This component provides configurable screen overlays which may be opened with hotkeys, or appear on specific events. Each overlay is configured separately, and has its own set of events.

www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_osd
hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,43044.0

foobar_osd (On-Screen Display) is a foobar2000 component that shows track information as a floating overlay on your desktop during playback events.

Instead of opening the player window to see what’s playing, foobar_osd displays relevant information directly on your screen.

Typical uses include:

• Seeing track information when the player is minimized
• Monitoring playback on multi-monitor setups
• Getting quick visual feedback without interrupting workflow
• Displaying detailed metadata beyond basic notifications

Unlike standard operating system notifications, foobar_osd is fully customizable using foobar2000’s powerful title formatting system.

Core Features

When triggered, foobar_osd can display:

• Artist and title
• Album name
• Track position and duration
• Album artwork
• Custom metadata fields
• Technical playback information

The display appears briefly and then fades away automatically.

Event-Based Display

You control when the OSD appears. Common trigger events include:

• Track change
• Play or pause
• Stop playback
• Manual trigger via hotkey

Careful selection of events is important to avoid excessive on-screen interruptions.

Fully Customizable Text Formatting

One of the strongest features of foobar_osd is that it supports full foobar2000 title formatting.

This means you can display virtually any tag or metadata field stored in your files.

Example format:

[%artist% - ]%title%
%album%
$if(%album_avg_bpm%,Album BPM: %album_avg_bpm%)

Conditional formatting allows the display to remain clean by only showing information when available.

Installation and Access

After installing the component:

1. Restart foobar2000.
2. Open:

Preferences → Tools → On-Screen Display

All configuration options are available in this section.

Appearance and Layout Options

foobar_osd allows extensive visual customization:

• Background transparency
• Font selection
• Fade animations and display duration
• Monitor Selection
• Shadow effects
• Screen position
• Text size and color

Using foobar_osd Effectively

Many users install foobar_osd but never use its full potential. The following strategies significantly improve usability.

Display Meaningful Metadata

If your library uses structured tagging, include useful fields.

Example:

[%artist% - ]%title%
%album%
$if(%album_avg_bpm%,Album Tempo: %album_avg_bpm% BPM)
$if(%genre%,Genre: %genre%)

This transforms the overlay into a quick contextual information panel.

Create Minimal or Informational Layouts

Depending on your workflow, consider:

• Minimal layout — artist and title only
• Informational layout — album, metadata, technical details
• Radio/stream layout — include station information or bitrate

Use a Manual Hotkey

Setting a hotkey to manually trigger the OSD is extremely useful.

Advantages include:

• Quick track info lookup without switching windows
• Clean desktop experience without persistent UI elements

Use Conditional Formatting

Conditional statements prevent empty lines or clutter:

$if(%album_avg_bpm%,Album BPM: %album_avg_bpm%)

Only displays when the tag exists.

Time Functions:

Elapsed / Percent / Duration / Remaining

$puts(Elapsed,$if(%isplaying%,$pad_right(%_time_elapsed%,5,0),00:00))
$puts(Duration,$pad_right(%length%,5,0))
$puts(P,$muldiv(%_time_elapsed_seconds%,100,%_time_total_seconds%))
$puts(Percent,$if(%isplaying%,$if($greater($get(P),99),99,$pad_right($get(P),2,0)),00)'%')
$puts(Remaining,$if(%isplaying%,$pad_right(%playback_time_remaining%,5,0),$get(Duration)))
$get(Elapsed)  |  $get(Percent)  |  $get(Duration)  |  $get(Remaining)