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More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 21 for Windows => Topic started by: Daniel Warner on January 22, 2016, 05:57:48 pm

Title: Adding music to playing now in Theatre View
Post by: Daniel Warner on January 22, 2016, 05:57:48 pm

I have tried searching for this but wasn't too sure what to search for so came up empty so I apologise in advance if this has already been answered. [/End Disclaimer]

When I am browsing music using a remote in Theatre View, I can add an album of music to play by navigating to it and going up to either 'Add all' or 'Play All' (I would really like a 'Play Album' option as an aside) and that's fine.  If I then wish to add some more albums or tracks to Playing Now - I could easily add them and they would be played after the current album, but I would like the option to add them AND THEN shuffle the current list.  If I click 'Shuffle All' it replaces the current playing list.  I don't need to fiddle around creating a playlist every time, I just wish to play a few albums shuffled - this could be anything, whatever I fancy listening to that day, rather than a set list.

In WMC (Sorry to bring that up!) I could have 'Shuffle' turned on by default and then just add albums or tracks to the current playing list and it would automatically add them and shuffle as it went along.  If i turn Shuffle on in MC it seems to get ignored when playing an album (As it is supposed to I gather).  Basically it would be good to have two options to click on - Play the album as a separate entity, or add it the current list and reshuffle.  Is this possible?

Title: Re: Adding music to playing now in Theatre View
Post by: glynor on January 22, 2016, 10:11:48 pm

1. Select the file in Theater View and do Enter on it. This will take you to the top Roller bar control.
2. Now, instead of doing Enter a second time to Play it, arrow Right (2x) and choose More.
3. From the pop-up menu that appears, choose Add (and Shuffle Remaining).

This will do what you want. Also, this will now be the default choice when you "double-enter" on future tracks or items. The "second choice" (gotten by going Right one time) will become the Play command you used before that (so probably the regular Play All command in your case).

You can do the same thing on Albums or any other category "item" within Theater View. Instead of hitting Enter to open the item, hit the Apps Menu key (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menu_key) (the weird one that does the right-click menu on Windows, the box with lines in it). This is a useful key to have mapped on your remote, if you have one. You can also right-click with your mouse. This will show a pop-up menu instead of opening the item, where you can choose from the same options under More Play Options.

If you use this a lot, you can make this be the default behavior (showing the menu) for Enter on categories in Theater View. It's in Tools > Options > Theater View.

Title: Re: Adding music to playing now in Theatre View
Post by: Daniel Warner on January 23, 2016, 05:56:32 am

Thanks, I hadn't seen that option. Unfortunately it isn't really what I want, as I can only see that option if I drill down to each file individually - can I have that option in Albums or Artists?

Title: Re: Adding music to playing now in Theatre View
Post by: glynor on January 23, 2016, 01:01:58 pm

Quote from: Daniel Warner on January 23, 2016, 05:56:32 am

can I have that option in Albums or Artists?

Re-read:

Quote from: glynor on January 22, 2016, 10:11:48 pm

You can do the same thing on Albums or any other category "item" within Theater View. Instead of hitting Enter to open the item, hit the Apps Menu key (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menu_key) (the weird one that does the right-click menu on Windows, the box with lines in it). This is a useful key to have mapped on your remote, if you have one. You can also right-click with your mouse. This will show a pop-up menu instead of opening the item, where you can choose from the same options under More Play Options.

If you use this a lot, you can make this be the default behavior (showing the menu) for Enter on categories in Theater View. It's in Tools > Options > Theater View.

Title: Re: Adding music to playing now in Theatre View
Post by: Daniel Warner on January 23, 2016, 03:18:13 pm

Sorry, I got that. Not making much sense am I? That option can work, but it doesn't really pass the magical 'wife-test'!!  Is there no way of making it a 'sticky' option so you don't have to dig into that secondary menu every time? If not, I expect we can live with it, but it adds more steps and is not particularly user-friendly.  plus, it affects every item within Theatre view, not ideal for opening movies or images.

I do appreciate your attention on this tho. :)