# Configuration dialog

## Overview

The &kplayer; Settings dialog allows you to control most aspects of &kplayer;'s behavior, as well as choose options that are passed to &mplayer; and control quality and performance of media playback.

Select Settings Configure &kplayer;... to open the dialog box.

The dialog contains several sections which are selected by left clicking one of the items on the left side of the dialog box.

General section

  Contains options that affect general &kplayer; behavior.

Controls section

  Contains advanced options that control how your choices made using various &kplayer; controls are applied and stored.

  Progress section

    Contains options that affect the progress slider control and the seeking function.

  Volume section

    Contains options that affect the volume slider control.

  Contrast section

    Contains options that affect the contrast slider control.

  Brightness section

    Contains options that affect the brightness slider control.

  Hue section

    Contains options that affect the hue slider control.

  Saturation section

    Contains options that affect the saturation slider control.

  Sliders section

    Contains miscellaneous options that affect all slider controls in &kplayer;.

Video section

  Contains options that control video output.

Audio section

  Contains options that control audio output.

Subtitles section

  Contains options that control subtitle display.

Advanced section

  Contains various options that affect advanced command line parameters passed to &mplayer;, as well as interaction with &kde; I/O Slaves.

The buttons at the bottom of the dialog let you make choices about the contents of all sections of the dialog.

OK button

  Accepts your changes and closes the dialog.

Cancel button

  Closes the dialog without saving the changes.

Apply button

  Applies the changes without closing the dialog.

Defaults button

  Restores all settings to their original, predefined values and applies them.

Close button

  After you choose Apply or Defaults, the Cancel button changes to Close. Clicking it closes the dialog and discards changes you made since the last time changes were applied.

Help button

  Opens this user manual and displays the section that describes the currently selected section of the dialog.

You can also click the small What's This button with a question mark at the top right of the dialog and then click a configuration option to get a brief explanation of it.

Clicking the rightmost button at the top of the dialog closes the dialog discarding any unapplied changes.

## General section

This section contains options that affect general &kplayer; behavior.

Resize main window automatically

  By default &kplayer; resizes the main window automatically unless it is maximized or full screen. When &kplayer; loads and starts playing a new video, it scales it in increments of 50% of the original video size until the video width reaches the Minimum initial video width setting. It also automatically resizes the window to maintain the video aspect if that option is turned on.

  If you would like to avoid automatic resizing and always keep the window the size you make it, turn this option off. &kplayer; will then maintain the video aspect by constraining the video within the window, as if the window was maximized for example. You will also want to turn this option off if you get problems coming back from full screen mode, like endless flickering for example. But in that case you should also report the bug following instructions in Reporting bugs HOWTO.

Minimum initial video width

  If Resize main window automatically option is enabled, when &kplayer; loads and starts playing a new video, it scales it in increments of 50% of the original video size until the video width in pixels reaches this setting.

Maximum entries on playlist menus

  This option tells &kplayer; the maximum number of entries to put on the Play List submenu of the File menu and right click popup menus and on the Add to submenu of the Library menu and the library popup menu. The multimedia library allows you to create as many playlists as you like, and you can always access them in the Playlists section of the library regardless of this setting.

Maximum entries on Play Recent menu

  This option tells &kplayer; the maximum number of entries to put on the Play Recent submenu of the File menu and right click popup menus. When the number of entries is exceeded, &kplayer; will remove the oldest entries from the menu, but depending on the option below you may still find them in the multimedia library.

Maximum Recent entries in the library

  This option tells &kplayer; the maximum number of entries to put in the Recent section of the multimedia library. When the number of entries is exceeded, &kplayer; will remove the oldest entries. Note that playing a directory or a selection of files and directories creates only one entry in the Recent section and on the Play Recent menu.

Meta information cache size limit

  This option gives the maximum number of multimedia items for which &kplayer; should store the file properties. These items include local files, remote URLs, CD tracks, DVD titles and tuner device channels. &kplayer; remembers the properties of each of those items, and when the total number of items exceeds this setting, it will start discarding the properties of the items that have not been played for the longest time.

Allow duplicate entries on playlists

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will let you add items with identical URLs to the playlist. When the option is turned off and you add new entries to a playlist, &kplayer; will remove any existing entries that have the same URL as one of the new entries from the same playlist folder. Also if some of the new entries have identical URLs, it will add only one for each URL.

Show messages if a file fails to play

  This option tells &kplayer; whether to automatically show the message log if &kplayer; encounters an error when trying to play a file. If this option is enabled, &kplayer; will show the log and scroll to the last messages from the first file with an error, so you can see what the error was. If the option is disabled, &kplayer; will instead display the word Error in the left portion of the status bar, and then you can left click it to show the message log.

## Controls section

This section contains advanced options that control how your choices made using various &kplayer; controls are applied and stored. For more information on applying options to individual files see the File Properties section of this manual.

Remember for current file any changes made with Shift

  If this option is selected, when you adjust one of the settings listed below while holding the &Shift; key down, &kplayer; will apply the change only to the current file, store it in the file properties, and revert to the setting prior to the change before loading another file. You will be able to see and modify the stored setting in the File Properties dialog. The next time the file is played, the setting stored in its properties will again take effect until another file is loaded.

  If you make the change without pressing the &Shift; key, and the corresponding option below is not selected, the new setting will apply to the current file and all files played after it until you change the setting again.

Always remember the following settings for each file

  The following options let you choose what settings &kplayer; will automatically remember in the file properties for each individual file. By default it stores the video aspect ratio, subtitle delay and audio delay separately for each file, and resets the delays for each new file, while other settings are preserved when loading new files. Normally you should leave the options below at their defaults. Settings for which the corresponding options below are not selected can still be easily stored for each file by holding down the &Shift; key while changing them, as long as the Remember for current file any changes made with Shift option is selected.

Display size

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember in the file properties for the currently loaded file the video display size you choose by resizing the main KPlayer window or the video area. As mentioned above, if this option is not selected, you can still make &kplayer; remember the display size by holding down the &Shift; key, but for that to work in this case it is important that you start holding the &Shift; key before resizing.

Display aspect

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember in the file properties for the currently loaded file the video aspect you choose by using commands on View menu.

Full screen

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember in the file properties for the currently loaded file the full screen option you choose on the View menu.

Maximized

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember the maximized window state in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Maintain aspect

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember the maintain aspect setting in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Volume

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember volume adjustments in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Audio delay

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember the audio delay setting in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Contrast

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember contrast adjustments in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Brightness

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember brightness adjustments in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Hue

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember hue adjustments in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Saturation

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember saturation adjustments in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Subtitle position

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember the subtitle vertical position in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Subtitle delay

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember the subtitle delay setting in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

Frame drop

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will automatically remember the frame drop setting in the file properties for the currently loaded file.

## Progress subsection

This section contains options that affect the progress slider control and the seeking function.

Normal seek amount

  This option tells &kplayer; how far to seek (move the current playback position) forward or backward when using Forward and Backward commands on Player menu, either in seconds or in percents of the time length of the file if it is known.

Fast seek amount

  This option tells &kplayer; how far to seek (move the current playback position) forward or backward when using Fast Forward and Fast Backward commands on Player menu, either in seconds or in percents of the time length of the file if it is known.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on the progress slider, in percents of the slider length.

## Volume subsection

This section contains options that affect the volume slider control.

Minimum

  This option gives the lower limit on the sound volume setting.

Maximum

  This option gives the upper limit on the sound volume setting.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on the volume slider, in percents of the slider length.

Adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the sound volume when using the Increase Volume and Decrease Volume commands on the Audio submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Reset

  This option lets you reset the sound volume to a specific setting every time before loading a new file or when starting &kplayer;.

## Contrast subsection

This section contains options that affect the contrast slider control.

Minimum

  This option gives the lower limit on the video contrast setting.

Maximum

  This option gives the upper limit on the video contrast setting.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on the contrast slider, in percents of the slider length.

Adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the video contrast when using the Increase Contrast and Decrease Contrast commands on the Video submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Reset

  This option lets you reset the video contrast to a specific setting every time before loading a new file or when starting &kplayer;.

## Brightness subsection

This section contains options that affect the brightness slider control.

Minimum

  This option gives the lower limit on the video brightness setting.

Maximum

  This option gives the upper limit on the video brightness setting.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on the brightness slider, in percents of the slider length.

Adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the video brightness when using the Increase Brightness and Decrease Brightness commands on the Video submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Reset

  This option lets you reset the video brightness to a specific setting every time before loading a new file or when starting &kplayer;.

## Hue subsection

This section contains options that affect the hue slider control.

Minimum

  This option gives the lower limit on the video hue setting.

Maximum

  This option gives the upper limit on the video hue setting.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on the hue slider, in percents of the slider length.

Adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the video hue when using the Increase Hue and Decrease Hue commands on the Video submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Reset

  This option lets you reset the video hue to a specific setting every time before loading a new file or when starting &kplayer;.

## Saturation subsection

This section contains options that affect the saturation slider control.

Minimum

  This option gives the lower limit on the video saturation setting.

Maximum

  This option gives the upper limit on the video saturation setting.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on the saturation slider, in percents of the slider length.

Adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the video saturation when using the Increase Saturation and Decrease Saturation commands on the Video submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Reset

  This option lets you reset the video saturation to a specific setting every time before loading a new file or when starting &kplayer;.

## Sliders subsection

This section contains miscellaneous options that affect all slider controls in &kplayer;.

Minimum slider length

  This option gives the minimum length of a slider control. It affects all sliders embedded in toolbars.

Preferred slider length

  This option gives the preferred length of a slider control. It affects both popup sliders and sliders embedded in toolbars.

Show tick marks on sliders

  If this option is selected, &kplayer; will put tick marks on each slider on the toolbars.

Distance between slider marks

  This option gives the distance between tick marks on a slider, in percents of the slider length.

## Video section

This section contains options that control video output.

Driver

  This option lists available video outputs and lets you choose the one to use for playing video.

  Recommended choice depends on the video card you have. If you have a Matrox card, try XMGA, for other cards either XVidix (if supported) or XVideo provide the best quality. With NVidia drivers you can also try XVMC output. If after trying hard you cannot make any of these work, you can use X11 output as the last resort. Video outputs that open a separate window instead of using &kplayer; video area are not recommended.

Device

  This option specifies the video device to use for the selected video output. Leave it blank to use the default device.

Codec

  This option lists the available video codecs and lets you choose the one to be used for decoding video. Auto is the recommended choice, it lets &mplayer; decide which codec to use automatically. If you need to tell &mplayer; to use a particular codec for a particular file or stream, set this option in the File Properties.

Scaler

  This option specifies the video scaler to be used when doing software scaling. Software scaling consumes considerable amount of system resources, so unless you have plenty of them and software scaling gives you better image quality, you should choose a video output above that uses hardware scaling.

Enable double buffering

  This option lets you choose whether double buffering should be used for video output. This option is recommended, it gives smoother display in many cases.

Enable direct rendering

  This option lets you choose whether direct rendering should be used for video output. This option may give performance improvement, but may also cause video display problems, for example when used along with double buffering option or when playing with subtitles.

## Audio section

This section contains options that control audio output.

Output driver

  This option lists available audio outputs and lets you choose the one to use for playing sound.

  Recommended choice is ALSA, or OSS as the last resort if you cannot use ALSA. ARTS, ESD and SDL are not recommended. The auto option will let &mplayer; choose an audio output according to its own configuration.

Output device

  This option specifies the audio device to use for the selected audio output. Leave it blank to use the default device.

Control volume independently of other programs

  This option tells &mplayer; to use software volume control, which does not affect global volume settings on your system, but may result in some distortion of the sound.

Maximum volume

  When the software volume option above is turned on, this option gives the maximum volume level in percent of the normal level.

Mixer device

  When ALSA or OSS audio output is selected, and the software volume option above is turned off, this option specifies the mixer device that should be used to control the sound volume. Leave it blank to use the default device.

Mixer channel

  When ALSA or OSS audio output is selected, and the software volume option above is turned off, this option specifies the mixer channel that should be used to control the sound volume. Leave it blank to use the default channel, normally PCM.

Codec

  This option lists the available audio codecs and lets you choose the one to be used for decoding audio. Auto is the recommended choice, it lets &mplayer; decide which codec to use automatically. If you need to tell &mplayer; to use a particular codec for a particular file or stream, set this option in the File Properties.

Delay adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the audio delay when using the Increase Delay and Decrease Delay commands on the Audio submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

## Subtitles section

This section contains options that control subtitle display.

Font name

  This option lets you choose the name of the font that &mplayer; should use to display subtitles.

Bold

  This option tells &mplayer; to use a bold font to display subtitles.

Italic

  This option tells &mplayer; to use an italic font to display subtitles.

Text size

  This option specifies the text size that &mplayer; should use to display subtitles. If the Auto scale option below is selected, this option gives the scaling factor, otherwise it gives the font size in points.

Auto scale

  This option indicates whether &mplayer; should scale the font according to the size of the video or always use the same font size.

Outline

  This option specifies the width of the black outline for the subtitle font.

Width

  This option gives the width of the area for subtitle text in percent of the width of the video area.

Position adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; how far to move the subtitles, in percents of the video height, when using the Move Up and Move Down commands on the Subtitles submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Delay adjustment amount

  This option tells &kplayer; by how much to adjust the subtitle delay when using the Increase Delay and Decrease Delay commands on the Subtitles submenu of the Player menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Encoding

  This option specifies the encoding of text in subtitle files. For individual subtitle files that use a different encoding you can override this setting in the File Properties of the corresponding video file.

Use embedded fonts when available

  This option tells &mplayer; to use the embedded fonts to display subtitles if a video file contains embedded fonts. For example, the Matroska file format allows embedding of fonts.

Display closed caption subtitles

  This options tells &mplayer; to display closed caption subtitles if the video has them. Closed caption subtitles are found on some DVDs.

Auto expand video area to aspect ratio

  This option tells &kplayer; to expand the video area to fit the aspect ratio you choose and display subtitles in the black bands below or above the video. It is recommended that you choose the aspect ratio to match the aspect ratio of your monitor, normally 4:3.

Autoload subtitles

  This option tells &kplayer; to automatically load subtitle files that have the extensions given in the field below. &kplayer; will look for subtitle files in the directory where the video file is, by looking for files that have one of the extensions given by the next field and contain the name of the video file in their name. Autoloading only works in directories mounted on your file system.

Extensions

  This option lists the extensions of subtitle files that &kplayer; should automatically load and display in the video area. The extensions can be separated by commas, semicolons, colons, periods or spaces.

## Advanced section

This section contains various options that affect advanced command line parameters passed to &mplayer;, as well as interaction with &kde; I/O Slaves.

Executable path

  This option tells &kplayer; where to find the &mplayer; executable. It is either an absolute path or a name to look for in the current environment path.

Additional command line arguments

  This option gives additional options that will be passed to &mplayer; on the command line. See the &mplayer; manpage for a complete list of possible options. You can also set this option for an individual file or URL in the File Properties.

Preferred demuxer

  This option lists the available demultiplexers and lets you choose the one to be used for decoding files and streams. Auto is the recommended choice, it lets &mplayer; decide which demuxer to use automatically. If you need to tell &mplayer; to use a particular demuxer for a particular file or stream, set this option in the File Properties.

Frame drop

  If your system is too slow to play a file, &mplayer; can drop some frames so playback does not slow down. The none option disables frame dropping, soft drops less frames, and hard drops more frames and may sometimes break decoding. You can also set this option for an individual file or URL in the File Properties.

Cache

  This option lets you choose whether to use cache and set its size. The auto option lets &mplayer; choose an optimal cache size automatically, none tells &mplayer; to use no cache, and set size lets you set a specific size. You can also set this option for an individual file or URL in the File Properties.

Build new index

  This option lets you choose whether to build a new index for seeking. The yes option builds an index if the file does not have it, no tells &mplayer; not to build an index, and force tells it to always build an index. You can also choose this option for an individual file or URL in the File Properties.

Use temporary file for playing from KIOSlave

  This option lets you choose whether to use a temporary file for playing from &kde; I/O Slaves. This option has no effect for URLs passed directly to &mplayer;. You can also choose it for individual file or URL in File Properties.

Use KIOSlave for HTTP

  This option lets you choose whether to use a &kde; I/O Slave to play HTTP URLs. You can also choose this option for individual file or stream in File Properties.

Use KIOSlave for FTP

  This option lets you choose whether to use a &kde; I/O Slave to play FTP URLs. You can also choose this option for individual file or stream in File Properties.

Use KIOSlave for SMB

  This option lets you choose whether to use a &kde; I/O Slave to play Samba URLs. You can also choose this option for individual file or stream in File Properties.