Detailed information

This section contains various useful resources from different areas of the program.

Album Artist

Album Artist

An album artist is a way to group an album by its main artist.

An example of why to use Album Artist is with the album 'Keep on Running' by 'Steve Winwood' which has tracks by 'Steve Winwood' but also by 'The Spencer Davis Group',  'Traffic' and 'Blind Faith' - All groups associated with 'Steve Winwood'. Setting 'Steve Winwood' as the Album Artist will group all the tracks in one album under the Album Artist 'Steve Winwood'.

Another example is the album 'Supernatural' by 'Santana' which has tracks featuring 'Dave Mathews', 'Rob Thomas'. 'Eric Clapton' etc. By setting the Album Artist in all the album's tracks to 'Santana', this will ensure the album is shown under the Album Artist 'Santana' rather than 'Various Artists'

Likewise, for a compilation album - you can set the Album Artist to 'Various Artists'.

Helium Music Manager will automatically assume an album with different artists is a 'Various Artists' album if no Album Artist is specifically set.

Likewise, helium Music Manager will automatically set the Album Artist to the value of 'Artist' if the 'Album Artist' tag is not set.

Album Artists can be viewed using the Artist Browser (Album Artist mode), the Album Browser (sorting and grouping) and the Music Explorer (Album Artist node).

If the option is set to 'Save iTunes specific tags' then for MP3s, Helium Music Manager will set the Band/Orchestra tag to the value of 'Album Artist' (as used by iTunes) and this field becomes non-editable in the Tag Editors.

 

 

Collections and Volumes

[Note that Collections and Volumes are deprecated features which are bound to be removed and replaced soon]

Collections and Volumes enables you to create a hierarchical structure which you can use to organize your music collection.

Collections and Volumes is an optional feature for people who wish to create a custom library structure. By default, Helium Music Manager automates this process by creating one default Collection, containing one default Volume.

What is a Collection?

A Collection can be seen as a container which can hold one or more Volumes.

You can create as many Collections as you like. By default, one Collection will be created in the default library.

For example, you might to wish to create a Collection for your vinyl records and another collection for your CDs.

What is a Volume?

A Volume is another form of container which is always contained within a parent Collection. Volumes in Helium Music Manager are the containers points to a specific path on your computer or storage device. No two Volumes can point to the same storage location since Volumes depend on the physical location of you files.

For example, you might wish to have separate volumes for your lossless format albums (e.g. FLAC or WAV files) and for your lossy format files (e.g. MP3).

Note:

 

  • Collections and Volumes are tightly connected to the physical folders on your computer. This means that if you want to use one Volume for each decade for example, you need to have correponding folder this this purpose, like:

    D:\My Music\1990s
    D:\My Music\2000s

    You could then connect each folder (decade) to its own Volume.

 

How albums are interpreted

An album in Helium Music Manager is equal to an item in the Album Browser. All albums are grouped using the Album tag and/or the path the files are located in. This can sometimes produce errors, for example when you have two different Greatest Hits albums in the same folder or if the files of one album are located in more than one folder. If an album is incorrectly split from tracks belonging to the same album or merged with another album you can manually correct this.

An example of an incorrectly grouped album is shown below:

Artist A has an album named Album A
Artist B also has an album named Album A

If these two albums are located in the same folder and are added to the library, Helium Music Manager may not have enough information to be able to separate them since they have the same Album name. This album will be treated as a various artists album instead of an album from one single artist. You would need to manually correct this problem.

Correcting incorrectly grouped tracks

There are two ways of correcting incorrectly grouped tracks:

  1. Move all track belonging to the same album to a new folder, for example a folder named after the artist name and album name.
  2. Change the album tag on one or both albums to make them different.

When you edit tags with the tag editor Helium Music Manager will try to automatically assign tracks to the correct album.

Note:

  • Helium Music Manager always uses the album tag and the folder to differentiate between two albums. If the path and album tag is the same the files will end up in the same album.
  • Helium Music Manager will also try to merge albums on more than one cd that is located in different folders, if the path only differs with a maximum of 2 characters and the characters are numbers between 1 and 99, then Helium Music Manager will merge the folders into one album.

    An example for this could be a multiple disc album like this:

    C:\My Music\ArtistX\AlbumY\CD1\xx. Track.mp3
    C:\My Music\ArtistX\AlbumY\CD1\....mp3
    C:\My Music\ArtistX\AlbumY\CD2\xx. Track.mp3
    C:\My Music\ArtistX\AlbumY\CD2\....mp3

Multiple Artists

Multiple Artists

'Multiple Artists' is a term used to refer to how more than one artist is associated with a music track. This can for example describe a collaboration; from a duet to a featured appearance.

There are a number of reasons why you would want to do this, including:

  • To keep the information about the music track as accurate as possible i.e. if the music track is performed by more than one artist, you want to record this fact.
  • To be able to use Helium Music Manager to search for all tracks asociated with an artist, regardless as to whether that artist is a main or secondary artist on a track e.g. an artist has his/her own albums but is also a featured artist on another artist's albums.
  • To be able to record a definitive list of artists in your music collection.

In Helium Music Manager, the various Tag Editors are used to associate one or more secondary artists to a track. This can either be done manually or automatically (recommended), see - Multiple Artist Editor. Once a track has been tagged with one or more artists and is added to Helium Music Manager's library, all the track's artists are then viewable via Helium Music Manager's browsers.

Whilst the sort order for the main artist can be set in the Tag Editors (and is recorded in the individual music file track), a secondary artist sort order has to be set by going to the Artist Browser, selecting the artist in the Left Side Bar and pressing F2 to edit the Artist Information. The Sort Order field can be completed and clicking OK will save the information to the library. The artist will now be sorted correctly. Plaese note that this secondary artist sort information is only recorded in Helium Music Manager's library, not in the music file tags.

Main and secondary artists can be viewed in the Music Explorer (Artist node), in the Artist View (assuming that Album Artist mode is off - otherwise secondary artists that aren't album artists won't be shown) and in the Music Browser (Artists).

 

 

 

Plug-ins

Plug-in types

Helium Music Manager works with several types of plug-in:

  • Information download plug-ins
  • Visualisation plug-ins
  • Import plug-ins
  • DSP plug-ins

Each plug-in type is described below.

Information download plug-ins

Information download plug-ins are used throughout Helium Music Manager to enable downloading of information (such as track information, album and artist pictures or lyrics) from various sources.

Each plug-in supports downloading of different information, depending on the source that the plug-in uses. The information that each plug-in may support is listed below:

  • Artist information

    Artist information may include one or more of the following fields:
    • Artist
    • Artist Sort Order
    • Formed / Born year
    • Disbanded / Died year
    • Home Country
    • Born name
    • AKAs
    • Artist URLs
  • Artist picture
  • Album picture
  • Lyrics
  • Discography
  • Artist relations
  • Track information

    Track information may include one or more of the following fields:
    • Album Artist
    • Album Sort Order
    • Current CD
    • Total CDs
    • Release Year
    • Release Date
    • Release Type
    • Label
    • Catalog Number
    • Length
    • Artist
    • Recording Year
    • Title
    • Title Sort Order
    • Language
    • Remix
    • Subtitle
    • Genre
    • BPM
    • Secondary Artist
  • Biography
  • Audio CD information

Visualisation plug-ins

Visualization plug-ins generate animated imagery based on the music currently being played. The imagery is usually generated and rendered in real time and synchronized with the music as it is played.

Click this link to read more about Visualisation plug-ins.

Import plug-ins

Import plug-ins are plug-ins that allows you to import data from other applications such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp and MediaMonkey 3.

The available import plug-ins are accessible from the File > Import menu. Select an import plug-in from the list to import data from the specified source.

DSP plug-ins

DSP plug-ins stands for Digital Signal Processing plug-ins, plug-ins that manipulates the music you play in someway before it reaches your speakers.

The DSP plug-ins that can be used with Helium Music Manager are Winamp DSP plug-ins, which can be downloaded from Winamp's website.

Shoutcast support in Helium Music Manager uses the Winamp Shoutcast DSP plug-in, dsp_sc.dll which works together with its associated lamedll.dll.

Install any DSP plug-in by copying the needed files to Helium Music Manager's Plugins folder (<helium-exe path>\Plugins).

 

Rating your music

Helium offers you a great way to keep track of your music by applying a rating.

The ten rating levels available are:

  • Awesome
  • Below Awesome
  • Very Good
  • Below Very Good
  • Good
  • Below Good
  • Poor
  • Below Poor
  • Bad
  • Terrible
  • No Rating

Applying rating to one or more tracks

Rating can be applied in different ways. You can add it from the Quick Tag Editor, the Tag Editor, the Tag Editor (Advanced), the Album Browser, the Internal Player as well as directly from the track list.

Follow the steps below to apply a rating to one or more tracks directly from the track list:

  1. Select the tracks that you would like to apply rating to.
  2. Click on Edit > Rating from the main menu and select a rating for the selected tracks

Note:

  • To remove ratings from tracks select the No Rating option.

Rating subtracks

In Helium you are able to set a rating for each unique subtrack in a file containing subtracks.

To apply rating to a subtrack, use the rating field in the Subtrack Editor or rate the track from the Internal Player while it is being played.

Browsing for music based on rating

  • Use the Album Filter in the Album Browser to only show albums with music that contains a specified rating.
  • Use the Music Explorer to browse for music based on rating.
  • Use the Playlist Browser to define a Smart Playlist that only shows tracks with a specified rating.
  • Use the Search View to search for music based on rating.

 

Release Types

The Release Type field is used to make Helium Music Manager separate the following record types:

  • Single/Maxi
  • Album
  • Anthology
  • Bootleg
  • Sampler
  • Soundtrack
  • Live Performance
  • Compilation
  • Audio Book
  • Sound Effects
  • Video
  • DVD
  • Digital
  • EP

As all tag fields in Helium Music Manager, this field is optional to use, but it can greatly improve the operability when browsing and searching for albums.

Applying Release Type to tracks

Release Type can be added in different ways in Helium Music Manager. You can add it from the Quick Editor, the Tag Editor, the Tag Editor (Advanced) as well as directly from the track list.

Follow the steps below to apply Release Type to one or more tracks directly from the track list:

  1. Select the tracks that you would like to apply Release Type to.
  2. Click on Edit > Release Type from the main menu and select a Release Type for the selected tracks.

Note:

  • To remove a Release Type from tracks select No Release Type.

Browsing for music based on Release Type

  • Use the Music Explorer to browse for music based on Release Type.
  • Use the Release Type Filter from the Album Browser to show albums with a certain Release Type.

 

Report Wizard template specification

Below follows a specification of how to create your own template for the Report Wizard.

Creating a template

A template is a plain text file containing values and loops that are interpreted by the Report Wizard. The Report Wizard is able to create virtually any type of file, including but not limited to:

  • Plain text
  • Comma or tab separated list
  • HTML/ASP/PHP document

Look at the templates that are shipped with the Report Wizard to view a real example of what a template can look like.

Include any of the values below in your template to make the Report Wizard interpret and replace them with the correct tag information:

Values:

{album_artist}
Returns the value of the Artist field for the album, this might be 'Various Artists' for compilations. On database data this will be the field from the Album view and for the filelist it will return the Artist field.

{album_time}
Returns the total length of the album (e.g. 1:17:3)

{album_size}
Returns the total file size of the album (e.g. 16)

{album_total_tracks}
Returns the total number of tracks for the album, if the album contains more than one CD the tracks of the CD's are totalled.

{library}
Returns the display name of the Collection for database data and EmptyStr for FileData

{volume}
Returns the display name of the Volume for database data and EmptyStr for FileData

{original_image}
Returns the value of the original image field

{album_rating}
Returns the numeric value of the calculated Album Rating (e.g. 0.5 to 5)

{album_rating(image)}
Returns an HTML imagetag (<IMG src="rating.gif">) with the corresponding rating image from the MLW Resources folder.

{album_rating(imagename)}
Will return the path to the corresponding rating image from MLW Resources

{album_rating(description)}
Will return the description for the corresponding rating.

{artist}
Returns the Artist field.

{artist_sort_order}
Returns the Artist Sort Order field.

{album_artist_sort_order}
Returns the Artist Sort Order field from an album.

{album}
Returns the Album name

{album_sort_order}
Returns the Album Sort Order field

{year}
Returns the value of the Recording Year field. If the Recording Year field is empty it returns the value of the Release Year field.

{rec_year}
Returns the value of the Recording Year field

{rel_year}
Returns the value of the Release Year field

{genre}
Returns the value of the Genre field

{track}
Returns the value of the Track field (e.g. 01/12)

{current_track}
Returns the value of the Current Track field. The field will be padded with one zero if it is below 10 (e.g. 01 to 09).

{total_tracks}
Returns the value of the Total Tracks part of the track field. If this field is empty it will return the total number of tracks in the album.

{cd}
Returns the value of the CD field (e.g. 01/02)

{current_cd}
Returns the value of the Current CD field. The field will be padded with one zero if it is below 10 (e.g. 01 to 09).

{total_cds}
Returns the total cd part of the cd field. If the total cd field is empty the result will be empty.

{title}
Returns the value of the Title field

{title_sort_order}
Returns the value of the Title Sort Order field.

{subtitle}
Returns the Subtitle field.

{time}
Returns the length of the song (e.g. 04:31)

{size}
Returns the file size of the song (e.g. 4.34 MB.)

{bitrate}
Returns the bitrate of the file.

{sample_rate}
Returns the sample rate/frequency of the file.

{link}
Returns the filepath to the file.

{comment}
Returns the value of the comment field.

{composer}
Returns the value of the composer field.

{lyrics}
Returns the value of the lyrics field, returns an empty string if the file does not have any lyrics or if the file is not available.

{part_of_series}
Returns the value from the PartOfSeries field.

{image}
Extracts the front cover image from either the Album View or from the file, depending on whether you work with database data or file data. It  returns an Image tag (e.g. <img src="image_name">). It can also take the following arguments to extract other image types.

  1. Other
  2. 32x32 pixels 'file icon'
  3. Other file icon
  4. Cover (front)
  5. Cover (back)
  6. Leaflet page
  7. Media (e.g. lable side of CD)
  8. Lead artist/lead performer/soloist
  9. Artist/performer
  10. Conductor
  11. Band/Orchestra
  12. Composer
  13. Lyricist/text writer
  14. Recording Location
  15. During recording
  16. During performance
  17. Movie/video screen capture
  18. A bright coloured fish
  19. Illustration
  20. Band/artist logotype
  21. Publisher/Studio logotype

{image_name}
Extracts the front cover image from either the Album View or from the file, depending on whether you work with database data or file data. It then returns the link to the file. It can also take the same argument values as {image} above.

{path}
Returns the path of the file

{file_name}
Returns the filename of the file

{rating}
Returns the numeric value of the Rating field (e.g. 0.5 to 5)

{rating(image)}
Returns a HTML imagetag (<IMG src="rating.gif">) with the corresponding rating image from the MLW Resources folder.

{rating(imagename)}
Will return the path to the corresponding rating image from MLW Resources

{rating(description)}
Will return description for the corresponding rating

{releasetype}
Can be used with the same arguments as rating

{quality}
Can be used with the same arguments as rating

{tags}
Returns the icons for the tags and filetypes from MLW Resources

{counter}, {counter(arg)}
Returns the counter value for a loop, if used without argument it returns the counter for the first loop. The argument is the name of the loop.

{total}, {total(arg)}
Returns the total value for a loop, if used without argument it returns the total for the first loop. The argument is the name of the loop. The value is only valid after the loop, if used inside the loop it returns zero.

{odd(arg)}
Gives back 0 or 1 depending on if arg is an odd or even number, the Argument is the name of the loop which counter you wish to test if it is odd or even.

{resource_dir(arg)}
Gives back a string with the path to the MLW Resources folder. For example "C:\Program Files\Intermedia Design\Helium 2\MLW Resources\" the argument will be added as is after the resource dir path. You can use this tag to add external files such as images, stylesheets and scripts for use in your templates.

Other available fields:

{remix}
{bpm}
{tempo}
{mood}
{preference}
{situation}
{copyright}
{encoded_by}
{media}
{produced}
{publisher}
{software_settings}
{lyricist}
{album_subtitle}
{language}
{original_artist}
{original_title}
{original_lyricist}
{original_year}
{band_orchestra}
{conductor}
{is_vbr}
{catalog_number}
{grouping}
{isrc}
{file_date}
{biography}
{format}

Loops

<!-- {repeat_begin([<loopname> [, <loopfield>] [, DESC]])} -->
Starts a new loop. The loop will automatically sort the contents by the <loopfield>.
<loopname> is the name of the loop
<loopfield> is the field to loop on (accepted fields specified below). If <loopfield> is omitted, track number will be used as loop field.
DESC is used to sort the list in descendant order

<loopfield> can be one of the following:

album
album_artist
album_artist_sort_order
album_rating
album_size
album_sort_order
album_subtitle
album_time
album_total_tracks
artist
artist_sort_order
band_orchestra
bitrate
bpm
catalog_number
cd
comment
composer
conductor
copyright
encoded_by
file_date
filename
format
genre
grouping
is_vbr
isrc
language
library
lyricist
media
mood
original_artist
original_lyricist
original_title
original_year
part_of_series
path
preference
produced
publisher
quality
rating
rec_year
rel_year
releasetype
remix
situation
sample_rate
size
software_settings
sub_tracks
subtitle
tags
tempo
title
title_sort_order
time
track
volume

<loopname> should be assigned a unique name for each loop to make counters work properly.

End all loops with

<!-- {repeat_end} -->

 

Tag editors

Helium Music Manager has five tag editors; each has its own benefits and characteristics.

The five tag editors

  1. The Tag Editor (Advanced)
    • Is able to tag multiple tracks at once, each track in a separate step.
    • Is able to tag offline data, such as Audio CD or music files on disconnected media (hard drive, CD, DVD, network etc)
    • Has a fully customizable editor with support for placing fields on different tabs.
    • Supports downloading of artist and album information using plugins (Freedb is shipped with the program).
    • Supports downloading of album pictures using plugins.
    • Supports downloading of biography using plugins.
    • Supports downloading of lyrics using plugins.
    • Includes an automated BPM counter.
    • Supports Filename To Tag functions.
    • Is capable of handling all of the tag fields that Helium Music Manager supports (more information and complete list of supported tags here).
  2. The Tag Editor
    • Is able to tag multiple tracks at once, displayed in a spread sheet style editor
    • Is able to tag offline data, such as Audio CD or music files on disconnected media (hard drive, CD, DVD, network etc)
    • Has a fully customizable editor with support for placing fields in a different order.
    • Supports downloading of track information using plugins (Freedb and Amazon is shipped with the program).
    • Is capable of handling most of the tag fields supported by Helium Music Manager.
    • Supports Filename To Tag functions.

    • Gives you a perfect overview when tagging albums, especially albums on multiple CDs.

  3. The Subtrack Editor
    • Is only able to tag one file at a time but supports multiple tracks (subtracks) inside each music file.
    • Includes an automated BPM counter
    • Supports importing of CUE sheets to automatically create subtracks.
  4. The Quick Tag Editor
    • Is used to quickly edit or add a tag field.
    • Is able to tag one file at a time.
  5. The Lyrics 3 Tag Editor
    • Is able to tag multiple music files at once, each music file in a separate step.
    • Supports the retrieval and editing of lyrics, including timestamps.
    • Saves information in the Lyrics3 v2 tag. However we recommend that you tag your music in the Tag Editor since it also supports lyrics.
    • Supports all tag fields in the Lyrics3 v2 tag (more information here).

 

Templates

Templates are used throughout Helium Music Manager to speed up the processing of different tasks. A template contains information about how a certain feature should behave. Instead of performing the setup of the same task over and over again you can re-use a previously saved template to speed up your workflow.

Functions that uses templates:

  • The File Rename Wizard can save and load templates that define how you want to rename your files and/or how you want your folders to be.
  • The Tag Editor uses templates to define the availability of fields. You can add/remove fields and group them on different pages.
  • The Tag Editor (advanced) uses templates to define the fields that should be available for editing as well as their order.
  • The Report Wizard uses templates for creating reports. The template specifies exactly how the report should look and what information it should include.
  • The Action Manager uses templates to define the actions that should be executed on files.
  • The Album Browser uses templates for Album Sorting and Grouping for easy switching between different layouts in the Album Browser.
  • The Content pane uses templates for column layouts.
  • The Advanced Search uses templates to store predefined searches.
  • The Add Audio CD tool uses templates to define the fields that should be available for editing as well as their order.
  • The CD Ripper uses templates to define the fields that should be available for editing as well as their order.
  • The Add Vinyl/Cassette tool uses templates to define the fields that should be available for editing as well as their order.
  • The Device Synchronization tool uses templates for managing different device (iPod/iPhone/mobile phone/portable device) settings.
  • The Subtrack Editor uses templates to define the fields that should be available for editing as well as their order.
  • Smart Playlists are stored as templates for easy re-use.

Using MySQL as database backend

Helium Music Manager supports three different database backends; Microsoft Access (default), MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server. This section describes how to connect to and use a MySQL database backend.

You can switch to the MySQL database if you have specific needs or wishes to be able to connect and use the database with other systems, or if you already have a MySQL database set up and feel comfortable with using it.

If you are looking for an alternative to the default Microsoft Access database for better performance you should consider using the Microsoft SQL Server alternative. There is a free version called Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition. Click here to read more about switching to a Microsoft SQL Server database.

Prerequisites

  1. To use MySQL with Helium Music Manager you have to install MySQL.

    Click here to download MySQL for Windows.
  2. You will also need to install the MySQL Connector/ODBC to be able to connect to the server from Helium Music Manager. Version 5.1 or higher of the MySQL Connector/ODBC is required.

    Click here to download the MySQL Connector/ODBC.

Creating a new Database

From within Helium Music Manager:

  1. Open the Database Management dialog by clicking Tools > Library > Management from the main menu.

  2. Click on the MySQL Databases tab.

  3. Click the New button to open the Create new MySQL database dialog.

  4. Enter the server name in the first edit box. For MySQL installed on the same computer as you are running Helium Music Manager you can type localhost and for remote servers you should type the IP or DNS-name for the server.

  5. Enter the port number. Default for MySQL is 3306.

  6. Type user name and password. Note that you have to connect with a user that has access to create a new database. A default user name called root together with an empty password can be used here.

  7. Enter the name of the database you want to create in the second edit box, you can use the refresh button to get a list of databases already created on the server so you don't try to create a database that already exist. Please let Helium Music Manager create your database initially to set everything up.

  8. Click the OK button and Helium Music Manager will create and connect to the new database.

Note:

Connecting to a remote server requires that the remote server allows remote connections. This topic does not describe this feature.

Visualisation plug-ins

Visualization plug-ins generate animated imagery based on the music currently being played. The imagery is usually generated and rendered in real time and synchronized with the music as it is played.

Visualization techniques range from simple ones (e.g., a simulation of an oscilloscope display) to elaborate ones, which often include a plurality of composited effects. The changes in the music's loudness and frequency spectrum are among the properties used as input to the visualization.

Helium Music Manager has support for the most common visualization plug-in formats:

  • Winamp 2 and 5 Visualisation plug-ins

  • Sonique plug-ins

  • Windows Media Player plug-ins

  • BASSBox plug-ins

Using Visualisations

To start a Visualization plug-in in Helium Music Manager, do any of the following:

  • Select View > Visualisations > Start/Stop Visualisation from the main menu.

  • Click the Visualisations button on the Internal Player.

The visualization will show to the right side of Helium Music Manager by default. You can easily move the Visualisation window by dragging it to another location.

Changing Visualisation

To change to another Visualisation, follow the steps below:

  1. From the View > Visualisations > Available Visualisations option on the main menu select any one of the available Visualisation plug-ins that are listed.

Note:

  • You can start/stop the selected Visualisation by clicking the Start/Stop Visualisation menu entry.

  • You can configure the selected Visualisation by clicking the Configure Visualisation menu entry.

  • Visualizations often save their settings to a configuration file, stored in the same folder as the plug-in DLL file. This may cause trouble on Windows Vista systems with UAC activated. To solve this, either inactivate UAC or start Helium Music Manager as an administrator if you experience problems with the plug-ins.

Installing new Visualisation plug-ins into Helium Music Manager

There are thousands of Visualisation plug-ins available on the Internet. You can download many plug-ins from Winamp Plug-ins site for additional plug-ins. As well as on other pages on the Internet. Installing Visualisation plug-ins to Helium Music Manager is simple, most of the time it's only a simple file copy operation.

Plug-ins are developed by 3rd party persons/companies and some may not work well on all computers. Plug-ins often use low-level programming directly against a Video card, which may result in instability on some computers.

Installing a downloaded Winamp Visualization plug-in

  1. If the plug-in comes with an installer (most do), execute this installer to install the plug-in to your Winamp folder.

  2. If the plug-in doesn't come with an installer, install the plug-in as described.

  3. Copy the files which the plug-in installed into Winamp's plug-in folder (often vis_*.dll and sometimes a subfolder with data) to Helium Music Managers Visualization plug-ins folder: <program files>\Intermedia Software\Helium 7\Plugins.

If everything went well, you will now see your newly installed plug-in under the View  | Visualisations  | Available Visualisations menu.

 

Note:

  • The plug-ins folder for Winamp Visualization plug-ins in Helium Music Manager is always the subfolder Plugins, located directly under the folder where you have your Helium Music Manager EXE file.

Installing a downloaded Sonique Visualization plug-in

 

  1. If the plug-in comes with an installer (most do), execute this installer to install the plug-in to the following folder:
    <program files>\Intermedia Software\Helium 7\SPlugins.
  2. If the plug-in doesn't come with a installer, install the plug-in as described and manually copy any neccesary files to folder: <program files>\Intermedia Software\Helium 7\SPlugins.

If everything went well, you will now see your newly installed plug-in under the View  | Visualisations  | Available Visualisations menu.

 

Note:

  • The plug-ins folder for Sonique Visualization plug-ins in Helium Music Manager is always the subfolder SPlugins, located directly under the folder where you have your Helium Music Manager EXE file.

Installing a downloaded Windows Media Player plug-in

Windows Media Player plug-ins require no specific installation to be used with Helium Music Manager. (A restart of Helium Music Manager may be needed though).

Installing a downloaded BASSBox Visualization plug-in

  1. If the plug-in comes with an installer (most do), execute this installer to install the plug-in to the following folder:
    <program files>\Intermedia Software\Helium 7\BBPlugin.
  2. If the plug-in doesn't come with an installer, install the plug-in as described and manually copy any neccesary files to folder: <program files>\Intermedia Software\Helium 7\BBPlugin.

If everything went well, you will now see your newly installed plug-in under the Available Visualisations menu.

Note:

  • The plug-ins folder for BASSBox Visualization plug-ins in Helium Music Manager is always the subfolder BBPlugin, located directly under the folder where you have your Helium Music Manager EXE file.

Resources

A List of working Winamp Visualization Plug-ins

Listed below is a summary of 3rd party Visualization plug-ins that have been successfully tested with Helium Music Manager as well as details of how to install them. Please note that different plug-ins may work well or not depending on different system setups.

All plug-ins should be by default installed to <winamp>\plugins with their installers and should be copied to Helium Music Manager's Winamp Visualization plug-ins folder, as described above.

 

Using WMA files

To be able to use WMA files (including adding files to your library and modifying their tags) in Helium Music Manager you need to have the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 installed.

If the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 is not installed you will get a notification when first installing the program as well as on first startup. You will also be notified when adding tracks to your library.

Downloading and installing the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 is free and can be downloaded and installed from Microsofts website:

Click this link to download Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

Once the framework is downloaded and installed, restart Helium Music Manager and you will be able to manage your WMA files.

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