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ASX Files for Faceplates

The last requirement for a Microsoft® Windows Media™ Player faceplate is a collection of media files to play. The playback of these files is organized in an Advanced Streaming Redirector File (called an ASX file, because the file name extension is .asx). These files not only specify the playback order of media files, but also contain information and related links for each file.

While a file is playing, your script can retrieve information specified in the ASX file through the GetMediaInfoString method. This method can access the AUTHOR, COPYRIGHT, TITLE, and other information for the current clip or show.

An ASX file can also store this information in PARAM tags for each media file entry. In this case, use the GetMediaParameter method to access the information. This method is more flexible than GetMediaInfoString, because it allows you to retrieve information for the entire playlist, not just the current clip.

The names and information contained in PARAM tags are determined entirely by the creator of the ASX file, and can be used with custom scripts for any purpose.

The sample ASX file below shows the use of PARAM tags within ASX entries.

<ASX VERSION="3.0">
    <TITLE>Example Media Player Show</TITLE>
    <PARAM NAME="Director" VALUE="Jane D." />

    <ENTRY>
        <TITLE>Example Clip</TITLE>
        <REF HREF="http://samples.microsoft.com/media.asf" />
        <PARAM NAME="Title" VALUE="Example Clip" />
        <PARAM NAME="Location" VALUE="North America" />
        <PARAM NAME="Release Date" VALUE="March 1998" />
    </ENTRY>

    <ENTRY>
        <TITLE>Another Clip</TITLE>
        <REF HREF="http://samples.microsoft.com/more_media.asf" />
        <PARAM NAME="Title" VALUE="Another Clip" />
        <PARAM NAME="Location" VALUE="Japan" />
        <PARAM NAME="Release Date" VALUE="December 1996" />
    </ENTRY>
</ASX>

Note that the title information for each entry is repeated inside a PARAM tag, making all the information for each entry available to the GetMediaParameter method.

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