Maybe in the J River wiki there could be a section where users could voluntarily write a section, where they could state what type of person they are and what type of music and library they have.
I can't imagine being able to do that, so I doubt it would work. It seems you're looking at your own creation, thinking your head is going to explode, and assuming there must be a "better way." But that's not unlike the experience I'm having. I'm happy with my set up, but only because I've found ways to prevent my head from exploding. One way is not trying to explain all the intricacies of how I choose to do things to others. Even if I could, the reaction of any sane person would be, "Well, I'm not going to attempt
that."
One way I cope—and also a reason why I could never describe my whole set up—is I make small, manageable changes all the time. On just about every significant question you've asked, I've done a some thinking and experimenting, and made changes to my own set up. As a result of doing this for several years now, there are many aspects of my system that work very well. But there are also parts that work but don't make much sense—because of the way they evolved. I wouldn't want to try to explain such things without re-engineering them so they make sense. There are a number of things I could not easily describe—because I've completely forgotten how they work!
After pilfering yet another idea from his setup, I vote that Rick do this with his!
So I won't do this, but I do agree pilfering should be the first choice for a coping tool. If you can't find anything to pilfer, then consider questions others are asking, and devise your own solution. A substantial portion of my set up is comprised of solutions to problems I didn't realize I had.
I do not understand this. Are the files shown in the screenshot image files in music album folders that you have tagged like the audio files in the music album? Is it an all media view, i.e. images and audio? What do you mean when you say reset the two panes? If I reset a pane view focus of the file selected is lost. What I am in particular interested in is how you manage to show the image file(s) and the music files associated with it (if that is what you do).
This is a good example. It's a single view for a very specific purpose, yet it won't be easy to explain. Also, not everyone is in the same circumstance (i.e., in this case, how covers are handled), and few would choose to deal with the need in exactly the same way. But my solution is based on a few techniques and an understanding of how the program works that would be helpful to others, even if they're not interested in applying them in this particular case.
So I will describe this in a separate topic when I find time. It involves writing embedded covers to the file system, identifying those images as covers, and tagging them so they can be associated with the albums from which they came. The view is then used to select a particular cover (e.g., one that is too small or not square) and displaying it with the tracks of the album. At that point, the appropriate tool is used to modify or find a new image, then save it to the file tags. The process is a bit involved and may sound cumbersome, but I'm very pleased with the results. I can now isolate "problem" covers very quickly (anyone who has tried knows this is not straightforward) and devote whatever time and attention is available to finding and choosing the best cover.