To do this, start AmiPodder by double clicking on its icon and then click the "Prefs" button to open the "Prefs" window. This window has the following tabs:
Download directory - This should point to the directory on your hard disk were podcasts will be downloaded.
Download using - AmiPodder does not have a built-in download manager so it uses IBrowse, AWeb, WGet or the (excellent) shareware Charon download manager to download files. Select the download manager you wish to use using this cycle gadget.
IBrowse/Charon/AWeb/WGet program file - Use these gadgets to select the path to your download manager, if the download manager is not running, AmiPodder will then be able to start it.
Uniconify IBrowse before downloading - Ticking this box will instruct AmiPodder to uniconify IBrowse before starting a download. This option has been added because IBrowse does not start a download while iconified if it needs to show a requester. Requesters are shown so you can select the download destination and if a download has been partially completed and can be resumed. Follow the instructions on the Bugs & Future page to set IBrowse to download MP3 files automatically without prompting for a destination.
Limit podcast filenames to... - Enter the maximum number of characters the file system of the temporary directory and portable player (if you have one) allows. If the filename of a podcast is longer than the number you set, AmiPodder will truncate it to the maximum length (the file extension is retained).
Use proxy server - Tick this box if you access Internet web servers through a proxy. If you are unsure, leave this unticked.
HTTP proxy - The name or IP address of your proxy server.
Proxy port - The port on the proxy server AmiPodder should use.
CTorrent program file - Use this gadget to select your ctorrent program file, this utility is used to download podcasts using BitTorrent.
When download completes, continue seeding for... - Bittorrent works by enabling everyone downloading a particular file to share the parts of the file they have already downloaded, removing the need for a single server with lots of (expensive) data capacity. Amipodder will tell CTorrent to share the bittorrent pod cast you have downloaded for the the number of hours you enter in this box after the download is complete. Set this to 0 (the default) if you don't want it to be shared after completion.
If you would like more information on Bittorrent, visit the website at http://www.bittorrent.com
Check for channel updates every... - If you tick this check box, AmiPodder will check for new podcasts on all the channels in your list at the interval entered in the minutes box.
Check for completed downloads every... - If you tick this check box, AmiPodder will check to see if any queued podcasts have finished downloading at the interval entered in the minutes box.
MorphOS users please note that there is currently a problem with these above automatic functions on MorphOS only. I advise you to leave these options unticked, I hope to resolve this problem in the future.
Download new podcasts automatically - Ticking this check box will cause AmiPodder to start to download any new podcasts it finds when it does an automatic check. Please note that this option does not apply to a manual check performed with the "Update" or "Update All" buttons in the interface.
Download video podcasts automatically - Tick this box if you want AmiPodder to download new video podcasts when it automatically checks for new podcasts. When unticked, only audio podcasts are downloaded automatically.
Remove old entries from items list - Usually, channels only send data about a few of the most recent podcasts available. By ticking this option, AmiPodder will limit its display to only these recent podcasts. This prevents the enclosures list from becoming cluttered with older podcasts you listened to ages ago.
Save status after download, check downloads, update and sync. - Normally, AmiPodder saves the channel list and the status of each podcast when you quit the program or use the save command. Ticking this option causes AmiPodder to save the status after the listed operations. This setting increases disk activity but is useful if you run AmiPodder in the background and don't want to worry about quitting it before you reboot or turn off your Amiga.
Audio sync directory - This should point to the directory where you want audio podcasts copied on your portable device. Note that this directory must be available when you change this setting. If you don't have a portable device, leave this at the default setting.
Video sync directory - This should point to the directory where you want video podcasts copied on your portable device. Note that this directory must be available when you change this setting. If you don't have a portable device which handles video, leave this at the default setting.
Sync video podcasts - If you own a portable device capable of playing back video podcasts tick this option to have AmiPodder automatically copy video podcast files to it when syncing.
Prompt for sync directory - Ticking this option causes AmiPodder to open a file requester when you perform a sync operation. This means you can select the sync directory you wish to use at the time, useful if you have more than one portable player (lucky!) or a player that uses removeable media. The "Audio sync directory" you have set on this tab is used as the default for the file requester.
Delete temporary file... - If you tick this option, AmiPodder will delete the files from your download directory once they have been copied to your sync directory. If the copy fails for some reason, the files are not deleted.
Configure the default settings used when you select the "Manage files" smart channel.
Location - The location of the podcast files displayed in the list. "Computer" refers to the "Download directory" set on the Download tab. Player refers to the Audio and Video sync directories set on the Sync tab.
Status - Select the status of the podcasts to be displayed.
Age in days - Limit the podcasts displayed to those downloaded or synced at least this many days ago.
Play using - AmiPodder uses external programs to play back downloaded audio podcasts. Select the program you wish to use for the play function from this cycle gadget.
AmigaAMP/AmiNetRadio/Amplifier/DeliTracker/TuneNet program file - Use these gadgets to select the path to your audio player utility. If the utility is not running, AmiPodder will then be able to start it.
Video player program file - AmiPodder uses an external program to play video podcasts. Any program that can be started from the shell can be used, select the path and executable file of the program using this gadget.
Program arguments - Enter the command line options for the program you have selected in this gadget. The path and filename of the podcast file to play will be automatically added by AmiPodder when it issues the command.
The command line options I use for playing back video using MPlayer on AmigaOS 4 are:
-framedrop -vo cgx_vmem::ALWAYSBORDER -ao sdl >NIL:
These settings control the appearance of the toolbar at the top of the AmiPodder window:
Appearance - Select whether the toolbar buttons should be shown as icons with text, icons only or text only.
Borderless buttons - Draw the toolbar buttons without a border.
Highlight button under pointer - With this check box ticked, the toolbar will be rendered in greyscale; when the pointer passes over a button it is colourised.
Toolbar frame - Selecting this option causes AmiPodder to draw a frame around the toolbar.
Open error window automatically - AmiPodder displays errors it encounters while communicating with and processing podcast feeds in the Errors window. Ticking this option will tell the program to open this window when an error occurs so you are aware there was a problem.
Display the size of the current selection... - When this option is ticked, AmiPodder will show the size of the podcast files you have selected in the status bar. If your sync device is available it will also display the amount of freespace available and use a graphical fuel gauge to indicate how much of that freespace will be used by the selected items. You may want to disable this function if you find selecting items in the list is sluggish.