Chacham's Journal: Question: Windows: Application-based volume control

In Windows do indivdual applications have a sound level? The Volume Control allows for different levels for the input devices, and than a master volume. But individual applications do not seem to. Well, at least usually. Winamp does.

I'm using Winamp to listen to some music. Yet, when AIM pops in, the sound is so loud. Is there a reason this isn't implemented?

Volume Control

[DaytonCIM]

Use your Volume Control window. Set "Volume Control" at a level that is pleasing for things like AIM alerts. Set "Wave" at a level that is pleasing for music.

In addition, if you want to increase the music volume, then simply use the WINAMP volume control.

- Pretty easy really -

Oh, and correct your Journal Entry title.

Re:Volume Control

[Cyberdyne]

In addition, if you want to increase the music volume, then simply use the WINAMP volume control.

Unfortunately, I don't think that is a "Winamp volume control" - it's a volume control, provided by Winamp. Here at least, all it controls is the system's volume setting.

The short answer to the question, then, is almost certainly "no": Windows doesn't have per-application volume settings, only the system-wide ones. If Mr CIM's approach doesn't work, the Acidic guy below suggested resampling AIM's sound effec

Re:Volume Control

[Chacham]

Oh, and correct your Journal Entry title.

Just noticed the spelling when i went to read this comment. :) Thanx for the mention though.

I bet there'll be complaints about this in a JE from Chacham soon - oh wait... ;-)

It my biggest problem. I cannot proofread my own things without waiting a while.

Here's your solution

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

Just resample the AIM wavs at a lower volume. Thus, you can set Winamp as you like and the AIM dings won't be so loud.

Is there a reason application sound control hasn't been implemented? I would guess that it would introduce complexity to the system that would be of little benefit to most. For instance, how many people have this problem? I would say few. People normally only want one application producing sound at a time since once you start mixing various sound schemes in, the noise becomes a mess.

But anyw

The answer you'll probably never see.

[GoRK]

Individual applications do not have individual volume controls, yet...

The feature is slated (and indeed already implemented) in windows XP's sucessor, codename: Longhorn.

There are programs for the Mac that add this ability on top of the OS, but I have not ever seen one for the PC despite intense searching. I think it would have to be implemented as a virtual soundcard that would feed a remixed soundstream to the real soundcard -- so all in all, it would not be an easy piece of software to write, consideri