cue
The cue command prepares for playing or recording. Digital-video, VCR, and waveform-audio devices recognize this command.
To send this command, call the mciSendString function with the lpszCommand parameter set as follows.
_stprintf_s(
lpszCommand,
TEXT("cue %s %s %s"),
lpszDeviceID,
lpszInOutTo,
lpszFlags
);
Parameters
lpszDeviceID
Identifier of an MCI device. This identifier or alias is assigned when the device is opened.
lpszInOutTo
Flag that prepares a device for playing or recording. The following table lists device types that recognize the cue command and the flags used by each type.
| Value | Cue | Cue |
| digitalvideo | input noshow |
output to position |
| vcr | from position input output |
preroll reverse to position |
| waveaudio | input | output |
The following table lists the flags that can be specified in the lpszInOutTo parameter and their meanings.
| Value | Meaning |
| from position | Indicates where to start. |
| input | Prepares for recording. For digital-video devices, this flag can be omitted if the current presentation source is already the external input. |
| noshow | Prepares for playing a frame without displaying it. When this flag is specified, the display continues to show the image in the frame buffer even though its corresponding frame is not the current position. A subsequent cue command without this flag and without the "to" flag displays the current frame. |
| output | Prepares for playing. If neither "input" nor "output" is specified, the default setting is "output". |
| preroll | Moves the preroll distance from the in-point. The in-point is the current position, or the position specified by the "from" flag. |
| reverse | Indicates play direction is in reverse (backward). |
| to position | Moves the workspace to the specified position. For VCR devices, this flag indicates where to stop. |
lpszFlags
Can be "wait", "notify", or both. For digital-video and VCR devices, "test" can also be specified. For more information about these flags, see The Wait, Notify, and Test Flags.
Return Values
Returns zero if successful or an error otherwise.
Remarks
Although it is not necessary, issuing the cue command before playing or recording on some devices might reduce the delay before the device starts the action.
This command fails if playing or recording is in progress or if the device is paused.
When cueing for playback (using cue "output"), issuing the play command with the "from", "to", or "reverse" flag cancels the cue command.
When cueing for recording (using cue "input"), issuing the record command with the "from", "to", or "initialize" flag cancels the cue command.
The following command prepares the "mysound" device for recording:
cue mysound input
Requirements
** Windows NT/2000/XP:** Included in Windows NT 3.1 and later.
** Windows 95/98/Me:** Included in Windows 95 and later.
See Also