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[tvrgeek]

Picked up a Topping D30 pro which can support WASAPI and all kinds of other features I don't need.
I see JRiver has an eq built in, as that is critical and I prefer not to play games with routing tools to get APO to work.  So good.
Now the UI.  WMP is very intuitive.  I just click on a genre and drag whatever catches my eye into a temporary list. I can see what is there.  I do not want to make any fixed lists, think about it before hand, or anything.  Running a Windows server, 21 inch touch screen. Right now, it is just my current 500 or so CDs in FLAC on the server. I have not fooled with any streaming yet.

Can the UI be configured like WMP?

I would like to do this hopefully upgrade, but it is so convoluted, I have half a mind to send the DAC back and just run my Schiit and WMP with APO/Peace.  I can hear small improvements in low level detail with the Topping. The Schiit is no slouch. Both clearly blow away my old first gen Wolfson.  But if the UI is frustrating, then the small improvement is not worth it.

[tvrgeek]

OK, moved this question to the GUI thread. Something kind of like "pool room"

[tvrgeek]

Does one have to be a programmer to configure this thing?  In other words, it is a hobby toy, not a consumer product for which they charge? If it is a take it or leave it, OK, I'll leave it. I would like to know.

[HPBEME]

MC is not WMP... it is instead, a very powerful "consumer product" where the interface can be configured in a spectacular number of ways.  You can then use tabs to switch between the many different custom views you may wish to create.  Given its comprehensive feature set, it unsurprisingly is not as "intuitive" as the ultra-simple WMP.

If MC's "out the box" layout is not to your liking, then as JimH said in another thread, dig in and learn a little - if you do, the payoff is immense.  There is no giant Easy button to push, and the perfect customized setup will not simply fall into your lap.  If that is time you are not willing to invest, then I suggest you try another program.

[tvrgeek]

Got another computer so I can load it.
Set to Audio only mode.
Set to split, two views.
So, on the left is the list of artist, genre etc. Fine
In the middle is the covers. Exactly. Actually better than WMP as unless you ack for details, you keep just the covers as you drill down.
But on the right, where I would like it to be the current play cue I can drag albums over to, I have the welcome screen.
So, how do I tell it what I want in that pane?  View/customize view seems to only open for the center pane.
I DO NOT want to make up predetermined play lists.

[blgentry]

Set to split, two views.
So, on the left is the list of artist, genre etc. Fine
In the middle is the covers. Exactly. Actually better than WMP as unless you ack for details, you keep just the covers as you drill down.
But on the right, where I would like it to be the current play cue I can drag albums over to, I have the welcome screen.
So, how do I tell it what I want in that pane?

Congrats on getting this far.  You can control what is in any of your split views by clicking on that particular window/split and then selecting what you want.  How to select?  There are several ways.  Probably the easiest is to go over to the navigation area on the left, and click near the top where is says "Playing Now."  Playing now is your temporary play queue.

Another way to select this is to click on your window/split and select from the top menu:  Player > Playing Now > Show Playing Now.

View/customize view seems to only open for the center pane.

Stay away from customize view for now.  It's not what you want.

I DO NOT want to make up predetermined play lists.

Me either!  I don't really like making predetermined playlists.  I like to build a "mix" on the fly, play it and enjoy it.  Next time I do it again, but make something different.  Sounds like what you are doing too.

MC is actually very good at doing this.  You mentioned that you like to drag albums or Genres over to the Playing Now queue.  This is fine, but you should know that there are other ways to do this as well.  What I do most frequently is to find an album (or artist, or genre) that I like, then RIGHT CLICK on it.  From there I get a menu.  One of the menu items is "add to playing now".  That puts it at the end of playing now and I go on to the next one.  But what if I don't want it at the end?  There's a submenu called "more play options" that has TONS of options of how and where to play your selection.  Of course you can move around tracks or albums in Playing Now also.  Just highlight and drag.

These are good ways to build your mix quickly.

Good luck with MC!

Brian.

[HPBEME]

Brian beat me to the punch - I was typing my reply up when he posted.  Well, since I put the time in to create it I am posting it anyway, even though we cover much of the same ground.  His advice is great as always, but perhaps an additional slightly different take will be beneficial.

So, on the left is the list of artist, genre etc. Fine

My initial thought is you were talking about a Panes view layout for the left hand split view.  It took me a minute, but then realized you actually were referring to the MC Tree.  The Tree is always present on left (well... sort of, but that is for another day) with limited layout options, and is not a "view".  What you call the "middle" is actually the left view (of a 2 column split view).  May seem like a silly distinction, but helping people understand your issue will get you the best solution/advice faster.  Screenshots are particularly helpful.

So how did you get the view you wanted in the left hand split view?  By clicking an item in the Tree ... correct?  So you do the same thing for the right hand split view - first... click anywhere in the right view to make it active.  Then click on Playing Now at the top of the MC Tree.  To avoid accidentally changing the tab you just set for the right split view, click on it and select Lock Tab from the drop-down menu.  A little padlock icon will show in the tab on the left.

Below is what I suspect to be the layout you are looking to achieve.

[~:Eternal Themer:~]

Brian beat me to the punch - I was typing my reply up when he posted.  Well, since I put the time in to create it I am posting it anyway, even though we cover much of the same ground.  His advice is great as always, but perhaps an additional slightly different take will be beneficial.
My initial thought is you were talking about a Panes view layout for the left hand split view.  It took me a minute, but then realized you actually were referring to the MC Tree.  The Tree is always present on left (well... sort of, but that is for another day) with limited layout options, and is not a "view".  What you call the "middle" is actually the left view (of a 2 column split view).  May seem like a silly distinction, but helping people understand your issue will get you the best solution/advice faster.  Screenshots are particularly helpful.

So how did you get the view you wanted in the left hand split view?  By clicking an item in the Tree ... correct?  So you do the same thing for the right hand split view - first... click anywhere in the right view to make it active.  Then click on Playing Now at the top of the MC Tree.  To avoid accidentally changing the tab you just set for the right split view, click on it and select Lock Tab from the drop-down menu.  A little padlock icon will show in the tab on the left.

Below is what I suspect to be the layout you are looking to achieve.

i love to see that in JR too album in the middle and track cover to the left.
well in that way will be more useful and functional!

[tvrgeek]

The screen is spilt into three "panes" . Pane, column, split, whatever they are called. Three spaces.

The "Tree" is on the left. When selecting " audio " it is what I want.  Tree on top "Action Window" in a section  the bottom.  It would be nice to be able to remove things from the tree that are irreverent, but small detail.  "3D' for instance.

The center is behaving about as I expect.  Select an item in the tree, and that is the center "pane " display.
An album cover with the selected text under it.  So if I select genre, I get a first in the list cover with "blues" , Classical" etc.
I can then select a cover and drill down just as I expect.

So this leaves my with the problem of the right hand pane/column/split whatever it is called.
 I want to drag a cover into it and it starts playing. It should expand the album into the tracks. I should be able to drag multiple albums into it as a queue.

What it does when you drag a cover into it is a box asking what to do.  Too small for touch screen.  I can click "add too" but nothing on the display shows it is in the  queue. I just get a big cover for the current playing.

Lets see if I can put an image in the forum..  Guess not in quick reply.  Every forum works differently.

[tvrgeek]

OK see if I can add an image.  In regular reply, not quick.   In WMP it puts the cover in the list. Not needed as MC nicely puts it in the top ribbon. So I just need the list of tracks.  It should have some sort if indicator where you ae in the list.  Somewhere you should have the ability to select list or shuffle, and clear. You should  be able to click on a song to jump to it.   This seems so logical to me. Hard to believe I am saying that about Microsoft.

[tvrgeek]

In looking for servers, I see Windows 11 will have a new one.  Another MS scam. NONE of my computers can run Win 11.  CPU not supported.  One is only ONE YEAR OLD and it is not a bottom end.  My desktop is still right up there in performance, a quad i7. Not supported.   How much die Intel and AMD pay them?

Found the equalizer.  Not only click the box, but then have to click the text.  Is there a way to put an icon in the ribbon or something?   Is there a way to have two EQ settings? One speakers, one phones. One button, not going into menus.

[tvrgeek]

With several menu items, you can get to "clear playing now" 
That should be a button.

The setup does not stay. When I reopen, I get the welcome screen again.  I gather there is some lock somewhere I need to set. It should either come up as last used, or as some default config as set. ( empty play list) My preference would be a fixed selection from the tree, like genre.

[rec head]

I think you are looking for Tools->Options->Startup->Startup Interface-> Location: Last Location

CTRL+O gets you straight to options.

[tvrgeek]

Ah, that fixed that issue.

No hot keys.  This is for a touch screen PC.  Keyboard is stuffed behind.

[JimH]

Take a look at Tools > Options > General > Behavior.  You can add to Playing Now with a double click, for example.

Your focus on duplicating WMP is probably a waste of time.  Learn how MC works first.