Windows user manual
This manual describes the daily use of the Windows application after installation. To install the application and complete the first launch, see the Windows installation method.
Contents
1. The three tabs
- Player shows the current track and the playlist, and opens the generator
- Library lists the tracks in the music folder and lets you edit their tags
- Settings
Note: lastseen.tools controls foobar2000 through the Beefweb plugin. All of these can be installed along with the app.
2. Use the player
Player screen
The player displays the cover art, artist, title, year and audio information: sample rate, format and dynamic range (DR). The app colors adapt to the cover art.
Click the cover art to open the large player. It also appears after 30 seconds of inactivity during playback.
Controls
The buttons below the cover art let you:
- return to the previous track, play or pause, skip to the next track
- add the track to favorites (♡)
- adjust the foobar2000 volume and the Windows volume separately
- choose the audio output
- open the track options (⋮)
The progress bar lets you seek within the track.
Playlist
The playlist mirrors the playlist open in foobar2000. Each track shows its cover art, duration, genre, date and gain. The header shows the total duration, the remaining duration and the number of tracks.
- Click a track to play it
- ✕ removes the tracks after the current one, after confirmation
- ∞ manages infinite mode
- 🔔 alerts you when the playlist reaches its last track
The player also shows the current profile, its cutoff date and the number of tracks still available.
Track options
The ⋮ menu of the current track, or of a playlist row, offers:
- Edit metadata
- Add to favorites
- Edit transition: blocks, in both directions, the transition between the previous track's genre and its own (one-way settings are available in the playlist generator)
- Remove genre from profile: removes the track's genre from the selected profile
- Open file location
- Open in the audio editor chosen in Settings
3. Generate a playlist
The ☷ button, next to the Player title, opens Playlist Generator.
The generator excludes tracks played since each profile's cutoff date and respects the genre compatibility matrix.
Choose the profiles
The list shows each profile with its cutoff date, number of tracks and available duration. Select a profile, or check Use multiple profiles to combine them: only genres allowed by every selected profile are kept.
Choose the duration
- Default and Sleep: durations to set with ⚙
- 60 minutes
- Custom: duration in minutes
- Infinite mode: a new track is added each time playback moves to the next one
Options
- No repeated artists or albums
- Retry with the next date: moves the cutoff date forward one day until a playlist can be created
- Alert on last track: shows an alert at the playlist's last track
Send the playlist
The foobar2000 card offers three choices:
- Open the player: opens the playlist in the player
- Add to current playlist: replaces the rest of the current playlist, after the current track
- Generate M3U only: only creates the M3U file, in the folder chosen in Settings
The Audio output card chooses the foobar2000 output. Then choose Generate.
Infinite mode
In infinite mode, the playlist starts with two tracks, then a new track is added each time playback moves to the next one. From the player, ∞ lets you:
- Start infinite mode for the current playlist, or stop it without changing the playlist
- Choose the profiles used for the next additions
Infinite mode is kept after the app restarts.
Last-track alert
At the playlist's last track, the alert offers Extend, which adds tracks up to the Sleep duration, or Close. The alert is turned off in infinite mode.
4. Profiles and genres
Manage profiles
In Playlist Generator:
- + creates a profile: name, allowed genres and cutoff date
- right-clicking a profile offers Edit profile…, Rename profile…, Hide profile and Reset date to January 1
- Show hidden profiles lets you restore them
Genre compatibility matrix
Genre compatibility… opens the transition editor:
- choose the Starting genre and the Next genre, or Get current + previous from foobar2000
- choose Compatible or Incompatible, and check Also apply in reverse (A ↔ B) if needed
- Show matrix opens the full matrix, with a Full screen mode
Keep the playlist consistent
After a profile or the matrix is edited, upcoming tracks that no longer match the rules are removed from the current playlist. The current track and tracks already played are never affected.
The player's Edit transition and Remove genre from profile actions let you adjust the rules while listening.
5. Library and tags
The Library tab lists the tracks in the music folder with their artist, title, album, genre and duration.
- The search field accepts several terms, ignoring case and accents
- The filter shows All tracks, or only those missing a tag, a title, an artist or a genre
- Click a column header to sort
- ↻ scans new or modified files
- Play selection, a double-click or Enter opens the selection in foobar2000, up to 2,000 tracks
- Right-clicking also offers Edit metadata, Select all and Open file location
Edit tags
Edit metadata edits the title, artist, album, year, track number and genre. With several tracks, only the fields you change are written.
If the track is playing, playback resumes at the same position.
Also edit on the phone (MTP) also replaces the file on the phone chosen in Settings, at the same location as in the library.
6. Listening history
The history is used for the profiles' cutoff date. In Settings → Listening history:
- choose No history, or Listening history with Last.fm, App or both, then Save choice
- the table shows recent plays and where they come from; Refresh updates it
Last.fm: the Last.fm account section appears when Last.fm is a source. It asks for your username and your own API key, then lets you Test connection and Refresh from Last.fm. A local copy of your scrobbles is still used offline. The player shows the Last.fm connection status.
App: lastseen.tools records a play once half of a track has been played. Seeking within the track does not count as a play.
7. Settings
The Settings tab groups collapsible sections:
- Theme: Light, Dark or System
- Language: Automatic (Windows language), Français or English. The change takes effect at next launch
- Paths: library folder, folder where .m3u files are saved, and foobar2000 player
- Default programs: file manager and audio editor
- Phone: Choose phone… selects the phone connected over MTP and the folder that contains its music
- Android sync: see below
- Listening history and Last.fm account: see part 6
- Audio outputs: hide, show or rename the outputs offered in the player and the generator
- Settings backup: see below
Changing the library folder also updates the Beefweb settings.
Android sync
This section shares your listening history, profiles, genre matrix and library list with Playlist Generator, over the same Wi-Fi. It is off by default.
- Enable sync
- Keep syncing when lastseen.tools is closed: sync keeps running in the background and restarts when you sign in to Windows
- Protect with a password (recommended): enter the Password, then Save. Without a password, anyone on the same Wi-Fi can read and change this data
- Address on the phone: this PC's address, to enter in the mobile app
Coming soon on Android: the current version of Playlist Generator cannot use this sync yet. It will work with its next version.
Settings backup
- Export my settings… creates an archive with your profiles, matrix, history and other settings
- Import settings… restores them on another PC or after reinstalling, then restarts the app
8. Continuity with Android
Sync is set up in Settings → Android sync (see part 7); it will work with the next version of Playlist Generator.
Resuming on the PC the playback started on the phone, and sending the playlist to Poweramp, are coming soon.