Thread: Coding C++ to play *.wma files

If you want to play the file with Windows Media Player, you could try the ShellExecute function:

Code:

ShellExecute(NULL, NULL, TEXT("C:\\SomePath\\filename.wma"), NULL, NULL, SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE);

If you want to play a WMA file without opening WMP, you can use mci as shown by this webpage. Here is a simple sample:

Code:

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>

#if defined(_MSC_VER)
#pragma comment(lib, "Winmm.lib")
#endif

BOOL PlaySong(LPCTSTR szFile)
{
	TCHAR szCommandString[1000];

	wsprintf(szCommandString, TEXT("open \"%s\" type mpegvideo alias MediaFile"), szFile);

	/* By default mci functions will return immediately and the task will be carried out
	 * asynchronously. To have the function wait, place the word "wait" at the end of the
	 * command string. ie. "play MediaFile wait" */	
	if (ERROR_SUCCESS == mciSendString(szCommandString, NULL, 0, NULL) &&
	    ERROR_SUCCESS == mciSendString(TEXT("play MediaFile"), NULL, 0, NULL))
	{
		return TRUE;
	}

	return FALSE;
}

int main(void)
{
	if ( !PlaySong(TEXT("C:\\PathTo\\My Music\\MySong.wma")) )
	{
		printf("Failed to play song!");
	}

	getchar();
	return 0;
}

The mci command language has many more options. For example, you can pause and resume, play a specific part of the song and get notification of when the song finishes playing. The mci reference is here.

Another alternative is DirectShow. This is a DirectShow sample that plays a file.