11/30/07--jMediaCat 2.3 Released!
jMediaCat 2.3 includes various bugfixes and updates, including full support for Mac OS X, UI bugfixes, and heavily refactored code that now requires Java 1.5 or newer to compile or run. (download | changelog)
3/24/06--jMediaCat 2.2 Released!
jMediaCat 2.2 includes a bugfix for UNIX-based operating systems, as well as a lot of code revision. (download | changelog)
3/17/06--jMediaCat 2.1 Released!
jMediaCat 2.1 includes the ability to turn off update checking (for faster program startup.) You must delete your current jmc.ini file if you are upgrading to this version of jMediaCat, or this feature will not work. See the changelog for details. (download | changelog)
1/22/06--jMediaCat 2.0 Released!
jMediaCat 2.0 is the most drastically changed version of the program since its first release. jMediaCat now includes find-as-you type capabilities, auto scanning for new music on program startup, version update checking, a graphical folder selection interface, and other improvements--as usual, see the changelog for details. (download | changelog)
11/10/05--jMediaCat Rated by JARS.com!
Today, jMediaCat received a 'Top 25%' rating from the JARS.com Java Application Review Service.
jMediaCat is a simple audio file catloging/database program (similar to iTunes Library or Winamp Media Library,) programmed entirely in Java. The program is meant to make searching through a large collection of digital music fast and straightforward.
jMediaCat opens selected media files using the host system's default media player (jMediaCat was written to act as a frontend for players that don't have a terrific--or any--music database system.) jMediaCat currently indexes MP3, OGG, FLAC, WMA, M4A, AAC, and MIDI files in a given directory (and its subdirectories) on your hard drive.
jMediaCat contains code originally written by Alex Wong of javapractices.com.
Please see the FAQ for more information about jMediaCat.
You can also go to the jMediaCat's creator's webpage, joshdick.net, for more goodies.
(Here's the latest release.)
jMediaCat is distributed as a platform-independent JAR file. The JAR file contains both the source and binary of jMediaCat--to view the source just change the .jar extension to .zip and unzip the file.
Every release of jMediaCat, including the current release, is available for download here.
Please note that you will need to have the JRE VM (version 1.5 or later) installed on your system to run jMediaCat.
What is jMediaCat?
Look at the project information--that should make it all become clear.
Why won't jMediaCat run on my computer?
You need to have a working installation of the JRE VM (version 1.5 or later) installed on your system to run jMediaCat. Information about executing JAR files is beyond the scope of this FAQ.
How do I use jMediaCat?
See the readme/changelog.
Why do jMediaCat's search results differ from what I expected would appear?
Currently, jMediaCat only has the ability to search through your audio file's filenames and directory names. It does not read ID3 tags from MP3s, or any other type of tag from any other file...at least not yet. Full ID3 tag reading support as well as other tag reading support will be added in a future release. jMediaCat also currently looks for MP3, OGG, FLAC, WMA, MIDI, AAC, and M4A files. If you have a different format file, jMediaCat won't find it. However, you can contact me, and I'd be happy to officially add your requested file extension into the next official release of jMediaCat.
Are there any known bugs?
No, but there are actions you can take if you find a bug...see the next FAQ question.
I found a bug in jMediaCat! How can I help to get it fixed?
You can submit a bug using jMediaCat's bug tracking system, provided by Sourceforge.
What are the 'jmc.dat' and 'jmc.ini' files that jMediaCat keeps putting on my computer?
These are harmless text files that store information that jMediaCat has gathered. The 'jmc.dat' file contains information about the last directory indexed and indexed songs. The 'jmc.ini' file contains user-supplied preferences (such as a custom song playing command in UNIX-based operating systems, and whether auto scan on program start is enabled.) Both of these files can safely be deleted without any harm, but jMediaCat will regenerate them the next time the program is run. The DAT files will always appear in whatever directory the jMediaCat binary resides in.
Does jMediaCat modify my Windows registry and/or system files and settings? Does it put hidden files somewhere that I should know about?
jMediaCat is completely spyware free and does not interact with your registry or system files and settings in any way. The only files that jMediaCat produce and leave on your hard drive are 'dat' files (mentioned above.)
jMediaCat wrecked my computer! What kinds of pain are you most susceptible to?
As far as I know, jMediaCat contains no code that could potentially do harm to your system or music files. In the (unheard of) event that jMediaCat really does cause damage to your system, I cannot be held liable for any data lost or any hardware damaged.
Does jMediaCat contain any spyware? What information is sent across the internet when jMediaCat checks for new versions of itself?
jMediaCat is 100% spyware free. All jMediaCat does to check for a new version of itself is download a text file contaning the lastest version number.
Why does jMediaCat include portions of code that you didn't personally write?
Well, I didn't "steal" anything. That's the beauty of open source--I used someone else's freely distributed code in my own project. I gave Alex the credit he deserves. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the code that I didn't write was the code that does the actual recursive filesearching. I had written some code myself to do this, but when I tested Alex's code, his ran much faster for some reason. I had to modify his code slightly (parts of if were technically wrong and inefficient,) but it works.
Why did you write jMediaCat?
I actually got the idea for jMediaCat from Winamp's "Media Library" feature. I just hated everything else about Winamp, so I decided to write a program by myself that would be able to emulate the "Media Library" feature.
Is jMediaCat released under the GNU GPL?
Of course.
I love jMediaCat and want to donate money to you to motivate further development of the project. How can I do this?
You can donate money via PayPal. Please see the jMediaCat Sourceforge project page for more information on how to do so. All donations are appreciated!
The jMediaCat program, as well as this website, were both created by Joshua Dick.
All questions, comments, and constructive criticism regarding the jMediaCat program or this website are welcome.
This website's design and contents are copyright ©2005-