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[tlongacre]

I've seen mention on this board and the main one of "sub playlists" or "sub smartlists", but I can't see a feature like this, at least my understanding of it.

Here's what I want --

a "Master" iPod smartlist that would -- limit the total quantity of songs, the file type, the genre, etc.

then, beneath that -- playlists (and smartlists) that I want to include on my iPod but submit to the above restrictions.

I can't see how to make this work. I can include the Playlists in the definition of the "Master" smartlist BUT that has only the Master list show up on the iPod, not the other playlists as iPod playlists. So, I get the songs, but not the playlists.

If I just choose the playlists and smartlists directly (which is what I am currently doing) or I use the master and also select the play/smartlists, then I run into a few problems with going over the size limit, files that are the wrong type, etc.

Is what I am thinking of possible? If so, how could I do it? If not, could this be an added feature?

Thanks.

[bjsolem]

See this thread if you haven't already:

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=21535

Sub Smartlists aren't an official feature but just a term to describe a smartlist that uses another smartlist as part of its search criteria and adds rules to take a smaller piece of the larger list.

I started the thread above looking to do about the same thing that it sounds like you are trying to do.  I also kept having trouble with the size going over the Ipod size.

I am having much better luck using size limits on each individual Sub Smartlist.  I am making each sub smartlist larger or smaller depending on how many tunes I want for that playlist.

I still use my Fill Ipod smartlist (from the thread above) but without any size limits on it.  It becomes a shortcut for updating the rules of all the sub smartlists that refer to it.

Right now I have Fill Ipod set to get the following:
All mp3's and AAC
All 3 Star and above
No Jazz
and I exclude a few artists

All my other Ipod playlists now include Fill Ipod as well as some other rules that make each one unique.

This way if I want to exclude some more artists or include 2 star songs, I just need to change it one place and all the other smartlists pick up the same rules.  Very Slick!

The size limits on the sub smartlists limit a playlist to the appropriate size and I can make sure that they dont add up to more than the size of my Ipod.  Because the Fill Ipod smartlist does not have a size limit on it, I don't sync it to the ipod, it is ONLY referenced by the other smartlists.

I hope this helps...

[tlongacre]

I read your other thread. Thanks.

But I think I must assume that what I'd like must not exist currently. I know how to work around it, but it makes the whole operation much less than automatic.

Steve, any chance for an enhancement?

[SteveG]

Perhaps in the future. The whole system of smartlists is predicated on the dynamic creation of a set of songs based on the rules for that smartlist. This request changes that and makes sense but is a broader change than we will do immediately.

Thanks,

Steve

[tlongacre]

Yes, I think I can see that.

Another option or way of thinking about it that would achieve what I want, would be to have filters. That way I could construct playlists and smartlists as usual, but when I wanted to synch with the iPod, I could apply a filter to all the playlists/smartlists that I choose to synch.

So, I'd just choose the smartlists/playlist I want to synch, all the songs and lists would then go to the iPod (with the appropriate options selected, of course), but I could apply a filter -- say, no WMA files, none of xx genre, etc. This would work if # of megabytes could be a filter item as well.


Not sure if that helps at all, but I realized that there is more than one way of thinking about what we are wanting to do.

Thanks.

[SteveG]

How about this....

1) Create a smartlist with a limit of the size of your iPod.
2) Create a playlist called "iPod".
3) Whenever you are going to sync, delete all files in playlist iPod and send all files from the smartlist to the playlist.
4) Create smartlists based on the iPod playlist (you only need to do this one time)
5) Sync the  smatlists created in 4 to iPod.

I think this will do what you are after. Alternately, you could cut out steps 2 and 3 and create a playlist, but the files would not dynamically change.

[tlongacre]

The problem with this is that I end up with no playlists on the iPod (well, or one). With a 40gb iPod, it's really hard to get around without playlists. Currently I have a mix of playlists and smartlists that I use to listen on the iPod, one of which is a basic "filler" smartlist of more recently ripped stuff. But I also include, for instance, my Favorites smartlist as well as a bunch of playlists I've created for various moods, reasons, etc.

I tried creating a smartlist with all the filters I wanted plus the play & smartlists I wanted. That created a perfect list of songs. But when I sync that with the iPod, all the play & smartlists INSIDE that list do not come over as playlists on the iPod (guess the iPod is not smart enough to detect them since they are in the definition of the smartlist).

right now I use that, and then also click on all those play & smartlists so I get the list -- but this either causes errors ('cause there are songs on the lists that are not compatible with the iPod) or I have to adjust the filler 'cause some stuff comes over that I don't want.

It's not the end of the world certainly. Just not quite as elegant as I would like (and as I am used to in working with MC).

[SteveG]

The problem with this is that I end up with no playlists on the iPod (well, or one).

Create smartlists based on the one Playlist which limits the size and you will have mutliple smartlists on iPod.

I tried creating a smartlist with all the filters I wanted....

Great. After you do this, copy the files to a Playlist called iPod. Create all your playlists for iPod based on the Playlist (NOT the smartlist) called iPod and sync the smartlists you just created.

Steve

[tlongacre]

Yes, I can see how that might work, but it's not as dynamic as I'd like. So it sounds like you are saying that I can create a smartlist based on a playlist but not a playlist based on a smartlist -- I thnk I tried that one time and realized I couldn't do it.

I'm sure there's a really good reason why, but what I'd really really like someday is the ability to created playlists based on a smartlist -- because the overarching limiters are dynamic (filetype, certain genres).

Should I hope for this happening someday or is it either impossible or too much work to be worth it?

[SteveG]

So it sounds like you are saying that I can create a smartlist based on a playlist but not a playlist based on a smartlist

Not quite. You can do either, but in your specific example of trying to have a 'base' smartlist or playlist which limits size, you will need to use a playlist which does not dynamically recalculate the files as sub smartlists are populated.

The other solution is to create smartlists with size limitations that when added together do not exceed the available space of your player.

The change that would need to occur to make this work the way you would like it to would be pretty big. I do not think the gain outweighs the costs.

Steve

[tlongacre]

Hmm, okay I'll take a look at it again tonight. If I can have a smartlist that is the "base" one that does everything except limit the size, that would help a lot.

Thanks.

[SteveG]

That should work. The problem comes when you have a smartlist base that limits size and additional smartlists derived from that base. Each time a derived smartlist is created, it recalculates the base which is how one can potentially exceed the max. The limit of size would need to rely on a static set of files to make this work out. That is why you need to create a playlist for the base.

Steve