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< title > LameXP - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)< / title >
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< h3 > LameXP - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)< / h3 > < br >
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< a name = "6a0b023d" > < b > What is LameXP ???< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP is a graphical user-interface for a number of audio encoders. It was developed to support a huge< br >
number of input formats. File formats are detected reliably using MediaInfo. Compressed audio formats are< br >
decoded to uncompressed Wave files using suitable CLI audio decoders. Furthermore LameXP allows batch< br >
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processing of multiple audio files. Multi-threading is implemented by processing several audio files< br >
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concurrently. All the third-party tools incorporated in LameXP are listed in the "About" dialog. The Nero AAC< br >
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encoder cannot be redistributed due to licensing issues; it is available as a free download from the public< br >
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Nero web-site. Note: LameXP does NOT use/need any "external" audio decoders. It neither requires nor supports< br >
any ACM Codecs or DirectShow/DMO filters! And it will NOT install anything of that kind on your system.< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "be0a8459" > < b > What platforms does LameXP run on?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
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LameXP is currently being developed and tested on the following platforms:< br > < ul >
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< li > Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 3
< li > Microsoft Windows 7, 32-Bit and 64-Bit editions
< li > Microsoft Windows 2000, Service Pack 4< / ul >
< br >
The following platforms should work as well, but aren't tested extensively:< br > < ul >
< li > Microsoft Windows Vista, 32-Bit and 64-Bit editions
< li > Microsoft Windows Server 2008
< li > Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
< li > GNU/Linux using Wine (native Linux version planned)< / ul >
< br >
The following platforms are NOT supported any longer:< br > < ul >
< li > Microsoft Windows 95
< li > Microsoft Windows 98
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< li > Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition< / ul >
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< br > < br >
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< a name = "29065b86" > < b > What output formats (encoders) does LameXP support?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
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Currently the following output formats are supported by LameXP:< br > < ul >
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< li > MPEG Audio-Layer III (MP3), using the LAME encoder [built-in]
< li > Ogg Vorbis, using the OggEnc2/libvorbis encoder [built-in]
< li > Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), using Nero AAC encoder [available as separate download]
< li > Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) [built-in]
< li > Uncompressed PCM / Waveform Audio File (WAV/RIFF)< / ul >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "4e398a46" > < b > What input formats (decoders) does LameXP support?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
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Currently the following input formats are supported by LameXP:< br > < ul >
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< li > AC-3 (ATSC A/52), using Valib decoder [built-in]
< li > Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), using FAAD decoder [built-in]
< li > Apple Lossless (ALAC)
< li > Apple/SGI AIFF
< li > Digital Theater System, using Valib decoder [built-in]
< li > Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
< li > Microsoft ADPCM
< li > Monkey's Audio (APE)
< li > MPEG Audio-Layer I (MP1), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
< li > MPEG Audio-Layer II (MP2), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
< li > MPEG Audio-Layer III (MP3), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
< li > Musepack
< li > Shorten
< li > Speex
< li > Sun/NeXT Au
< li > The True Audio (TTA)
< li > Uncompressed PCM / Waveform Audio File (WAV/RIFF)
< li > WavPack Hybrid Lossless Audio
< li > Windows Media Audio (WMA), using NCH Software decoder [available as separate download]< / ul >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "96205e91" > < b > My anti-virus program raises an alarm when I try to download/install/launch LameXP. Why is that?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
Occasionally your anti-virus program may mistakenly detect "malware" (virus, trojan, worm, etc.) in some of< br >
the files here. This is called a "false-positive" and the files are actually innocent/clean. It's an error in< br >
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your specific anti-virus software. In case you encounter such problems, goto < a href = "http://www.virustotal.com/" target = "_blank" > http://www.virustotal.com/< / a > and< br >
check the file with multiple anti-virus engines! Moreover take care with results like "suspicious", "generic"< br >
or "packed". Those are *not* real malware detections, they are just wild speculation.< br >
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< br >
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Apparently anti-virus programs tend to suspect installers/uninstaller created with NSIS. Furthermore some< br >
anti-virus programs blindly suspect all UPX'd (packed) executables of being malware. Obviously this is a< br >
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stupid generalization, so please ignore those warnings! Last but not least: Always keep in mind that this is< br >
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OpenSource software. If you don't trust the people providing the pre-compiled binaries, download the source< br >
code, search the code for "malicious" functions (good luck ^^) and compile your own binary.< br >
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< br >
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DON'T SUBMIT ANY VIRUS REPORTS, UNLESS YOU HAVE VERIFIED THE INFECTION WITH MULTIPLE ANTI-VIRUS ENGINES!< br > < br >
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< br > < br >
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< a name = "fd53d98a" > < b > Who created LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP was written from the scratch by LoRd_MuldeR < MuldeR2@GMX.de> . However it has to be noted that LameXP< br >
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uses a number of third-party tools, which have been created by the individual authors. Moreover various< br >
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people have contributed LameXP translations. Please see the "About" dialog for details!< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "de1c5e44" > < b > What license is LameXP released under?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP is free software. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public< br >
License (GPL) as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your< br >
option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY< br >
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.< br >
< br >
Please see the < a href = "http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html" target = "_blank" > GNU General Public License< / a > for more details!< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "303e5fa7" > < b > Do I have to pay for LameXP? / How can I donate to the authors of LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
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LameXP is < a href = "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software" target = "_blank" > free software< / a > , so you may use it for free and for any purpose. Moreover the authors of LameXP< br >
currently do NOT accept any donations. Therefore you should NOT pay or donate any money in order to obtain< br >
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LameXP! However it was brought to our attention that some dubious third-party web-sites offer "payed"< br >
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downloads of LameXP and/or include Adware into the LameXP download. We do NOT cooperate with any of these< br >
sites. So if you pay for the LameXP download, the authors of LameXP will not get a single cent! Instead you< br >
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should save your money and download LameXP from one of the official mirrors (see below), which is 100% free.< br >
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< br >
If you want to support the development of LameXP, you can do so by contributing translations and/or code :-)< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "71a113b0" > < b > How do I enable AAC/MP4/M4A output (encoding) in LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP uses the Nero AAC Encoder for creating AAC/MP4/M4A files. The Nero AAC Encoder is available as a free< br >
download. However the license doesn't allow redistribution! Therefore we can NOT ship the Nero encoder along< br >
with LameXP. Instead you will have to obtain the Nero encoder as a separate download from the official "Nero< br >
Digital" web-site. Currently you'll find the latest Nero AAC Encoder version at this location:< br > < ul >
< li > < a href = "http://www.nero.com/deu/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php" target = "_blank" > http://www.nero.com/deu/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php< / a > < / ul >
< br >
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After you have downloaded the Nero AAC Encoder as a ZIP file, you must "install" the encoder binaries, so< br >
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LameXP can use them. Simply unzip the files 'neroAacEnc.exe', 'neroAacDec.exe' as well as 'neroAacTag.exe' to< br >
the same directory where your LameXP executable ('LameXP.exe') is located. For unzipping the ZIP file you can< br >
use any suitable archiver, such as < a href = "http://rarlabs.com/download.htm" target = "_blank" > WinRAR< / a > or < a href = "http://sevenzip.sourceforge.net/" target = "_blank" > 7-Zip< / a > . Once the required Nero encoder binaries are located in< br >
the LameXP directory, the AAC encoding option should be "enabled" on the next startup of LameXP.< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "126abc5a" > < b > Is there a way to output ".aac" or ".m4a" files with LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP uses the Nero AAC Encoder for AAC encoding. And the Nero encoder always puts the AAC streams into an< br >
MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) container - in almost any case that is exactly what you want/need! The one and only< br >
"correct" file extension for MP4 files is '.mp4'. However sometimes the "incorrect" file extension '.m4a' is< br >
used to indicate "audio-only" MP4 files. Even worse: There are some buggy (hardware) players that will< br >
recognize MP4 audio file only with the "incorrect" .m4a extension, but NOT with the "correct" .mp4 extension.< br >
Of course LameXP will save your MP4 files with the "correct" .mp4 extension. But if you need your MP4 files< br >
with an .m4a extension for some reason, you can simply rename(!) these files. This isn't more or less< br >
"incorrect" than saving the files with an .m4a directly. After all, an MP4 file remains an MP4 file.< br >
< br >
Having said that, you should NOT rename any .mp4 or .m4a files to .aac, because these are MP4 files and NOT< br >
"raw" AAC streams. The Nero AAC encoder has NO option to output "raw" AAC streams and usually you don't need< br >
such streams. Still, if you want to extract the "raw" AAC stream from an MP4 file you can use < a href = "http://www.videohelp.com/tools/mp4box" target = "_blank" > MP4Box< / a > .< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "ebf016ab" > < b > How do I enable WMA input (decoding) in LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
WMA input requires the WMA decoder component to be installed on your local computer. Usually LameXP will show< br >
a warning on startup, if the WMA decoder component could not be found. In that case you can simply choose< br >
"Download & Install" in order to install the WMA decoder component on your system. Alternatively you can< br >
also install the WMA decoder component manually by choosing "Install WMA Decoder" from the "Tools" menu. In< br >
any case you must restart LameXP after the WMA decoder component has been installed.< br >
< br >
It has to be noted that the WMA decoder component relies on the Windows Media Format Runtime. All supported< br >
versions of Microsoft Windows should have the Windows Media Format Runtime installed out of the box. However< br >
Wine does not! In case you encounter problems with the WMA decoder component, try downloading and installing< br >
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the < a href = "http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Windows_Media_Format_11.htm" target = "_blank" > Windows Media Format 11 Runtime< / a > manually. This should also work under Linux/Wine.< br > < br >
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< br > < br >
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< a name = "9fd53558" > < b > How can I use LameXP as a "portable" application?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP always is "portable", in the sense that the application works out of the box: LameXP does NOT require< br >
any additional software, such as codecs, encoders, decoders or runtime libraries, and it will NOT install< br >
anything of that kind on your local computer! All the third-party tools used by LameXP are already built-in.< br >
There currently are two notable exceptions: The Nero AAC encoder and the WMA decoder cannot be redistributed< br >
along with LameXP for legal reasons. Therefore these tools have to be obtained as separate downloads.< br >
< br >
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Having said that, LameXP stores its configuration file in the < a href = "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd378457(v=vs.85).aspx#FOLDERID_LocalAppData" target = "_blank" > %LOCALAPPDATA%< / a > folder on the local computer.< br >
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That's because on a modern multi-user operating this is the only "correct" folder to store user-specific< br >
configuration files. Also it's one of the few folders where an application is guaranteed to get write-access,< br >
even when the application was launched by a "normal" (non-admin) user and did not request elevated rights.< br >
Storing the configuration file in the "install" folder is antiquated and highly error-prone.< br >
< br >
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Still some users may want to store the configuration file in the same folder as the LameXP executable file,< br >
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e.g. when launching LameXP directly from their USB stick on different computers. For this purpose LameXP now< br >
offers a "true" portable mode. You can enable that mode simply by renaming the LameXP executable file to< br >
"LameXP-Portable.exe". But be aware: When running LameXP in the "portable" mode, the user(!) must ensure that< br >
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write-access is granted to the directory where the LameXP executable is located.< br > < br >
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< br > < br >
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< a name = "df406578" > < b > The LameXP startup (splash screen) takes very long on my system. What can I do?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
Starting up LameXP shouldn't take longer than approximately 10 seconds. However it was brought to our< br >
attention that badly optimized anti-virus software can slow down the startup procedure a lot! On our test< br >
system (Windows 7 running on an Intel Core2 Q6600 with 4 GB of RAM) starting up LameXP takes about 3 seconds< br >
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without an anti-virus software and about 6 seconds with the "real-time protection" of Microsoft Security< br >
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Essentials enabled. With other anti-virus software the startup was delayed up to 20 seconds and more!< br >
< br >
So if you think that LameXP is starting up too slow on your system, you should temporarily(!) disable or< br >
uninstall your current anti-virus program and try again. Usually it should be sufficient to disable only the< br >
"real-time protection", "file system protection" or "guard" feature of your anti-virus software. If it turns< br >
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out that the startup is significantly(!) faster WITHOUT the anti-virus software, please report the problem to< br >
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the developer of the anti-virus software. And, if they don't fix the problem, switch to a better product!< br > < br >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "9b0a5c32" > < b > Why does application 'xyz' not open the Wave files created by LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
Some of the decoders used in LameXP will insert an additional 'JUNK' chunk into the Wave/RIFF file, right< br >
before the 'fmt' chunk ("Wave header"). There are technical reasons why this 'JUNK' chunk (placeholder) might< br >
be needed at the beginning of the file. The 'JUNK' type is a standard RIFF type and, by definition of the< br >
RIFF file format specification, any reading application must ignore/skip all 'JUNK' chunks it may encounter!< br >
Evidently most reading applications do so and thus will correctly open the Wave file. Unfortunately it was< br >
brought to our attention that there are a few broken(!) applications, which reject Wave/RIFF files with an< br >
additional 'JUNK' chunk in front of the 'fmt' chunk. It seems that these applications make false assumptions< br >
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and expect the 'fmt' chunk to be located at a fixed position, rather than actually parsing the RIFF structure.< br >
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< br >
While it is evident that applications, which reject the Wave/RIFF file because of the extra 'JUNK' chunk, are< br >
broken with respect to the RIFF specification and should be fixed by the respective author, there is an easy< br >
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workaround: Re-saving the Wave/RIFF file with < a href = "http://sox.sourceforge.net/" target = "_blank" > SoX< / a > creates a file that even the broken applications seem to< br >
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accept, as SoX apparently doesn't insert any 'JUNK' chunks (although it would be free to do so!) Re-saving< br >
your Wave file with SoX does NOT change the actual content at all, as long as no additional filters are used.< br >
< br >
You can use a command-line like this:< br >
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< blockquote > sox.exe "c:\some path\input.wav" "c:\some path\output.wav"< / blockquote >
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< br > < br >
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< a name = "89cbd3d0" > < b > Why does LameXP run only 'n' parallel instances/threads on my computer?< / b > < / a > < br >
< br >
By default LameXP will detect the number of CPU cores that are available on your system and run as many< br >
encoder/decoder instances in parallel as CPU cores are available. This is done in order to maximize the CPU< br >
usage on modern multi-core processors and thus speed up the overall encoding process. However be aware that< br >
the number of instances that can run in parallel is also limited by the number of files you are converting.< br >
Consequently the number of instances that will run in parallel is the minimum(!) of the number of CPU cores< br >
and the number of files to convert. Moreover the number of parallel instances is currently bounded at four!< br >
< br >
Limiting the maximum number of parallel instances to exactly four might seem somewhat arbitrary. But the more< br >
instances are running in parallel, the more instances will be competing for the hard disk. At some point this< br >
will result in "HDD trashing" and actually slow down the encoding process! The limit will prevent this< br >
situation on computers with a lot of CPU cores. If, however, you want to use even more (or fewer) instances,< br >
then you can use LameXP's option to manually overwrite the maximum number of parallel instances/threads.< br >
< br >
Also be aware that LameXP only controls the number of instances that will run in parallel, but it does NOT< br >
control how many threads an individual instance will create! Some encoders use "built-in" multi-threading and< br >
thus will create several threads for a single encoder instance.< br > < br >
< br > < br >
< a name = "8dba381f" > < b > How can I translate LameXP to my language or improve an existing translation?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
Please see the guide for translators at:< br > < ul >
< li > < a href = "http://mulder.brhack.net/public/doc/lamexp_translate.html" target = "_blank" > http://mulder.brhack.net/public/doc/lamexp_translate.html< / a > < / ul >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "8dba381f" > < b > Where can I download the latest version of LameXP?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
The latest "official" release of LameXP can be found on the following mirrors:< br > < ul >
< li > < a href = "https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/downloads" target = "_blank" > https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/downloads< / a >
< li > < a href = "http://sourceforge.net/projects/lamexp/files/" target = "_blank" > http://sourceforge.net/projects/lamexp/files/< / a >
< li > < a href = "http://code.google.com/p/mulder/downloads/list" target = "_blank" > http://code.google.com/p/mulder/downloads/list< / a > < / ul >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "9c2e273d" > < b > Where can I submit bug reports or feature requests?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
The preferred place to report bugs or request new features is the LameXP thread at Doom9's Forum:< br > < ul >
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< li > < a href = "http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726" target = "_blank" > http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726< / a > (English)
< li > < a href = "http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=37956" target = "_blank" > http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=37956< / a > (German)< / ul >
< br >
Please do NOT send me E-Mail unless you really have to! I receive a LOT of E-Mail and your mail can get lost!< br > < br >
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< br > < br >
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< a name = "982cf1c0" > < b > Where can I find the LameXP source code?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
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LameXP is developed using the < a href = "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)" target = "_blank" > Git< / a > revision control system. The LameXP Git repository is mirrored at:< br > < ul >
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< li > < a href = "git://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP.git" target = "_blank" > git://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP.git< / a >
< li > < a href = "git://lamexp.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/lamexp/lamexp" target = "_blank" > git://lamexp.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/lamexp/lamexp< / a >
< li > < a href = "git://gitorious.org/lamexp/lamexp.git" target = "_blank" > git://gitorious.org/lamexp/lamexp.git< / a > < / ul >
< br > < br >
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< a name = "a0c1e92b" > < b > What are the prerequisites to build LameXP from the sources?< / b > < / a > < br >
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< br >
LameXP is currently being developed using the following build environment:< br > < ul >
< li > Visual Studio 2008, Service Pack 1
< li > Qt libraries v4.7.1 for Windows (VS 2008)
< li > Microsoft Windows SDK v7.1< / ul >
< br >
Also note the following hints:< br > < ul >
< li > You must launch Visual Studio using "qtvars.bat vsstart" in order to enable the Qt tools
< li > The Microsoft Windows SDK v6.0A should work as well, with a few limitations
< li > In order to make a fully "static" build of LameXP, you need to compile Qt as static libraries
< li > Support for the GNU Toolchain (GCC/MinGW + Make) is planned for a future version< / ul >
< br > < br >
2011-02-26 19:59:01 +01:00
eof< / body > < / html >
