+0. INTRODUCTION
+ ============
-Q. I am using MacOSX and I am having problems to use abcde.
-A. Well, I have a Mac, but I use linux on it. I have not been able to find
- a way to make it work there, since I do not have the development tools
- installed. I have placed a basic support, but some user reports are just
- complaining about abcde not encoding the ripped tracks, as if
- cdda2wav/cdparanoia/cddafs would never end reading them. If you have such
- a system and experience problems, please, report them, and I will try to
- work them out with your help.
+Q. Who created abcde? Who develops it nowadays?
+A. It was originally created by Robert Woodcook. He decided to give up
+ maintaining it at some point in 2002 and Jesus Climent took over. In 2012,
+ Colin Tuckley and Steve McIntyre joined in to help. During 2015-2016 Andrew
+ Strong helped out. Currently Steve maintains abcde. Contact Steve with
+ comments or suggestions at the following email address:
+ Steve McIntyre <93sam@@debian.org>
+
+
+1. INSTALLATION
+ ============
+
+Q. How can I install abcde on my system?
+A. To get abcde you can use a pre-packaged version, available for Debian,
+ FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD and others.
+ In case you want to install your own release, you need to download the
+ source and install the complementary programs (abcde is just a frontend
+ and its functionality is provided by other programs).
+
+ abcde needs cd-discid. Grab it from:
+ http://www.hispalinux.es/~data/files/cd-discid/
+
+ Read the README files for a complete list of requirements.
+
+Q. I have a problem, and I reported some time ago. Have you solved it already?
+A. Maybe. Try downloading the master branch of the development from
+ https://git.einval.com/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?p=abcde.git
+
+Q. When are you going to release a new version?
+A. When it is ready. :-) We keep on adding new ideas to the trunk
+ (stored in the URL above) and release periodically when we think
+ it's due.
+
+
+2. EXECUTION
+ =========
+
+Q. I want to force abcde 2.x to behave more like 1.x. How do I do it?
+A. Put these options in your abcde.conf:
+
+ INTERACTIVE=n
+ OUTPUTTYPE=mp3
+ ID3TAGV=1
+
+Q. Low on disk space?
+A. abcde has different algorithms to schedule ripping and encoding - to
+ optimize for disk conservation, use -l. You can also define
+ WAVOUTPUTDIR=/some/other/path to your /etc/abcde.conf or ~/.abcde.conf to
+ store the WAV files on another NFS shared fisk, for example.
+ Also, UNIX pipes have also been implemented, using "-P", so abcde reads and
+ encodes the tracks from the CD at once. However, it has the drawback that
+ only one format can be encoded at a time.
+
+Q. How can i make abcde encode faster? My CD reader is way faster than the pace
+ it can encode my tracks.
+A. abcde can take advantage of SMP systems, just like make. Try 'abcde -j 2' -
+ it'll run two encoder jobs while it rips the next track.
+ You can also make use of systems which are networked, with the help of
+ distmp3. For example, MachineA has a better CPU power and MachineB has a CD
+ drive. Run distmp3host (included in distmp3) on Machine A, and then run
+ abcde -r MachineA from MachineB (where "MachineA" is a dns name or IP
+ address). Use this in combination with '-j 0' to shift all encoding off the
+ local machine.
+
+Q. I am having problems with *my CD reading program* reading the drive as a
+ user.
+A. You might have to add yourself (or the users who want to use abcde) to the
+ cdrom group and change the permissions of the cdrom device to 660. If you
+ have a SCSI cdrom drive, check the permissions of /dev/sg* as well.
Q. I would like to give the trackname and the artist_name directly to the
encoder (in my case oggenc), but found no documentation.
A. That is not possible, since abcde gets the information from CDDB database.
- You can create a template and fill it with the option "-n".
-
-Q. What formats can I encode my music to?
-A. As for version 2.1.7, abcde includes support for MP3, Ogg/Vorbis,
- Ogg/Speex and Flac.
+ You can create a template and fill it with the option "-n". Also, you can
+ get the CDDB entry and edit it yourself. abcde has also an option to drop
+ back to a template if you like none of the CDDB entries, selecting 0 from
+ the CDDB options.
-Q. I have a CD with a data track, and abcde complaints it cannot read/encode
- it.
-A. It is not easy to find a data track on a CD. Right now, I can only think
- of getting the track info from CDDB and ask the user for continuing should
- a "data" track name is found. But the solution is far from been optimal.
- For now, if you find a "data" track and you know the number, restart abcde
- specifying the tracks to be encoded, leaving out the data one.
+Q. (Thanks to Amaya) Where are those options and settings defined? Why dont
+ you include a proper abcde.conf as an example?
+A. We do. It should be installed under /etc/abcde.conf and contains more or
+ less all the defaults abcde uses. You can use $(HOME)/.abcde.conf to
+ override those defaults. More information can be obtained from the man page
+ which can be consulted using "man abcde".
-Q. How can I separate the different output files I get using multiple-output
- support?
-A. Use the OUTPUT variable in PLAYLISTFORMAT and OUTPUTFORMAT. It holds the
- different output file types you passed to abcde (i.e., ogg, mp3, flac)
- during playlist creation and file/directory creation.
-
Q. I keep on getting files with ".ogg.ogg" extension. What am I doing wrong?
A. The code for multiple-output adds automatically the extension of the
different outputs you select with the "-o" extension (or with OUTPUTTYPE
variable). Erase the ".${OUTPUTTYPE}" part from the OUTPUTFORMAT variable
in /etc/abcde.conf or ~/.abcde.conf
-Q. I use Debian/RedHat/(put your Unix flavour here) and MP3 encoding is not
+Q. I have modified some of the options, and now CDDB has stopped working.
+A. Check that you have modified everything in the right way. For instance, if
+ you modify the HTTPGET program you might want to set some options of your
+ own. If you use the predefined ones (wget, curl and fetch) abcde will try
+ to use some defaults. Keep in mind that the output should go to the output
+ as standard output, to be saved in a file for later use.
+
+ If abcde seems to be ignoring your configuration options or not running
+ commands such as the encoder, you may have misquoted something. Config
+ options such as the following do not work:
+
+ LAMEOPTS=-h -k
+
+ Try this instead:
+
+ LAMEOPTS='-h -k'
+
+Q. How can I separate the different output files I get using multiple-output
+ support?
+A. Use the OUTPUT variable in PLAYLISTFORMAT and OUTPUTFORMAT. It holds the
+ different output file types you passed to abcde (i.e., ogg, mp3, flac)
+ during playlist creation and file/directory creation.
+
+Q. I have a CD with a data track, and abcde complaints it cannot read/encode
+ it.
+A. From version 2.2 onwards, abcde includes some checkings with cdparanoia, to
+ try to get this right.
+ (It is not easy to find a data track on a CD. If you find a "data"
+ track and you know the number, restart abcde specifying the tracks
+ to be encoded, leaving out the data one).
+
+Q. I am requested to have "eject" when setting the speed although I do not use
+ it for anything.
+A. If you do not use cdparanoia, eject is used for setting the speed of the
+ cdrom drive. You can substitute it for "setcd" with "-x" as the argument,
+ but you have to install it manually (setcd is, at least, available in
+ Debian).
+ Another way to get the same results is using the pre_read function, defined
+ in your /etc/abcde.conf file.
+
+Q. I have a CD set with 1+ discs, and want to have them in the same directory,
+ sorted properly. What can abcde do for me?
+A. Set abcde to rip the first CD and give it the option "-t 101". Use a generic
+ name for the CD, and reuse it with the rest of the CDs, editing the CDDB
+ entries. Use "-t 201" for the second CD and so on. Use "-w <comment>" to
+ add a comment about the CD you are ripping (-w "disc #"). Alternatively you
+ can use only the "-t ###" option and then move all the files to the same
+ directory, but the tag/comment information on the files will differ. If you
+ want the tagged track number to be set to the modified number you should use
+ "-T ###".
+ Even better! If you use "-W <cd_number>", abcde will put a comment to every
+ CD set ("CD <number>") and modify the number of the tracks both in the file
+ name and the tag/comment information.
+
+Q. I have a live concert. I want to encode it in a single file. How do i do it?
+A. Use "-1" and it will be encoded in a single file. Use "cue" as an action to
+ make a CUE sheet file where the information about the tracks is stored.
+
+Q. Can I use abcde to take a backup of my CD collection?
+A. Yes. Use "abcde -1 -o flac -a default,cue" and it will create a single-track
+ FLAC file with an embedded cuesheet. Later on, you can use the command
+ "abcde -o vorbis -d flac-file.flac" to extract the individual tracks in
+ Ogg/Vorbis format. Of course you can select whatever format you want.
+
+
+3. CDDB and Musicbrainz
+ ====================
+
+Q. I need to go through an HTTP proxy for CDDB access.
+A. No problem, just export your http_proxy variable first so wget/fetch/curl
+ can see it.
+
+Q. I already store CDDB entries in my hard disc. Can I make use of them?
+A. Piece of cake. Just edit CDDBLOCALDIR to point to the repository and give
+ abcde the "-L" flag to make use of it.
+
+Q. Fine, now it uses local CDDB, but I have no network connection. How can I
+ disable CDDB checks?
+A. Use the "-L -n" combination. It will try to use local CDDB entries, and if
+ nothing can be found, it will use a template. You will be also given the
+ choice to edit such template.
+
+Q. How can I use some other CDDB information provider?
+A. abcde now uses FreeDB by default. To use a different FreeDB mirror or
+ another CDDB service, change the CDDBURL option in your abcde.conf.
+
+Q. After requesting CDDB data, I received several answers which seem to be
+ quite alike. Can I find out the difference between some of them?
+A. Yes. When asked which one you want to select, use "X,Y" where X and Y are
+ the numbers of the selections you want to find the difference between.
+
+Q. I get stuck at the screen with multiple CDDB results. How do I exit this
+ screen so I can make my final selection?
+A. abcde tries to use the system's default pager to display these results
+ and thus the actual application used and the method to exit from this
+ application may vary from system to system.
+ Many systems will be using the applications 'more' or 'less' as their
+ pager and the common key to exit this screen is the letter 'q'. If this
+ does not work on your system you should investigate what your system's
+ default pager application is and from there learn the correct method of
+ exiting this screen.
+
+Q. I don't like CDDB/FreeDB. How can I use Musicbrainz instead?
+A. Set CDDBMETHOD=musicbrainz and try it!
+
+
+4. abcde and Album Art
+ ===================
+
+Q. Can abcde download album art?
+A. As of abcde 2.7 it is possible to download a suitable cover
+ image from within abcde that can be used by applications such
+ as Audacious and vlc to illustrate playback with an album cover.
+ Many hardware playback devices such as iPODs will also use this
+ image during playback and show it on the device's display.
+
+Q. How does album art downloading work?
+A. The details are contained in abcde within a new function called
+ 'getalbumart' which can be called either from the commandline or
+ from within an ~/.abcde.conf file. The technique works in 3 possible
+ ways:
+
+ 1. If CDDBMETHOD includes musicbrainz the album art is downloaded from
+ coverartarchive by MBID (MusicBrainz Identifier)
+ 2. If 1 fails, download is tried from amazon by ASIN (Amazon
+ Standard Identification Number)
+ 3. If if 1 and 2 fail or CDDBMETHOD is cddb the album art will
+ be downloaded using glyrc by artist + album title
+
+ You will need to install your distro's package of glyr, a music
+ related metadata search engine, and it is strongly advised that
+ you use 'musicbrainz' in your cddb lookups. To access the more
+ advanced features of getalbumart it is also strongly advised that
+ you install the ImageMagick package of your distro. getalbumart
+ will work without ImageMagick but functionality will be reduced.
+
+Q. What settings and options should I select?
+A. If you want to operate abcde from the commandline only you will
+ get reasonable results with something like either of the following:
+
+ abcde -o mp3:-V2 -a default,getalbumart
+ abcde -o mp3:-V2 -G
+
+ But to experience all of the options of getalbumart you should also
+ consider setting the following in your ~/.abcde.conf file:
+
+ #----------------------------------------------------------------#
+ CDDBMETHOD=musicbrainz # Use MusicBrainz for CDDB
+ ACTIONS=default,getalbumart # Select the album art action + default
+
+ # Give the path to the metadata search application glyrc. Add any
+ # glyrc options:
+ GLYRC=glyrc
+ GLYRCOPTS=
+
+ # Give the path to ImageMagick's 'identify' which is used to give a
+ # commandline summary of the album art and also assist in any conversions.
+ # Add any 'identify' options:
+ IDENTIFY=identify
+ IDENTIFYOPTS=
+
+ # Give the path to ImageMagick's 'display' which will show the album art.
+ # The options below are the abcde default, feel free to add your own:
+ DISPLAYCMD=display
+ DISPLAYCMDOPTS="-resize 512x512 -title abcde_album_art"
+
+ # Give the path to ImageMagick's 'convert' which is used to convert album
+ # art to the format specified in ALBUMARTTYPE. Add any 'convert' options:
+ CONVERT=convert
+ CONVERTOPTS=
+ # If you want to run CONVERTOPTS on all files (including those specified
+ # in ALBUMARTTYPE) set the following to "y":
+ ALBUMARTALWAYSCONVERT="n"
+
+ # By default the filename will be cover.jpg and the file format will
+ # be jpeg. 'convert' will automagically change other formats to jpeg:
+ ALBUMARTFILE="cover.jpg"
+ ALBUMARTTYPE="JPEG"
+ #----------------------------------------------------------------#
+
+ There are more hints concerning commandline options in the sample
+ abcde.conf file included with your abcde package. Good news is that
+ the existing defaults will work well without any extra adjustments :).
+
+Q. Can I manually select album art?
+A. If you have set INTERACTIVE=y (this is the default) then you will have
+ the opportunity to manually select the album art of your choice either
+ from online by typing in a URL or by typing in the path to a local file.
+
+Q. What if I want my album art embedded?
+A. As of abcde 2.8.2 it is possible to have the album art automatically
+ embedded in the mp3 container using eyeD3, embedded in the flac container
+ using metaflac, embedded in the m4a container using AtomicParsley,
+ embedded in the wv container using wvtag and embedded into an ogg
+ container using vorbiscomment.
+
+ There are 3 different ways to accomplish this:
+
+ 1. Use the command line '-B' option (this will also call getalbumart)
+ 2. Use the command line '-a embedalbumart' option to add to list of actions
+ 3. Use 'embedalbumart' in the 'ACTIONS' list in ~/.abcde.conf
+
+ Adding newer containers for album art embedding should be fairly straightforward
+ and these will be added when the right combination of available abcde developer
+ time and abcde user interest occurs...
+
+4. FORMATS
+ =======
+
+Q. What formats can I encode my music to?
+A. As of version 2.8.2 abcde includes support for MP3, Ogg/Vorbis,
+ Ogg/Speex, Flac, MPP/MP+(Musepack), AAC, AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format),
+ Alac, WavPack, TTA (True Type Audio), APE (Monkey's Audio), Opus,
+ AC3 and MP2.
+
+Q. I want the new *put the newest and coolest codec there* format to be
+ supported by abcde. Abcde is so cool but i want to encode also to this
+ new format...
+A. Patches are welcome! ;)
+ No, seriously, if the format is usable, available for Linux and open
+ source/free software, it should be fairly easy to integrate. Support for
+ AAC (m4p) should be the next one to be introduced.
+
+Q. I use Debian/RedHat/(put your Unix flavour here) and MP3 encoding is not
working. What am I doing wrong?
A. Since MP3 is considered non-free (you get it for free, but hardware players
- and net broadcasters have to pay license fees), some release engineering
+ and net broadcasters have to pay license fees), some release engineering
groups and release management teams have decided not to provide MP3 encoding
tools.
- These distributions or operative systems have decided to use Ogg/Vorbis as
+ These distributions or operating systems have decided to use Ogg/Vorbis as
the default encoding format, since it contains no (known) patent claims
and they are (supposed to be) completely Free (released under a BSD-like
license).
- However, there is no strong (at the moment) hardware support, although
- some groups and companies are strongly working on getting it, real soon
+ However, there is no strong (at the moment) hardware support, although
+ some groups and companies are strongly working on getting it, real soon
now. For that reason some people prefer to encode to MP3.
UPDATE *** UPDATE
- There are at least 3 known brands already selling Ogg/Vorbis portable
- players: Rio, iRiver and Neuros.
+ There are known brands already selling Ogg/Vorbis portable players: Rio,
+ iRiver, Neuros, iAudio,...
Go buy one and you have no more reasons to use MP3.
-
+
If you are among those individuals, you might need to add support for MP3
encoding to your system:
- Debian : check http://marillat.free.fr to install lame in your system.
- others prefer bladeenc. Check www.apt-get.org or google.
+ Debian : check http://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat to install lame in your
+ system. Others prefer bladeenc. Check www.apt-get.org or google.
RedHat : search on rpmfind.net
FreeBSD: By default includes LAME support.
OpenBSD: Available by specifying you want to install the port with LAME
support, or by just installing it later from the ports tree.
NetBSD : Available in pkgsrc.
- Others : Please, help me here.
+ Others : Please, help us here.
-Q. I have modified some of the options, and now CDDB has stopped working.
-A. Check that you have modified everything in the right way. For instance, if
- you modify the HTTPGET program you might want to set some options of your
- own. If you use the predefined ones (wget, curl and fetch) abcde will try
- to use some defaults. Keep in mind that the output should go to the output
- as standard output, to be saved in a file for later use.
+Q. Huh! Why is MPPENCODER (with MPP) and .mpc the extension?
+A. Dunno. You must ask the guys who created and defined the format. The
+ standard is MPEGplus (MPP/MP+) but the files use .mpc extension.
+
+Q. Why do I get .aac files instead of .m4a files when I encode with faac?
+A. Faac uses mp4v2 to create aac files in an m4a or mp4 container. Some
+ Linux distros have disabled this mp4v2 support due to a licensing issue
+ and this leave faac only capable of generating mpeg-2/ADTS streams.
+ These streams should correctly have the .aac file extension and some
+ players (such as Audacious) will not even play mpeg-2/ADTS streams when
+ they are placed in an .m4a container.
+ As of version 2.7 abcde tests the version of faac being used for mp4v2
+ support and then appropriately places the audio either in .m4a or .aac.
+ Note that tagging is not possible with mpeg-2/ADTS streams in .aac.
+
+Q. How do I encode to Apple Lossless Audio Codec (alac)?
+A. As of abcde 2.7.1 there are 3 ways to encode to alac: using qaac, refalac
+ or FFmpeg. To use qaac or refalac follow the installation directions here:
+
+ http://www.andrews-corner.org/qaac.html#installation
+
+ and then set your ~/.abcde.conf file as follows:
+
+ AACENCODERSYNTAX=qaac
+ QAAC="$HOME/.wine/drive_c/qaac/qaac.exe"
+ # Or use the Open Source alac encoder with this small hack:
+ # QAAC="$HOME/.wine/drive_c/qaac/refalac.exe"
+ QAACENCOPTS="--alac --threading --verbose"
+ OUTPUTTYPE="m4a"
+
+ To use FFmpeg (or avconv) set your ~/.abcde.conf file as follows:
+
+ AACENCODERSYNTAX=ffmpeg
+ FFMPEG=ffmpeg
+ # Or give the path to avconv instead:
+ # FFMPEG=avconv
+ FFMPEGENCOPTS="-c:a alac"
+ OUTPUTTYPE="m4a"
+
+ And then sit back and enjoy the music :)
+
+Q. Will FFmpeg be used with abcde for any other audio formats?
+A. The plan is to use FFmpeg (or avconv) when FFmpeg has a good quality native
+ encoder available. For example FFmpeg has a low quality native native encoder
+ for Vorbis and AAC which will not be used but a great reverse engineered alac
+ encoder that has been used in abcde. FFmpeg also has a good WavPack encoder
+ that has been added in abcde 2.7.1 which can be added into your ~/.abcde.conf
+ file as follows:
+
+ # WVENCODERSYNTAX=wavpack
+ WVENCODERSYNTAX=ffmpeg
+ # Appropriate PATH:
+ WAVPACK=wavpack
+ FFMPEG=ffmpeg
+ # Appropriate options:
+ FFMPEGENCOPTS="-c:a wavpack -compression_level 6"
+ WAVPACKENCOPTS="-hx3"
+ # Correct output type:
+ OUTPUTTYPE="wv"
+
+ You can see in this example how easy it is to switch from one WavPack encoder to
+ another by changing the comment mark '#' on the WVENCODERSYNTAX line. For mp2
+ encoding with FFmpeg try the following:
+
+ # MP2ENCODERSYNTAX=twolame
+ MP2ENCODERSYNTAX=ffmpeg
+ # Appropriate PATH:
+ TWOLAME=twolame
+ FFMPEG=ffmpeg
+ FFMPEGENCOPTS='-c:a mp2 -b:a 320k'
+ TWOLAMENCOPTS='--bitrate 320'
+ # Correct output type:
+ OUTPUTTYPE="mp2"
+
+ Currently FFmpeg supports: alac, wavpack,mp2 and AIFF. FFmpeg native aac support will
+ be added when it comes out of 'experimental'. FFmpeg is also used as the default
+ encoder for the Matroska or mka container. A typical example, using the FFmpeg
+ native ac3 encoder, is:
+
+ MKAENCODERSYNTAX=ffmpeg
+ FFMPEG=ffmpeg
+ FFMPEGENCOPTS="-c:a ac3 -b:a 448k"
+ OUTPUTTYPE="mka"
+
+ Other suitable codecs for this usage are Vorbis, MP2, MP3, LC-AAC, HE-AAC, WMAv1,
+ WMAv2, eAC3 and Opus. There is much more to come in the future for abcde and FFmpeg!
+
+
+5. USEPIPES
+ ========
+
+Q. What is/are 'USEPIPES'??
+A. This is a slightly different method of ripping and encoding with abcde
+ utilising Unix pipes. Using this method a program sends as output what
+ another programs expects as input without writing the information to the
+ hard disk. For it to work with abcde, a ripper must send the data of the
+ CD tracks which are ripped to the 'standard output', while sending other
+ information and error messages to 'standard error' so that the encoder
+ does not get confused. The encoder program needs to be able to encode the
+ information send to it by reading from the standard input (which is what
+ the ripper sends to the standard output).
+ Usually Unix/Linux programs deal with the standard input/output by using
+ the special file name '-', as in the following example:
+
+ cdripper -o - | audioencoder -i - -o file.ext
+
+ The 'cdripper' program uses the flag '-o' to identify the file it will
+ output the data to. For the 'audioencoder' program to be able to read
+ the output through a Unix pipe (the '|' symbol), the output needs to be
+ sent to the standard output using the '-' special filename. Once the
+ output has been piped to 'audioencoder' we use the same special filename
+ to read the information as input with the '-i' flag and output it to
+ 'file.ext' with the '-o' flag.
+
+Q. How do I use USEPIPES with abcde?
+A. You can run USEPIPES in either of two ways:
+
+ 1. Add 'USEPIPES=y' to your ~/.abcde.conf file
+ 2. Use the commandline option 'abcde -P'
+
+Q. Do all rippers and encoders work with USEPIPES?
+A. No :). Keep in mind that every ripper and encoder differs from in each
+ other in the way they interact with pipes and not all rippers and encoders
+ will use or understand the '-o' and '-' options. Currently (August 2015) the
+ following rippers and encoders work:
+
+ Rippers: cdparanoia, debug, libcdio, cdda2wav, flac, pird.
+ Encoders: mp3enc, lame, bladeenc, oggenc, opusenc, flac, speexenc,
+ mpcenc, wavpack, faac, neroAacEnc, fdkaac, qaac, fhgaacenc,
+ ffmpeg, tta, ttaenc.
+
+Q. Can I add a ripper or encoder which is not supported?
+A. Sure! If you plan to use a ripper or encoder which is not supported you
+ need to know how to use the ripper/encoder. For example, cdparanoia just
+ uses '-' as the output filename and works. The program used to decode
+ FLAC files (yes, abcde supports 'ripping' from a FLAC file :) uses '-c'.
+ To add support for a ripper called 'cdripper' which uses the '-' special
+ flag for outputting to the standard output, you need to open the config
+ file (either /etc/abcde.conf or ~/.abcde.conf) and add the line:
+
+ PIPERIPPER_cdripper="-"
+
+ For an encoder called 'audioencoder' which uses '--stdin' to read the pipe
+ input, you need to add:
+
+ PIPE_audioencoder="--stdin"
+
+ Of course, you should try your configuration and report it to the abcde
+ developers so that it can be included in future versions of abcde. If
+ you are familiar with POSIX shell programing, please open "abcde" and
+ take a look at the lines below the one marked with "###USEPIPESSUPPORT###",
+ the required syntax is reasonably clear.
+
+6. MISC PROBLEMS
+ =============
+
+Q. What happened with normalize?
+A. Normalize has changed its name under Debian, which is the GNU/Linux
+ distribution for developing abcde (well, is The GNU/Linux Distribution
+ Steve uses, at the moment). Now it is called normalize-audio.
+ If you are using some other flavour of OS, you need to change the name
+ of the executable in your abcde.conf file.
+
+Q. I am using MacOSX and I am having problems to use abcde.
+A. Well, I have a Mac, but I use linux on it. I have not been able to find
+ a way to make it work there, since I do not have the development tools
+ installed. I have placed a basic support, but some user reports are just
+ complaining about abcde not encoding the ripped tracks, as if
+ icedax/cdda2wav/cdparanoia/cddafs would never end reading them. If you have
+ such a system and experience problems, please, report them, and I will
+ try to work them out with your help.
Q. My hardware player (put it here) does not recognize the playlists created
with abcde. What I am doing wrong?
A. Try using "-m" when creating the playlists, or setting DOSPLAYLIST as an
option in the config file.
-Q. I am requested to have eject when setting the speed although I do not use
- for anything.
-A. If you do not use cdparanoia, eject is used for setting the speed of the
- cdrom drive. You can substitute it for "cdset" with "-x" as the argument,
- but you have to install it manually.
- Another way to get the same results is using the pre_read function, defined
- in your /etc/abcde.conf file.
-
OBSOLETE
--------
Q. I set KEEPWAVS to "y" but abcde insists on erasing my directory, along
with the wav tracks. What I am doing wrong?
-A. The default action set includes clean, which cleans the temp directory,
+A. The default action set includes clean, which cleans the temp directory,
if nothing goes wrong. Take the "clean" out from the action list and you
are done.
UPDATE: KEEPWAVS unselects now the clean action.
+
+--
+Steve McIntyre <93sam@@debian.org>