Foobar2000
To display album art in Foobar2000, first, add the cover art panel to the user interface. Click the “View” menu, select “Layout,” and then choose the “Quick Setup | Visualization | Cover Art | Tabs” option. Click “OK” to confirm.
Next, ensure the art panel is set to display the artwork. To add album artwork to your songs, click “Add Folder” in the “File” menu and load the relevant tracks. Locate and save the desired artwork, preferably in the same folder as your audio files.
Remember to check within Foobar2000 under “File > Preferences > Display” and “File > Preferences > Advanced > Album Art” for additional art display settings and preferences.
Installation of Foobar2000
Before you start displaying album art in Foobar2000, you need to install the software on your computer. To do this, visit the official Foobar2000 website and click the download link. Choose the appropriate version for your operating system, such as Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Once the installation file is downloaded, double-click it to begin the installation process. Follow the on-screen instructions, selecting your preferred language and the components you wish to install. Your chosen components will depend on the features you want to use in Foobar2000.
After the installation is completed, launch the Foobar2000 application on your computer. You are now ready to start customizing your Foobar2000 experience and display album art for your music collection.
Navigating the Foobar2000 Interface
Menu Bar
The Menu Bar is located at the top of the Foobar2000 window. It contains the main options, such as “File”, “Edit”, “View”, “Playback”, “Library”, “Help”, and more. Click on any menu item to access its functions and settings. You can customize the foobar2000 interface, add components, manage playlists, and control playback through the options available in the menu bar.
Playback Controls
To control the music playback on Foobar2000, you will find the Playback Controls located at the top left by default. These buttons include:
- Play/Pause: Allows you to play or pause the current track.
- Stop: Stops playback entirely.
- Next Track: Skips to the next track in the playlist.
- Previous Track: This goes back to the previous track in the playlist.
In addition, you can also find the Volume Control near the playback buttons, enabling you to adjust the volume to your desired level.
Playlist View
The Playlist View is the central area of the Foobar2000 interface. It displays all the tracks in the active playlist with columns such as “Title”, “Artist”, “Album”, etc., providing an overview of your music collection. To create a new playlist, go to the “File” menu, and select “New Playlist” or press Ctrl + N. You can perform different actions on the tracks, like moving them around, sorting them, or removing tracks from a playlist using the right-click context menu.
When interacting with the Foobar2000 interface to display album art, utilize the Menu Bar to access the “Preferences” and configure album art settings through “Display” options. You can also use the Playback Controls to navigate through your music collection and verify the album art is correctly displayed in the Playlist View.
Adding Music to Foobar2000
To begin displaying album artwork in foobar2000, first, you need to add your music files. Open the foobar2000 application and click on “File” in the top left corner. From the dropdown menu, select “Add Folder.” Browse through your computer and choose the folder containing your music files. Click “Select Folder” to add the selected folder to foobar2000.
Once your music files are loaded, you can customize the display settings. Click on “File,” navigate to “Preferences,” followed by “Display.” Here, you can configure options related to album art display, such as size, padding, and background colors. Make sure to click “Apply” after making any changes to save them.
Now, with your music files added and album artwork display settings configured, you should see album art appearing alongside your songs in the foobar2000 interface.
Creating a Playlist
To display album art in foobar2000, start by creating a playlist. Open foobar2000, and click File > Add Folder to add your music tracks. With your tracks loaded, you can now use a custom playlist component to display album art. Choose from options like SimPlaylist, EsPlaylist, or Columns UI Playlist View. For example, with SimPlaylist, navigate to Preferences > Display > SimPlaylist > Groups, and select a grouping preset. Ensure you select Image/Text and pick an image type – artist, front, back, or disc. This should display the album art in your playlist.
Album Art Display Settings
Locating Album Art Settings
In foobar2000, you can find the album art settings in two different screens: File > Preferences > Display and File > Preferences > Advanced > Album Art. These settings will help you customize the display of your album art images.
Setting Display Preferences
Under the Display settings, you can set options for displaying your album art in the player. Right-click on the art panel in the foobar2000 window and choose “Front Cover.” This will ensure that the cover art image is displayed. Additionally, right-click on the image again and select “Correct Aspect Ratio” to adjust the aspect ratio of the cover art image.
In the Advanced settings, you can configure specific preferences for album art images, such as their size and details. It is recommended to use appropriate image sizes for the best display results.
Troubleshooting Album Art Display Issues
Refreshing Album Art Cache
If your album art is not displaying correctly in foobar2000, you may first try refreshing the album art cache. This can be done by selecting the appropriate album or track, right-clicking, and choosing Reload album art. This may help resolve issues related to outdated or missing album art displays.
Adding Album Art Manually
If the album art is still not displaying or you prefer to use a specific image, you can add album art manually. To do this:
- Go to File > Preferences > Display > Album art.
- In the Front Cover tab, define a name for your album art (e.g., FoobarArt).* This name will be used for your album art files, such as FoobarArt.jpg or FoobarArt.png.
- Optionally, you may adjust the settings in Advanced > Display > Album art > Embedded vs external to toggle between displaying embedded album art and external album art files.
By following these steps, you should be able to resolve most album art display issues within foobar2000.
Last Updated : 09 September, 2023
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
