Foo Uie Trackinfo Mod: Optimize Your Foobar2000 Interface

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foo_uie_trackinfo_mod (Track Info Panel Mod) is a highly customizable legacy UI component for the foobar2000 audio player. It works alongside the Columns UI (foo_ui_columns) interface layout. It enables users to display dynamic text information about the currently playing track—such as artist, album, title, and bitrate—using custom formatting, multiple font engines, and pixel-precise positioning. Step 1: Install the Component

Before starting, ensure that foobar2000 is set up with the Columns UI user interface plugin, as Track Info Mod requires it to integrate into your player layouts.

Download the foo_uie_trackinfo_mod.dll file from a trusted repository like Softpedia or the HydrogenAudio Wiki.

Open the foobar2000 Preferences menu by pressing Ctrl + P (or via File > Preferences). Navigate to Components in the left sidebar.

Click the Install… button at the bottom right, select your downloaded .dll file, and hit Open. Click Apply, and restart foobar2000 when prompted. Step 2: Add the Mod to Your Layout

Once installed, you must add the empty panel container to your user interface:

Go back to Preferences and expand Display to find Columns UI. Switch to the Layout tab.

Right-click on a layout splitter/container node where you want the info to live. Select Insert Panel > Panels > Track Info Mod.

Click Apply to see the empty panel surface appear on your player window. Step 3: Configure Basic Properties

Right-click anywhere on the newly added panel inside your main foobar2000 window and select Settings. The configuration screen features basic adjustment tabs:

Font/Colors: Define the base text appearance and fallback color schemes.

Padding & Margins: Use the vertical and horizontal padding options to dictate how close text elements can render to the edge of the panel borders.

Line Spacing: Set the exact pixel height gap separating text lines.

Behavior Flags: Toggle “Update every second” if you intend to track dynamic data fields like %playback_time%. If you only display static text like %artist%, turn it off to optimize CPU usage.

Edge Style: Set borders to None, Sunken, or Grey to dictate UI blending. Step 4: Customize Code via Title Formatting

The true strength of the Mod lies in its text canvas, which parses standard foobar2000 Title Formatting syntax alongside its own native extensions. In the configuration window’s main text field, you can paste scripting elements to build complex layouts. Overriding System Fonts and Alignment

Unlike static boxes, you can mix multiple formatting tags in a single script block:

\(font(Name, Size, Options, Color)</code> overrides the default panel font. Options include styles like <code>bold</code>, <code>italic</code>, or <code>nocleartype</code> (useful if font rendering looks too fuzzy).</p> <p><code>\)align(H, V) handles horizontal and vertical orientation constraints (Left, Center, Right / Top, Middle, Bottom). Absolute Positioning and Images

Track Info Mod handles absolute pixel arrays using coordinate offsets:

\(drawrect(X, Y, W, H, R-G-B, [Options])</code> paints bounding boxes, custom dividing lines, or backdrop solids.</p> <p><code>\)imageabs(X, Y, W, H, path) positions cover art images dynamically relative to your layout container borders. Structural Scripting Example

You can paste code resembling the block below into your customization panel to construct a clean, multi-font informational readout:

// Set a clean background block \(drawrect(0,0,%_width%,%_height%,30-30-30,30-30-30) // Center-align the Track Title in a bold, large font \)align(center,top) \(font(Calibri,14,bold,255-255-255) %title% // Shift downward to display the Artist name \)align(center,middle) \(font(Calibri,11,italic,200-200-200) by %artist% // Bottom right metadata display \)align(right,bottom) $font(Consolas,9,,120-120-120) %codec% | %bitrate% kbps Use code with caution. Pro-Tips for Advanced Customization

Premade Community Presets: Writing custom rendering engines from scratch can be labor-intensive. Many users utilize archived community configurations by visiting the HydrogenAudio Trackinfo Strings Repository to copy text configurations and paste them directly into their panels.

Text Overflows: If text strings routinely overflow past the width of your player box, toggle Default line ending settings to Wrap (pushes overflow text to a new line) or Scroll (creates a moving ticker marquee effect across your panel view).

If you would like to fine-tune your foobar2000 UI further, please provide: Foobar DJ Custom Settings – theatre of noise

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