Lesson 20: Creating an Audio Player in VB6

Transform your VB6 skills into building a professional music player application

Key Takeaway

By leveraging VB6's Multimedia Control and file system components, you can create a powerful audio player that supports multiple formats and provides an intuitive user interface.

Welcome to Lesson 20 of our Visual Basic 6 Tutorial! Building on your DVD player knowledge from Lesson 19, you'll now learn how to create a professional audio player application. This player will allow users to browse their storage devices, select audio files, and play them with full control over playback.

20.1 Essential Components

To create an audio player, we'll use several key components beyond the Multimedia Control:

File Browsing Controls

DriveListBox, DirListBox, and FileListBox for navigating files

Audio Format Support

Supports WAV, MID, and other audio formats

Playback Controls

Custom buttons for play, pause, stop, and file selection

20.1.1 Required Controls

Our audio player interface includes these essential controls:

1ComboBox

For selecting audio file types (WAV, MID, etc.)

2DriveListBox

To select available drives on the system

3DirListBox

To navigate through directories and subdirectories

4FileListBox

To display available audio files

5TextBox

To display the selected file path

6MMControl

For actual audio playback (can be invisible)

Audio Player Interface
Figure 20.1: The Audio Player Interface

20.2 Building the Audio Player

Our audio player follows a logical workflow to provide a seamless user experience:

1Select File Type

User chooses the audio format they want to play

2Choose Drive

User selects the storage device containing audio files

3Browse Directories

User navigates to the folder containing audio files

4Select File

User chooses an audio file from the list

5Control Playback

User plays, pauses, or stops the audio

AUDIO PLAYER

Now Playing: Select a file...

20.2.1 Implementing the Code

The core functionality is implemented through event handlers for each control. Here's the complete code for our audio player:

AudioPlayer.vb
Private Sub Form_Load() 
    ' Center the form on screen
    Left = (Screen.Width - Width) \ 2 
    Top = (Screen.Height - Height) \ 2 
    
    ' Initialize file type options
    Combo1.Text = "*.wav"
    Combo1.AddItem "*.wav"
    Combo1.AddItem "*.mid"
    Combo1.AddItem "All files"
End Sub 

Private Sub Combo1_Change() 
    ' Set file pattern based on selection
    If Combo1.ListIndex = 0 Then
        File1.Pattern = ("*.wav")
    ElseIf Combo1.ListIndex = 1 Then
        File1.Pattern = ("*.mid")
    Else
        File1.Pattern = ("*.*")
    End If
End Sub 

Private Sub Dir1_Change() 
    ' Update file list when directory changes
    File1.Path = Dir1.Path
    If Combo1.ListIndex = 0 Then
        File1.Pattern = ("*.wav")
    ElseIf Combo1.ListIndex = 1 Then
        File1.Pattern = ("*.mid")
    Else
        File1.Pattern = ("*.*")
    End If
End Sub 

Private Sub Drive1_Change() 
    ' Update directory when drive changes
    Dir1.Path = Drive1.Drive
End Sub 

Private Sub File1_Click() 
    ' Handle file selection
    If Right(File1.Path, 1) <> "\" Then
        filenam = File1.Path & "\" & File1.FileName
    Else
        filenam = File1.Path & File1.FileName
    End If
    Text1.Text = filenam
    ' Update now playing display
    songTitle.Caption = File1.FileName
End Sub 

Private Sub play_Click() 
    ' Play the selected audio file
    If Combo1.ListIndex = 0 Then
        AudioPlayer.DeviceType = "WaveAudio"
    ElseIf Combo1.ListIndex = 1 Then
        AudioPlayer.DeviceType = "Sequencer"
    End If
    AudioPlayer.FileName = Text1.Text
    AudioPlayer.Command = "Open"
    AudioPlayer.Command = "Play"
End Sub 

Private Sub stop_Click() 
    ' Stop audio playback
    If AudioPlayer.Mode = 524 Then ' 524 means not open
        Exit Sub
    End If
    
    If AudioPlayer.Mode <> 525 Then ' 525 means stopped
        AudioPlayer.Wait = True
        AudioPlayer.Command = "Stop"
    End If
    AudioPlayer.Wait = True
    AudioPlayer.Command = "Close"
End Sub 

20.2.2 Key Functionality Explained

The audio player relies on several important event handlers:

File System Navigation

The DriveListBox, DirListBox, and FileListBox work together to allow users to browse for audio files.

Drive1_Change → Dir1_Change → File1_Click

Playback Control

The play button handles different audio formats and initiates playback.

AudioPlayer.DeviceType = "WaveAudio" ' For WAV files AudioPlayer.DeviceType = "Sequencer" ' For MIDI files

Stopping Playback

The stop button properly closes the audio device to free resources.

AudioPlayer.Command = "Stop" AudioPlayer.Command = "Close"

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you've learned how to create a professional audio player application in VB6:

File System Controls

Using DriveListBox, DirListBox, and FileListBox for navigation

Audio Playback

Implementing play and stop functionality for different audio formats

User Interface

Creating an intuitive interface for browsing and playing audio files

Event Handling

Coordinating control events for seamless user experience

Important Note

For the audio player to work with various formats, users must have the appropriate codecs installed. The application will use the system's default audio playback capabilities.

Practice Exercises

Test your audio player programming skills with these exercises:

Exercise 1: Playlist Functionality

Add a playlist feature that allows users to queue multiple songs for continuous playback.

Exercise 2: Progress Bar

Implement a progress bar that shows the current playback position and allows seeking.

Exercise 3: Volume Control

Add a volume control slider that adjusts playback volume in real-time.

Exercise 4: MP3 Support

Extend the player to support MP3 files using additional libraries or API calls.

Exercise 5: Equalizer

Implement a basic equalizer with bass and treble controls.

Next Lesson

Continue your VB6 journey with Lesson 21: Creating a Picture Viewer Application.

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