In this section, we'll show you how to manage your files, and then how to use the Napster internal audio controls and Playlists to listen to them.

In Napster's My Files area, you'll find a list of the MP3 and WMA files located in the folders you've chosen to share with the Napster Community, including your download folder. You can access and use these files even if you're not connected to the Napster service. If you connect to Napster through another computer, the My Files area won't list the files you normally see on your own computer. Instead, you'll see the MP3 and WMA files located in shared folders on the new computer.

My Files

Organizing your files

In the My Files area, you'll see column headings giving some data about your files. By clicking any of these column headings, you can sort your files by the data in that column. (For example, clicking "Length" will sort your files from shortest to longest.) You can also change the width of columns by clicking the seam that separates the columns, then dragging that seam in either direction.

Here's an explanation of the information in these columns:

Filename
The names of the MP3 and WMA files in your shared folder(s) are listed here.

Filesize
The numbers in this column give the size of each file in bytes.

Bitrate
These numbers tell you the sound quality of each music file in kilobytes per second. Higher bitrates typically indicate better audio fidelity and larger files.

Frequency
The frequency of a file is the number of sound samples per second. The frequency of most compressed audio files is 44,000 kHz.

Length
This number gives the length of time the file will play, in minutes and seconds.

Interacting with your files

To play a file listed in your My Files area, double-click the file name. Right-clicking a file name gives you several choices:

Play File!
Uses the Napster Player to play the file.

Add to Playlist
Adds the file to your Playlist in the Playlist control panel.

Rename File
Lets you rename the files in your My Files area. Files will also be renamed in their current directory. Duplicate file names aren't allowed.

Delete (from disk)
Deletes this file from your computer. The file will be sent from its current directory to your Recycle Bin, and it will be removed permanently when you empty your Recycle Bin.

Refresh and Sort
Refreshes the list of files. If you make changes to your files outside the Napster application while Napster is running, you won't see the changes until you refresh the My Files area.

Napster Player

Using the Napster Player, you can play your files individually, or you can play them in sequence by creating a Playlist.

Internal audio controls

The Napster Player's audio controls work much like CD player controls.

1 Rewind

2 Play

3 Pause

4 Stop

5 Fast forward

6 Slide bar
Allows you to move to any spot within the file.

7 Volume control

8 Display panel
Shows you the name of the file you're currently playing, the file type ( MP3 or WMA ), its bitrate, and its frequency.

Other media players

On the Personal tab of your Preferences (under the Napster File menu), you can select a media player for Napster to use.

If you've selected the "Napster Internal Player," you'll use the Napster Player to play your files, and you'll need to have the Napster application open to do so. If "Default Media Player" is selected, you'll use the Windows default player on your computer to play your files, whether Napster is open or not. Your default media player will automatically launch when you play a file from within Napster.

Playlists

Playlists give you a quick way to group your favorite music files by artist, musical style, or any other way you like for playing on your computer. You can make Playlists only from files in the My Files area.

These are the steps to follow in creating a Playlist.

Adding files to a Playlist
Select the files you want to add to your Playlist, then either click "Add" on the Playlist control panel (in the bottom right of the screen), or right-click one of the files and select "Add to Playlist."

Deleting files from a Playlist
To delete a file from your Playlist, select the file name and click "Delete" on the Playlist control panel. Using the Playlist "Delete" button removes a file from your Playlist only. It does not delete the file from My Files or from your computer.

Saving and loading Playlists
To save your Playlist for future listening, click "Save" on the Playlist control panel. Playlists created with Napster will be saved as a .M3U file.

To load a previously saved Playlist, click "Load" on the Playlist control panel.

Playing Playlists
To play files from your Playlist, select a file in the list and click the "Play" button on the Napster Player, located to the left of the Playlist control panel.

To listen to your Playlist selections continuously, check the "Continuous Play" box under the Playlist control panel. To listen to them in random order (shuffled), check the "Random Play" box under the Playlist control panel.