Added new option Configure silence between chapters

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 # 1.1.8 (pre-release)
 - Added `.md` (Markdown) file extension support by @brianxiadong in PR #75
+- Added new option `Configure silence between chapters` that lets users configure the silence between chapters, mentioned by @lfperez1982 in #79
 - Improved the markdown logic to better handle various markdown structures and edge cases.
-- Fixed `No Qt platform plugin could be initialized` error, mentioned in #59 by @sunrainxyz
+- Fixed `No Qt platform plugin could be initialized` error, mentioned by @sunrainxyz in #59
+- Improvements in code and documentation.
 
 # 1.1.7
 - Added MPS GPU acceleration support for Silicon Mac, mentioned in https://github.com/denizsafak/abogen/issues/32#issuecomment-3155902040 by @jefro108. **Please read the [Mac](https://github.com/denizsafak/abogen?tab=readme-ov-file#mac) section in the documentation again, as it requires additional configuration.**

README.md

@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ Here’s Abogen in action: in this demo, it processes ∼3,000 characters of tex
 |---------|-------------|
 | **Theme** | Change the application's theme using `System`, `Light`, or `Dark` options. |
 | **Configure max words per subtitle** | Configures the maximum number of words per subtitle entry. |
+| **Configure silence between chapters** | Configures the duration of silence between chapters (in seconds). |
 | **Configure max lines in log window** | Configures the maximum number of lines to display in the log window. |
 | **Separate chapters audio format** | Configures the audio format for separate chapters as `wav`, `flac`, `mp3`, or `opus`. |
 | **Create desktop shortcut** | Creates a shortcut on your desktop for easy access. |

abogen/conversion.py

@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ class ConversionThread(QThread):
         self.waiting_for_user_input = False
         self.use_gpu = use_gpu  # Store the GPU setting
         self.max_subtitle_words = 50  # Default value, will be overridden from GUI
+        self.silence_duration = 2.0  # Default value, will be overridden from GUI
 
     def _stream_audio_in_chunks(
         self, segments, process_func, progress_prefix="Processing"
@@ -286,6 +287,12 @@ class ConversionThread(QThread):
                         f"- Separate chapters format: {separate_format}"
                     )
 
+            # If merge_at_end is True, display the silence duration
+            if getattr(self, "merge_chapters_at_end", True):
+                self.log_updated.emit(
+                    f"- Silence between chapters: {self.silence_duration} seconds"
+                )
+
             if self.save_option == "Choose output folder":
                 self.log_updated.emit(
                     f"- Output folder: {self.output_folder or os.getcwd()}"
@@ -899,6 +906,22 @@ class ConversionThread(QThread):
                     # Update progress more frequently (after each result)
                     self.progress_updated.emit(percent, etr_str)
 
+                # Add silence between chapters for merged output (except after the last chapter)
+                if merge_chapters_at_end and chapter_idx < total_chapters:
+                    silence_samples = int(self.silence_duration * 24000)  # Silence duration at 24,000 Hz
+                    silence_audio = self.np.zeros(silence_samples, dtype="float32")
+                    silence_bytes = silence_audio.tobytes()
+                    
+                    if merged_out_file:
+                        merged_out_file.write(silence_audio)
+                    elif ffmpeg_proc:
+                        ffmpeg_proc.stdin.write(silence_bytes)
+                    
+                    # Update timing for the silence
+                    current_time += self.silence_duration
+                    if chapter_out_file or chapter_ffmpeg_proc:
+                        chapter_current_time += self.silence_duration
+
                 # Set chapter end time after processing
                 if merge_chapters_at_end:
                     chapter_time["end"] = current_time

abogen/gui.py

@@ -689,6 +689,9 @@ class abogen(QWidget):
         self.max_subtitle_words = self.config.get(
             "max_subtitle_words", 50
         )  # Default max words per subtitle
+        self.silence_duration = self.config.get(
+            "silence_duration", 2.0
+        )  # Default silence duration
         self.selected_format = self.config.get("selected_format", "wav")
         self.separate_chapters_format = self.config.get(
             "separate_chapters_format", "wav"
@@ -1862,6 +1865,8 @@ class abogen(QWidget):
             self.conversion_thread.file_size_str = file_size_str
             # Pass max_subtitle_words from config
             self.conversion_thread.max_subtitle_words = self.max_subtitle_words
+            # Pass silence_duration from config
+            self.conversion_thread.silence_duration = self.silence_duration
             # Pass replace_single_newlines setting
             self.conversion_thread.replace_single_newlines = (
                 self.replace_single_newlines
@@ -2815,6 +2820,11 @@ class abogen(QWidget):
         max_words_action.triggered.connect(self.set_max_subtitle_words)
         menu.addAction(max_words_action)
 
+        # Add silence between chapters option
+        silence_action = QAction("Configure silence between chapters", self)
+        silence_action.triggered.connect(self.set_silence_between_chapters)
+        menu.addAction(silence_action)
+
         max_lines_action = QAction("Configure max lines in log window", self)
         max_lines_action.triggered.connect(self.set_max_log_lines)
         menu.addAction(max_lines_action)
@@ -3471,6 +3481,40 @@ Categories=AudioVideo;Audio;Utility;
                 f"Maximum words per subtitle set to {value}.",
             )
 
+    def set_silence_between_chapters(self):
+        """Open a dialog to set the silence duration between chapters"""
+        from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QInputDialog, QDialog
+
+        current_value = self.config.get("silence_duration", 2.0)
+
+        dlg = QInputDialog(self)
+        dlg.setWindowTitle("Silence Duration (seconds)")
+        dlg.setLabelText(
+            "Enter the duration of silence\nbetween chapters (in seconds):"
+        )
+        dlg.setInputMode(QInputDialog.DoubleInput)
+        dlg.setDoubleDecimals(1)
+        dlg.setDoubleMinimum(0.0)
+        dlg.setDoubleMaximum(60.0)
+        dlg.setDoubleValue(current_value)
+        dlg.setDoubleStep(0.1)  # <-- set step to 0.1
+
+        if dlg.exec_() == QDialog.Accepted:
+            value = dlg.doubleValue()
+            # Round to one decimal to avoid floating-point representation noise
+            value = round(value, 1)
+
+            # Save the new value
+            self.silence_duration = value
+            self.config["silence_duration"] = value
+            save_config(self.config)
+
+            # Show confirmation (format with one decimal)
+            QMessageBox.information(
+                self,
+                "Setting Saved",
+                f"Silence duration between chapters set to {value:.1f} seconds.",
+            )
     def set_separate_chapters_format(self, fmt):
         """Set the format for separate chapters audio files."""
         self.separate_chapters_format = fmt