Collecting CD Art

There are a number of Internet sites that sell CD's. Many of these site have the CD or Album Cover Art.
Since this is copyrighted material, we are not allowed to post it, but you can pick up the files yourself.
Directions for doing that are listed below. Then when Wintrax plays a song from a particular CD, the
artwork will be displayed. By the way, this image is also displayed when the Wintrax Screen-Saver is
active. (To "drop" the screen-saver, either press ALT ~ (Alt-Tilde) or double-click on the "Song Timer".

Amazon www.amazon.com
CDNow www.cdnow.com
Borders www.bordersbooks.com
All-Music www.allmusic.com
CD Universe www.cduniverse.com
CD Covers www.cdcovers.cc

Remember: Click on each thumbnail for the largest cover artwork. Please respect the
copyrights; only collect artwork for CD's you own.

SCANNING IMAGES:

First, we'll cover scanning your own. Many scanners are different, so get familiar with your
hardware, by scanning in a few test CD covers. Most scanner software allows you select the
scan density. Since these images are going to be displayed and not printed, you don't have to
use a real high density rate.

If you're using VGA 640 x 480 mode, then select 72 dpi (dots-per-inch). RECOMMENDED
If you're using VGA 800 x 600 mode, then select 84 dpi (dots-per-inch).

Your BMP, GIF or JPG files should be 388 x 388 pixels. This is usually selected by dragging the
outside edges (the dotted outline border) of your "preview" scanned image in or out and watching the
size indicators change. These are either text boxes or coordinates in some corner of your screen.

Once you scan an image, if BMP you should convert them from 24-bit Truecolor to 8-bit Indexed
256-Color mode for an estimated size 150k each. If you leave them in 24-bit Truecolor, they
may be over a megabyte in size each.

If BMP format, you can save them in 8-bit 256 colors and you'll reduce the size of the files tremendously
AND reduce the display time when Wintrax uses them.

CAPTURING INTERNET IMAGES:

Using MS Internet Explorer, Netscape or your favorite Internet Browser, go to one of the sites
mentioned earlier. Look up an artist or album using their search methods. Usually you will
find the artwork, for the CD. If you click on the thumbnail of the album, you will usually get a
larger image.

To capture it, RIGHT CLICK your mouse while pointing at the artwork. A pop-up
menu should appear. Select "Save Picture As.." (IE) or "Save Image As.." (Netscape),
depending on which browser you use. Most other browsers work the same way.

A "Save As.." dialog box will allow you to choose where to save the file too. If you're
using Netscape, you must save the file as a GIF or JPG as automatically indicated in
the "Save As Type:" list box at the bottom of the dialog box. (Changing it to BMP will not save
it as one). Save the images to your "C:Wintrax\Images" directory (see note below about
naming them).

If you're using Internet Explorer, when the "Save As.." dialog box pops-up, you can
click "Save As Type:" and change the type to "BMP (*.BMP)" if using Wintrax 98 or BMP, GIF or
JPG if using Wintrax XP. Save images to your "C:Wintrax\Images" directory (see note below
about naming them).

Note: It is best for Wintrax if you rename the BMP, GIF, or JPG to the actual Record ID, so you
don't have to go to each Record ID and add the names manually. The easiest way to effectively
do that, is to print out an "Album Report (Sorted by Artists)" from the Wintrax Reports menu.

Before you do though, go to "ReIndex", select "Filter Search Lists", and UNCHECK
the "Show Loaded Albums Only". Then click the "OK" button, and choose to ReIndex the
date. This will generate an index of ALL albums, not just the ones loaded. Then print out the
Album Report.

BTW (by-the-way) don't forget to go back and change the "Show Loaded Albums Only"
option back and ReIndex again when you're done, so that you don't get a lot of un-needed
songs that are not online in your search lists.

The Album Report will have the DISC ID next to each artist/album name, so you'll know what
to name the BMP's, GIF's or JPG's you collect. This report is handy to have in your automobile
if you have a big collection so you don't accidentally purchase the same album again.

Additional NETSCAPE step for Wintrax 98 version:

If you use Netscape and have to save the files as GIF or JPG format, then bring up MS Paint
or your favorite graphic editor. Load and resave each graphic, changing the "Save As Type:"
to "BMP".

Please print this page out, so you follow it step-by-step and add it to your Wintrax Manual.