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How do I add and play my music in The Grid 2?

Using the Music Player workspace and Windows Media Player, The Grid 2 can access and play your music tracks through a specially created grid.  

Adding music to The Grid 2 

Firstly, we will need to ensure The Grid 2 can see your music files correctly in order to display them, to do this we will need to use Windows Media Player to browse to the correct folder.  

  1. Close The Grid 2 and open Windows Media Player by searching inside the Windows Start menu (4 white squares in the corner) and selecting the top option. 
Searching for Windows Media Player in the start menu.
  1. If this is your first time opening Windows Media Player, you will be met with a configuration screen. Select Recommended settings and then Finish in the lower right corner. 
The Windows Media Player configuration screen.
  1. Once Windows Media Player is open, browse to the Organise drop down menu in the top left corner – Manage Libraries – Music
The Manage Libraries button in the Organise menu.
  1. This will list all current folder locations that Windows Media Player, and The Grid 2, have access to. You will need to ensure the folder where your music is stored is listed here. You can use the Add… button to add more folder locations, then select OK. 
Selecting the libraries to add to media player.

Windows Media Player will then display all music files found in your chosen folder locations, these files will also be accessible to The Grid 2.  

Creating a music player grid in The Grid 2 

Now that The Grid 2 can access your music files, we need to make a grid using the Music Player workspace to allow you to control your music using cells. We will be explaining how to add a new page to an existing grid set, but you can follow the same instructions if you are making a new page from scratch.  

  1. Open your chosen grid set and find an empty space where you want to add your jump to the music player page. 
An example grid set.
  1. Browse to Edit on the menu bar and select Editing Mode 
The Editing Mode option in the Edit menu.
  1. Select your empty cell to highlight it and then select Create a jump cell from the Cell Options on the left hand side. 
The Cell options.
  1. Select New Grid in the top left corner and name your new grid “Music Player” then select Ok. 
Naming a new grid in our grid set.
  1. Ensure your Music Player grid is highlighted in the list and select Open. 
Opening our new grid.
  1. With your new jump cell highlighted, select Follow Jump from the Cell Options on the left hand side to jump to your new grid. 
The Cell options.
  1. Your new page will already have some cells added as default. Whilst in Editing Mode, select the Edit grid settings button from the Grid Options on the left hand side. 
The Grid Options menu.
  1. Select the Commands tab and select the Edit grid commands button. 
The commands tab.
  1. Press add a command, then select Categories – Music and DVD
Adding a new grid command.
Selecting the Music and DVD category.
  1. Select the Music Player workspace command from the left hand side and press Ok.  Press Ok on all other open windows. This will ensure that whenever this grid is opened, The Grid 2 will use the Music Player workspace. 
The Music Player workspace command.
  1. Highlight your Home or Jump Back cell and select Edit cell from the Cell Options on the left hand side. 
The Cell options.
  1. Ensure there is a Default workspace command below the Jump to command. You can add one via add a command if it is missing.  
Adding a default workspace command to the jump cell.

Your grid will now display the music tracks from the folders we specified in Windows Media Player earlier. You can add in other cells with commands such as Play, Pause and Volume controls depending on how much control you need.  

The Open media file command

The Music Player workspace linked to Windows Media Player is not able to display symbolised content. For a symbol based Music Player, you will need to use the Open media file command instead.  

  1. Follow the steps above to add a Music Player workspace and controls to your page.  
  1. Select an empty cell on your page and select Edit cell from the Cell Options on the left hand side. 
The cell options.
  1. Press add a command and search for the Open media file command.  
Adding the open media file command.
  1. Select the command to highlight it and press Ok.  
  1. On the Edit Cell window, select Browse for file… and select the music track you wish to use. 
Browsing for a media file.
  1. You can the modify the symbol using the Change Picture button at the top of the screen. Once you are finished, select Ok.  

Note: using the Open media file command creates a copy of the music files inside the Users folder of your grid. If you have a large amount of Open media file commands, or use large files it will increase the size of your grid set, which could lead to problems. It is recommended to use a Program Control grid set to control Windows Media Player directly, if you need this level of access. 


Last Revision: 25.10.2021