Differences between WinMX Versions



WinMX has three versions that are most widely used today, since FrontCode Technologies complied with the RIAA cease and desist order in Sept. of 2005.  The most popular by far is the WinMX v 3.54 beta 4, following closely behind is the WinMX v 3.53, the last official release.  There are a few folks out there that are still using the WinMX v.3.31.
You can get v3.53 & 3.54b4 patched from here:
WinMX Community Patch Page

Here we will talk briefly about some of the major differences and known issues regarding each version.


WinMX v3.31

WinMX v3.31 was first released on October 20th, 2002.  This release is still in use by a handful today.  There are two major differences that the average user will notice between this model and the later ones, this is color support and the command style for chat room administration.

3.31 has no color support and using it in the chat rooms you're likely to see lots of nick names with 'color codes' in the names, like #c1#[WMW]#c7#Me Here_324_34675 for example.  In a later version these actually appear as colors not just the codes which 3.31 is unable to process for viewing.

The second major difference is the commands that are used to execute things in the chat rooms.  This version uses RCMS (Remote Command Management System) style commands for carrying out the admin duties in rooms.

After years of continued support for this version as of the last release of the WinMX Community Patch, we regret that support for this dated version has ceased, we recommend you update to 3.53 or 3.54beta4.


WinMX v3.53

WinMX v3.53 was first released on July 2nd, 2004. The biggest difference with this release was related to the chat room functions.  

This version incorporated the IRC style commands instead of the RCMS style. Instead of the #AdminCmd kickban blah blah user name, you now have the /kickban blah blah user name, and so on.

This version also incorporated a feature on the Chat Screen called a Filter bar, and allowed you to set Favorite channels for a quick entry into your regular rooms.  The filter bar is capable of filtering any information to make finding rooms related to say 'Jazz', or 'Movies' easier to locate and refine your lists, you can also filter by HEX room numbers or words in the topic.
Being able to add rooms to Favorites List is a wonderful feature if you're a regular chat user, simply add a room while you're in it by going to the Commands button located under the user list, and choose Add To Favorites.  Or you can add them from the Chat Room Lists by right clicking and choosing Add To Favorites.  From the Favorites button located on the far right of the Chat Room List screen you can remove unwanted ones or simply click them to enter that channel.

The other feature that many users like is the color support viewable now in the chat. This feature is loved by many and in rooms hosted with Chat Server programs this makes it easy to have fun and decorate your room or make your user name that much more fun.

Note: Not to confuse you however, this is for non WinMX Hosted rooms, such as WCS, Ouka, FX, or the like or even viewable from your Chat Clients if you happen to be using those instead.  We can speculate that in order to compete with such programmers of the Chat Servers the folks at Frontcode Technologies may have had color support for WinMX hosted rooms in the plans but it never came to pass.

The basic file sharing functions of the client remained the same for the average user. So if you're using an older version and would like to have one that is most like v3.31, this is best for you.
Sharing on 3.53


WinMX v3.54 beta 4

WinMX v3.54 beta 4 was released for testing on December 12th, 2004.  As the name implies it was never an official release, there is wild, mad, and some sensible speculations about what was to come of the 3.54 series and what the next release would be officially however, again this was not to come to pass.

Most of the time we wouldn't recommend a beta version of a program for regular use but, in the light of the events of Sept 20th, 2005 no further development is expected.  This version has been tested and is used by most users today.  There are many bug fixes from the earlier actual release that make this a more stable version to use.  Lets talk about that first.

There are two known bugs that many users saw with v3.53, the first was its tenacious way of finding yourself in the Auto Find Sources, and entering your own Que for incomplete files.  Sounds harmless enough but it was enough of an issue that they 'fixed' it in the later beta releases and most folks were relieved.
The second was a disconnection issue with v3.53 users and secondary when calling for a Chat Room List.

Another problem that seems to be seen less in the WinMX v3.54 series are crashes of the program or intermittent undue termination of the program as I like to call them.  Although, its fair to say there are many reasons this can be caused and it can happen with any version of WinMX it was more frequent for some users with the v3.53 and so if you're having that problem we often recommend an upgrade in version to the beta.

Now let's talk about some of the feature upgrades you will see with WinMX v3.54 b4.

The added Chat functions are still the same for this version the most noticeable change in this one is the way the Shared files (now called Library) are handled.  You will notice a big change in the functionality of the Library in this version adding a much more precise ability to share specific files from folders or folders from drives, even giving you more freedom to unshare or share quickly needed files.  
The rebuilding of the Library doesn't need to freeze up your WinMX which for folks that share large amount of files could take up to an hour with earlier versions.  This all happens quite seamlessly now.
The ability you have for full control over your shared files from the 'right click' Library Screen menu is great for accessing and controlling your shared files.
For more detailed information about how to share with this version and the tricks and tips to know please visit here:
How To Share on WinMX v3.54 beta 4



If you continue to have problems after trying the above please visit the forum and post your
information so we can look at the issues.
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