Tips on Using BallroomDJ 4: Reloading after an accidental exit or crash
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 9:00 am
Reloading after an accidental exit or crash
When you are playing music, and you accidentally close BDJ4, or if BDJ4 crashes (I hope not), it can be very stressful to re-start BDJ4, reload the playlist, try to figure out where you were in the playlist and skipping the already-played songs to get to where you were. This method also doesn't include any changes made to the playlist or changes to other music queues.
The other problem when accidentally closing BDJ4, is that you have to remember how to do the reload process. This is difficult, and not something that BDJ4 can solve, as BDJ4 cannot tell if the player was closed on purpose or not.
I recommend updating BDJ4 as there were some bugs in the reload process fixed in version 4.17.4.
The BDJ4 player reload function is only available when the player first starts. It will reload the music queues and the last song that was playing. If the music queue is updated, any previous information about the last setup is gone, and the Reload selection in the Actions menu will be greyed out.
The best way to remember the reload process is trying it out.
Start BDJ4, start the Player, queue a playlist and play it. Wait for a few songs to finish (or just use the fade button). In the picture below, the History tab is selected, you can see a few songs have been played, and that a Jive is playing.
Close the player. Then restart the player. In the Actions menu, select Reload.
The next screenshot is after the reload. Again, the History tab is selected, and it can be seen that the history was restored. The main music queue has also been restored (no picture). The jive has been reloaded as the current song and is ready to be played.
The main issue to remember is that any change to any music queue will turn off the reload function, and the previously playlist cannot be restored.
The reload process isn't absolutely perfect. Any playlist configurations, changing the maximum play time for a dance, or stopping at a particular time, are not restored. The reloaded playlists only have the songs that were in the music queue at the time of exit, and no new songs will be added to the playlist (if an automatic or sequenced playlist was loaded).
When you are playing music, and you accidentally close BDJ4, or if BDJ4 crashes (I hope not), it can be very stressful to re-start BDJ4, reload the playlist, try to figure out where you were in the playlist and skipping the already-played songs to get to where you were. This method also doesn't include any changes made to the playlist or changes to other music queues.
The other problem when accidentally closing BDJ4, is that you have to remember how to do the reload process. This is difficult, and not something that BDJ4 can solve, as BDJ4 cannot tell if the player was closed on purpose or not.
I recommend updating BDJ4 as there were some bugs in the reload process fixed in version 4.17.4.
The BDJ4 player reload function is only available when the player first starts. It will reload the music queues and the last song that was playing. If the music queue is updated, any previous information about the last setup is gone, and the Reload selection in the Actions menu will be greyed out.
The best way to remember the reload process is trying it out.
Start BDJ4, start the Player, queue a playlist and play it. Wait for a few songs to finish (or just use the fade button). In the picture below, the History tab is selected, you can see a few songs have been played, and that a Jive is playing.
- tips-reload-a.png (60.43 KiB) Viewed 126 times
Close the player. Then restart the player. In the Actions menu, select Reload.
- tips-reload-menu.png (30.98 KiB) Viewed 126 times
The next screenshot is after the reload. Again, the History tab is selected, and it can be seen that the history was restored. The main music queue has also been restored (no picture). The jive has been reloaded as the current song and is ready to be played.
- tips-reload-after.png (59.52 KiB) Viewed 126 times
The main issue to remember is that any change to any music queue will turn off the reload function, and the previously playlist cannot be restored.
The reload process isn't absolutely perfect. Any playlist configurations, changing the maximum play time for a dance, or stopping at a particular time, are not restored. The reloaded playlists only have the songs that were in the music queue at the time of exit, and no new songs will be added to the playlist (if an automatic or sequenced playlist was loaded).