Cynthia
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Reliably play midi music files from a folder or ".m3u" play list. Adjust playback speed, volume and output device on-the-fly during playback. A large playback progress bar makes jumping forward and backward in time a breeze with just a single click or tap. Supports ".mid", ".midi" and ".rmi" files in format 0 (single track) and format 1 (multi-track). Comes complete with 25 sample midis ready to play.

Cynthia playing through her sample midi music





Features

Information

App Name
Cynthia
Version
1.0.6062
Type
Desktop App (Standard Edition)
License
MIT
Status
Updated
Release Date
9th November 2025
Portable App
Yes
Code Foundation
4th Generation (Gossamer for GUI)
Operating System(s)
Windows All and Wine for Linux and Mac
SHA256 Checksum
for "cynthia.exe"
8B9CAB404E174767144C13A32C7357FDF320EA6D632069E68AFC10F107F98F38

Downloads

cynthia.exe (1.99 Mb) cynthia.zip (1.13 Mb) cynthia.7z (0.94 Mb)

cynthia-sourcecode.zip (3.27 Mb)
App and pascal source code cynthia-sourcecode.7z (2.63 Mb)
App and pascal source code

Images

Cynthia playing through her sample midi music


Cynthia displaying her menu


Realtime display panels Visual (Tracks, Channels, and Notes), Piano and Bars visible


Cynthia in her traditional view - Navigation, Information and Settings panels visible


Easily adjust channel volumes on-the-fly with the integrated mixer - hover over/tap the Channels panel to show/edit


Cynthia in the "Deep Orange 2" color scheme (Options > Color) and "Swell" animated background scheme (Options > Background), with Compact mode on (Options > Settings > Compact)


Online Help

Running Cynthia for the first timeSeveral sample midis built-in.  When starting Cynthia for the first time, these sample midis are listed in the " Play Folder" panel, and playback is automatic.

At any point during playback, you may select another midi from the list.  Playback seamlessly switches to the selected midi in question.

Cynthia supports realtime changes to settings during playback.  This means you may adjust the Playback Mode, Playback Device, Volume and Speed without having to stop/restart playback.

⏶Main toolbar links and their functionThe main toolbar is located near the top of Cynthia's window.  From left to right, it has the links of:

Nav - Toggle display of navigation panel
Play Folder - Show the "Play Folder" panel to play midis from a folder
Play List - Show the "Play List" panel to play midis from a playlist
Prev - Play previous midi file in list
Rewind - Shift playback position back several seconds
Stop - Stop playback
Play - Toggle playback: When playing ( flashing) playback stops/when stopped ( static) playback starts
Fast Forward - Shift playback position forward several seconds
Next - Play next midi file in list
Menu - Show menu
Mixer - Show the Windows Mixer app
Options - Show the Options window, to change Cynthia's appearance
Help - Show (from rightmost column) or hide built-in help

⏶How to play a list of midis in a folderFrom the main toolbar click " Play Folder" link (top left) to display the "Play Folder" panel.

With Play Folder, there is no need for a playlist or setup.  Just navigate to the folder in question and instantly play the midis within. 

Double click the " Home" entry at top of list (scroll up if not visible).  The list will refresh with the names of your hard drives, pen sticks and other local storage devices.  Double click a drive, then the subsequent folder(s) to the one that you want to play.

The list will update.  Double click a specific midi to begin playback, or, click the " Play" link.

Toolbar Links
 Refresh - Refresh the playback list
Fav - Show the "Favourites" window.  Use this handy window to maintain a list of your favourite folders for quick access.
Back - Go to the previous folder in navigation history
Forward - Go to the next folder in navigation history

Tips:
There is no need to stop playback before switching to another folder.  Double click the new folder and wait several seconds for Cynthia to automatically recommence playback.

The current folder will be remembered when Cynthia is restarted.

⏶How to use a playlist to play a selection of midisThe standard ".m3u" playlist format is supported.  This is a plain text file that contains the length of the midi in seconds, a title, and the location of each midi.

Cynthia supports midi playback from local storage devices, such as hard disks, pen sticks etc.  Internet urls are not supported.

If you already have a playlist in the m3u format saved on your disk, you can open it in Cynthia for playback.  From the main toolbar click the " Play List" link (top left) to show the Play List panel.  An additional toolbar presents.  Click the " Open" link (if shown) or " Edit > Open".  From the Open window, navigate to your playlist, select and click the "Open" button.

The contents of your playlist will load inside the Play List panel.  Click the " Play" link to begin playback.

⏶How to make a playlistThere are several ways a playlist can be constructed.  The first method is the easiest.  From your computer explorer ("File Explorer" in Windows and "Files" in Ubuntu) navigate to the folder of midis.  Highlight one or more midis files inside the folder and drag the selection onto Cynthia and let go of the mouse button.  The " Play List" panel updates and displays the dropped midi files appended, to the list.  Repeat this process for as many midi files as required.

At anytime you may save the playlist.  From the Play List toolbar, click the " Save As" link (if shown) or " Edit > Save As...".  Type a name in the Save window and click the "Save" button to save the playlist.

It is worth noting that each time Cynthia saves your playlist to file, the midi files referenced inside it have their names adjusted automatically to work with the specific save location of the playlist.

Most midi filenames in a playlist are relative, as they do not have the full drive, folder and filename, but rather a partial folder structure and the midi's name.  This is to permit the movement of the midis and the playlist from one location to another without the need for the playlist to be specifically rewritten.

If you are curious at what the playlist format looks like, click the " Copy All" link (if shown) or " Edit > Copy All" to copy the entire playlist to Clipboard.  Note Cynthia will use a full filename for each listed midi file, since the Clipboard cannot be referenced from a disk location.  You may paste it into any text editor to view, modify, or rearrange the order of the midi files listed.

To paste an altered playlist back into Cynthia, click the " Replace" link (if shown) or " Edit > Replace".  The Play List panel will update.

Cynthia has support for extended playlists.  Note!  A large playlist of 100,000+ midi files will use about 102MB of RAM and require a second or two to apply midi filename adjustments.

Support for playlist filtering is provided.  An example:  You may instruct Cynthia to list only ".mid" files by deselecting ".midi" and ".rmi" options from the "File Types" option panel (right column).  The playlist itself remains unchanged - how Cynthia uses it changes.

Toolbar Links
 Edit - Show edit menu
New - Prompt to clear playlist
Open - Open a playlist from file
Save As - Save playlist to file
Cut - Cut selected playlist item to Clipboard
Copy - Copy selected playlist item to Clipboard
Copy All - Copy entire playlist to Clipboard
Paste - Add Clipboard playlist to end of current playlist
Replace - Replace current playlist with Clipboard playlist
Undo - Undo last change to playlist

Tips:
The current playlist is remembered for next time Cynthia is started.

To show or hide the above toolbar links, tick or untick the " Edit > Show Links on Toolbar" option.  Unticking the option hides all links except " Edit" and " Paste".

⏶Which playback method to use? Play Folder or Play List?If you're a lover of simplicity itself, wishing only to play midi files directly from your hard drive folders as is, or, you're a playlist fan, rest assured, switching between these two very different playback systems, is as easy as a single click on either the " Play Folder" or " Play List" links.

Whilst the Play Folder method is limited to playing only the files contained in the currently selected folder, there is zero setup, no list to be built, and playback can start without hassle.

The Play List method on the other hand allows for a far more in depth custom playback experience.  It supports the playback of midis across multiple disk drives, folders and in any assembled order.

Additionally, Cynthia's large capacity list can easily handle a very large playlist.  For example a playlist of 10,000+ midis is just fine.

And switching between these two playback methods can be done during playback without issue.

Tip:
The playback options File Types, Playback Mode, Playback Device, Speed and Volume are shared between both playback systems, and do not change or require adjustment after a switch.

⏶Option: Playback ModeLocated bottom of left column.

Playback mode (bottom left) determines how Cynthia plays the list of midis in the Play Folder or Play List panel (left column).

Once
Play currently selected midi to the end, and stop playback.

Repeat One
Repeat the currently selected midi without stopping playback.

Repeat All
Play each midi in turn, working down the list (left column), then restart from the top.  Playback initially starts at currently selected midi.

All Once
Each midi in the list is played working downward through the list.  Playback stops at the end of the last midi.

Random
Continuously play a midi, selecting each new one randomly from the list.

⏶Option: File TypesLocated towards bottom of right column.

There are three midi file types supported: ".mid", ".midi" and ".rmi".  The first two are identical file formats, only the file extension differs.  The third format, ".rmi", is slightly different and contains additional multimedia information for Microsoft Windows.

By default all three file types are selected (lit black).  In this state, all playable midi files are listed in the Play Folder and Play List panels.

To restrict the file types to be played back, click the file type to deselect it.  The list of midis (left column) updates to reflect the change.

If all three options are deselected, Cynthia interprets this as if all three were selected.

⏶Option: Playback DeviceLocated towards bottom of right column.

By default all midi playback is sent to the Windows Midi Mapper system - the default Windows midi note handler.

If you have more than one midi device installed on your computer, Cynthia can redirect the midi notes to that device instead.

Traditionally, a midi device had been considered to be hardware.  But now, with the advent of powerful computer hardware, software can now act as virtual hardware, allowing for advanced features to be included on your computer without the need for hardware upgrades or physical adjustment.

A midi software driver can support a soundfont, which can greatly enhances the playback quality of a midi through it's support for large, high-quality, instrumental sound libraries.

To change the playback device, select a number in the playback device control (bottom right).  Up to ten devices (1-10) is supported.  "Map" is the Windows Midi Mapper.  Selecting a dash will cause playback to stop producing audible sound (no device selected for sound output).  In this case, the last usable (numbered) midi device will be automatically selected after a short time delay, recommencing audible playback without the need for user input.

Cynthia supports realtime device switching during playback.  A small, momentary interruption to playback may occur during a device change.  The name of the device in use by Cynthia is listed in the playback device control (bottom right), for example as "Playback Device: Midi Mapper".  In later versions of Microsoft Windows the Midi Mapper was discontinued - in this case, Cynthia uses the first installed midi device.

It is worth noting that using another device may require a separate adjustment to that device's volume control, some devices do, and some do not.  If it does have a volume control, it is more than likely to be accessible via Windows "Volume Mixer" application.  Click the " Mixer" link from the top toolbar to display the application and adjust the volume control of your device accordingly.

⏶Option: SpeedLocated towards bottom of right column.

By default, Cynthia plays back a midi at normal speed (100%).  Drag the slider to the right to increase the playback speed up to a maximum speed of 1,000% or 10x normal speed.

To slow down playback speed, drag the slider to the left.  A value less than 100% slows playback to less than normal speed.  The slider can go as low as 10% or 1/10th normal playback speed.

Playback speed may be adjusted at any point during playback.  All changes take place in realtime.  An auto-fade in feature momentarily quietens playback to avoid any sudden or unexpected notes.

⏶Option: VolumeLocated at bottom of right column.

For maximum compatibility between different operating systems and device types (hardware and software) and their capabilities, Cynthia employs a multi-layer volume control system which adjusts both hardware and midi note volumes.

To adjust playback volume, position the slider to the right to increase the volume and to the left to decrease it.

An increase above 100% boosts the midi volume, making low-level, hard to hear midis, more discernable.

⏶Option: Playback ProgressAdjust playback position with a single click or tap.  Additionally, hovering a mouse cursor over the Playback Progress bar displays a vertical marker for the new playback time and position.  Click to apply new position.  The midi playback will shift to a new position and automatic fade in eases back playback volume to avoid sudden clicks, pops or abrupt notes.

Use keyboard arrow keys to progressively move forward or backward through the midi.  A vertical marker will display.

Not currently playing?  Click in the Playback Progress bar to commence playback at that position.

⏶LyricsSynchronised lyric display is supported for midis with lyrics.

To enable lyrics, from the main toolbar click the " Menu" link and tick "Show Lyrics".

When included within a midi, lyrics are displayed inside the Playback Progress bar (bottom of Cynthia) as "Playback Progress - Lyrics:" with several words or part words visible at any one time.

A midi without lyrics will display "Playback Progress".

If hyphenated lyrics are required in order to highlight the pauses between part-words, from main toolbar click the " Menu" link and tick "Hyphenate Lyrics".

⏶Always on MidiSometimes there can be a short, noticeable playback delay when commencing playback, initially.  This delay is preparation time for Cynthia to ready playback.

There is no delay switching between midis during playback as Cynthia remains connected to the midi device.  By default, after a short period of no playback (5 seconds or more), the midi device will switch to offline, and a short delay will occur when playback is next started.

To avoid this delay, the "Always on Midi" option may be used to keep a midi device online, even when Cynthia is not playing.  From the main toolbar click the " Menu" option and tick the "Always on Midi" option.

Tip:
You can always tell if the midi device is online or not - from the "Midi Information" panel on the right.  Look for the item called "Device" in the "Technical list".  This will either be "Online" or "Offline".

⏶What midi formats are supported?Midis comes in various format types.  The simplest is format 0, a single track format, that stores all it's tempo (speed), notes and commands on a single, mixed track.

A format 1 midi, on the other hand, uses a dedicated master track (first track) to store all of it's tempo (speed) commands for the entire midi.  Notes and commands are stored separately on additional, multiple tracks.

Cynthia supports both format 0 and format 1 midis with file extension ".mid", ".midi" and ".rmi".

A third, format 2 midi exists.  This format type is not supported by Cynthia.  In addition, Cynthia does not support system exclusive messages.  These messages will be ignored, and typically relate to manufacturer specific equipment.

⏶Using an Xbox Controller to control CynthiaCynthia must be setup to use an Xbox Controller.  From the top toolbar select "Menu > Xbox Controller" and select the "Active Only" or "Active and Inactive" option.  Pair an Xbox Controller to your computer (if not already done).  Cynthia automatically detects and uses active Xbox Controllers.  More than one controller can be used at the same time.


1. Left joystick - left/right to adjust volume, push down to toggle between Play Folder and Play List modes
2. D-pad - left/right to switch midi playback device, up/down to switch between songs in navigation panel
3. View button - Go to beginning of song
4. Share button - Not used
5. Menu button - Toggle through playback modes: Once, Repeat One, Repeat All, All Once, and Random
6. Right joystick - left/right to change song playback position, push down to toggle full screen mode
7. Left bumper (top) - toggle display of navigation and piano panels
8. Right bumper (top) - toggle display of midi information and tracks, channels, and notes combination panels
9. Left trigger (bottom) - reduce playback speed
10. Right trigger (bottom) - increase playback speed
11. X button - reset playback speed to 100%
11. Y button - reset volume to 100%
11. B button - start/stop playback
11. A button - select folder in navigation panel (when in Play Folder mode)

⏶Change the coloring of the app's GUIFrom top toolbar click " Options" or app menu "... > Options" (top right of window).  An "Options" window will display.  Select " Color" tab to show list of color schemes.

The "Color Schemes" list is split into three sections:
1. Built-In color schemes - read only/use as is
2. Custom color schemes - user customisable and labelled Custom 1-10
3. Saved color schemes - user customisable and saved as file(s) on disk

There are 160+ built-in color schemes to choose from.  Simply select a color scheme to apply in realtime.  For instance, Aqua Marine.  Watch as the app's GUI changes color instantly - no need for an additional load, apply, or set.

A Blaiz Enterprises' color scheme (*.bcs) at its core is a list of twenty colors, responsible for coloring most aspects of the app's GUI.  Some specialised colors are derived automatically from these.  Two colors for the frame, nine for important areas, Title colors, and nine more for common zones, Standard colors.

Each built-in color scheme has it's own unique set of colors.  A custom color scheme allows for colors to be customised.  To create a custom color scheme, scroll down the list to the section titled "Custom".  He you'll find ten custom color scheme slots - each fully customisable in realtime without any need to be named, saved or applied.  Tap or click on a slot to start - for example slot 1 - "Custom 1".

On the right a series of editable color palettes will appear.  Click a palette to display the color dialog window.  Adjust color as desired and click OK when done.  Alternatively, click and drag your mouse cursor/fingertip from the color palette to acquire color from your computer screen in realtime.  App GUI continuously updates to reflect changes in color.  All changes are automatically saved.

⏶Give your new color scheme a nameWant your shiny new color scheme to have its own name?  Easy.  From the color schemes list - click "Options > Color" to display dialog - scroll down to the "Custom" section, select your custom color scheme, and click " Menu > Save As...".  Type a name and click the "Save" button.  Your color scheme is saved to disk and listed under the "Saved" section of the color schemes list - next section down.

Any color scheme can be saved to disk, and then edited.  For instance, you can select one of the built-in color schemes, such as Aqua Marine, and save it to disk, then customise as desired.

⏶How to use your named color schemeClick "Options > Color" to show the color schemes list.  Scroll down to the last section named "Saved".  This section presents a list of all your saved color schemes in one central location.  Select a scheme to use.

⏶Can I edit my saved color scheme without having to re-save it/load it etc?Yes.  Any saved color scheme can be customised without fuss.  Click "Options > Color" and scroll down to the section named "Saved", click the color scheme you wish to edit, and adjust the color(s) as desired.  All changes are saved automatically back to the file on disk, without any need to explicitly save.

⏶What is a background schemeA background scheme is a static or animated image tiled across the background layer of the app.  The app's GUI components sit above this layer/merge into it, such as toolbars, tool images, buttons, text etc.  There are 60 built-in background schemes, based on several images with different presets, like horizontal and vertical scroll speeds, fade in and out rates, and wobble levels.  These functions allow for a static image to give movement to the app.  While some background schemes are specially set for animation, others are not.

The background image can be rendered in full color, or shade-shifted toward greyscale, or shade-shifted toward the app's current highlight color.  One slider, Colorise, controls this tri-function.

A background scheme supports a maximum image color depth of 32 bits in RGBA format - 8 bit red, green, blue, and alpha channels - for instance a transparent PNG image.

Note:
An animated background scheme can operate at frame rates of up to 20 fps (frames per second), which means the entire GUI of the app is repainted in full, 20 times per second, like a video, and therefore can consume quite a bit of CPU power, especially at high resolutions.  It is recommended a modern, powerful machine be used for high frame rates/resolutions in order to maintain smooth operation of the GUI.

Sliders and their meanings:

Strength (0..255):
Determines how much of the background image is seen/made visible.  A low value renders the background subtly beneath the GUI, whereas a high value, 100-255, renders it boldly.  A value above 100 is disabled by default.  To enable, click "Options > Settings" and deselect "Display > Safe Background".  A value over 100 may overpower the GUI making it hard to navigate or operate.  If this becomes the case, press the "F2" key, and then the Enter key to confirm restoration of the app's default settings.
 
Colorise (-100..100):
Set the color rendering method.  A value of 100 renders the background image in full color, a value of 0 in greyscale, and a value of -100 in the app's current highlight color.

Speed (0..20):
Paint speed in frames per second.  0 is static - the background scheme only repaints when required.  This is the least stressful option.  A value of 1-20 sets a constant repaint cycle of 1-20 fps (frames per second).

Horizontal Scroll/Vertical Scroll (-100..100):
Moves background image left/up (minus value) or right/down (plus value) by X pixels.  A value of zero turns movement off.

Horizontal Wobble/Vertical Wobble (0..300):
Applies a wobble factor to the above Horizontal Scroll/Vertical Scroll movement(s).

Fade In/Out (0..50):
Cycles through a high-to-low-to-high intensity flow, gradually fading the background image from view, then back again, in a continuous cycle.  Use a low value for a slow cycle, and a high value for a fast cycle. 

Fade Wobble (0..200):
Applies a wobble factor to the Fade In/Out flow cycle above.

⏶Can I customise a background scheme/background imageYes you can.  There are 10 custom background scheme slots.  Click "Options > Background" and scroll down to the section named "Custom".  For instance, click on "Custom 1".  A sub-toolbar will display in the right column at the top.  From there, you can paste in an image from Clipboard - click "Paste", or open an image from file - click "File".

For best visual results, your image should be a similar size to the app's overall area, and be prepped for tiling work - that is, have it's right and bottom edges modified so that its colors/pixels seamlessly wrap back round to its opposing edge (right-to-left and top-to-bottom).  You can use a tile creation app, or a good quality graphics app to accomplish this, or use our "Blend It" app to prep your image.

Without this, tiling the image may present abrupt edges of unwanted opposing lines of horizontal/vertical colors, and be visually jarring in nature.

Adjust the sliders as required to accomplish animation and visual effects.  All changes to the image and sliders are saved in realtime.

⏶How do I change the frame style, size and sparkle strength/effect?The frame on our apps have a long history reaching back to the late 1990s, where they first adorned our FastCards and PowerCards (still/animated electronic musical greeting cards).

In the context of an app, they primarily serve as a large, easy-grip area for resizing the app's overall size, and a touch of decoration to boot.

A frame can be made wide or narrow as required.  The modern app has a typical frame width of 7 px in a plain style, so as not to distract or occupy excessive screen real estate.

Furthermore, a frame may render with an optional, randomised sparkle effect, with a range of 0 (no sparkle) to 20 (heavy sparkle).

Click "Options > Frame" to edit the app's current frame settings.  A list of 50 built-in frames is available to choose from, ranging from Antique to Traditional 5.

Toward the bottom of the window are two sliders to adjust the frame's Sparkle (strength) and Size (width in pixels).  A frame can be sized from 0 px (no frame) up to a wide frame of 72 px.  All changes update in realtime.

⏶Automatic zoom and scaling of app text and images on high resolution displaysClick "Options > Font" to display zoom and font specific settings.  By default, the app is set to automatic zoom, which means it will scale up its text and images if the monitor it's displayed on is above 2K in resolution.

Why scale text and images at all?  What is special about 4K and 8K monitors?  At first glance it may not be obvious the significant difference between standard 2K resolution, and the much higher 4K and 8K resolutions.

But high resolution monitors, such as 4K and 8K displays have far more pixels (colored dots) per inch on screen than previous generations of monitors, that is, the screen size may be the same but more dots are packed into the same area.  Consequently, an app without scaling abilities may appear small or even blurred on these monitors.  That's because as new monitors and TVs gain ever greater resolutions, statically sized apps shrink in size/fail to compensate.  This is why a modern app must be able to scale up to match the appropriate resolution.

Here is a comparison of common display resolutions:
2K = 1920w x 1080h =  2,073,600 pixels
4K = 3840w x 2160h =  8,294,400 pixels
8K = 7680w x 4320h = 33,177,600 pixels

A 4K (ultra high definition) monitor uses four times (4x) more pixels than it's 2K (full high definition) counterpart.  A statically built app without scaling would shrink to 50% of it's size, making it difficult to use.  An operating system may attempt to counter this by scaling it up using pixel stretching - very much like zooming up a photo - unfortunately this tends to blur the appearance of the app.

The same app on an 8K monitor would suffer even greater shrinkage, rendering at only a quarter (25%) of it's original size, or scaling with significant blurring.

This app has a built-in zoom mode, which multiples the width and height of its text and images by a factor of 2, 3, or 4, dependant on the resolution of the display.  This does away for the need of the operating system to stretch/scale its pixels.

On a 2K monitor there is no need to scale as this is the app's intended resolution.  On a 4K monitor the app switches to a zoom factor of 200% (2x), upscaling text and images and the main window's dimension accordingly, and 400% (4x) on an 8K monitor.  The end result is an app that appears appropriately sized over different monitor resolutions.

You can override this automatic zoom function, and set your own zoom value of: 100%, 200%, 300%, or 400%, if desired.  An option that may be useful on a custom display resolution, and/or multiple monitor display environment.

Note:
Setting the zoom value to 300% or above on a 2K monitor may render the app so large as to make it unusable.  If this occurs, you can press the "F2" key at anytime to restore the app's default settings.

⏶Change app text sizeThe text size (font size) can be set between 6 and 24.  Click "Options > Font" and choose a size option.  Any change updates the app text in realtime.

In some instances, the app may display slightly larger or smaller text in special areas, however this text is directly scaled from the size set.

By default the app uses a size of 10.

Note:
Not all sizes are supported by all fonts.  On Ubuntu for instance, a large font size for Arial can cause text to appear weird or slightly off.  If this occurs, try reducing the font size a tad, or alternatively select another font (font name).

⏶Change app fontA font determines what sort of characters appear on the screen, and in what style.  Click "Options > Font" and choose a font name (font) from the list of options, from Arial to DejaVu Serif.  Any change updates the app in realtime.

Older fonts like "System" were simple formats constructed from small images or bitmaps, one per character, and did not scale up very well, partly because to save on memory, not all character sizes were stored inside the font.  Today, modern fonts use mathematical vectoring to draw shapes and lines etc to construct characters on the screen, though the infrastructure and overhead required for such fonts can be complex and heavy on a computer system.  But because these fonts employ mathematics to draw their characters, they do scale up well.

Eleven common font name options are presented for best compatibility and visual appearance, taking into consideration operating systems as old as Window 95, through to modern-day Windows 11, and other systems such as Mac and Linux.

In general, you want a font that is widely supported and guaranteed to render well on most computers.  Bearing that in mind, Arial, is a good choice, as it is widely supported by operating systems going as far back as Windows 95, if not further.

If a font name is selected but is not supported by the current computer, for example "DejaVu Sans" - not supported by Windows 95 - a close approximate/fallback font is used instead.

For a specific/custom font, click the "Custom" option once to switch it on, and click it again to display a Font dialog.  Choose the font name from the list of fonts and click the "OK" button when done.

If the app becomes unreadable, or hard to read after choosing a new font name - it can happen with a bad font, a foreign language font, or a symbols only font like "Wingdings" - press the "F2" key to restore the app's default settings.

⏶Change app font feathering/antialiasingFor maximum font compatibility, two completely separate methods have been employed to render text with antialiasing.

Click "Options > Font" for font settings.

1. The first method, Font Feathering, is a simple feather designed specifically to outline each text character in realtime.  This has the effect of gently softening the often harsh outline of text characters on LCD screens, which by their nature do not blur neighbouring pixels, as the older CRT (Cathode Ray Tubes) did.

The feather is universally applied to both bitmap fonts (older image based fonts) and vectors fonts (newer mathematical fonts).  In this way it allows for a quick and direct text feathering technique, that is easily adjusted to suit, without any need for any complicated or tricky multi-step setup configurations and/or processes.

As a bonus, it works on older operating systems - e.g. Windows 95 - which back in the day had no need/support for it, as LCD monitors were not widely used.  It also works on fonts that don't have any embedded feather information, or for smaller font sizes that at times can abruptly discontinue feather support.

This method generates an even, edge-based blurring of the outermost pixels of the text characters.  A high value - high or ultra - renders a strong/bold feather, and a low value reduces this to a more subtle display.

Any change updates in realtime.

On a high quality computer monitor were all pixels are transmitted and displayed without any color loss, a "Low" value is typically sufficient to render text gently on the screen.  But TVs, which tend to heavily compress their video streams for speed loose some color information and therefore may require a higher setting of "Medium" or "High" for similar results.

2. The second method, Font Specific Antialiasing, relies on the font itself to provide all feather based information.  This is usually an 8 bit greyscale range of 0-255.  The downside is, if the font has no feather support, or the operating system is old, e.g. Windows 95, then no antialiasing will appear.  This method can sometimes be hit and miss.

For instance, take the font Arial, it is universally supported, but surprisingly looses feather support at 12 pt or less, leaving only sharp text characters to be rendered on screen.

To adjust the antialiasing strength, select an option from "Dark" (strong) to "Light" (subtle).

By default, options 1 and 2 above are set to "Low/Dark", which provides the best fit for a wide variety of fonts and their behavior over a broad spectrum of old and new operating systems.

⏶App startup styleThe app can be set to start up in various ways: normally, minimised, maximised or in fullscreen mode.  To adjust, click "Options > Settings" and set an option under "Start Style".

Normal:
Starts the app as a window, which is the default mode.

Minimised:
Starts the app hidden from view as a button on your taskbar.

Maximised:
Starts the app as a window, maximised to fill all the available work area on your desktop.

Fullscreen:
Starts the app in fullscreen mode, blocking out everything else on your desktop.

Note:
If the app has the "Multi-Monitor" option selected (next section down named "Display"), then modes "Maximised" and "Fullscreen" will render the app over the combined screen real estate of all monitors.

⏶Create a link to the app on your Start button and Desktop, and the Automatic Startup optionThe app can create, maintain and remove links for you.

There are three link types supported:
1. Start button
2. Desktop
3. Automatic Startup

Click "Options > Settings" to adjust.

1. The first link type, Start button, creates and automatically maintains a link - also known as a shortcut - on your Start Menu called "Cynthia by BlaizEnterprises.com".  As this link is created by and maintained by the app, you must unselect the option to remove the link from your Start Menu.

2. The Desktop link operates identically to the above, maintaining a link on your Desktop named "Cynthia by BlaizEnterprises.com".  It also must be unselected to remove the link permanently from your Desktop.

Note:
As long as either options 1 or 2 above is selected, then the corresponding links are maintained and automatically re-created if need be by the app, even if they're manually deleted from outside the app.

By default, neither option is selected.  Optionally, you can create your own manual link/shortcut to the app using Windows with any name/label you wish.

3. The last option, Automatic Startup, creates a link to the app in the startup location of your computer, informing Windows to launch the app when your computer boots/starts up.  Again, this link is automatically maintained, therefore unselect the option to remove it.

Note:
If any of the links above are selected and you plan to remove/delete the app from your computer, it is highly recommended you first unselect all the options above (1-3), then remove/delete the app.  Otherwise, Windows can get a little weird and put the links back in some cases without any interaction from the app itself, even if the app is no longer present.  This behaviour was observed with earlier versions of Windows 10.

⏶A few important app settings explainedThe majority of the app's important system settings can be found in one location - click "Options > Settings".

An option is considered "on/enabled/selected" when lit, and "off/disabled/unselected" when unlit.

Round Corners:
Render all visual controls, windows, and dialogs with round (curved) corners.

Soft Close:
Automatically close an active dialog window when a click/tap strikes outside the window area - e.g. Save, Open, Font, Options dialogs.  This can speed up typical workflows by skipping the need to specifically click the OK or Cancel buttons to close the dialog.  For instance, click "Options" to display the options dialog, change a few settings and click/tap outside the window to close it and save changes.  Also convenient to cancel a dialog displayed by mistake/change of mind, such as a Save dialog.

Safe Area:
Retains app window on screen at all times, and any sub windows or dialogs within the app.  Any attempt to drag the app out-of-range triggers an automatic position correction - a passive system that continuously checks the window position and monitor size.  Supports both single and multi-monitor modes.

Show Splash:
Displays an informative/artistic splash screen on app startup.  Unselect to disable.

Realtime Help:
Scrolls control-centric help across the top of the current window, dialog, or menu.  Hover mouse cursor over / tap finger on a control for related help.

Hints:
Hover mouse over / tap finger on a control to display help related information in a popup bubble

Touch:
Comfortably enlarge controls and menus for touch access (finger taps)

Double Clicks:
Some options work best with a double click / tap for confirmation.  This option supports the traditional double click mode.  For example, navigating a disk drive using a double click / tap to switch between folders.

On Top:
Set the app above all other apps and windows

Economy:
Normal app operation can use a lot of paint cycles and CPU power, especially if it's rendering graphics and effects continuously on the screen.  Economy mode throttles back this usage during periods of extended idleness, e.g. when there is no direct app keyboard input, or indirect mouse cursor movement or finger taps.  For more specific information refer to the topic "Economy mode".

32bit Graphics:
Not noticeable on today's powerful computers with their 32 bit monitors and video cards, it however can deliver a small performance improvement on older computers running 24 bit graphics

Frame Maximised:
Show the app's frame whilst maximised.  The frame is always hidden whilst in fullscreen mode.

Safe Background:
An optional static or animated background scheme can be set, which renders an image beneath the GUI.  If this image is too bold / strong the GUI can be hard to view / use.  By default this option limits the background strength to a safe maximum level of 100.  Unselect this option to permit the full range of background strength (0-255).  If the GUI becomes hard to use or unreadable, press the "F2" key at anytime to restore the app's default settings.

Multi-Monitor:
Permit the app to span the full range of attached monitors when maximised or in fullscreen mode.  By default the app spans the current monitor only.

Center Title:
Position the name of the app in the center of the app's window header

Toolbar Alignment:
Align the content of all participating toolbars to the left, center, or to the right

Color Contrast:
Color coordinate important system settings and options into color specific input panels for rapid visual identification

Monochromatic Images:
Use high-contrast, color-adaptive, monochromatic tool images on the app's GUI

Highlight Above:
Retain highlight areas and other important GUI zones whilst a background scheme is in use

Brightness:
Adjust the brightness of the entire app, from 60 being the darkest right up to 130 being the brightest.  Any change takes affect immediately.  The default brightness is 100.

Unfocused Opacity:
Renders the app translucent upon loosing focus - e.g. when another app is in use.  Available range is 30 almost invisible, through to 255 fully visible.  Default value is 255.  This feature requires support of a modern operating system and is therefore not supported by Windows 95/98 etc.

Speed:
The speed by which to transition the app from a focused state to a non-focused state or vice-versa.  Speed range is 1-10, where 1 is the slowest and 10 the fastest.

Focused Opacity:
Renders the app translucent upon gaining focus - e.g. when the user interacts with it.  Available range is 50 almost invisible, through to 255 fully visible.  Default value is 255.  As above, this feature requires support of a modern operating system and is therefore not supported by Windows 95/98 etc.

Cursor:
Change the default cursor to one of the built-in cursors, each of which scale from small to large, according to the current size set by the operating system.  A range of static colors are available: Red, Orange, Pink, Yellow, Purple, Aqua, Blue, Green, Grey, Black, White, along with Default and Custom.

In addition, two dynamically colored cursors are included: "Adaptive - Hover" and "Adaptive - Title".  These special cursors acquire their color from the current color scheme.  Any change to the color scheme is reflected in the color of the cursor.

The custom cursor option supports both static cursors ".cur" and animated cursor ".ani" file formats.  To use, select the "Custom" option.  The cursor will update if previously customised.  To change the cursor, click the option again and select a cursor from file using the Open dialog.

Frame Sparkle:
Applies a random texture to the app's frame.  Select a value from 0 (off) to 20 (bold).

Frame Size:
Adjust the app's frame size (width in pixels) from 0 (none) to 72 (wide).  The default frame size is typically 7.

Scrollbar Size:
Set the width and/or height of the app's scrollbars.  A value of 5 (thin/short) to 72 (wide/tall) is supported.

Wine Compatibility:
Wine is basically a large computer instruction conversion app, which allows an app designed for Microsoft Windows to execute its instructions "run" on another operating system, such as a Mac or Linux.  Because Wine does not emulate / bridge any logic gaps and only translates an app's instructions, the underlying computer hardware must match that used by Microsoft Windows - namely Intel and AMD64.

A notable exception to this requirement is the modern-day Mac, e.g. Mac Mini, which runs an Intel emulator under the hood.  This allows a Microsoft Windows app to run by the following sequence: App to Wine to Intel emulator to Apple hardware.  Incredibly, this appears to be a very effective and rather efficient strategy, especially for our lightweight apps.

Although Wine's functionality is both wide and impressive, there is some functionality that falls short of Windows.  The Wine Compatibility option compensates where possible for important shortcomings, such as volume handling, and allows the app to maintain functionality.

The default option is automatic and detects the presence of Wine based on the existence of drive "Z:\".  For more information on Wine refer to their website www.winehq.org . 

Restore Defaults:
Easily reset the app's system settings, such as color, font size, zoom level etc to their defaults.  Click the "Restore Defaults..." button at the bottom-right of the Options window or press the "F2" key at any time in the app to display the "Restore Defaults" confirmation prompt.  Confirm your intention to reset and then click the "Restore Defaults" button.  The app will reset to default values.

An app typically has settings in addition to these which are not restored / reset.  Instead, they should be adjusted via the app itself as required.

⏶On Top - Position app above other apps and windowsClick the app menu button (top right) and tick "On Top" option.  Alternatively, click "Options > Settings" and select "Display > On Top" option.

⏶Don't show the splash screen on app startBy default the splash screen is displayed with a momentarily pause on startup.  This can be switched off by going to "Options > Settings" and deselecting the "Display > Show Splash" option.

⏶Where is my app? / Show the app folderBecause this app is portable, you might not remember / know where it is located on your hard disk or usb pen stick.  To access its folder, click the app menu button (top right) and select " Show App Folder".  An explorer window will display with the app's binary (*.exe) and storage folder listed alongside.

⏶Economy modeRunning an app at full speed when it's not being used can be a bit wasteful, and may prematurely drain the batteries on your laptop or tablet.  Select this option to automatically throttle back battery / power consumption and CPU / graphic loads after a short idle period of 10 minutes.  At which point the app will reduce its paint cycles down to 2 fps at a maximum.  And a further reduction at 30 minutes to 1 fps.

Internal processing loads will typically be reduced also, lowering the demand on your CPU and batteries further.

A single stroke of the keyboard directed at the app, or a global mouse click, or tap of the finger will instantly disengage the current economy state and return the app back to full operation.

To enable, click "Options > Settings" and select "Display > Economy" option.

⏶Some technical limitations of this appThe Gossamer Code Foundation - our 4th generation codebase - which powers this app has been engineered with care and patience to a high level of quality and reliability.

As our code is rather unique and almost entirely custom built, there are some technical limitations which make our apps incompatible with some extended features of modern operating systems.

These limitations mainly concern the use of UTF-8 and UTF-16 encoding of text, and more specifically filenames.  At this stage the app works with the legacy Windows-1252 character encoding for both text processing and filenames.  The app is therefore unable to handle foreign language text, or load and save files with special, foreign, or emoji characters in their filenames.  All text and filenames are restricted to english ASCII characters in the Windows-1252 encoding standard.

In addition, some options and minor operations may not work as expected, or at all on operating systems other than Microsoft Windows.  Though an enormous amount of time and effort has gone into harmonising the look and feel, behaviour and reliability of the app across multiple flavours of Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems, it is not always possible to catch every failure point, or in some rare cases make it work properly, though we always endeavor to do our best.

A side note, our codebase is still running well as 32 bit code in 2025.  Yes, 32 bit!  Some might see this as a limitation, but we see it as a flexible, inexpensive, and widely adopted execution pathway with support for many platforms and reuse / life extension of older equipment.

⏶What makes a portable app special?A portable app is a big leap forward for apps in general.  A standard or traditionally engineered app requires a lot of support in the form of libraries, data files, images, scripts, etc and the list goes on.  You get the picture.  Some portable apps out there still include this bundle of bits, they merely offload it into a local folder.  A dump of goodies of sorts.

We tend to see a portable app in quite a different light.  Our vision of a portable app is designed tight, clean, free of bloat, and all data where possible is included directly within, structured right into the fabric of the app itself, and designed from the bare-metal up if required.

Though the most important difference between a traditional app and a portable app is that a portable app will not install on your computer.  This is extremely important as the installation process is often messy, and can clutter up your computer by dumping a lot of stuff all over the Windows file structure and registry, and over time may slow down and decrease the overall performance of your computer.

A portable app will not do this, which keeps your computer clean and running smooth and fast as it should.  Unfortunately most software is not designed with portable in mind.  They're more akin to a large leaky box of bits than tight engineering.  And because a portable app is not installed on your computer, it runs outside the normal scope of the operating system, and is not locked down or tied to it.  And thus can be moved about, from disk to disk, or computer to computer.

Typically a portable app will reside on a USB pen stick, removable media, or in a special folder on a portable hard disk.  This makes it easy to take from one computer to the next, and use over and over.  An immensely valuable freedom, and something an installed app can only dream of.

But a serious technical hurdle must be overcome for a truly portable app to be free.  And that is the humble setting.  Yes, a portable app must be able to handle it's settings on it's own.  It must be able to read them from disk, filter them, check and correct them where required, and write them back to disk.  All without the help of the Windows' registry or other operating system dependent structures.

An installed app typically can't or won't do this.  Instead, it relies on Windows and the registry to manage it's settings and other important data sets for it.  It therefore takes a higher degree of technical competence to escape this "tied to the operating system" situation.

Here is our current standard for a portable app:


⏶How to remove the app and what you should do firstMake sure any app related data that is precious to you is backed up before you delete.

As a portable app does not install itself on your computer there will be no automatic uninstall option listed in Windows.  The app must be removed manually.  But this is not difficult.

First, ensure the options below are unselected before proceeding.  Click "Options > Settings" and deselect:
1. Start button link
2. Desktop link
3. Automatic Startup link

If these links are not removed they may linger due to the oddities of some versions of Windows and it's often complex nature and protocols.

If this app is administered by a 3rd party system then that system should be used now to remove this app.  If not, then click the app menu button "" (top right) and select " Show App Folder".  An explorer window will display with the app's executable (*.exe) and storage folder listed.

Make sure any data precious to you has been backed up or moved out of the app's storage folder before proceeding.  When you're ready, close the app and right click on it's EXE "<app name>.exe" and select the Delete option.  If a prompt appears, confirm your intention to delete.  Repeat for the storage folder.

The app is now removed from your computer, USB pen stick, or hard disk.

⏶Help my app doesn't look right what should I do?If for some reason your app doesn't appear right, or you think you've turned on or off some important system setting but you're not sure which one or where, not too worry, you can restore the app's default settings in two easy steps.

Step 1:
From anywhere in the app press the "F2" key to display the "Restore Defaults" confirmation window.

Step 2:
When you're sure you're ready to proceed, click the "Restore Defaults" button.  The app will reset, restoring all key system settings to their safe defaults, this includes color, font size, zoom level etc.

If you don't have a keyboard, or the "F2" key is not available / difficult to access, you can click the "Options" link from the top toolbar to display the options window, then click the "Restore Defaults..." button (bottom right of window), and lastly confirm by pressing the "Restore Defaults" button.  The app will reset / restore defaults.

⏶MIT LicenseCopyright 2025 Blaiz Enterprises ( www.blaizenterprises.com )

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

⏶

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