Walter Glenn

Since my last article on Vista’s new Volume Mixer, I got a few comments from people saying that Vista didn’t remember their settings and just set volume for other apps somewhat randomly. But Volume Mixer does remember the settings, just not the way you might think. I thought I’d do a follow-up with a few more details about Vista Volume Mixer. Take a look at the picture below:

Remember, a new app doesn’t show up in the Volume Mixer until it actually makes a sound - not just when you open it. So play around with. You’ll see that Vista Volume Mixer does remember the settings. It doesn’t remember fixed settings for each individiual app. Instead, it rather remembers settings in relation to the master volume. And that still applies when you change your system’s master volume when Volume Mixer is not open. That’s why you’re likely to see changes in position the next time you open it.

Previous versions of Windows let you set the volume levels only for inputs (such as microphones) and outputs (such as speakers and headphones). The new Volume Mixer in Windows Vista lets you set volume levels for each program. While some programs offer the ability to control the program’s volume inside the program’s interface, some don’t. The new Volume Mixer makes it easier to control volume for every program in a single place.

The Volume Mixer shows the currently-running programs that make sound (a program shows up on the mixer the first time the program makes a sound). Simply adjust the volume for each program how you want it. And once you set the volume for a program, Windows remembers the setting.

To get the Volume Mixer, just click the speaker icon in the Notification Area (where the clock is) and then click Mixer at the bottom of the volume slider. Or, just hit Start and type sndvol in the Search box.