Installation (HD)

 INSTALL & SETUP (HD)

A. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

 

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• foobar2000 v2 32-bit
• A monitor with at least HD (1366x768) resolution. An FHD monitor (1920x1080) is recommended.

 

B. OPTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

 

• Organized Music Library with Correct Tag / Metadata

JAM3 works best with an organized library (such as album folders located inside the artist folder) and depends on the tracks tag/metadata to display the name of the title, artist, album, etc.

• Internet Connection

Some components rely on your connection to fetch data from the Internet (e.g., lyrics, artist biography, artworks, etc.).

• Last.fm Account

JAM3 offers great Last.fm integration. It's recommended that you connect your last.fm account to sync your data.

C. STORAGE ACCESS

JAM3 stores lyrics and artists' data on your drive. While lyrics and biography files take only a few KBs each, pictures can take a few to tens of MBs depending on the source..

D. FOOBAR2000 INSTALLATION

Download foobar2000 v2 32-bit from http://www.foobar2000.org/download.

It's recommended that you download the latest version available.

Install foobar2000. Follow the instruction on the installer and choose standard or portable mode.

E. THEME INSTALLATION

• Extract the zip archive you have downloaded.

• Copy all folders to: 

• Standard Installation: foobar2000 profile folder.

(Type “%appdata%\foobar2000-v2” on the Windows Explorer address bar)

 

• Portable Installation: foobar2000 installation folder. 

• Open the “fonts“ folder and install all the fonts (.TTF Files). 

• Run foobar2000. If the user interface options window appears, choose “Columns UI“. 

• From here, the foobar2000 interface should change to JAM3. 

 

Note:

The theme may look disorganized on the first run. This simply can be fixed by playing an audio file. You can open one of your audio files now or proceed to the next step.

The default font sizes are optimized for an FHD (1080p) monitor resolution with 100% DPI (scaling). If you don’t use both settings, the “Font Settings” section in this guide will help you to adjust the font sizes.

F. SETUP

• Adding Music Folders.

1. Click the "Library" button on the Settings page
2. Add your music folder(s), then click OK/Apply

 

• Pointing to Artist Pictures Folders (Standard Installation only)

1. On the Preferences window, Go to the Extended Variable menu.
2. Click the “Edit“ button on the “foo_user_path“ variable: 
3. Replace "<your_username>" with your Windows username 

This is required to show artists pictures on the theme.

G. ADDITIONAL SETUP

This step is only required if you want to activate 3rd-party sources within the theme.

• Love/unlove playing track and Import playcounts (Last.fm)

1. Go to Preferences -> Tools -> Last.fm Playcount Sync
2. Fill in your last.fm username
3. Click "Authorise"

 

• Import Loved Tracks and Top Tracks as Playlists (Last.fm)

1. Go to Preferences -> Tools -> Soft Playlists
2. Type your last.fm username and password -> click "Apply"
3. Go to Preferences -> Tools -> Extended Variables
4. Edit the "Lastfm_username" value with your Last.fm username
5. Enable "Dynamic Source" in the Settings page and import the information on the Library page.

 

•  Activate Discogs

1. Choose Discogs as the tag editor in the Settings page
2. Go to Track Details page and switch to "Discogs" tab
3. Click the Configuration button and follow the steps in the "OAuth" tab

H. FONT SETTINGS

JAM3 is tested in various Windows resolutions and text scaling settings. The default font sizes are optimized for an FHD resolution with 100% text scaling. If you’re using different settings, please refer to this table on how to change the font sizes.

1. Go to Preferences -> Tools -> Extended Variables.
2. Change the values of the names listed below based on your monitor resolution and DPI settings.

FONT NAME	HD (1366x768)		FHD (1920x1080)				QHD (2560x1440)
	100%	125%	100%	125%	150%	175%	100%	125%	150%	175%	200%	225%
np-title	14	9	15	11	7	5	15	9	7	5	4	3
np-artist	10	6	11	7	5	4	11	6	5	4	3	2
np-info	6	4	7	4	3	2	7	5	3	2	2	1
ui-header	15	11	14	10	7	5	15	10	7	5	4	3
ui-text	7	5	7	5	3	2	7	5	3	2	2	1
bsod-text	10	6	10	6	4	3	10	6	4	3	3	2
elp-text	7	5	7	5	4	3	7	5	4	3	2	2
elp-love	14	12	14	12	10	8	14	12	10	8	8	8
elp-star	7	6	7	6	5	4	7	6	5	4	4	4

 

Note:

• Any changes within the Extended Variable options take effect after restarting foobar2000.
• These values are only for reference. You can increase or decrease the number (thus, the font sizes) based on your liking.
• Font settings in foobar2000 should follow your Windows settings, not the other way around.

 

I. ADD-ONS

 

JAM3 offers a free add-on pack that contains extra themes and other features. Please check your download page and read the instructions on how to install it.

 

 

 

J. FOOBAR2000 ICON

There are icons inside the “skins” folder, and you can use one of them to replace the default foobar2000 icon.

H. RELOAD THE THEME

In conditions where you need to reset the theme interface to its default state, you can load the “JAM3 HD v3.FCL” that is included in the archive. Please follow these steps:

1. Go to Preferences
2. Expand the “Display” section on the left side of the window
3. Click on “Columns UI”
4. Click the “Import Configuration” button
5. Browse to where you saved the FCL file and click the “Open” button 

I. UPDATE THE THEME

Unless instructed in the update's read-me file, you just need to reload the FCL with the same steps as mentioned in the Reload the Theme section.

If extra steps are required, they also will be mentioned in the readme file.

J. CHANGE THE INACTIVE WINDOW TITLE BAR COLOR

This guide will change the color of the title bar to match the theme color, or any color you prefer.

This guide involves editing the Registry:

• Incorrect edits will cause your PC to malfunction.
• It will change the color in all apps, not just foobar2000.
• I’m not responsible for any harm caused. If you are unsure, do not do this!

Follow these steps:

1. Open Registry Editor with Win+R then type “Regedit.”
2. Navigate to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM.”
3. Double click on the “AccentColor” entry and copy the value data.
4. Create new entry with right-click -> New -> DWORD (32-bit) value.
5. Name the new entry to “AccentColorInactive”.
6. Open the new entry and paste the value from step #3 (or any color in hex code) to the Value data box, then click OK.
7. Changes should take effect without restarting Windows.

Source: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/enable-colored-title-bar-inactive-windows-windows-10