Batchtastic Version 9 “Raptrix” updated to version 9.3.5.9

Hello, humans! Today a small yet important update to Batchtastic is being published. This update doesn’t necessarily bring new features (depending on what your definition of a „new” feature is), but it does build onto existing ones and fixes previous issues.

NEW FEATURES

• The Soundboard now states the location (if the file is local and on the computer or remote from the internet or file server) of the current media file being played.
• Error dialogs now contain both a friendly error description in addition to a hexadecimal error code and LDAP description.
• Batchtastic can now play supported media files from username and password-protected media and file servers.
• Updated About Screen now displays Batchtastic’s network status and the external IP address used to connect to remote server and play media files. It also displays the new directory where user settings, log files, and update files are stored.
• New „animated” credits sequence

WHAT’S BEEN FIXED

• User settings, log files, and downloaded update files will now remain intact after a user logs off or after a system shutdown. They did not remain prior to this update due to the location in which Batchtastic stored these files.
• The Activity Log is now more consistent in naming and structure when logging certain internal processes.
• The formatting of the second page within the About Screen menu has been adjusted, and now the page title is displayed properly.
• The program icons on the desktop and in the Start menu should now display properly.

WHAT’S CHANGED

• The second page within the About Screen menu has been renamed from „-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-” to „-LEGAL-.”
• The credits paragraph within the LEGAL page has been moved into the new credits sequence.
• The fine print paragraph on the LEGAL page has been slightly updated.

The updated LEGAL page.

• The Software Build information within the About Screen now includes the compile date and time of the current build.

WHAT’S BEEN REMOVED

• The File Information section of the About Screen, which stated the filename of the application has been removed and replaced with Networking Information.

KNOWN ISSUES

• When entering the ‘x’ command in the Log Reader to close it, the log file still opens in the system text editor
• Certain ISPs block connections to the host of Batchtastic’s update database, preventing the software from checking for updates properly. In this case, the program will inform the user of a new update regardless of it there is one or not. To check if your ISP blocks update database, access the database here.

Smarter Soundboard

In this update, the Soundboard will now specify where it is streaming an audio file from. It will specify if the file is being streamed locally from the user’s computer, remotely from a website, or from an FTP or SMB file server.

When playing a local file, the Soundboard’s status will update to display this, along with the name of the computer the file is being played from.

When streaming an audio file from a website, the Soundboard status will inform the user of this.

When streaming audio from either an FTP or SMB server respectfully, the status will display this information accordingly.

POWER-USER FRIENDLY ERROR DIALOGS

All error dialogs within the program now display both the friendly dialog and the new, more technical dialog consisting of the respective hexadecimal error code and LDAP message for the error. I heavily dislike when an error does not specify what is wrong, how to fix it, or when a lone error code is specified without a description. While I and many other power users are familiar with lone error codes, most computer users are not and they should not be expected to know it.

Although since most of the userbase of Batchtastic are of the more computer-literate crowd, I decided it can only be of more benefit to also display the code and LDAP of an error.

These updated error messages can satisfy both average computer user and the power user crowd thanks to the friendly error description plus an error code and technical description now being displayed. Below, the most common error dialogs are displayed.

Each error code is Win32 compliant, so these exact same codes display in a large amount of other software programs.

REMOTE MEDIA AND SERVER CREDENTIALS

Since I host (protected) file-sharing servers on each of my computers for use within my local network, the idea occurred to me that I should implement the ability to stream directly from protected servers, preventing the need to download the audio file beforehand. Today, Batchtastic now has that ability.

When the address to a file hosted on a protected file server is entered, Batchtastic will display a username and password prompt in a separate window. Once the correct credentials are entered, Batchtastic will login to the server and begin to stream the media file.

The prompt will display the IP or web address of the server, along with two text-input fields for the username and password respectively. It also has an an option to save the credentials for future use so one does not have to enter them again when accessing media from that server.

The password prompt that displays when attempting to access a media file on a protected server. It is displayed in Polish on my system, but it will normally display in the default language of any system.

Due to the nature of how the software works, it is practically impossible (at least to my programming knowledge) to get this password prompt within the main Batchtastic window. It will be the only aspect of the program which is displayed in a separate window, and thus (albeit temporarily) removing the user from the command line.

MORE RELEVANT INFORMATION WITHIN THE ABOUT SCREEN

The Technical Information page of the About Screen has now become more useful when it comes to the display relevant information:

• The date and time of build compilation displayed next to the build number
• The directory in which log files, user settings, and update files are stored (located in AppData) is now displayed in place of the working directory (Program Files directory) of the application.
• Replacing the File Information section, which merely displayed the filename of the program (which is useless), Batchtastic now displays if it is working in online or offline mode, as well as the external IP address and port it communicates with.

The updated Technical Information page is much more useful in regards to helpful information. Notice the new command, which initiates the new credit sequence.

Because of the nature of which the Windows command line operates, Batchtastic cannot instantly find and compile the information (especially the network information) it displays here. When accessing this menu, Batchtastic will now need to load for a second or two before displaying it. To compliment this change, a new loading dialog has been introduced:

The new loading dialog which displays when accessing the About Screen.

ROLL CREDITS!

Before, the program’s credits was a pathetic little paragraph shoved into the Legal Information page (previously known as Acknowledgements). It only credited myself for programming the application, as well as crediting the user for using it.

Now, Batchtastic includes a fully automatic credits roll which gives acclaim to more than just myself and the user. All software I use to make Batchtastic and any related media, the third and first-party software and technologies embedded into it, people and/or communities that have helped me develop it, the GNU and Creative Commons licences it is distributed under, as well as the people I want to give special thanks to are now all listed on pages dedicated to them.

The introductory page of the credit sequence.

This isn’t very exciting news, as I know credits are always the part of media people care the least about, but it is a vitally important part of any creation. I take pride in my work, but I am also a heavy believer in proper credence to other creators, technologies of which I borrowed, and the exposure of open-source and free-cultural works. If it weren’t for all the people who helped me directly through advice or support, or indirectly by developing the software I use to develop it with, Batchtastic could not exist, nor could any of my creative works and outings.

It is my duty to show the sheer gratitude I have for the people and products that allow me to develop the things I love, as well as the people in my personal life who inspire me to do great things. Batchtastic is made with completely free (both monetarily and constitutionally) and open-source software, thus it is also released as such. I make software and media not for money, but to share the joy it brings me with others, while hopefully providing them with a useful product, peace of mind, or simply entertainment. There is no shame in admitting when you used other resources or outside help to create something. Batchtastic could not function without the embedded Windows Script Host, for example. I obviously did not develop that technology, Microsoft did, so I must credit the people who used their time to develop it.

USER SETTINGS AND LOGS ARE NOW MAINTAINED INDEFINITELY AND PROPERLY

It wasn’t until the last update where I realized that Batchtastic’s user settings, log files, and update files are removed upon a system shutdown or when a user logs out. This happened due to the directory these files were stored in the user’s temporary application data directory, located in C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Temp\AbduktionStudios\BatchtasticMusicPlayer. Files stored in the AppData folder are deleted once a user exits Windows or the computer is shutdown.

This was admittingly pretty embarrassing, because one of the major selling points of the last few updates is that they introduced user-configurable personalization options that would stay intact. When developing this update, the first thing I did was change the directory where those settings, as well as the activity logs and update files are stored. As of this update they are now stored at a root folder: C:\ProgramData\AbduktionStudios\BatchtasticMusicPlayer\.

ProgramData is a very common directory that a lot (if not, most) application use for storing configuration details, user settings, and other data not essential for the program’s function. This is also a directory where files are permanently stored unless they are deleted by the program to which they belong or manually by the user. So as of this update, Batchtastic (for real this time) permanently maintains user settings and log files.

---

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the new improvements and benefit from the fixes! Previous versions of Batchtastic will detect and download this update if you initiate an update scan, otherwise you can download it here.

As always, farewell!