2. Installation
Table of contents
Installing Songbird is easy, no matter what system you're on. If you haven't downloaded songbird yet go to the Songbird Homepage and click on the download button.
Check the system requirements before getting started. In most cases you should get a file which is suitable for your system (Windows, OS X, Linux). If not there are some more contributed builds available. Take a look and see if there is a build for your system.
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| Download and run the installer(*exe), then just follow the installation instructions. During installation, you can change the Songbird shortcut settings, the installation directory, and the start menu directory. | Open the downloaded Disk Image (*.dmg) and drag and drop it onto the folder shown in the window. Songbird will automatically be copied into your programs directory. To start songbird the first time you can either browse to your programs directory and double click on the songbird icon or type "Songbird" into the search bar in the top-right corner of your OS X system bar. | Download the appropriate tarball for your architecture (x86 and x86_64 are supported. If you're not sure, the x86 will work on either architecture.) to your /home/username folder, extract the .tar.gz file, enter the new Songbird folder in your home directory and double-click the Songbird file inside.  Note: The Songbird team currently tests their builds on Ubuntu 9.04. If you are having problems, check out the contributed builds for builds made by the community (including OpenSolaris, Fedora(rpm), Ubuntu(deb), Gentoo, OpenSuse). |
Using Songbird for the first time
When you start Songbird for the first time, you will be asked to read the Songbird licensing information. In order to use Songbird, you must agree
to the license terms.
Once you have accepted the license, you have the choice to import media into Songbird and create a media library. The media library is the main way to play and manage music with Songbird, so creating it is recommended for most users.
Import Media
Once started songbird will first ask you if it should import media during the first run. You can either import an existing iTunes library or scan for media in specific directories. If you choose the option to scan a folder on your computer there is an additional option to watch this folder. If selected, all changes in this specific folder will be observed in the future. This means if you physically delete a file in the folder it will automatically be removed. New files added to the folder on your hard drive will be added to the Songbird library automatically.
Recommended Add-ons
Next you will be asked to select which of the recommended add-ons you would like to install. Add-ons are not critical to the functioning of Songbird, but they provide useful features to some users. These extensions are maintained directly by the songbird team and will be updated side by side with every major release (always up to date). For the beginning we recommend installing these add-ons. The default add-ons, and more, can also be installed or uninstalled later from Tools › Add-Ons….
Feedback Dialog
Finally you will be asked if Songbird should be allowed to collect data. This data is absolutely anonymous. The songbird developers use this data to identify program errors which are occurring on your specific system. This is a big help for developers because it's impossible to test Songbird in every possible hardware and software environment. If you choose this option you help us to make Songbird even better. Last but not least you can subscribe to the songbird newsletter.
After clicking Finish, Songbird will start with the final setup process depending on your chosen settings. If you selected any of the recommended add-ons make sure that you have internet access. Now just wait until Songbird has finished. Completion time will vary based on the amount of files being imported into your library.
Once finished... Songbird opens up... and VOILA, enjoy your new bird!
- Tag page
- What links here
| File | Size | Date | Attached by | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | contributed-builds.png No description | 10.15 kB | 20:07, 7 Apr 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
 | linux.jpg No description | 1663 bytes | 20:07, 7 Apr 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
 | mac.jpg No description | 1185 bytes | 20:07, 7 Apr 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
 | setup-addons.png No description | 39.18 kB | 22:40, 19 Dec 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
| setup-import.png No description | 43.59 kB | 22:32, 19 Dec 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
 | setup-stat.png No description | 25.13 kB | 22:32, 19 Dec 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
| tightening-screwdriver-standing.png No description | 22.52 kB | 20:07, 7 Apr 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
 | windows.jpg No description | 1912 bytes | 20:07, 7 Apr 2009 | mpurses | Actions | |
However, I tried to import my iTunes library that I keep on my OSX partiton, but my only option was to add a folder. How can I force Songbird to open up an iTunes library when I don't have iTunes installed on the host system?