Oct 20, 2015)

  • New feature - Run Script Step - Spawns New Thread - This allows you to mark an individual Run Script Step to run the script in its own separate thread. (Learn more )
  • Replaced feature - Run-Script step spawns concurrent script - This feature is removed and replaced by Run Script Step - Spawns New Thread (above) which provides far more flexibility.
  • Bug fixed - Automator - When a running Script reaches a repeat count of 30 or higher, an errant calculation could cause the script to abort, marked as a "Runaway script". This affects scripts using a high Repeat number or Loop.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.13.0.0 (Oct 20, 2015)

  • .Net Framework 4.6 upgrade - With this release, the program has been migrated up to .Net 4.6 (latest version). This should provide improvements in RAM memory management and performance (especially on 64bit OS versions). It also expands the capabilities for future program feature additions and improvements. .Net 4.6 comes preinstalled on most Windows 10 systems. If you are on another Windows version (8/7/Vista), you may need to install it.
  • Windows XP, End of Development - .Net 4.6 cannot be installed on Windows XP. Therefore, there will be no new development for XP users. Sound Mill X3 V.r 3.12 is the last release that can be installed on XP and will remain available to customers with XP machines. See the Program Information for Windows XP page for further details.
  • New option - Fade-In on Play, Always Start from 0% Volume - A new Sound Item Option is added for default Play behavior when using Auto-Fade-In on Play. This will greatly simplify the use of Auto-Fade-In. Before this option, you needed to manually set the Volume of each Sound Item to zero if you wanted it to fade-in. So swapping between auto-fade mode and standard (no fade) mode was a manual chore (pain). This ensures that all Sound Items fade in from silence, regardless of the Sound Item's Volume setting. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Automator Insert Announcements - You can now set the Insert Frequency for how often Announcements are inserted into music programming. Example: Insert an announcement after every music track; after every two music tracks; every three, and so on. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Automator Sort List - Sort the Scripts list displayed in the Automator list panel (by Name or by Most Recent Edit). Added under the View menu. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Master Maximum Volume for All Sound Items - You can now set a master setting that will limit playback Volume on all Sound Items to a maximum value. Previously this had to be set on individual Sound Items. There are separate master settings for Announcements/Preemptive and non-Preemptive Sound Items; useful for making your Announcements louder than a music playlist. (Learn more )
  • Feature CHANGE - Maximum Volume on Single Sound Item - A new Enable Maximum Volume checkbox has been added to the Play Modifiers panel. If you are currently using the Maximum Volume setting on any individual Sound Item, you need to check the Enable checkbox. This setting will override the Master setting (above) when enabled. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Manually set Audio Length for Streaming Media - Streaming Media, such as Web Radio, may not have a known time length. You can set it manually from this menu item. (Learn more )
  • New option - Default Streaming Media Time Length - When sound mill cannot acquire a time length from a Streaming Media web link, this time will be used. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Scheduler Report now lists a summary of Scripts that will be added to the Schedule Plan when the Scheduler is started. Provides an 'at a glance' view of Scripts that are enabled to run.
  • Enhancement - Automator - You can now Enable/Disable Script Schedules on multiple scripts with a few clicks from the Edit Script > Script Schedules menu items. When disabling, your Schedule customizations are NOT lost. Makes it easier to revise what gets added to the Scheduler when it is started.
  • Enhancement - Auto-Fade-Out on Stop - When this option is checked, the audio will now fade-out when playback reaches near the end of the audio. Previously, Fade-Out only applied when clicking the Stop button.
  • Enhancement - Play Position Scrubber Bar - Improved user control. Play position is not changed until the mouse button is released or if using keyboard right/left arrow keys when the key is released. Scrubber Bar time position readout is updated as the mouse is dragged.
  • Enhancement - Scripts Validation - More error and warning checks were added to Scripts Validation and the Script Editor.
  • Enhancement - Scripts - Loop continously, Repeat after Offset Time setting can now be combined with this setting.
  • Enhancement - NAudio library updated to 1.7.3 release level for latest fixes and enhancements.
  • Enhancement - UI Improvements - Several miscellaneous minor user interface improvements.
  • Removed - Announcements - Pre-Delay and Post-Delay Defaults were removed from the Automator Options. Announcements now use the Announcements/Preemptive Play - Delay Defaults. The simplifies management of Preemptive delays. Since Announcements are treated as Preemptive, the separate settings were mostly redundant. To override the Default values, simply set a unique Pre-Delay and/or Post-Delay for an individual Sound Item in its Play Modifiers. (Learn more )
  • Removed - Allowed Audio Types was removed from the Sound Item Options. This has outlived its purpose based on advances in codecs. If you introducing a new media format to your Soundlist, simply click the Play button to see if your codec configuration supports the media type. If not you will get an error message, "File Open failed or timed out".
  • Bug fixed - Automation Scripts - Sequential Play Steps which play a Preemptive Sound Item, caused unpredictable results when the Step is a sequential step (ie not a timed or scheduled step). The automator now detects this condition and plays the step as a non-preemptive step instead. Script Validation and the Script Editor also flags the condition with a warning.
  • Bug fixed - Automator - When executing Announcement Steps or Preemptive Steps, the Step name of the executing Step was not always displayed above the Automator progress bar.
  • Bug fixed - Web Links - Streaming media links (ie http://...) were getting a File Not Found error message when used in the Automator.
  • Bug fixed - Clear Announcements Step was not always firing at the right offset when the Step is Offset Timed.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.12.0.0 (Sep 28, 2015)

  • Important release for Automator users - If you use the Sound Mill Scheduler for time of day events, Offset Timed Steps or Announcements, this release has an important fix. The bug could manifest itself in several ways depending on your automation design (see below).
  • Enhancement - Script Editor and Step Editor - Disable of the Schedule will no not reset Schedule settings. So if you re-Enable the schedule later, your customizations are not lost.
  • Enhancement - Automator and Script Editor - Some miscellaneous user interface enhancements.
  • Bug fixed - Automator: When a Script is Repeated or in Loop mode, Offset Timed Steps were not firing at correct offset on each repeat sequence.
  • Bug fixed - Automator: Scheduled Scripts and Steps were not firing at the scheduled time of day. This also affects Scripts that use the Announcements feature.
  • Bug fixed - Automator: Announcements and Preemptive sound items would intermittently play twice concurrently. This might sound like a slight echo effect or slightly muddy sound.
  • Notice to Windows XP Users - This will be the last release that will support Windows XP. The next release (coming soon) will require .Net 4.6 which will not run on XP.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.11.0.0 (Sep 28, 2015)

  • New feature - Focus List Items menu item, Program cursor focus jumps to the listbox of Sound Items. Most useful when in Play On Double-Click mode.
  • New feature - Automator - Step Advance menu items are added to the Actions menu. These functions provide much finer control of Step execution when operating the Automator manually (ex. DJ operation). Includes: Play Step (repeats current Step), Previous Step, Jump to Step, First Step, Last Step. Some of these functions are also added to the Run Controls toolbar.
  • New feature - Automator - Run Script at Step(x) menu item is added to the Actions menu. Starts the selected Script to run at a selected Step that you pick via pop-up dialog.
  • New feature - Automator - View Running Scripts menu item is added to the Tools menu. Pops up a window listing all currently running Scripts.
  • Enhancement - Play On Double-Click - The Play On Click mode is CHANGED to Play On Double-Click (mouse double-click). This allows the operator to select a Sound Item in the listbox without starting a Sound Item playing. This is changed in both the Sound list Editor and the Automator. However, the Easy Player Play On Click remains the same since some remote controllers may depend on current behavior.
  • Enhancement - NAudio library dll updated to latest release level. Includes miscellaneous fixes and improvements. NAudio is used when a Sound Item is set to use the Windows Audio driver.
  • Enhancement - Maximum Number of Recent Files to show can now be set in the Options > General tab.
  • Bug fixed - The Easy Player Cue Button Table caused a sizing error when creating a new playlist. Only occured in a rare condition.
  • Bug fixed - Fade Markers Edit Panel - Fade markers did not order (sort) correctly after changing fade time position with the Set Time button (Stopwatch button). Caused some fade markers to be ignored.
  • Known Bug - Fix is in development. There is a bug in the Scheduler that prevents scheduled preemptive announcements from firing as scheduled.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.10.0.0 (Sep 28, 2015)

  • New feature - Scheduler - Start At Program Startup, this option auto-starts the Scheduler when the program starts.
  • New feature - Restart Scheduler Daily At [Time] option, Scheduler will auto-restart each new day at a time you specify. This will stop the scheduler, rebuild the daily Scheduler Plan, then restart the Scheduler. Useful for unattended operation past midnight.
  • New feature - Play First Cue when Auto-Load Playlist at Startup, plays the first cue in a Playlist when the Playlist is loaded at program startup.
  • New feature - Program Start-Up by Batch File is available including passing parameters to: 1) Open a Sound List file; 2) To run a script; 3) To open a Playlist on start-up. KIOSKMODE start-up syntax is altered slightly for this feature. This facilitates auto startup when you boot up a computer.
  • New feature - Time Format option, Schedule and Report times can be displayed in 12 hour AM/PM time or 24 hour time.
  • New feature - Script Editor Productivity buttons added. You can set specific Step properties on multiple Steps with just a few clicks. Properties you can set: 1) Set schedule to the Favorite schedule; 2) Delete Schedules; 3) Set Offset Times; 4) Set Output Group Override.
  • New feature - Automator Productivity menu items added. You can set specific Script properties on multiple Script with just a few clicks. Properties you can set: 1) Set schedule to the Favorite schedule; 2) Delete Schedules; 3) Set Offset Times.
  • New feature - Scheduler Plan: Include Expired Items option will show items that are scheduled but were not executed due to schedule time has passed by (expired).
  • New feature - Time Period Editor - Cycle 12s button, cycles the time between 12AM, Noon and Midnight. (productivity)
  • Enhancement - Edit Output Groups, the Edit button to select devices for the group now pre-selects the current devices in the group. Previously, you needed to reselect all current devices.
  • Enhancement - Schedule Editor, Start and End Times section, has a new combobox selector for type of time.
  • Bug fixed - Offset Timed or Scheduled Script Steps would intermittently not execute at the expected time. Boundary condition is now handled.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.9.0.0 (Jul 14, 2014)

  • New feature - M3U Playlist files can now be dragged and dropped into the Sound List. A Sound Item will be created for each audio file in the M3U Playlist.
  • Enhancement - Media filename of the selected Sound Item can now be passed to an external program. Specify %MediaItemFilename% as the variable. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Script Editor and Visual Attributes Editor were sizing too large when Windows Scaling is set to 150% or larger. Now defaults to height of display window.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.8.0.0 (Jun 30, 2014)

  • Enhancement - Time Remaining indicator is added to the Play Position progress bar. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Arrange Toolbars menu item added to View > Toolbars.
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous minor user interface improvements.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.7.0.0 (Mar 29, 2014)

  • New feature - The Sound List Editor can now be transformed for touch screen devices as a Touch Enabled performance interface. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Toolbars can now be scaled in size for easier mouse targeting or to enable a touch screen interface. (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new toolbar is added with List Item Selection buttons. Use for navigation when using the program in touch screen enabled mode. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Volume function buttons are moved to a separate toolbar. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Easier toolbar management to show or hide toolbars via selection list.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.6.0.0 (Mar 22, 2014)

  • New feature - You can now use a Dongle Key to unlock the program on computers other than the computer where you activated the program. (Service Fee applies)

New in Sound Mill X3 3.5.0.0 (Mar 19, 2014)

  • New feature - You can now use a Dongle Key to unlock the program on computers other than the computer where you activated the program. (Service Fee applies) (Learn more)
  • New feature - Options Import/Export functions are added to the Tools menu. This allows you to Export your current Options to a file and restore them to another computer by Import. Useful for Dongle Key use. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Program was getting an error when pinning the App icon to the Windows taskbar, then starting the program by right clicking the icon and chosing a recent Sound List file.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.4.0.0 (Mar 12, 2014)

  • Attention: Customers on Version 3.3 (or earlier): With release 3.4, there are automation enhancements and some changes to automation editing that you should understand.
  • New feature - New Script steps to Pause or Resume a script are added to the Script Editor. (Learn more )
  • New feature - New View Scheduler Report menu item was added to the Automator. It lists all scripts and script steps that have schedules enabled. Schedules are no longer included in Sound List Design Report (Learn more )
  • New feature - Validate All Scripts menu item was added to the Automator. Validation will detect and report errors in Scripts. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Easy Player > Continuous Play Mode no longer adds temporary scripts to the Automator. (Learn more )
  • New feature - The Step Editor can now change the step's target referenced item. It can also change the Variables being passed to an External Program. . (Learn more )
  • New feature - Choose Scripts for Cue Buttons menu item was added to the Easy Player. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Easy Player Ad Hoc Shortcuts can now specify a target script. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Sound Item types for Run-Script and Start External Program are eliminated. These functions are now edited as Script steps in the Script Editor.
  • Enhancement - The Stop Script step can now specify which automation script to be stopped. Previously it could only stop the containing script.
  • Enhancement - Automation Option > Run-Script Sound Items always play concurrent is renamed to Automator ignores the Sound List Editor 'Allow Concurrent Sounds'. It's function remains the same. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - The program now supports scaling of the user interface up to 200% on high-resolution displays (high DPI/PPI dots/pixels per inch). Choose scaling factor in Windows Control Panel > Display.
  • Bug fixed - When a Script Step's Offset Time was not enabled but the Auto-Reset checkbox was checked, the Step was being ignored when running the Script.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.3.0.0 (Feb 21, 2014)

  • Important! - Due to the Devices bug fix (see below), if you use Output Groups with the Windows Audio driver, you should review your Outputs and Devices . Go to Tools > Outputs and Devices > View. Make sure each Output Group lists the expected Devices. The fix should not change your current settings but this is a precaution.
  • New feature - A Re-acquire Devices function was added. When used, the program will revise its internal list of connected devices (soundcards) without having to close and restart the program. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - IPC Sender External Program now has the option to Restore active window focus after starting. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Some changes made to common dialogs for more consistent pop-up location.
  • Enhancement - Attributes dialogs updated in the Easy Player > Playlist Attributes editor.
  • Bug fixed - Audio Devices (soundcards) were getting reordered in some cases at program start-up. This fix solves issues related to soundcards getting connected/disconnected from the computer ports (usually USB devices). View Outputs and Devices now lists all Devices that have been detected (currently and in the past) and current connection status.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.2.0.0 (Jan 14, 2014)

  • New feature - Integration with Video Mill - Send and receive automation commands between Sound Mill and Video Mill for a complete audio/visual tool suite. Provides split second timed automation of audio and video programming. The programs can reside on the same computer or separate computers on a wired or wireless network. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Web Link button to Descriptors panel to enter the file location as text. This allows you to access Internet based streaming content and Web located media files. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Paused Indicator added to Play Position Controls panel indicate when the media is paused. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Streaming Media Indicator added to Play Position Controls panel. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Set Streaming Media Indicator menu item. The program generally can determine when a file URI is a stream. This allows you to manually set it if the program fails to determine it correctly. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Easy Player Play Controls buttons can now be scaled (up or down) in size. Useful when you want large buttons for touch screen displays. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Improved Sound List Validation.
  • Enhancement - Miscellenous user interface improvements.
  • Bug fixed - Volume fade was not working properly when 2 markers are at same time position and one is disabled.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.1.0.0 (Apr 1, 2013)

  • New feature - Wait time was eliminated when dragging and dropping audio files into the Sound List. Previously there was a wait delay while audio metrics were calculated for dropped files. This work is now done on a background thread.
  • Enhancement - Marker positions now displayed as time format (mm:ss.mls). It was previously displayed as total milliseconds. Set Position Buttons were added to the "Start, End and Fade Markers" panels to set Marker time position.
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous enhancements to common module user interface elements.
  • Bug fixed - Filename case was converted to uppercase when starting the program by double clicking on a Sound List file.
  • Bug fixed - Windows Audio driver, changes to volume slider were ignored while sound was muted.
  • Bug fixed - Windows Audio driver, small volume artifact produced when volume slider was moved while a Sound Item was paused.
  • Bug fixed - Media Player driver, small volume artifact produced when starting Play with volume at 0% and using Fade-In.

New in Sound Mill X3 3.0.0.0 (Mar 28, 2013)

  • DirectX driver was eliminated with X3. Any DirectX related functions were removed from the user interface.
  • Enhancement - Sound Mill X3 runs in true 64-bit Mode on 64-bit Operating Systems improving performance and virtually eliminating memory limits. Version 2 ran in 32-bit mode on all OSes.
  • Enhancement - Some tuning of the Automation engine for performance plus better detection and reporting of error conditions.
  • New feature - New "Windows Audio" driver was added that supports directing audio output to multiple soundcard devices simultaneously. It uses the current Output Groups method to configure the outputs. It supports MP3, WMA, WAV and AIFF audio formats. (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new drop-down selector is added to the Play Modifiers section of the Sound Item editor panel. You can chose from the two audio drivers for the Sound Item. (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new Sound Item attribute is added for "Apply Output Groups". When checked, the audio will be piped to all the devices contained in the selected Output Group. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Output Groups and Devices management has changed slightly based on the new audio driver. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Maximum limit on number of Output Groups you can create is eliminated.
  • Enhancement - Better management of USB soundcard devices. Program restart is no longer required when adding/removing these cards -- just do a 'Tools > Devices > Reset'.
  • New feature - New option to set a Load Time-out value. This allows the program to stop waiting for the audio system to load/open a corrupted audio file or one for which you do not have an audio codec. (On the Options > General tab)
  • Enhancement - Dialog OK/Cancel buttons reordered to comply with standard Windows convention.
  • Enhancement - Browse for Audio file dialogs now allow any known audio type. You will be prompted to continue if you select an file type not recognized as audio. Same function when you drag and drop files into the Sound List . Codecs are still needed for formats not supported by the Windows OS.
  • Enhancement - 'Tools > Settings Validation Check' now list the recognized file extensions for known audio formats. You can add others via the 'Options - Program' tab.
  • Enhancement - Play List Logging now creates a sortable file name, prefixed with year-mm-dd. And log entries are in comma separated values (CSV) format to facilitate import into databases or spreadsheets.
  • Enhancement - Lots of miscellaneous user interface enhancements to common UI dialogs.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.29.0.0 (Jan 21, 2013)

  • New feature - Added code to allow Migration of program settings to a new computer. See Migration Cook Book Knowledge Base article for details.
  • New feature - "Tools > Repair Moved File Paths" menu item now also will repair External Program definitions if the external program file is moved to a different folder.
  • New feature - "Tools > Settings Validation Check" - This is a new Validation menu item to check Program Settings: audio soundcard Devices definitions, Output Groups, External Program definitions, and Time Periods.
  • New feature - Time Period Editor now allows you to reset the Id on Time Periods to fix schedules that have orphaned Periods.
  • New feature - Schedule Editor now allows you to set Start time to a Time of Day -- previously it only allowed setting time Ranges and Periods. (Learn more)
  • New function - Improved validation checks for "Tools > Sound List Validation Check".
  • New feature - File menu - New item to Clear Recent Files List.
  • Bug fixed - Browse button (in Descriptors control section) to change External Program SoundItem was not assigning correct Program.
  • Bug fixed - If closing program from the main SoundList editor, and a Playlist had pending edits in the Easy Player, user was not being prompted to save changes before closing.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.28.0.0 (Dec 14, 2012)

  • New feature - A "Loop continous" option was added to the AutoScript Editor. When checked, the Script will run continously until it is stopped by pressing the Stop button. (Learn more)
  • New feature - New productivity menu item to Open the Folder of the selected Media Item in Windows Explorer. (under Edit Sound Item menu)
  • Enhancement - Improved handling for saving and restoring placement of program toolbars. Will force a one time reset of all toolbar visibility and locations.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.27.0.0 (Aug 30, 2012)

  • New feature - "Auto-Fade Volume On Play/Stop Pause/Resume" options added. When enabled, volume will Fade-out to Stop or Pause, and/or Fade-in to Play or Resume. Fade speed is configurable. (Learn more)
  • New function - Volume controls (on the Play Controls Attributes Groups panel) are now enabled for Run-Script Sound Items. Allows you to change volume of running automation scripts. Option "Apply Volume as Master" MUST be checked.
  • New feature - Easy Player, - Volume Status Bar added to show volume of current playing cue, pause status and volume mute status. (Learn more)
  • New feature - Sound Item, Max Volume attribute added. This sets the maximum volume (1% to 100%) that a sound item will play at. Useful for limiting volume with Auto-fade feature or Fade Markers. (Learn more)
  • New feature - Auto Name button in the Color Group Editor now names the group by the closest color names based on selected colors.
  • New feature - Miscellaneous improvements to some common edit dialogs.
  • New feature - Object Ids are now editable for Sound Items and Automation Scripts (From the Edit menu on both the Sound List Editor and the Automator ). This allows you to fix orphaned Script Steps or Playlist Cue which reference deleted Sound Items or Scripts. See Ids (Identifiers) help page for details.
  • New feature - "Fix All Duplicate Ids" tool added to the Sound List Editor Tools menu. Useful after importing another Sound List and a duplicate Id is encountered. (although it should be a rare occurance)
  • New feature - Reports, you can now include abbreviated listings of Scripts and Playlists in a report. See Reports Options help page for details.
  • New feature - List Validation has been improved to do more checks including orphaned Ids. Now includes Easy Player Playlists Validation.
  • New feature - "Halt All Sounds and Scripts" action added for immediate stop of sounds and scripts. Useful if auto-fade is in use but you don't want to wait for a long fade-out to complete.
  • Bug fix - In the Sound List Editor window, when a Sound Item was playing, if you clicked on another Sound Item which contains Fade Markers, the playing Sound Item would stop playing.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.26.0.0 (Jul 17, 2012)

  • New feature - Easy Player, added new option to highlight the current playing button cue. This allows you to keep track of which cue is currently playing while you move the button focus with the Arrow keys (or another move focus method). (Learn more)
  • New feature - Easy Player, Manage Playlists menu item added under File. Pops up a list of existing Playlists. Select any Playlist to create a Duplicate, Delete it or Re-order its position in the list.
  • Removed feature - Easy Player, "Save Playlist As Copy" is replaced by the Duplicate Playlists mentioned above.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.25.0.0 (Jul 17, 2012)

  • New feature - Easy Player, added new Behavior option, "Auto Move to Next Cue Button When Stop is Clicked". Previously, the "Auto Move to Next Cue Button After Play Finishes" option also executed when the Stop button was clicked. This separates out that behavior for added flexibility with remotes.
  • Bug fix - Easy Player, fixed several bugs related to timing issues when "Auto Move to Next Cue Button" options are used. Intermittent symptoms include: 1) Cue Button focus might immediately move to the next Cue when Play button was pressed. 2) A Cue might begin playing at some random time after the Play button is pressed and sometimes would not Stop playing even when Stop-All button was clicked. 3) When using "Simple Play/Pause Mode" and "Play on Move Cue Focus" was checked, rapidly tabbing* through the Cue Buttons would start multiple cues playing (*tabbing either by keyboard arrow keys or the Next/Previous buttons). Only one cue should play at a time in this mode.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.24.0.0 (Jul 6, 2012)

  • Bug fix - Easy Player, Escape keystroke from a remote was not recognized for use as an action shortcut. Works now. You MUST UNcheck the "ESC key exits Show Mode" option in the 'Options -- Player' tab for ESC to work as an action shortcut.
  • Bug fix - Easy Player, some other minor internal fixes related to action shortcuts.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.23.0.0 (Jul 6, 2012)

  • New feature - Easy Player: Can now save multiple Action Shortcuts definitions for different remote controllers as Favorites. Just load the desired Favorite to change Player Action Shortcuts behavior.
  • New feature - Easy Player: Added menu item to "View Shortcut Key Summary". Useful to verify that you loaded Action Shortcuts were loaded as expected.
  • Bug fix - External Programs option for "Restore active window focus after starting." was failing to work under a certian condition.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.22.0.0 (Jul 6, 2012)

  • New feature - New Option "Stop Running Scripts On Play If Concurrent Sounds Is Disabled" - When checked and "Allow Concurrent Sounds" is unchecked (in SoundList Editor -- Behavior menu), hitting the Play button (in the SoundList Editor or Easy Player) will stop any running scripts. Useful when you don't want concurrent sounds to play and you have scripts that might be running which have Play steps. When unchecked, scripts will continue running after hitting the Play button. See Options -- Automation tab.
  • New feature - Option added to show or hide opened SoundList name on window titlebar (also Script name on Automator window and Playlist name on Easy Player). Useful for automating actions with Macro Recorder programs that generally need fixed window title names. See Options -- General tab.
  • New function - Easy Player, Playlist open dialog changed to use Listbox selection. (open Playlist with fewer clicks)
  • New behavior - Easy Player, when closing the player, if you have unsaved changes, you are prompted to Save the Playlist. Now exits player directly after the save operation.
  • New feature - Automator, add option to "Allow Concurrent Scripts to Run" - When checked, it allows multiple scripts to be run at the same time. If unchecked, only one scripts will play at a time. In this mode, when you click Play to start a script, any scripts currently running are immediately stopped. See Automator Behavior menu.
  • New feature - External Program Editor - New option to reset the SoundMill window as active window after invoking an external program. Useful with the Easy Player, since the Easy Player must be the active window to receive signals from a remote control device. Can be enabled or disabled. And you can set a wait time before the SoundMill window becomes active so that the external program can do work before losing focus.
  • New feature - Easy Player, added an option to auto-advance Button Cue focus to next Button Cue once the current cue completes play (or Stop button is pressed).
  • New feature - Easy Player, added an option to Always Keep Next Cue Button Visible. This is useful when you are only displaying several cues at at time (for example, a Cue Button table with one column and three rows) and want to see what cue is next in your playlist.
  • New feature - Easy Player, Edit Playlist menu option added. Add Selected Cue Button Colors to Favorites - The Color Group of the selected Cue Button is added to the Favorite Color Groups.
  • New feature - Easy Player, Edit Playlist menu option added. Add Selected Cue Button Font to Favorites - The Font of the selected Cue Button is added to the Favorite Fonts.
  • New feature - Added new options to automatically apply Pre-Delay and Post-Delay to all Preemptive SoundItems. See Options -- SoundItem tab.
  • New feature - Reports Option added to include/exclude External Programs definitions from Report contents.
  • New feature - Added functions to move a list item To Top of list, To Bottom and To middle (productivity aid). Provided with menu items, keyboard shortcuts, and mouse click behavior. See "Edit Sound Item Menu Functions" of the Users Guide for details. All list editors have this function including the popup list edit dialog.
  • New function - Easy Player, Continous Play mode now will process Sound Items for Run script and External Program types. Previously only Play type Sound Items were processed.
  • Bug fix - Easy Player, Pause function was not working in some cases with Simple Play/Pause mode. Sound Item would not Resume after pause.
  • Bug fix - When reopening a SoundList, linkage from an Automation "Run External Program" step to the associated SoundItem was sometimes broken. (Occured when associated SoundItem had been moved within the SoundList. )
  • Bug fix - Automation steps which used an Offset time delay interval were not going into Pause mode when Pause was pressed. Offset Delay now suspends while in Pause, then continues delay interval for the remaining delay time once Resume is pressed.
  • Bug fix - Pause in automation scripts was intermittently missed due to an edge condition.
  • Bug fix - Delay Step in Automation scripts was continuing to drain even while a script was paused. Delay now suspends while in Pause, then continues delay for the remaining delay time once Resume is pressed.
  • Bug fix - SoundItems which use a Pre-Delay or Post-Delay time interval were not going into Pause mode when Pause was pressed during the Delay interval. Acts the same as Delay Step above.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.17.0.0 (Jul 6, 2012)

  • Bug fix - Fixed bug with the Easy Player Action Shortcuts. They were not being refeshed immediately after an edit operation.
  • See our new Knowledge Base article, Remote Controller - Custom Shortcuts for Easy Player, for a step by step procedure of setting up action shortcuts for a wireless Remote device.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.16.0.0 (Apr 20, 2011)

  • The .Net Prerequisite is upgraded for this release to gain added function (including multi-core CPU support, enhanced multi-tasking for threads, and more). The new pre-req level is .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (or Full .Net Framework 4.0 ).
  • Added new Easy Player tool to edit and operate with Playlists. See Overview page for details. This is a major feature enhancement and available to Ultimate edition users at no additional charge. Upgrade path is available to other users.
  • Added Manage Favorite Colors and Manage Favorite Fonts to the Tools menu. Used in conjunction with the new Easy Player.
  • Enhancement - Resizing method for several dialogs was improved to minimize need for horizontal scroll bars. This affects dialogs for the Scheduler, Script editor and Step editor.
  • Added Help -- Misplaced Password Removal function in the event you forget a password -- For both program password and Soundlist passwords. You need the customer activation code to perform this action. (all editions)
  • Added Volume Bump-Up/Down and Mute All - Toggle to the Actions menu. These operate on all playing Sound Items. (all editions)
  • Added Opacity value setting to the Color Group dialog. Opacity provides a transparency level to the color. (not available for Skins due to a Windows limitation). (all editions)
  • Fixed bug in File Save Logic. When cancelling from File Save of a new Sound List, the second save attempt was bypassing the Save dialog.
  • Improved File Save logic to remember last folder accessed -- a productivity assist when opening or saving multiple files in sequence.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.15.0.0 (May 27, 2010)

  • Users should reset toolbars for this release to pick up new buttons added to the markers Position Toolbar (a Windows quirk). Click View -- Toolbars -- Reset Toolbars to Default Settings
  • Quick Markers enhancement added. Allows for quick addition of Fade-In, Fade-Out, Start-At and End-At markers. See the Quick Markers section of the User's Guide.
  • Added Left and Right Guides to the markers placement ruler. Position is a user setting. Provides a one click positioning to move markers to the Guide positions. Used in conjunction with the new Quick Markers function. Set buttons added to the Start, End and Fade Markers Attributes group.
  • Added menu item to Automator for Set Time Overlap on All Play Steps. Useful when you want to make automation steps overlap each other by X number of seconds. Think fading into the next music selection as the last selection fades out.
  • Added a View Default Attributes menu item under Tools.
  • Attributes group icon letters moved to the collapsable section bars. Easier to identify Attributes group when section is collapsed.
  • List Validation - Now flags Sound Items that run an External Program, but the program is not found.
  • External Program edit dialog now allows the Id to be changed manually if necessary. Productivity aid for advanced users.
  • User's Guide table of contents improved to provide more keywords and phrases for Find search.
  • Automator now immediately updated for new skin selection. Previously required restart.
  • Mass Update - Play Markers Attributes now includes Fades markers (Fade-In, Fade-Out) as an update option pick.
  • Miscellaneous minor fixes and tweaks.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.14.0.0 (May 27, 2010)

  • Fixed - Bug in Fade Speed used in Fade Markers. Previously, Fade Speed less than value of 10 was not being recognized preventing slowest fade in/out speed.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.12.0.0 (Apr 13, 2010)

  • Added ability run External Programs (ex. .bat, .exe, etc) and pass variables. Useful to coordinate/operate other devices (ex. lighting systems, etc).

New in Sound Mill X3 2.11.0.0 (Apr 13, 2010)

  • Added option to use Device volume for sound item playback. Useful in multi-zone speaker systems.
  • Refresh List toolbar button was not adding newly created Fx effects to SoundItem. Now fixed.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.10.0.0 (Sep 29, 2009)

  • Help - Check for Updates now pings the Website to check for latest version release.
  • Minor Help document updates.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.9.0.0 (Mar 11, 2009)

  • Automator can now be closed and reopened without losing linkages to a running scripts.
  • Accessibility: Improved Help table of contents and help document page navigation.
  • Accessibility: Fixed shortcut key ommissions when accessing menuitems with screen reader.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.6.0.0 (Nov 11, 2008)

  • Enhanced feature - Script Editor and Step Editors have been enhanced with expandable sections.
  • New feature - New automation step to clear announcements added. Allows for swapping in new announcements at a specified time or after a set of music selections completes.

New in Sound Mill X3 2.5.0.0 (Oct 22, 2008)

  • Automation Manager - Build automation Scripts to play sequences of sounds sequentially or at timed intervals.
  • Scheduler - Schedule automation Scripts to start at a given time of day for pre-show and intermission music and announcements.
  • Flexible date scheduling - Create schedules to run by date: daily, weekly by day of week, monthly by date, and limited to a date range and more.
  • Select Output Devices - Play music on the lobby PA and production sound cues on the stage tower speakers.
  • Sorting/Merging - Sort your sounds by Name, Category or Act/Scene. Merge lists together with one click.
  • Preemptive play mode - Play causes all playing sounds to suspend while a preemptive sound plays. (useful for injecting timed announcements into a music program).
  • Delay - Set a time to delay before and/or after playing a sound (Pre/Post Delay). Useful for separating sounds in automation Scripts.
  • Mass Updates - Save time by making mass edits to a selection of Sound Items in one operation.
  • Password Protection - Password protect your work from tampering or unauthorized use.

New in Sound Mill X3 1.2.0.0 (Jul 17, 2007)

  • Activation - Fixed issue with activation process on some systems. Previous releases will no longer activate -- You will get this error message "Program Id invalid.". You must upgrade if you need to reactivate.
  • Saved files - Soundlist files saved with an earlier release may not load correctly with this new release due to fix changes in the file structure. Contact Support for file conversion options.