YouTube playlists are a useful way to watch videos in sequence or for sharing a list of videos with others. However, at times it may be insecure to share playlists created from your personal account or inconvenient to log in into your account to create them. This guide describes how to create playlists in a single link that allows you to view your videos immediately, save them for later, or to share them with others – without logging into your YouTube account.
A YouTube playlist can be created manually by concatenating the unique videoIDs, separated by commas, to the URL:
Creating playlists manually can be inconvenient, so a way to accomplish this automatically with a script was sought. Because the Windows command-line doesn’t easily support the clipboard without 3rd part tools, AutoHotKey was used instead since it can manipulate the clipboard more easily. AutoHotKey version 1.1.32.00 was used for the script and tested on a system running WinXP.
To use the script, run it to monitor the clipboard for youtube.com/watch, youtube.com/embed/, or youtu.be; text which is used in normal, embedded, or shortened YouTube video links. The script generally ignores any other text, so in most cases, the script can be active and not interfere with normal clipboard activity.
After starting the script, a popup message appears in the system tray to alert the user that the script has started and informs the user that CNTL +Y will create the playlist link and copy it to the clipboard, CNTL + Z exits the script, and that CNTL + ALT + C clears the playlist and clipboard.
Each time a YouTube video link is copied to the clipboard, a Tray tip displays the link that was processed and how many video links in total were copied and processed. Hit OK to continue. Wait 2.5 seconds between selecting videos (when the Tray tip disappears) before selecting another video.
After selecting all your videos, use CNTL + Y to copy the final playlist to the clipboard. Another popup message (screenshot below) will appear. This popup indicates the total number of videos in the playlist, the final playlist link, how to exit the script, and reminds the user that the playlist link has been copied to the clipboard. The playlist link is ready to use by pasting it into a browser or in an email. After hitting OK you can continue adding videos or use CNTL + Z to exit, or CNTL + ALT + C to clear the playlist and clipboard. Other ways to clear everything and start over are to reload the script by right-clicking the script icon in the system tray and selecting “Reload This Script”, or just exit the script and restart.
The script can be further customized by the user as desired.
Although it requires a bit more technical effort than GUI-based applications, merging mp3 files with the command-line allows for a faster and more complete merging process and more flexibility and customization options. This guide demonstrates how to use a batch file and free Windows command-line tools to concatenate two or more mp3 files, preserve the ID3 metadata, and repair and verify the integrity of the combined file. The information in this guide was tested on system running XP SP3 32-bit and should be similar for other Windows versions.
Command-line vs GUI tools
Command-line tools generally provide more options than GUI-based tools and that’s especially true for tools working with complex SW such as media files, which can be created with many different types of codecs, containers, and formats. Most GUI-based tools use command-line tools on the back-end, but GUIs are rarely able to incorporate all the possible combinations of complex commands and options of those tools into their designs. It’s difficult to design GUI’s that can accomplish difficult tasks and still be easy to use. Because GUI-based application designs are often driven primarily for ease-of-use and wide appeal, functionality and complexity are necessarily reduced in order to accomplish those goals. Command-line tools are the opposite, they are more difficult to learn and to use, but are generally able to accomplish a wider and more sophisticated range of tasks.
Command-line
Advantages – faster execution, specialized tasks can be accomplished by executing a single script, flexibility/customization (adding tools, changing options, etc.), free, uses less system resources
Disadvantages– requires coding or understanding code, takes more time and effort to configure, less intuitive
GUI-based
Advantages – quicker learning curve, more intuitive visually and for multitasking, more complete viewing and listing of information, easier switching between commands
Disadvantages – slower execution (additional programs are often required for processing ID3 tags or to repair VBR headers), requires more system resources (video, drivers, mouse, etc.), limited options for advanced tasks (especially for free versions), limited availability of easy-to-use but highly configurable applicaions
Command-line Tools for this Guide
The command-line tools used in this guide are:
MP3Wrap (ver 0.5) – Wraps two or more mp3 files into a single file. The command-line executable is mp3wrap.exe.
ID3 mass tagger (ver 0.78) – Copies the ID3 tag to the merged file. This is the download link for the older freeware version, which is the version used in this guide. A newer version (1.21.25) is available here for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, but it non-free shareware. It includes a GUI and a command-line version.
MP3Val (ver 0.1.8) – Validates and fixes MPEG stream, frame, and header errors. Includes both GUI and command-line versions. The command-line executable is mp3val.exe.
Because MP3Wrap strips and replaces the ID3 tags with its own information, ID3 is used to copy the tags from one of the files. MP3Val repairs any errors in the pre-merged files copied into the merged file or produced during the merging process.
Command-line Examples:
Command-line syntax useage for this guide and in the batch script:
Merge Files
The batch file provides an option to use either the Windows command-line or MP3wrap to merge the files.
The command to merge mp3 files with Windows command-line:
If using the provided batch file (see below), two steps are required.
1. Prepare the mp3 files
Ensure that the mp3 files to be merged have the same frequency, bitrate, and MPEG coding and layering. Otherwise, the output file may contain non-apparent errors, even if no errors were displayed during the merging process.
2. Drag and drop the mp3 files onto the batch file to merge
Drag and drop the mp3 files all at once and in the order to be processed by the batch script. Rename/renumber the files as necessary to obtain the right order.
Batch File Processing Steps:
Display the order of the mp3 files to be processed
Ask the user to select between merging the files with the Windows command-line or MP3Wrap
Merge the mp3 files into a temp file, “temp_MP3WRAP.mp3”
Transfer the ID3 tags from the first mp3 file to the temp file with ID3
Fix and validate the temp file with MP3Val
Rename the temp file to the first mp3 file and append “_merged” to the file name
Exit
Example Batch File:
Ensure that the file extension is changed to “bat” before using.
This guide demonstrates how to lock cells in Excel worksheets to protect formulas or other data from being changed, while allowing selected cells to remain unlocked. This is useful to prevent accidental changes to the worksheet and to enhance navigability by allowing users to select only the modifiable cells. The information in this guide was tested on a Windows XP system using Microsoft Excel ver. 2003. The steps in this guide should be similar for other versions of Excel. An example worksheet provided for this guide is provided here.
Steps to Protect Excel Worksheets
1. Use the Control or Shift key to select individual cells that are to remain unprotected and modifiable by the user. The screenshot below shows the selected cells in grey. All unselected cells will be protected.
2. Right-click over one of the selected cells and select Format Cells… from the right-click menu.
3. In the Format Cell dialog that appears, select the Protection Tab and unselect both the Locked and Hidden options and then click OK.
4. From the application menu, select Tools->Protection->Protect Sheet…
5. In the Protect Sheet Dialog that appears, ensure that Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells a the top and Select unlocked cells from the list are selected and then hit OK.
That’s all there is to it. The Tab key can be used to move between the selectable cells. All other cells are protected. To make changes to the worksheet, select Tools->Protection->Unprotect Sheet…
Note (11/2017): DiscoverArt no longer appears to be available. Instead, use the Album Art Downloader option below.
Useful information from Tinyapps.org that shows how to retrieve and embed cover art into audio files with MP3Tag and the command-line application DisCoverArt. The original Tinyapps blog post is reproduced in its entirety below:
If you have a huge MP3 collection and just want to batch download and embed cover art without verifying each cover individually (and iTunes’ “Get Album Artwork” is insufficient):
Enter path to music directory under “Search for audio files in:”
Click Search
Click “Select all albums with missing artwork”
Click “Get Artwork for Selection…”
Click “Automatically download and save results for the remaining queued searches”
Click “Download and save results automatically”
Click “Start”
When the process is complete, embed the album art with Mp3tag by starting with step 14 above. The only change is in step 15, where you’ll need to use Folder.jpg as the format string.
This guide provides everything needed to create a customizable multi-boot USB flash drive in Windows with high resolution menus and customized splash screens. It provides a framework for creating a basic but functional multi-boot flash drive using Syslinux 6.xx as the primary bootloader. Basic menu configuration files and splash screen examples are provided. Experienced users shouldn’t find it difficult to follow this guide to create a ready-to-use bootable flash drive that can be customized to their needs. Users should already have some familiarity with Syslinux, installing Linux distros, and with formatting and partitioning flash drives.
Syslinux provides two menu systems, the Simple Menu System and the Advanced Menu System. The advanced system must be compiled while the simple system includes the ready-to-use vesamenu.c32 and menu.c32 modules. This guide uses the vesamenu.c32 module.
Splash Screen Resolutions
Syslinux 6.xx can use splash screens in the .png or jpg formats at resolutions from 640×480 up to whatever is supported by the system. If the flash drive is going to be used on multiple systems, it would be best to use a typical resolution such as 800×600 that would work across most systems.
Modules
Since version 5.xx, modules are no longer stand alone or need additional libraries to work. A description of the changes can be found on the Syslinux Wiki at https://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/Library_modules. In most cases, Syslinux will alert you of any additional libraries required when you try to use them.
(U)EFI (Unified/Extensible Firmware Interface)
Although there has been a lot of hype about (U)EFI (Unified/Extensible Firmware Interface) in general and support for (U)EFI began with Syslinux 6.xx, the (U)EFI modules are still fairly new, have a number of unresolved issues, and are not widely used at this time. UEFI in Syslinux is buggy and has problems on both Windows and Linux. Arch Linux describes some of the more relevant ones at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/syslinux#Limitations_of_UEFI_Syslinux. Some of the issues with UEFI are:
UEFI Syslinux does not support chainloading other EFI applications like UEFI Shell or Windows Boot Manager.
UEFI Syslinux does not boot in Virtual Machines like QEMU/OVMF or VirtualBox or VMware and in some UEFI emulation environments like DUET.
Memdisk is not available for UEFI.
UEFI Syslinux application syslinux.efi cannot be signed by sbsign (from sbsigntool) for UEFI Secure Boot.
Using TAB to edit kernel parameters in UEFI Syslinux menu leads to garbaged display (text on top of one-another).
Other Syslinux issues/limitations:
Using Syslinux 6.02 on BTRFS volumes corrupts the superblock.
Syslinux cannot access files from partitions other than its own.
Using the memdisk module to boot most ISOs is often difficult or impossible.
Syslinux.org has admitted to these limitations and has often recommended other bootloaders such as GRUB, Grub4Dos, or Plop Boot Manager to compliment Syslinux. In spite of this, Syslinux remains one of the most functional and popular bootloaders not only for flash drives, but for other bootable devices like CDs, for most operating systems, and for chainloading partitions and hard drives. It’s very flexible and is an excellent choice as the primary bootloader for most situations. And by adding another bootloader such as Grub4Dos, this greatly enhances the flash drive’s booting options.
Creating a Multi-boot Flash Drive steps:
Format the flash drive
Install Syslinux 6.xx
Install modules and files
Install or create splash screens
Customize menu configuration files (optional)
1. Format the Flash Drive
Format the flash drive with FAT16 or FAT32.
2. Install Syslinux 6.xx
Download and unzip the latest .zip version of Syslinux 6.xx from Kernel.org. The file size should be about 12mB before unzipping. Open a cmd window and cd to C:\syslinux-6.xx\bios\win32. Type the following to install Syslinux to the flash drive where x is your flash drive:
syslinux.exe -sfma x:
This installs ldlinux.c32 and ldlinux.sys to the flash drive.
3. Install Modules and Files
Modules
Look for and copy the BIOS versions of the modules shown in the directory tree for the root of the flash drive. An easy way to locate the modules is to use something like AgentRansack. Modules have a .c32 extension (except memdisk) and are located in various folders in the C:\syslinux-6.xx\bios\com32 directory or C:\syslinux-6.xx\bios directory (for memdisk). Place all of the modules in the root directory of your flash drive. Copy the following modules:
The help text, menu.cfg, syslinux.cfg and other configuration files required can be downloaded from the configfiles download link below. Right click and using “save target link as” or similar (depending on your browser) to download it and then unzip and extract its files to the root of the flash drive.
Download the latest version of Grub4Dos from grub4dos-chenall. Extract the grub.exe and menu.lst files to the root of the flash drive.
4. Install or Create Splash Screens
Install ready-made Splash Screens
To get started, splash screens tested to work with the configuration files are provided below. Just unzip them to the splashimages folder. After installing the splash screen images, the flash drive is ready to test or use.
Nine (9) splashscreen files are provided. Download them as an album and extract to the splashimages folder. Slightly change the filenames by removing the number and dash so the filenames match those used in the menu configuration files.
The correct splashscreen filenames are:
cave_800x600_14.png
fallleaf_800x600_14.png
grassyhill_800x600_14.jpg
mist_800x600_14.png
nightlight_800x600_24.jpg
ny_800x600_14.jpg
road_800x600_14.png
Spruce_800x600_14.png
winter_800x600_14.jpg.
The link below displays a directory of what the flash drive contents should look like at this point:
Create and Install Customized Splash Screens (optional)
To create your own menu graphics, use the batch file below or another graphics program to create .png or .jpg format splash screens from your image files. Since the menus are already configured with light text, you may want to use a dark color to start off with. Generally, 14 colors works nearly every time and renders more quickly.
The batch file below is configured to use ImageMagick portable installed to the Utilities folder. If ImageMagick is already installed, simply change the line set IMdir=C:\Utilities\ImageMagick\ to your ImageMagick location. Use double quotes if the path contains spaces (e.g., set “IMdir=C:\Program Files\ImageMagick\”). Be sure to use the latest version of ImageMagick since the newest version has improved image conversion options and processing.
If creating a customized splash screen, place it in the splashimages folder in the flash drive and change the file name in the appropriate menu configuration file(s) as below so it can be used on the next boot:
MENU BACKGROUND /splashimages/your image name.jpg
5. Customize Menu Configuration Files (optional)
After the flash drive is working properly, try to install bootable applications or Linux distros by modifying the boot options in the menu configuration files for Syslinux or in menu.lst for Grub4Dos. Some menu label entries are already provided in the Syslinux menus that were verified to work such as Slax, Grub4Dos, and a few others.
That’s it. If anything gets messed up, everything can just be reinstalled and started again from the beginning. Good luck.
A YouTube playlist can be created manually by concatenating the unique videoIDs, separated by commas, to the URL:
