PandoraSaver (Standalone) Installer (updated as needed)

[Razor512]

This version still works great for pandora, but there is a newer version available that launches faster and overall performs better and has more features (but currently lacks some features of the old version) ( Pandora Saver 2 )

http://hak5.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=13598

Updated: October, 9, 2010 at 9:02 PM eastern ( GMT -5 )

I made an installer for the latest version for those users who just want a quick install that does all of the work for them so the app is ready to use and just works. The file size is 25.04MB (Reuploaded it, last copy would not rip music for some reason, Work perfectly now though )

(for the installer, ripping songs is set to manual by default (you can rip songs via the download button at the top of the page or in the songs window of Pandora saver, you can easily change it to automatic if needed also)

I made an installer to make things much easier

Latest version of the installer: PandoraSaver 1.010 (Works on Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7 (may also work on other versions of windows))

Thanks to: liquidcool, ZigZagJoe, and hobbit

Pandora saver is now set to manual rip by default (since it caches the last 50 songs you will have ample time to grab songs that you like but forgot to grab, it is also more convenient than having the program auto rip 50 songs and then requiring you to manually delete the 45 that you don't like)

I recommend using firefox portable with pandora saver because any traffic that goes through the proxy is slowed down so if you use your main browser with the proxy, your overall web browsing will slow down. having the program run with firefox portable will keep the browsing speed of your main browser from slowing down

File Size: 25.04MB

Download link Version 1.010 (Stable): http://www.mediafire.com/?xj2ggbb47e3lcmp

File Size: 25.26MB

Download link Version 1.009 (Stable): http://www.mediafire.com/?jknzdhthjyx

File Size: 18.72MB

Download link Version 1.008d (Stable): http://www.mediafire.com/?lywnzmwbj0z

File Size: 12.38MB

Download link Version 1.007: http://www.mediafire.com/?klmljwryn4z

File Size: 14.55MB

Download link Version 1.005 (Stable, uses fiddler 2 as the proxy app and works on public computers): http://www.mediafire.com/?wtoi2mnj3ng

^^^The registry file is also located in the install folder so if you want to view the contents of the registry file simply right click on it then click on edit

You can enable the option to have a download button embedded into the pandora page. this will allow you to easily manually download any song playing.

To enable it, simply heat to the PandoraSaver settings, then check the box thats named

_+_+_+_+_+_Extra info if needed (only applies to PandoraSaver that uses fiddler as the proxy)_+_+_+_+_+_+

This installer, installs firefox portable (Fiddler2 was altered so it could run with out being installed it was also altered so it would not bother any system settings or anything else, it will only work with firefox portable)

In the settings menu, you can now disable automatic grabbing and use manual grabbing.

to use manual grabbing, using either the pandorasaver settings in fiddler or the new taskbar icon, click on "View Songs"

To change any of the PandoraSaver settings, head to this location in the Fiddler2 program

PandoraSaver > Settings

By default, all music is saved in C:\PandoraFox\MP3 (this can easily be changed through the PandoraSaver settings )

At the end of the install, if you choose to allow it to install the registry file containing the settings, you will see a black window appear for a split second (that is because the registry file is run using a batch file (the install would not let me run a registry file directly)

If you don't have .net framework, you can download it here

windows 32bit

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

windows 64bit

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

if you are upgrading from Pandoras jar, then please uninstall it first before installing this program (uninstalling the app will not remove your saved music)

_+_+_+_+_+ If you have any stability problems with fiddler, follow these steps +_+_+_+_+_

Sorry, couldn't make this process automated since i couldn't find which registry key, held the filter settings.

Step 1, Click on the filters tab

Step 2, Check the box next to "Use Filters"

Step 3, Scroll to the bottom, then check the box next to "keep only the most recent"

_+_+_++_+_+

If anyone has trouble running fiddler due to .net framework not working properly and if you are unable to reinstall .net framework to repair the corrupt files (due to it saying that it is already installed)

then use this tool to fully remove .net framework then you will be able to reinstall it with no problem

http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/200.../08/406671.aspx

Direct link to download: http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/attachment/8904493.ashx

Edited October 10, 2010 by Razor512

[DeadlyZiner]

was wondering if its better to convert to 256kbs mp3 or leave them as is (64kbps mp4)?

[ZigZagJoe]

I rather mp4. to convert to mp3 requires cpu time and if it's set to rock n roll it might try to do it at any time. with 256kbs mp3 it shouldn't be loosing much quality, but...eh. unless you want music to use on a portable device, i would leave it as mp4. 2x-4x the size with mp3s, possible transcoding losses, for slightly better compatibility.

It tags mp4s just the same now, so there really isn't any point imo.

See this post/thread for more details on this.

[enneract]

*edit*

Lets have a more coherent post from me, heh.

Mad props to everyone involved with this, and the author of this installer. Works beautifully, none of the bugs or hassles I had with pandora's jar, and it tags album and album art properly. Wonderful.

That being said, I have a few comments\suggestions.

I'd love to see a way to minimize everything to the tray, with a minimum of icons. Right now the fewest you can have in the tray for this is 2... one for firefox (http://myminimizetotray.googlepages.com/) and one for fiddler. But the PandoraSaver icon adds nice functionality.

Since we are using a modified fiddler2 as it is, how difficult would it be to hide that completely, so that it does not even show in tray? And furthermore, how difficult would it be to modify that minimize to tray plugin for firefox to add context options to pass settings, etc, to PandoraSaver? (I didnt check to see if the source was available, but guessing its GPL like most firefox stuff)

Alternative, if you dont want to go that route, how difficult is it to undo the restrictions on what the fiddler2 in this installer can hook into, so that any ole firefox window will work, not just the portable included?

[Razor512]

while it can minimize to the system tray through the settings menu, (open the fiddler settings and check the minimize to tray option that way when ever the app is minimize, it will appear in the system tray, (and if you have hide inactive items enabled then it will be hidden (the pandorasaver tray icon can be disabled if needed)

[ZigZagJoe]

You can also disable "Always show tray icon" in fiddler2 settings, under Appearance.

As for using it with regular firefox, follow the instructions at this site.

You need to point your firefox to use the proxy provided by Fiddler2. If firefox is not using fiddler2 as its proxy, this plugin can do nothing.

Fiddler2 has not been modified in any way - the firefox in the box is just pre-setup to use the fiddler2 proxy by default. To use it with other programs, have them use the info seen in fiddler's options. basically, read the link for all you wish to know.

[enneract]

You can also disable "Always show tray icon" in fiddler2 settings, under Appearance.

As for using it with regular firefox, follow the instructions at this site.

You need to point your firefox to use the proxy provided by Fiddler2. If firefox is not using fiddler2 as its proxy, this plugin can do nothing.

Fiddler2 has not been modified in any way - the firefox in the box is just pre-setup to use the fiddler2 proxy by default. To use it with other programs, have them use the info seen in fiddler's options. basically, read the link for all you wish to know.

Alright, cool.

Once again, this is fantastic work by all involved, very impressed.

[Razor512]

yep you can use any browser with it, just know that websites load slower when going through fiddler and many programs such as games, and many other apps that are able to use the internet, will often use your IE proxy settings

this can cause lots of lag for those apps since fiddler has a large performance overhead. try using pandora with and without fiddler and you will see that on a normal direct connection, pandora runs much faster

thats why i disabled the features that allow fiddler to change system proxy settings and manually set firefox portable to use it

that way there will just be 1 browser dedicated to working with fiddler

and fiddler doesn't seem to like having your main browser use it as a proxy especially if you do things like constantly refresh many tabs

[enneract]

yep you can use any browser with it, just know that websites load slower when going through fiddler and many programs such as games, and many other apps that are able to use the internet, will often use your IE proxy settings

this can cause lots of lag for those apps since fiddler has a large performance overhead. try using pandora with and without fiddler and you will see that on a normal direct connection, pandora runs much faster

thats why i disabled the features that allow fiddler to change system proxy settings and manually set firefox portable to use it

that way there will just be 1 browser dedicated to working with fiddler

and fiddler doesn't seem to like having your main browser use it as a proxy especially if you do things like constantly refresh many tabs

That makes sense.

I'm going to take a crack at getting this to work with OpenPandora, without opening it up to all connections.

Can you tell me what the PandoraSaver executable does, is it just a launcher for firefox portable and the fiddler app, or does it do any configuration of either?

OpenPandora has a proxy configuration field, however, using 127.0.0.1:8888... seems to pass the requests through fiddler, but pandorasaver doesn't notice them (they show up in fiddler's window, but not in pandorasaver's log)

[enneract]

Er, wow.

I seem to have stumbled on a way to grab tracks as fast as pandora will serve them up.

I've ripped 10 tracks so far with openpandora still sitting on the 'loading station' screen, in about 2 minutes...

Let me test this out a bit more.

-----------------------------------------

Yea, for some reason, after configuring IE to run through fiddler as a proxy, pandora wont actually play anything, but PandoraSaver will grab tracks as fast as it can... running on an EVDO connection so this is still pretty slow, but I imagine on a real connection it would be much faster. Now all I need is a way to start fiddler2 minimized.

[ZigZagJoe]

i'm not sure what the pandorasaver executable you talk about is, so i assume it is a launcher (PandoraSaver is a dll plugin for fiddler2 not a direct executable) if you launch fiddler2 by itself, it should work fine. The only real problem i've had with fiddler2 is if you have reuse client connections checked it will mix up images and generally not work well. speed is pretty much the same as normal - small price to pay for doing whatever i want.

also, when using openpandora, copy a few of the urls from the start of when you launch pandora to whenever it finishes starting - this will give me some info. dunno if i could make it work though - really don't care for openpandora (it leaks memory like a sieve and is rather useless)

In its place, i ended up writing a program that catches global media keypresses and passes it pandora, allows the volume to be changed as well. will upload it if someone wants it. ONLY works with firefox 3.x (due to how it keeps flash objects)

[enneract]

i'm not sure what the pandorasaver executable you talk about is, so i assume it is a launcher (PandoraSaver is a dll plugin for fiddler2 not a direct executable) if you launch fiddler2 by itself, it should work fine. The only real problem i've had with fiddler2 is if you have reuse client connections checked it will mix up images and generally not work well. speed is pretty much the same as normal - small price to pay for doing whatever i want.

also, when using openpandora, copy a few of the urls from the start of when you launch pandora to whenever it finishes starting - this will give me some info. dunno if i could make it work though - really don't care for openpandora (it leaks memory like a sieve and is rather useless)

In its place, i ended up writing a program that catches global media keypresses and passes it pandora, allows the volume to be changed as well. will upload it if someone wants it. ONLY works with firefox 3.x (due to how it keeps flash objects)

Oh, I see. Sorry, this installer includes Pandora's Jar also, got confused there.

And yea, I just started noticing the memleaks on openpandora - considering I am planning on running this 24\7 on a 128mb ram tablet that I am setting up as a 'radio', that wont work at all, giving up on that.

[xameius]

Awesome work guys, truly great. Only things I could think of that I'd like is a way to NOT download thumbed down songs. That way it will download ones that I haven't rated, as well as thumbed up ones. And also maybe rename the mp4 to aac? Or convert it to aac if that's what has to be done?

[ZigZagJoe]

Awesome work guys, truly great. Only things I could think of that I'd like is a way to NOT download thumbed down songs. That way it will download ones that I haven't rated, as well as thumbed up ones. And also maybe rename the mp4 to aac? Or convert it to aac if that's what has to be done?

mm, yeah, the mp4 extension is a bit of a stretch based on common use (though it IS a valid use of it) but the problem with changing it to aac or m4a is that all the already-ripped mp4 files would have to be renamed or it would re-rip. (aac = m4a and can equal mp4 - they are all the same format)

as for not downloading thumbs down songs - do you mean deleting already-downloaded songs? pandora will not play thumbs down songs again on the radio (the field is either 0 or 1 for rated positive or not). It would be possible to have it delete recently thumbs-downed songs (ie, played in the same session, so pandorasaver has the info registered) Ie, if you clicked thumbs down then it could delete the song i suppose

[xameius]

mm, yeah, the mp4 extension is a bit of a stretch based on common use (though it IS a valid use of it) but the problem with changing it to aac or m4a is that all the already-ripped mp4 files would have to be renamed or it would re-rip. (aac = m4a and can equal mp4 - they are all the same format)

Hm, yes that makes sense. My portable player plays the mp4 as an audio file anyway, I wasn't sure. Thought it was going to try to play it as a video.

as for not downloading thumbs down songs - do you mean deleting already-downloaded songs? pandora will not play thumbs down songs again on the radio (the field is either 0 or 1 for rated positive or not). It would be possible to have it delete recently thumbs-downed songs (ie, played in the same session, so pandorasaver has the info registered) Ie, if you clicked thumbs down then it could delete the song i suppose

bingo. I'd like to delete songs that were recorded in the session that i rate thumbs down.

[ZigZagJoe]

Done - check "Delete negatively-rated songs" in settings.

Also implemented support for inserting a download button straight into the webpage, right below the logo. Don't use the download button with IE6. (pops an odd error and refuses to load page) it doesn't work with opera either (for unknown reasons, it shows up, but never catches songchanged events) however does work in safari (chrome also by extension).

Edit. Evidently related to bugs in how Pandora handles events - it sets proper but never fires on Opera, and in IE it doesn't work due to its faulty implementation. Also, tested IE7 - it does not work either. Note, this button only functions properly with one window at a time - some quirk of JS? i don't know if webkit-derived browsers have the same behavior. (every button gets the song the window opened first is currently playing)

Made it "break" pandora's check if the mini player was linked from their website or not because it annoyed me. seriously, why did they do that? Also removes the prominent ad on the mini player. if you want a nice shortcut to the mini player, use http://zzj.itf-inc.com/gopan.html (link)

to get the new version, download http://zzj.itf-inc.com/PS-1004bin.zip and place the contents in fiddler2's scripts dir. i don't know where the installer keeps the scripts, however, so you will need to find it yourself.

Also, when the automatic refresh of pandora pages is enabled it nolonger refreshes the miniplayer (as i figured if you have the mini player open you are probably listening to it)

[Realdav]

I can't get this to work!! I'm having to use TOR as I'm from the outside the US (UK), so for normal use I just have IE using Automatic Configuration Script with file C:/tor.pac. This pac file basically contains:

function FindProxyForURL(url, host)

{

if (shExpMatch(host, "www.pandora.com")) return "SOCKS 127.0.0.1:9050";

return "DIRECT";

}

So when I enter www.pandora.com in IE it routes via Tor (socks) with US exit nodes and works fine. I can also add this pac file into Firefox portable under Options > Advanced > Connection > and then Automatic Proxy Configuration URL, I just link to the pac file location.

But in doing that, the manual proxy bit that connects to port 8888 (for Fiddler?) is blanked off.....so what can I do to get PandoraSaver/Fiddler working to save the songs?

Please help, ty!

[ZigZagJoe]

try looking at http://www.fiddler2.com/Fiddler/help/hooku...p#Q-ManualChain

other than that, you're on your own

[Apo]

try looking at http://www.fiddler2.com/Fiddler/help/hooku...p#Q-ManualChain

other than that, you're on your own

Is there a way to set up foxyproxy or Vidalia to chain with Fiddler ?

I tried for a long time and searched the web but i cant get it workin

If i try to chain it some way fiddler says me that the ports are already in use and stuff

[ZigZagJoe]

Is there a way to set up foxyproxy or Vidalia to chain with Fiddler ?

I tried for a long time and searched the web but i cant get it workin

If i try to chain it some way fiddler says me that the ports are already in use and stuff

I don't know what either of those are. I assume they are proxy managers of some sort?

according to the FAQ, you can make Fiddler chain with another proxy by going to IE settings, while fiddler is not running, and telling it to use one of those proxys (that you have the manager use) in the IE proxy config.

Then, when you launch fiddler, it evidently reads that setting. it should be listed in the settings if it worked. a bit of a crude method for sure (as opposed to providing a dedicated dialog box for it)...I'll see if i can find any other way as this seems to be a reoccurring problem.

might be easier to have Pandorasaver create a proxy of its own at this rate (and become a stand alone app, rather than a plugin). it would be a hell of a lot of work for sure though. (and i have no idea where to start for that) but, i like a challenge, so i will look into it. it would be nice to be completely stand-alone.

[EsTeeGee]

I'm getting this error message:

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

at Saver.HandlePendingSessions() in C:\Documents and Settings\zigzagjoe\Desktop\PandoraSaver\new\src\Saver.cs:line 945

at Saver.sessThread() in C:\Documents and Settings\zigzagjoe\Desktop\PandoraSaver\new\src\Saver.cs:line 138

at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)

at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)

at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

PandoraSaver

Fiddler v2.2.0.7 [.NET 2.0.50727.1434 on Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1]

---------------------------

OK

---------------------------

I think I created an issue when I mistakenly updated portable firefox and I can't figure out how to uninstall it. Any advice?

[ZigZagJoe]

I'm getting this error message:

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

at Saver.HandlePendingSessions() in C:\Documents and Settings\zigzagjoe\Desktop\PandoraSaver\new\src\Saver.cs:line 945

at Saver.sessThread() in C:\Documents and Settings\zigzagjoe\Desktop\PandoraSaver\new\src\Saver.cs:line 138

at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)

at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)

at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

PandoraSaver

Fiddler v2.2.0.7 [.NET 2.0.50727.1434 on Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1]

---------------------------

OK

---------------------------

I think I created an issue when I mistakenly updated portable firefox and I can't figure out how to uninstall it. Any advice?

Probably a bug that was fixed a while ago (this is a bit out of date, iirc). Download the latest (plugin only) at http://zzj.itf-inc.com/PandoraSaver1005-ZZJ.zip and put the contents of /bin (pandorasaver.dll, faad.exe, and some other files) into fiddler's scripts dir. I'm not sure where this installs fiddler, so do a search for "PandoraSaver.dll".

[EsTeeGee]

Probably a bug that was fixed a while ago (this is a bit out of date, iirc). Download the latest (plugin only) at http://zzj.itf-inc.com/PandoraSaver1005-ZZJ.zip and put the contents of /bin (pandorasaver.dll, faad.exe, and some other files) into fiddler's scripts dir. I'm not sure where this installs fiddler, so do a search for "PandoraSaver.dll".

Thanks for getting back at me, zzj. Unfortunately, adding those files didn't resolve the issue - my browser alternates between "waiting for pandora.com" and "waiting for audio-sjl-t1-2.pandora.com" and the message Pandora spits out is that it's "taking longer than expected..." the 't1' varies to 'a' sometimes, and I can see this reflected Fiddler.

Any other ideas? This was working perfectly before I mistakenly updated the portable Firefox version. It randomly started playing music last night but doesn't work again today.

[rcracer313]

hey guys..just found this great download and i absolutely love it. it works flawlessly!!

now my only question (and excuse me if i seem a bit of a noob because i am). I'm sure this is not legal and frankly i dont really care. my only questions is that lately there seems to be a lot of talk on the news about the authourites cracking down on illegal downloads. how easy is it for them to discover this and maybe come cracking down on me? I would love to continue to use this but i dont wanna go to jail lol

thanks for your help,

mike

[ZigZagJoe]

Thanks for getting back at me, zzj. Unfortunately, adding those files didn't resolve the issue - my browser alternates between "waiting for pandora.com" and "waiting for audio-sjl-t1-2.pandora.com" and the message Pandora spits out is that it's "taking longer than expected..." the 't1' varies to 'a' sometimes, and I can see this reflected Fiddler.

Any other ideas? This was working perfectly before I mistakenly updated the portable Firefox version. It randomly started playing music last night but doesn't work again today.

Check pandorasaver's log (it is a menu option on fiddler, and on the tray icon if you have that enabled. see http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r49/zig.../PS_help_v1.gif ). I've heard of it ripping songs while pandora has not been playing in IE. This works independently of browser, the only requirement is flash 9; so I'm not sure if updating it would cause a problem. I don't know how this download is set up, except that it has fiddler and firefox in the same box; I'd recommend setting up your regular browser to use it and have done. See this thread.

If there is errors in that log, double click in that window to copy everything to clipboard (the background of the window will change for a second reflecting this) and paste it in the thread I linked.

As for legality, it really is a gray area. This is simply "recording" (in a sense) what Pandora sends you - it is not actively seeking out the songs. I recently fixed the only method to detect this (which was if something was watching album arts for duplicate requests), so it is effectively undetectable.

Hmm, I think i better make a new thread for all this as the one is getting quite cluttered...