INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 15 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: sluizer on August 17, 2010, 05:51:28 pm
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Hi,
I've looked around and haven't found any documentation that helps to guide iTunes users in using MC. Is there any such documentation? I ask because a lot of my questions are of the form: this is how I do something in iTunes, how do I accomplish the same thing in MC? I imagine that there are ways to do what I want, but I'm having trouble finding them on the wiki. I can see that MC is much nicer than iTunes in many ways, but there are things that I do in iTunes that really work for me.
Thanks.
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GO ahead and ask in here. I can more or less assure you that someone will find a way for you to do everything you did in iTunes and more in MC.
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When I'm playing a track from a playlist and I start looking through the playlist, how do I return to my current track? That is, I want to make the track be visible in the portion of the list of files that is visible on screen. This is comparable to control-L in iTunes.
Thanks.
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it would be great thing to have. I barely touched iTunes in the few months I wasted farting around with an iPhone (very happy with my Android tho) but I am constantly trying to convert and help other iTuners to see the JRiver light. I remember MS Word had the olde "Help for Wordperfect Users" accessible within the install. Great idea.
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From what I remember about my switch from iTunes, there is no such feature in MC. At least not exactly as in iTunes. That said, I can't say I miss the feature a ton either... I wouldn't mind seeing it, but the navigation is so much superior to iTunes that once you get used to it you don't much need the ctrl+L thing anymore. That's how it worked for me anyway.
One thing you can do is right-click on the top info bar (between the two dancing EQ bars) and choose Locate > Name. This won't keep you in the current playlist however. If you're looking to modify the current playing track you can also choose "Tag" from the same right-click menu, but it won't select the file in the playlist.
Another similar option is to select any file in the playlist by clicking on the file, in the name column, then start typing the name of the currently playing song. Ctrl+Q also brings up the Quick Find feature, which will work similarly.
These methods may or may not work well for your needs...there are probably some other tricks for navigating that I can't think of.
-JB
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Part of the difference is a difference in mindset in how you operate. In iTunes you're always thinking playlists. Want to select songs in iTunes? Make a playlist. Want to do anything in iTunes? Make a playlist. The playlist is about the only tool iTunes has for filtering. Since it is the only tool in the toolbox it gets used for everything.
In Media Center my mindset is more on custom views and database selections rather than playlists. If I want to only see a certain type of music I make a new view or alter an existing view rather than make a new playlist. So in Media Center think more in terms of views rather than playlists. Media Center still has powerful playlist functions including dynamic Smartlists type playlists. The difference is that in Media Center the playlists get used for making actual lists rather than doing double-duty as database queries.
In Media Center I have playlists for things like road songs, favorite songs, what gets synced to the iPod and things like that. Things that are actual lists. I don't use playlists to make a list of all rock songs or all jazz songs. I have views that let me select things like jazz or rock instead.
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iTunes doesn't have a separate "playing now" list, which is a fundamental difference to MC. When I use iTunes I am always a bit lost because I can't simply play a track and then add any new tracks from other playlists to the playback queue without creating a dedicated playlist for that.
In MC you have various ways to view, search and filter your media database, various ways to create static playlists or rule based automatic playlists, and in addition at least one Playing Now list that is the actual playback queue. (You can have more than one active PN list if you use the Zones feature. For example, one zone can play to the internal sound card, one can play to a USB sound device, one can play to another computer or device through network, etc.)
Here is a screenshot of Playing Now (it's from MC14 and some things may have changed since I created it):
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd212/AB2K/MC/2ndStage-1.jpg)
Click to enlarge. (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd212/AB2K/MC/2ndStage.png)
In the active tab I have Playing Now that shows the queued songs and in the background tab I have a library view. I can quickly switch between the tabs to switch from my media library to the playback queue and back. I have also added several shortcut buttons to the top toolbar. The Back, Forward and Playing Now buttons are very useful for navigation. (Right-click the toolbar area to access its options.)
The skin in this screenshot is Mr ChriZ's "Second Stage": http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=46922
If you have further "iTunes vs MC" questions please post them in this thread so that others can find the questions and answers easily.
It would be good to merge this thread with your "guides for newbies who are used to iTunes" thread: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=59208
Perhaps an administrator could combine the threads.
EDIT
The threads are combined now.
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I really wish there was a guide for iTunes newbies who are used to MC. I regret every time I have to start iTunes for my iPhone because I'm always trying to figure out how to do different things that I know it must be able to do, but it is so confusing. I know many other people who are not MC users who say the same thing so I know it's not just me. ::)
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Thanks for all the suggestions.
Frobozz is right ... in iTunes I'm always thinking playlists. However, I am careful about how I "label" things and playlists are not my only tool for organizing my database. I don't have to create a playlist of all rock songs, for example, since I can use genre to create what is, in essence, a view for that.
Alex B, I use a playlist to create the same functionality as MC's "playing now". I just create a new, empty playlist and drop the things into it that I want to play. To me, this is pretty much the same functionality as MC's "playing now", although it does require the extra step of creating the new playlist. This does not seem like a fundamental difference between the two programs ... so I may be missing something.
One of the things that excites me the most about MC is the ability to create additional fields, instead of having to cram everything into the comment field. I use the comment field to hold a lot of information.
Anyway, thanks again everybody who responded. I know I'll have more questions as time goes on. The beginning can be frustrating because I know what I want to do, but can't figure out how to do it.
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One thing I really dislike is that all of my audio files now show a type of media center instead of mp3 or whatever. Is there some way to undo that?
Thanks.
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In MC Options, set the filetypes you want MC to own.
Set any that you want another player to own in the other player.
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Thanks, JimH, the file type problem was easy to fix.
Now, is it possible to open multiple MC windows? This question comes because of the way that I DJ using iTunes. I often open multiple playlists and search through them to choose what to play next, rather than having to troll through the tens of thousands of songs that I have. (Then I drop my choice into the playlist that I'm using as "Playing Now".) The question would apply regardless of whether I'm using playlists or views.
Thanks.
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You might explore zones. MC can play media in several zones at once. The Wiki has an article. Or just go to Player/Zones/Add Zone.
Each zone has its own Playing Now. Use Ctrl-T to toggle.
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Now, is it possible to open multiple MC windows? This question comes because of the way that I DJ using iTunes. I often open multiple playlists and search through them to choose what to play next, rather than having to troll through the tens of thousands of songs that I have. (Then I drop my choice into the playlist that I'm using as "Playing Now".) The question would apply regardless of whether I'm using playlists or views.
From my reply in the "foobar" thread:
... In MC the currently playing media file is indicated also in the library views but the actual handling of the playback queue happens in Playing Now.
Personally I am happy with MC's style. I use the library views separately from the playback queue (or queues if more than one is configured) that runs elsewhere.
A quick forum search found some my of old related replies:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=55700.msg378468#msg378468
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=50037.msg342274#msg342274
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=57197.msg388097#msg388097
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=49381.msg338160#msg338160
...and an example of a "DJ" setup that uses two Playing Now & MC instances:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=50518.msg345477#msg345477
EDIT
+ http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=50518.msg345373#msg345373
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Now, is it possible to open multiple MC windows? This question comes because of the way that I DJ using iTunes. I often open multiple playlists and search through them to choose what to play next, rather than having to troll through the tens of thousands of songs that I have. (Then I drop my choice into the playlist that I'm using as "Playing Now".) The question would apply regardless of whether I'm using playlists or views.
Split Views might also help you here. View > Split View > Show 2 Views (or show 3 views if you like).
You can also lock one of the views, so that you can't change it accidentally, View > Split Views > Lock View #
I would think using these features (possibly along with a second zone for headphone previewing/queing) would work as an ideal DJ setup. There have been some other threads around with other DJ setups and tricks that people use...give the forum a search for "DJ" and I'd guess you'll stumble upon some useful bits.
-JB
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...and an example of a "DJ" setup that uses two Playing Now & MC instances:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=50518
I used the Split View, Zones (speakers/headphones), and "multiple instances" features in the setup.
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll spend some time this weekend trying things and seeing how they go for me.
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How do I remove a field from being used to sort the pane view? I have clicked on a field header by mistake and I cannot find a way to remove it.
In a similar vein, is it possible to set up a default set and ordering of "attributes" for listing of playlists? or views? or whatever? For example, I like them to appear in the order name, artist, bpm, duration, ...
Thanks.
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Is there any way to replace "never played" (in the last played field) with an empty string. I just tried and it didn't seem to let me. I find it much easier to see that nothing has been played when that field is empty.
In addition, is there any way to make that value the default so that new, unplayed tracks have an empty string value for the last played field.
Thanks.
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Is there any way to replace "never played" (in the last played field) with an empty string. I just tried and it didn't seem to let me. I find it much easier to see that nothing has been played when that field is empty.
In addition, is there any way to make that value the default so that new, unplayed tracks have an empty string value for the last played field.
Thanks.
Right click on the column header for "Number Plays" and you should see it at the top of the list with a tick in it... click on it to remove it.
Now right click on the column header to the right of where you want your number plays column to be, and choose "Add expression column" from the menu. Give the column a name (Number Plays is fine) and paste the blue text below into the expression field:
if(isequal([number plays],never,8),,[number plays])
You can read more about expressions here (http://wiki.jrmediacenter.com/index.php/Media_Center_expression_language) (page is currently being re-written, but what's there now should be enough if you're interested.
regards,
-marko
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Marko,
The expression you gave me is not creating the date properly. Instead it is creating a field that has nothing in it or the number of plays. I wanted nothing in it if it hadn't been played or the date that it was last played if it had been.
So I'm guessing that I should replace [number plays] with [last played] in your expression.
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I tried making the change I thought of, but it didn't really work. Sometimes a last played date shows up, but most of the time it doesn't, at least when I look at the value that exists in iTunes.
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OK, I can see that part of the problem is that the last played date was not imported into MC from iTunes for much of my library. Can that be fixed?
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How do I remove a field from being used to sort the pane view? I have clicked on a field header by mistake and I cannot find a way to remove it.
In a similar vein, is it possible to set up a default set and ordering of "attributes" for listing of playlists? or views? or whatever? For example, I like them to appear in the order name, artist, bpm, duration, ...
Thanks.
Open options (press Ctrl + O) and type sort into the search field in the top right of the options dialogue. You should see an option there called "Save changes on list header clicks", untick that option and press OK to save it. Now you can click column headers to sort temporarily, and use refresh to return a list to it's default (saved) sorting.
In the "View Header" (just beneath the player display bar) you will see the view title with a little black triangle 'arrow' pointing downwards. Hover your mouse over that to access the view menu and from there you can set your desired sort rules. If you look under custom, you will find a presets button that allows you to save a custom sort as a preset for quick access later on.
Something else that you might find easier could be:
Before disabling the "Save changes on list header clicks" option, select a view, make sure that all the fields you want to sort by are visible, then hold down the shift key and click on each column header in turn. You should see the columns take a number beside their name, this number indicates the sort order. Once done, disable the "save list header clicks" option to preserve your choices.
OK, I can see that part of the problem is that the last played date was not imported into MC from iTunes for much of my library. Can that be fixed?
Sorry about that, and you're right, substituting [last played] will work just fine. I'm not sure about porting the [last played] info from iTunes to Media Center though, perhaps someone else knows for sure?
-marko.
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In addition to what marko said,
Sorting
See the first attached screenshot.
Never played
See the second screenshot. If you want to easily add the new column to any view or playlist you can create a rule based (= calculated) custom library field. Tools > Options > Library > Manage Library Fields > Add New Field...
I used this rule: Replace([Last Played], never played) . It removes the "never played" values.
iTunes database
Did you actually import the iTunes database file to MC? I don't know if MC can import all included fields, but I do know that iTunes does not store the Last Played values in the file tags. The option to import an iTunes xml file is in File > Import Playlist...
Log in to the forum if you can't see the attachments.
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iTunes database
Did you actually import the iTunes database file to MC? I don't know if MC can import all included fields, but I do know that iTunes does not store the Last Played values in the file tags. The option to import an iTunes xml file is in File > Import Playlist...
Yes, I actually exported from iTunes and then imported into MC. I also, as a test, imported a single playlist. I have not done an exhaustive search to verify this, but it appears that all of the tracks that are on the playlist have their last played field set appropriately, but the rest of the database does not.
Thanks for the other information.
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Yes, I actually exported from iTunes and then imported into MC. I also, as a test, imported a single playlist. I have not done an exhaustive search to verify this, but it appears that all of the tracks that are on the playlist have their last played field set appropriately, but the rest of the database does not.
Thanks for the other information.
I have just regenerated the files that iTunes created and it appears that the playlist file includes a "last played" field, but the library does not. Short of creating a playlist that has every track in my library and importing it into MC, is there any way to get that information from iTunes into MC?
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How do I figure out which fields are part of a track file and which features are kept in the iTunes library? And, for those that are in the iTunes library, how do I get them imported into MC?
Thanks.
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I have just regenerated the files that iTunes created and it appears that the playlist file includes a "last played" field, but the library does not. Short of creating a playlist that has every track in my library and importing it into MC, is there any way to get that information from iTunes into MC?
I just tested the behavior. First I updated iTunes to the latest (my installed version was quite old). Then I exported the iTunes library to a new xml file (File > Library > Export Library).
In MC I imported the xml file to a new empty MC library by using the File > Import Playlist... tool. MC imported the files including the Last Played and Number Plays values correctly.
Then I played some files with iTunes and exported the changed library to a new xml file.
Back in MC I used the file File > Import Playlist... tool again and imported the new xml file. The Last Played and Number Plays values were updated correctly.
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I just tested the behavior. First I updated iTunes to the latest (my installed version was quite old). Then I exported the iTunes library to a new xml file (File > Library > Export Library).
In MC I imported the xml file to a new empty MC library by using the File > Import Playlist... tool. MC imported the files including the Last Played and Number Plays values correctly.
Then I played some files with in iTunes and exported the changed library to a new xml file.
Back in MC I used the file File > Import Playlist... tool again and imported the new xml file. The Last Played and Number Plays values were updated correctly.
Well, I'll try again.
My iTunes isn't the latest (it's 8.2.0.23), not 9.02. I don't want to upgrade because every time I do, it takes hours to finish because the database structure has changed and my database isn't small.
However, I did everything else that you described: I exported the iTunes library to an xml file; in MC I imported the xml file to a new empty MC library by using the File > Import Playlist... tool. However, the last played and number played values were not correct. Most of the last played values were "never played" and the corresponding number plays values were empty (i.e., 0).
So, I will blow away my MC database and do the export from iTunes and the import again.
Thanks for the information. I wish I understood why it worked for you and not for me. It would be a pain to have
to upgrade iTunes in order to be able to correctly import my library into MC.
Thanks again.
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Well, I'll try again.
My iTunes isn't the latest (it's 8.2.0.23), not 9.02. I don't want to upgrade because every time I do, it takes hours to finish because the database structure has changed and my database isn't small.
However, I did everything else that you described: I exported the iTunes library to an xml file; in MC I imported the xml file to a new empty MC library by using the File > Import Playlist... tool. However, the last played and number played values were not correct. Most of the last played values were "never played" and the corresponding number plays values were empty (i.e., 0).
So, I will blow away my MC database and do the export from iTunes and the import again.
Thanks for the information. I wish I understood why it worked for you and not for me. It would be a pain to have
to upgrade iTunes in order to be able to correctly import my library into MC.
Thanks again.
OK, I figured it out. I forgot that I initially used Tools > Import Directory to import each directory that I wanted. I didn't understand that I could import the library directly. So that's why all the last played values weren't there ... it was because they are not tags in the files.
BTW, I'm curious as to why there isn't a Tools > Import File. Yes, I have figured out that I can reimport a directory and it will only import the new files. However, it wasn't initially obvious to me. (I often edit music, creating a new file that I want to import.)
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Here's something that came up for me over the weekend when I was trying stuff out.
I created an expression column for Panes (under Audio). Then I wanted to use that same expression column under Imported Playlists, but it didn't show up for me. Why isn't that expression column available to me when I'm looking
at Playlists?
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And here's another question that came up over the weekend.
Say I'm looking at the Files or Panes audio view and import a file. The behavior that I saw was the MC closes that view and opens recently imported. How can I stop it from doing that and staying where I've put it? (This is one of my absolute pet peeves -- I've put myself where I want to be and the program decides that it knows better.)
Thanks.
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And here's another question that came up over the weekend.
Say I'm looking at the Files or Panes audio view and import a file. The behavior that I saw was the MC closes that view and opens recently imported. How can I stop it from doing that and staying where I've put it? (This is one of my absolute pet peeves -- I've put myself where I want to be and the program decides that it knows better.)
You can't stop that, but you can use the little back arrow in the upper left corner of that view to back up to your previous location.
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Jim,
Any way to make that behavior user configurable?
That's another one of my pet peeves about MC, which otherwise is a superb product.
Tom
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This is one of my absolute pet peeves -- I've put myself where I want to be and the program decides that it knows better.)
Mine too. I suppose it makes a little sense if Auto-Import has just added a bunch of varied media. But it produces a dialog which could ask me if I want to view the results in Recently Imported. Or I could just add the Recently Imported button to my toolbar and use that—when I choose.
Most of the time, I use the simple Import—where I specify the folder to import. If I've specified the folder, I already have a clear expectation of what is to be imported. I'm normally waiting in the view I want to use for tagging the results, so being taken elsewhere is particularly annoying. Occasionally, the import doesn't go as expected or the files are already tagged in an unexpected manner. Then I need to go to Recently Imported to see what happened. But, again, I can do this very easily—in those rare cases where it's necessary. Ironically, I'm doing this anyway. I'm trying so hard to ignore Recently Imported and hit the back button, there's no chance I'd notice an import didn't go as expected.
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Here's something that came up for me over the weekend when I was trying stuff out.
I created an expression column for Panes (under Audio). Then I wanted to use that same expression column under Imported Playlists, but it didn't show up for me. Why isn't that expression column available to me when I'm looking
at Playlists?
Can anyone help me on this?
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Actually, I have already helped in a reply in this thread:
... Never played
See the second screenshot. If you want to easily add the new column to any view or playlist you can create a rule based (= calculated) custom library field. Tools > Options > Library > Manage Library Fields > Add New Field...
I used this rule: Replace([Last Played], never played) . It removes the "never played" values. ...
A calculated library field is the traditional way to use an expression in file metadata. A calculated field can be added to any view and to "Action Window > Tag". It is also usable in other expression rules everywhere inside MC.
The expression column feature was added much later as a quick way to create a more or less temporary rule based column to a single view. It can be easily removed when it is not needed anymore. It cannot be directly copied to other views. You can only copy the rule string to clipboard and paste it to a new expression column. (edited this a bit)
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Thanks Alex.
I read your earlier stuff, but didn't realize that what I was doing was different.
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BTW, I'm curious as to why there isn't a Tools > Import File. Yes, I have figured out that I can reimport a directory and it will only import the new files. However, it wasn't initially obvious to me. (I often edit music, creating a new file that I want to import.)
I'm still wondering on this. I would like to be able to import a single file from a directory and ignore any other files that haven't been imported. I haven't figured out a way to do this.
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I have done my mass importing years ago and I don't normally run Auto-Import in the background. Currently I mostly just drag & drop new files into MC.
You can drop files into the library views or into the audio section in the tree and they will be imported directly _or_ drop files into Playing Now, select them and do "right-click > Import".
I prefer the latter because usually I want to see a list of the new files inside MC and do something with them (tag, analyze, apply cover art, rename, etc). I often use a second Playing Now in one of my other zones so that my currently playing PN list stays intact.
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You can drop files into the library views or into the audio section in the tree and they will be imported directly _or_ drop files into Playing Now, select them and do "right-click > Import".
Thanks Alex.
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Is there a way for me to find out what playlists a track is in?
Thanks.
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Yes. You can display the internal Playlists reference in the Tag window. Click on the tools icon (top left) and select it from the "also show" menu. You may find it helpful to then click on Playlists to open a list of your playlists. It will show a checkmark beside the lists the track is member of. Bear in mind this is an internal reference and not a field. This means, unfortunately, Playlists cannot be displayed in a view.
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Yes. You can display the internal Playlists reference in the Tag window. Click on the tools icon (top left) and select it from the "also show" menu. You may find it helpful to then click on Playlists to open a list of your playlists. It will show a checkmark beside the lists the track is member of. Bear in mind this is an internal reference and not a field. This means, unfortunately, Playlists cannot be displayed in a view.
Thanks.
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besides what rick said: you can also find it in the tooltip when pointing at an individual
:)
gab
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Yes. You can display the internal Playlists reference in the Tag window. Click on the tools icon (top left) and select it from the "also show" menu. You may find it helpful to then click on Playlists to open a list of your playlists. It will show a checkmark beside the lists the track is member of. Bear in mind this is an internal reference and not a field. This means, unfortunately, Playlists cannot be displayed in a view.
I'm not finding a tools icon at the top left. I looked on the tools menu and didn't find it there.
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besides what rick said: you can also find it in the tooltip when pointing at an individual
:)
gab
Thanks. This was I able to accomplish. :-)
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I'm not finding a tools icon at the top left. I looked on the tools menu and didn't find it there.
you can find it here: (see attachment)
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I.e. it is in the top left corner of the "Action Window > Tag" window.
You can also just right-click inside "Action Window > Tag" to open the menu.
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I.e. it is in the top left corner of the "Action Window > Tag" window.
You can also just right-click inside "Action Window > Tag" to open the menu.
OK, found it, thanks.
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I'm finding that I am confused about how the rewind button works. Sometimes it seems to do nothing when I press it. Sometimes it restarts the current song. Sometimes it restarts the previous song. Can anyone explain what's going on so it makes sense to me?
Also I am confused about what is supposed to happen when I grab the button on the play bar. Sometimes it allows me to change its location and sometimes it "snaps" back to where it was. Can anyone explain this?
Thanks.
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I'm finding that I am confused about how the rewind button works.
That should behave according to the option setting for the "Previous button"...
1. Previous track always, or
2. CD player style.
Who knows what a "CD player" is? ;)
Whatever, it seems to mean "restart track, or press twice to start to replay previous track."
Sometimes it allows me to change its location and sometimes it "snaps" back to where it was.
I've never seen that behaviour.
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I think the latter may happen if the next track is already prebuffering. The default prebuffer time is six seconds. Possibly also the set cross-fade time may affect the behavior.
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Open options (press Ctrl + O) and type sort into the search field in the top right of the options dialogue. You should see an option there called "Save changes on list header clicks", untick that option and press OK to save it. Now you can click column headers to sort temporarily, and use refresh to return a list to it's default (saved) sorting.
I haven't been able to find "refresh" anywhere. Where is it? Thanks.
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View > Navigation > Refresh (shortcut: F5)
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View > Navigation > Refresh (shortcut: F5)
Thanks.
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When I click on the top of the MC window, I expect MC to "come to the front". It does that but it also maximizes, which I don't want. Is there some way to prevent this from happening?
This maximization also usually (maybe always, I'm not sure) happens when I "grab" the top of the window to try and move it.
Thanks.
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When I click on the top of the MC window, I expect MC to "come to the front". It does that but it also maximizes, which I don't want. Is there some way to prevent this from happening?
This maximization also usually (maybe always, I'm not sure) happens when I "grab" the top of the window to try and move it.
Thanks.
The 'maximization' you are describing is standard windows behaviour for a double-click on the title bar. Is your mouse playing up? I've had two Logitech mice in the past that began firing double clicks for single clicks. I bought a third, because I like them, but if this one goes the same way after 18-24 months, I will not buy another!
-marko.
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MC has also the "edge snapping" feature:
From the change log:
14.0.145 (02/15/2010)
1. NEW: Added Windows 7 snap-like functionality to the main application. (snaps to sides of displays, snaps to internal edges of multi-monitor systems, maximizes when snapping to top, works on any operating system)
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Actually, I just noticed that if MC is already touching the top of the screen (i.e. it is snapped, but not maximized) a single click on the title bar maximizes it.
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Actually, I just noticed that if MC is already touching the top of the screen (i.e. it is snapped, but not maximized) a single click on the title bar maximizes it.
Yes, this is the situation. I have it at the top of the screen so that I can arrange my windows so that a piece of the MC always is visible and can be grabbed.
It definitely is not the mouse, because when I grab other windows that are touching the top of the screen, this doesn't happen.
Anyway, is there some way to turn this feature off?
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Coming in build 104 (and later):
Fixed: When near the edge of the screen, a click in the title bar area could cause a maximization of the program.
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Coming in build 104 (and later):
Fixed: When near the edge of the screen, a click in the title bar area could cause a maximization of the program.
OK, I just looked at Help > About Media Center and I'm guessing that the build number is the last number in 15.0.95 ... is that right?
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OK, I just looked at Help > About Media Center and I'm guessing that the build number is the last number in 15.0.95 ... is that right?
Exactly.
Just check back on Interact occasionally for newer builds. 104 (or newer) should be available within a week.
Thanks.
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Sluizer, you might have known this already but here's something that "newbies who came from iTunes" should know.
Media Center works great with multiple displays. For instance (this is especially good for DJs) you can have one display (i.e. a notebook display) showing your Standard View and then you can "detach" the visualization (I like G-Force) in the action window and move it to a second display and watch it full screen. In my case, my second display is a 2000 lumen 1366x768 projector on a 100" screen. I know I know, I need to upgrade it to a full 1080p... I'm working on it.
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Exactly.
Just check back on Interact occasionally for newer builds. 104 (or newer) should be available within a week.
Thanks.
OK, I get to admit that I have no idea what Interact is or how to check it.
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Sluizer, you might have known this already but here's something that "newbies who came from iTunes" should know.
Media Center works great with multiple displays. For instance (this is especially good for DJs) you can have one display (i.e. a notebook display) showing your Standard View and then you can "detach" the visualization (I like G-Force) in the action window and move it to a second display and watch it full screen. In my case, my second display is a 2000 lumen 1366x768 projector on a 100" screen. I know I know, I need to upgrade it to a full 1080p... I'm working on it.
Thanks, I did know this because of something that another person posted. I'll be playing with it later.
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OK, I get to admit that I have no idea what Interact is or how to check it.
INTERACT FORUM > General > Media Center 15 > Post reply ( Re: Guide for newbies who came from iTunes ) ;)
So yes the Interact is this forum :)
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Is there any way to get the display to "travel" when the length of what it's displaying is longer than its display area? (I'm not sure what the correct term is, but you see this on iTunes.)
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Is there any way to get the display to "travel" when the length of what it's displaying is longer than its display area? (I'm not sure what the correct term is, but you see this on iTunes.)
Anyone? I'd love to see all the information that I've asked for, not just what fits in the display area.
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Anyone? I'd love to see all the information that I've asked for, not just what fits in the display area.
I've noticed that sometimes this information travels and sometimes it doesn't. Is there any way to make sure that it always "travels"? Thanks.
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I've noticed that when I drag and drop a group of files from a directory (i.e., Windows Explorer) into a playlist in MC, the last file is listed first and then the rest are in the expected order. Why does this happen and is there some way that I could avoid it?
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I've noticed this too.
I avoid it by not using Windows Explorer, but I'd be interested to know if someone has a solution. I think it has to do with the way you highlight the files in Windows Explorer. I think if you Shift-Select that it returns the object array with the "last item" in the Index 0 position, but I don't really know for sure.
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By accident, I figured out how to avoid this. Select the items in reverse order. So I select the last item, and then I use shift-select on the first item (to get the rest of them), and then they are in the proper order. Is that clear?
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On topic "DJ Use -- simultaneously playing and previewing" it says: "you can also open a second instance of MC and drag files from one MC instance to the Playing Now list in another MC instance. (You must enable the "Allow Multiple Instances" option to do this.)"
I have enabled that option, but when I try and open a second instance of MC I get the following message: "this database will be opened in read-only mode. Any changes will be lost when the program exits." Is this the correct behavior?
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Another question: is there an option that will warn you if you try to add a duplicate item to a playlist? Thanks.
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Another question: is there an option that will warn you if you try to add a duplicate item to a playlist? Thanks.
I'm not sure of the warning but if you right click on Playing Now, there's the Remove Duplicates from Playing Now option.
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I have downloaded the test version of MC.
I am a long term heavy user of itunes and have reached (some time ago, actually) the point where itunes cannot handle my library adequately. Presently I have 325gb and 66,000 songs, with 10,000 or so ready to add. I am very particular in regard to -
* tagging of artists, track titles, genres, composers, year of release for consistency and accuracy.
* applying individual artwork to tracks eg if a track came out on vinyl, I like to have the label art from the 45 on that track, not the art from the greatest hits CD from which it came.
* rating of each track - because my 160gb ipod can't accommodate all my music, I only load it with 4 & 5 star-rated songs.
* All my songs are mp3s, in one library. No videos, podcasts, photos.
So I've been having a little look at MC tonight, a little bewildered, but certainly impressed so far.
A couple of quick questions -
MC's first scan of a (separate) library appeared to pick up all 2500 tracks and the artwork, but didn't pick up the ratings, which are critical for me. How can I do this? Do I have to work with .xml files (I'm not too experienced with that sort of stuff!)?
I haven't got round to reading the interact posts, but does MC interact with the ipod? ie can I leave itunes alone for good?
On first listen, 60s/70s oldies seem to SOUND better on MC, a cleaner, truer sort of sound. Am I imagining this?
kind regards,
smithy in sydney
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Welcome to the forum. For the best in sound quality, try the instructions here:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Audio_Output_Modes
MC will support older iPods, but not the iPhone and Touch. Read about the iPhone playlist sync in the MC15 Features thread near the top of the MC15 board.
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me, again.
I've noticed that "year" and "composer" information only seemed to be picked up sporadically.
thanks.
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iTunes doesn't have a separate "playing now" list, which is a fundamental difference to MC. When I use iTunes I am always a bit lost because I can't simply play a track and then add any new tracks from other playlists to the playback queue without creating a dedicated playlist for that.
In MC you have various ways to view, search and filter your media database, various ways to create static playlists or rule based automatic playlists, and in addition at least one Playing Now list that is the actual playback queue. (You can have more than one active PN list if you use the Zones feature. For example, one zone can play to the internal sound card, one can play to a USB sound device, one can play to another computer or device through network, etc.)
Here is a screenshot of Playing Now (it's from MC14 and some things may have changed since I created it):
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd212/AB2K/MC/2ndStage-1.jpg)
Click to enlarge. (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd212/AB2K/MC/2ndStage.png)
In the active tab I have Playing Now that shows the queued songs and in the background tab I have a library view. I can quickly switch between the tabs to switch from my media library to the playback queue and back. I have also added several shortcut buttons to the top toolbar. The Back, Forward and Playing Now buttons are very useful for navigation. (Right-click the toolbar area to access its options.)
The skin in this screenshot is Mr ChriZ's "Second Stage": http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=46922
If you have further "iTunes vs MC" questions please post them in this thread so that others can find the questions and answers easily.
It would be good to merge this thread with your "guides for newbies who are used to iTunes" thread: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=59208
Perhaps an administrator could combine the threads.
EDIT
The threads are combined now.
Whilst a great deal easier to use then iTunes, there is one thing I miss and cannot get around. I use Media Centre 14 to sync my music to my ipod classic, and this works great. The problem I do experience however is when syncing compilation albums, the album is no were to be found when browsing by Artists, which is a huge pain. I am sorry to rewake this dead thread as such, but as I saw your screen shot including a Multiple Artists album, I thought despite being a long shot you may have a smart idea to get around this? Im sorry but this is quite an irritant, and i cant find a solution myself. Thanks