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Author Topic: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)  (Read 1714 times)

Marty3d

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Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« on: November 13, 2002, 12:20:52 am »

Hi!
I think this has been asked for, but I'll throw it in again, just for discussion :)

Splitting the main pane. I'd love to see more than one playlist at once! When I'm adding files to a playlist, it could be really useful to quickly see if the files perhaps already been added.
For instance, I have this "party" playlist with a couple of hundred songs in it. When I have the time and inspiration I usually sit down and browse my Media Library to see if there's some songs I might want to add to the party list, but I'm always find myself adding the same songs over and over again...sigh!

So, a split screen where you choose which 2 playlists/ML you want to see would be perfect!

What do you say?
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Matt

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2002, 04:50:33 am »

The good news is that a file can only be in a playlist once with MJ :P  I know that's not the question though...

We're thinking of making Playing Now and Playlists pages in the new dockable file properties system.  I can't promise it for 9.0 though... it could be 9.1 because it gets a little complicated making sure everything stays synchronized...

Thanks!
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

NoCodeUK

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2002, 04:55:44 am »

That would be great Matt.  I don't really use playlists much at the moment for my audio as I have all my albums in the tree and I can dbl click them to play (see no reason to have a separate playlist for each album...) but I think now that we can mix audio and images I will be using playlists a lot more to create slideshows and the like so this would be really good...Will there eventually be more control over synching audio and images in a show i,e, which comes first,  particular images synching with particular tracks etc.??

Cheers

Adam
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Marty3d

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2002, 07:03:01 am »

Matt,
If I understood you right, your idea for the playlist/playing now sounds like a plan :) And I personally can live with the current situation since I don't use playlists that much, only for go-to-bed-now-Martin-music and more upbeat-situations :)

As for your input NoCodeUK, I believe we're talking about two different things...playlists I believe are more commonly used for mixing songs from different albums :)

Cheers!
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NoCodeUK

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2002, 07:11:46 am »

Possibly ;D  I am thinking of using playlists as a tool to create slideshows but would like it to be done in the same way you have described e.g. Songs above playing now below and drag and drop from one to the other.  I was just elabarating on your feature :)

Adam
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lee269

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2002, 08:27:27 am »

Ive asked for this feature a few times, so Id like to add my thanks to you all for listening to us. I have very few saved playlists and tend to build playing now each time. What I wanted was a way to view the library and Playing Now at the same time and drag songs from one to the other.

Matt - I cant quite visualise how your solution will work, but if it allows that, Ill be happy. Thanks again.
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JimH

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2002, 10:01:33 am »

Quote

What I wanted was a way to view the library and Playing Now at the same time and drag songs from one to the other.


Have you tried using the "drop target" (just above the tree) for this?
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Marty3d

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2002, 11:00:05 am »

JimH,
I understand what lee269 means. Of course there's the drop target and alot of other ways to add files to the playlist, but no way to actually see the playlist at the same time, which gives a much easier view of what you are doing.
Imagine you have a pile of 500 alphabetic letters. In another room you have a box where you are going to put one letter of a kind from a-z. You grab a random letter and run into the other room to stuff it, then back and get another random letter. The possibilities are that the letter in your hand already exists in the box!Wouldn't it be easier if you had the box and the pile of letters in the same room? :)
Poor metaphor I know, but hey :)
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phelt

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2002, 02:33:22 pm »

IMO, to have Playing Now available in a pane would also increase usability. Fitt's Law is detailed here but in a nutshell:
The time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target.

I completely understand that this will probably be a post-v9.0 improvement. Lots of stuff changed and added already, meaning lots of tweaks, fixes and tinkering.
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nila

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2002, 10:56:38 pm »

Hey Matt,

Glad you guys are thinking of adding it.

One idea though that might work better is instead of adding it to the properties pane, The 'Playing Now' window could be modified so that a display option for the top of the window, instead of Track Info, Visualisations etc, could be: Media Library. That would give us both the library and playing now.

I just think this might work better as for the tracks, we'd have a much wider space and so can see all the track info. The properties page on the other hand is pretty narrow.

If it was done along these lines then maybe take it a step further and make it so that we can choose which screen we want to show in the top or bottom window (using the layout of the 'playing now window' but letting us choose from a range of options what shows in the top and what shows in the bottom.

Options could include: Media Library, Track Info, Slideshow, Visualisations, Playing Now, Playlist Files etc etc.

This would allow us to even use the top and bottom for two seperate playlists which we could drag and drop files between etc. Quite a bit of power :)


What'd you think? Humanly impossible or a possibility?
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lee269

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2002, 08:16:59 am »

Quote
One idea though that might work better is instead of adding it to the properties pane, The 'Playing Now' window could be modified so that a display option for the top of the window, instead of Track Info, Visualisations etc, could be: Media Library. That would give us both the library and playing now.


Nilas point is pretty much what I had envisaged. But as I say, I will wait to see how it works.

Jim - Yes I know about the drop target, but I never use it. I primarily use right-click send to or setup doubleclick behaviour. I admit I think the target is pretty much redundant - too small and not intuitive for new users. Im not suggesting it gets removed, but I basically agree with phelt and Marty3d.
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nila

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2002, 09:56:24 am »

and me, U got my vote on that drop target.
It took me almost 4 months of heavy usage to find it.
Even now I dont use it as it really is too smally for me to feel comfortable with.

What'd I'd LOVE is one for it to have different size options so I could make it at least twice the size.

But I'd also really love to be able to have a toolbar of drop targets so that I could create as many or as few as I wanted.
I'd have one for my burner, one for my favourites playlist, one for my files to be tagged playlist, one for my mp3's needing to be burnt playlist, one for ..... and so on :)
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Doof

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2002, 11:58:50 am »

Drop Target> I pretty much only use this as a way to quickly change my double click behavior. I set Double Click Behavior to Current Send To Item, then I just use the Drop Target to change the current Send To item. It works great.

But I agree that a way of seeing the media library and Playing Now/Playlist would be great.

How about just making Playing Now visible on all views, the way the search bar now is? At least then you could go from Media Library to Playing Now and be able to see what's going on. From there, it shouldn't be too hard to show different playlists in the Playing Now spot.
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Doof

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2002, 12:00:44 pm »

Quote
The good news is that a file can only be in a playlist once with MJ


Why is this good news? :P

I've wanted the ability to add a song to a playlist more than once ever since I first started using MJ.
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nila

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Re: Suggestion: Split window (SMALL change!)
« Reply #14 on: November 14, 2002, 10:56:07 pm »

Do I detect something else to have in the options screen as optional? :)
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