Windows Media Player 11 SDK ConvertPluginCLSID Subkey
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ConvertPluginCLSID Subkey
When Windows Media Player 11 encounters a custom file name extension, it looks for a registry subkey that matches the extension. The subkey is described in File Name Extension Registry Settings. In some cases, the extension's subkey has a subkey named ConvertPluginCLSID.
For example, suppose you have created a custom file format (with file name extension .xyz) and a conversion plug-in that converts the files to a format supported by Windows Media Player Then you would store the class ID of the plug-in in one or both of the following subkeys.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\WMPlayer\Extensions\.xyz\ConvertPluginCLSID
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Extensions\.xyz\ConvertPluginCLSID
The ConvertPluginCLSID subkey specifies the class IDs of plug-ins that Windows Media Player can use to convert a media file from its custom format to a format supported by the Player.
The ConvertPluginCLSID subkey has the following entries.
- A default entry that represents the default conversion plug-in.
- A named entry that represents the default conversion plug-in.
- Additional named entries that represent alternate conversion plug-ins.
For example, suppose a custom file format has a default conversion plug-in and two alternate conversion plug-ins. The registry entries under the ConvertPluginCLSID subkey would have the following form.
| Name | Type | Value |
| Default | REG_SZ | The class ID, in registry format, of the default conversion plug-in. |
| The class ID, in registry format, of the default conversion plug-in. | REG_SZ | The friendly name of the default conversion plug-in. |
| The class ID, in registry format, of the first alternate conversion plug-in. | REG_SZ | The friendly name of the first alternate conversion plug-in. |
| The class ID, in registry format, of the second alternate conversion plug-in. | REG_SZ | The friendly name of the second alternate conversion plug-in. |
Note that the default conversion plug-in is represented by two registry entries: the default entry and a named entry. Windows Media Player uses the default entry to determine which plug-in is the default (primary) conversion plug-in. Windows Media Player uses the named entries to obtain friendly names for all conversion plug-ins, including the default plug-in.
The friendly name of a conversion plug-in is determined by the company that creates the plug-in. Windows Media Player might display the friendly name in its user interface.
When Windows Media Player attempts to convert a file from a custom format to a standard format, it first loads the default plug-in. If the default plug-in fails to convert the file and returns NS_E_WMP_CONVERT_PLUGIN_UNKNOWN_FILE_OWNER, the Player loads each alternate plug-in until a successful conversion happens or there are no more plug-ins to try. The Player does not display a warning message if no conversion plug-in is found for the file name extension.
The ConvertPluginCLSID registry entry is supported by Windows Media Player 11.
See Also
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