Easier switching of sound devices in Windows with Soundswitch 3.0dev1.

I’ve got a beta-quality release of Soundswitch available now.

You can also peruse the source code.

The big changes for 3.0 are as follows:

  • Configure Source1 and Source2 via tray icon.
  • Select current active sound device from tray icon.
  • Single left click of tray icon switches between Source1 and Source2
  • Rewrites of core parts to reduce bugs and increase speed.

Please let me know about bugs.

Leave a comment ?

113 Comments.

  1. Just wanted to tell you you’re a badass and that open-source programmers are heroes.

    Thanks

  2. The tooltip function of this version is buggy.

    I have 3 devices:
    Speakers (Source 1)
    Realtek Digital Output Internal
    Realtek Digital Output Optical (Source 2)

    When I switch from Source 1 to Source 2 the tooltip shows Source 1 as Default Device/Default Comm and vice versa.

    When I press Ctrl+Alt+F8 for DisplayDeviceInfo the tooltip shows the correct device.

    I found no way to fix the wrong tooltip.
    I’m using soundswitch_x64_3.0dev2.zip.

    Thanks for this very useful tool!

  3. @joker: I’ve confirmed this. I’ll get a fix out by the next release.

  4. Hmm, so far i cant get the app to switch the devices for me, it does open the sound window with Ctrl + Alt + f8 and it quits when i press Ctrl + Win + q but it doesnt switch when the combo is pressed (i left everything at default as im trying to switch between my speakers and my G35, like it was already set to do).

    Did i maybe mis something?
    Im using Soundswitch x64 3.0dev2 on win ulti

  5. @Dragon-Guard: Ctrl+Alt+F8 isn’t the combo to switch devices.

    You’ll want to try Ctrl+Alt+Enter if you’re using the default config.

  6. @Dustin.
    I know and i tried but it just doesnt change, only thing it does for me is open the sound config window and thats it.

    I only said those 2 combinations are the only ones that seam to work as they should for me, F8 open the config panel and Q quits the app, all combinations that should switch between the 2 devices dont work. =/

  7. @Dustin

    Ah i got it to work now.
    Im an idiot for not thinking of this earlier.
    Its made using AutoIt right?
    Which works about the same as AutoHotKey if im not mistaking.
    The problem is that you have the tell the program the name of the stuff to click right?
    Yeah well, i got my language set to Dutch so thats prob what was causing the problems.

    Anyway i can get this to work on the Dutch language setting?
    Running on english all the time is rather inconvenient.

  8. Hello,

    i have a similar problem like Dragon-Guard has. I use soundswitch_x64_3.0dev2 on my Win7 x64. My systemlanguage is german.

    I changed the sound_switch.ini like I think it should be but the only commands that seem to work are ctrl alt F8 and ctrl win q. The other commands don’t work. I made 2 screenshots:

    http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/2432/ini.png
    http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6401/sound0.png

  9. Just installed Soundswitch 64-bit version 3.0dev2 and it works great! Thank you, a lot folks would love this.

    I am running Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit with Realtek Soundcard and NVIDIA GeForce GT220 and have traditional monitor/speaker but also ran an HDMI cable to an LCD TV in another room so constantly switching the sound from my office to the room with the TV!

    Is there a way for this to run when I startup?

    Thanks, Stuart.

  10. @stetig: That gives me an idea as to the source of the problems here. I’ll look at it in more detail soon. Thanks for sharing those screenshots!

    I’m going to have to include a method for people to translate to their own language…

  11. Yay! You just made my life a tiny bit better 😀

    Is there a way I can donate for this?

  12. @Josh: Sure, give me a few minutes and I’ll put a donate button up…

  13. @Josh: I added a donate button on the right sidebar near the top under Categories. Thanks, it’s nice to hear that someone got some use out of my work!

  14. Hi Dustin

    I have downloaded your switching program, but when I come to run the application, a buzz caption appears that says,

    “Line 1774…..

    Error: Variable used without being declared.”

    Could you help me out here please?

    Thanks

    Regards

    Trevor John

  15. Is there a way to specify the power button on the keyboard? I’ve set it to “do nothing” in power options, but imagine it can still be set to do something.

  16. would it be possible for you to add command line support to this? i would love to be able to write a batch script that switched audio devices then start a program.

  17. Fantastic, been looking for something like this for ages. Thanks a bunch!!
    Command line would be great, as I need to switch a few other things at the same time.

  18. Anonymous - pingback on February 3, 2011 at 6:53 pm
  19. Awesome utility! Should be more visible on the web though – I bet more people would love to use this!!!

  20. Hi Dustin,

    When could we expect a new release of this nice tool?

  21. Saw this on SA, cool app, doesn’t work for me on win7 64 though. I load it up, it sits in the tray, but everytime I go to open the gui by double clicking the system tray it disappears.

  22. @stevo9er: What happens if you hover over the tray icon? It should show a traytip…

  23. @Joker: Pretty busy right now, but I hope to have a bugfix release out with a couple months.

  24. Very nice, thanks for creating it.

  25. Brendan J Boehr

    Awesome little tool. Beta 3.0 works perfectly on my Win 7 system. Great work.

  26. It works perfectly, I´m using W7 x64 and

    soundswitch_x64_3.0dev2.zip — 64-bit version 3.0dev2

    Thanks a lot for this great application.

  27. Lovely App. Much appreciate your sharing.
    It does not work for Skype.
    Skype has soft settings for which device to use which hardwires Skype to a device (it seems).
    Any thoughts on a Skype feature?!

  28. OK, I need some newbie help here…
    I cant get this thing right, always get this
    ”Device not in ready state”

    This is the devices I got…
    http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/94/soundv.jpg/

    I want to for example use the default hotkeys and use my headset as a Default Communication Device and my speakers as Default Device.
    So what am I suppose to type in the .ini?
    I wrote this:
    [Speakers]
    Source1=Speakers 2- Razer Banshee
    Source2=Speakers Realtek High Definition Audio Device

    or instead of typing Speakers on Source1, I tried typing headset. Ive tried with space between Speakers and = but nothing works. :S
    Feel like a complete idiot >_<

  29. This very nice tool version 3.3.0.0 only works on an English Windows. For my own I make the code more flexible to use German Windows and expand it for a command line parameter to start set1 or set2.
    How can I give you my changes?

    cu

  30. Looks like a very nice tool, but I am running Vista 32 bit DANISH and that could be the reason why it doesn’t work correctly.
    How can I produce a version that fits my environment? ❓

  31. @headspeak: Submit a pull request on github with your changes.

  32. Hrothgar Skraekelig

    I confess that I had trouble following your perfectly clear and concise notes in the .ini file. Once I got past that, it worked like a charm. I’m a fan. Thanks!

  33. Fragging Brilliant, thanks so much, PERFECT solution.

  34. awesome stuff. I tried v2, found it a lil too “simple” so tried v3. PERFECT. 2 minute install and configuration, and it seems to toggle from speakers to headphones just by me clicking on the tray icon.

    For those like me who aren’t experts, a sentence on how to make the tray icon “show always” would be cool.
    Thanks. great app.

  35. u R d man!
    thank u so much
    i’m happy for you for being the first result in google (at least with my search term).
    idea: when switching by pressing on the tray icon it would be good to have a notification of what is the currently active sound source

  36. You sir, are AWESOME! less than 60 seconds to download and configure (default setting worked perfect for me and what I was looking for).

    I have my Bose Companion 3 speakers connected to the soundcard and Logitech G35 Headset connected via USB. Once I extracted and read the forum to see the Ctrl+Alt+Enter combo, I was able to macro to one of the “G” keys and call if good!

    Took me longer to write this thank you than it did to get set up.

    For G35 owners, you need to grab the new Logitech Gaming Software and then force a driver update via Divice Manager to get the LGS to find the G35 and allow for custom keys…. Now to go see how this works with the SWTOR beta…. Good luck all and thank you again for the perfect app.

  37. not working on turkish windows 7 64bit!!! please fix it.

  38. Loving the solution. By far the best one i’ve tried so far. The only thing i’m missing is a “custom hotkey” setting that would minitor what key’s i’m pressing and use that as a switch for what i want.

    That’s because i use a Logitech G11 keyboard, wich is awesome, but i would like to be able to just press the “headphone mute” key on it and it switches to my big speakers instead. That way it would work great 🙂

    Anyways, thanks for a great program!

  39. Great program.
    Being able to set a key to a specific speaker device would be nice for use G-Key users, if possible.

  40. I would really like it if you could also disable a sound device. I am using the G510 keyboard and if you use the built in headset jack the mute and volume control keys will only control it’s sound device if it is enabled. If you disable the G510 headset then it will swap to my speakers and I keep the media control I am after.

  41. Really sorry to have to ask for something, since this is a lovely little tool..! However, is there any possibility of developing further so that a 3rd source can be added? I’m running a study with a 3×3.5mm jack surround, a second room with the optical output for surround but I’ve also run a HDMI cable down to my lounge TV for convenient gaming, hence also need to add “Nvidia High Definition Audio” as a 3rd switchable output! I would happily donate !!!
    ???

  42. I have the same Line 1774 error as described by Megarook above. I have made loads of changes to the ini to try and solve this, but I still get the same error. The only thing to add is that t looks like your app tries to open the Sound Applet but fails in some way as a broken Sound tab appears on the Start Bar but can only be closed.

    Running Windows Vista 32

  43. hi,

    so as i read through the comments a have a few questions:
    * soundswitch is still developed on, but the latest version available for “end users” is still: soundswitch_3.0dev2 – correct?
    * soundswitch_3.0dev2 does _only_ work with english versions of windows – correct?
    * is there a new release planned in the near future?

    thx for the info.

  44. @adrian: 3.0dev2 is the version you should be using.

    It only work on English versions.

    I don’t know about the “near” future, but I haven’t given up on the software. I’ve just had a busy year without time to work on this.

  45. Switching speakers is one thing. But,I need software to switch recording input between my headset and the mikes in my webcam. Can I use your software solution for this, too?

  46. This is perfect little app! I couldn’t believe there wasn’t an easier way to switch pb devices!

  47. Great tool. I use it to switch between speaker configs. It would be fantastic to assign separate hotkeys to each config. That’s my only wish (as well as better documentation).

  48. Extending your program to work for unlimited audio devices would be great. I currently want to switch between 3 devices and I’m sure there are many others who do as well. I would also like to see an icon on the screen which would match up with the device you just selected and the device name. Also supporting keyboard shortcut keys such as on many programmable keyboards would be sweet.

  49. Thank you for your work, this is really neat. I stumbled across a link to the 2.0.3 version trying to solve the problem and read about the 3.0 dev build. I’m running 3.0dev2 on my Win7Pro 64 machine and it’s working great.

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