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[thorathome]

MC 21.0.83,   HTC One (M8) running Android 6.0,   Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

MC Syncing now connects to the HTC One (external) SD Card drive.  All music is visible and playable on the HTC One. 
However, the MC playlists are showing up as 0 byte files on the HTC, and are not playable. 

SD card directory \Music holds all MP3s in Artist folders
SD card directory \Playlists hold all my playlist files, but each file is 0 bytes
Playlists do not show up in Android Music Player.  Artists, Albums, Songs all show up and are playable. 

Any ideas? 
Thanks. 

[blgentry]

Check the format of the Playlist files, as set in your Handheld Sync definition.  I recommend M3U as they are very compatible with most devices.

Maybe start by removing the 0 byte files from the Playlists directory.  Do a test to see if you can manually save a file in that location.

Just some ideas.

Brian.

[thorathome]

Thank you, Brian.  I can save files into the SD Card/playlist directory, and they stay there. 

But I sure cannot find the option for Handheld Playlist format in MC21.  Care to walk me through it? 
Thanks again and in advance. 

Thor

[blgentry]

Find your device and click options.  Then files, paths, and more > Playlist format > (select format here)

Brian.

[thorathome]

Thanks again.  Not seeing the Playlist Format option.  See attached screen shot. 
Much appreciated. 

[blgentry]

I have no idea why that option isn't showing up.  It should be in between Playlist folder and Database Folder.

What version of MC are you using?

As an experiment, you might try building a fresh new handheld definition and see if that option shows up.  The easiest test is just to sync a few files to a folder on your hard drive, pretending that the folder is a handheld device.

Brian.

[thorathome]

MC 21.0.83,   HTC One (M8) running Android 6.0,   Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Sure can't see the Playlist Format option.  Dang!

The playlist files are being created on the Handheld SD card as .PLA files, but are all empty. 
See the attached screenshot from MC after a full synch.  From the MC synch panel, the selected Handheld playlists appear to be all empty even though they are populated on the laptop. 

Yeah, I can construct a test playlist file in M3U format to test it out, but I have 90+ playlists, and am synching 3500+ MP3 files. 
I'll build an M3U file by hand to see if it works and if it stays in place. 

Thanks again and in advance. 
Thor

[thorathome]

Screenshot attached

[thorathome]

One more thing... handmade test playlist in M3U format works perfectly in the HTC One SD Card.  

There seems to be a problem with MC21 writing the file to the Handheld SD Card in the first place.  
The playlists show up in the MC Handheld tree (see previous screenshot), but have no content.  
The actual .PLA files written to the Handheld SD card also have no content.  

Looking for help on this one.  Thanks much.

Thor

[blgentry]

That's all pretty strange.  PLA format isn't one of the selections on my system.  I wonder if this has to do with how your handheld is connected to your computer and how MC sees it.

I have Android devices, but I've never been able to access the storage directly from MC.  Instead, I have to do one of two methods:

1. handheld sync to a folder on my computer.  Then copy that folder to the phone using Android File Transfer, or Air Droid, or something else.
2.  Or, with a removable SD card, I can put it into an SD card reader and then mount that as a normal "drive" on my system.  MC can sync directly to that drive.  Once done, I eject the card and put it back into the phone.

Both of these methods give me selections for playlist type.  I'm just speculating that somehow MC is doing something different because you are direct connected to the Android device via MTP or something.

I hope someone else more familiar will speak up with some wisdom for both of us. 

Brian.

[thorathome]

Thank you, Brian for spending time on this. 

I LOVE the idea of doing a Handheld synch to a folder on my PC.  How can I do that, please? 
I can easily move files in and out of the HTC One, just getting snagged on the playlists. 

Thor

[thorathome]

Got it.  Great idea.  Playlist format options appears, now, too. 

You are a god to me.  Easy simply solution.  Thanks. 

Thor

[JimH]

Add your folder as a Handheld.  Just go to the Handheld settings and set up a new device.

[thorathome]

Quick and easy.  Thanks. 

Sure wanted the Android to work natively, but your solution is actually simpler and easier. 

[blgentry]

Any day the mighty Thor calls *me* a god is a good day!  If only my handle were ThundarrTheBarbarian. 

I'm happy to have helped if it's not obvious.

Take care,

Brian.

[thorathome]

For anyone who finds this thread and likes Brian's approach for synching MC music libraries to Android, this is a good and simple way to move MC music files and playlists into the SD card of a stubborn Android device, like my HTC One (M8).  

First, look at the music file structure on your phone, then setup a similar structure on your PC hard drive.  My phone wants a Music and a Playlists directory, both at the same level of the directory tree, so that's how I set up my hard drive subdirectories to duplicate what the phone wants.  You'll need room on the hard drive for the music (and playlist) files that will get copied here.  

Set up MC to synch with your new PC directories.
- Tools->Options->Handheld->Device management->Add device
- Browse to the path where the new directory on your laptop (not your phone) lives.  Give the fake "Handheld" a name, too.  This name will show up in MC later.  
- I modified Audio Path: to include a Music subdirectory.  Your phone may differ.
- The Playlists Path: had already defaulted to a Playlists subdirectory.  Again, your phone may want a different structure.  
- Files, Paths, & More->Playlist Format   Select M3U (relative paths worked for me).
- OK out of the Options panel.
- You will see your new "Handheld" name show up under Drives & Devices.  Select it.  
- Set the Sync Options to select the files you want loaded.
- Sync Now.  This will copy all selected music files and playlists to the new directories you set up.  

Plug your phone into your PC and simply copy & paste the two subdirectories, Music and Playlists to the corresponding phone directory.  
On my HTC One (M8), these are at the top level of my SD card.  

Load up the music files first.  THEN load up the playlists.  My Android (HTC One M8) processes the playlists on loading and needs to see the music files the playlists point to in order to work.  

Thanks again, Brian.  Hope this is helpful to someone else, too.  

Thor

[Fex]

Great, this thread helped me.

Thor, thank you for your final "manual".

[thorathome]

Happy, I am, that you found this useful, Fex. 
Thanks again to Brian blgentry, who gave me the magic keys to Android happiness with MC. 

Since writing that post, I have found that my HTC One M8, and probably other Androids, duplicates the Playlists that I upload to my phone's SD card. 

Use the approach outlined above, I upload my Music and Playlist folders and files to my SD card on my HTC One M8.  My various Android Music apps continue to work fine.  However, my phone automatically copies the Playlist folder from my SD card to the phone's internal drive, in the music folder.  In my Music apps, I then see two of every playlist I own.  Both seem to work.  Nuisance, it is, but not fatal. 

I've deleted the internal drive copy of the playlist folder that Android automatically copied and it magically reappears.  I've also tried deleting the original Playlist folder that I loaded on the SD card and it stays deleted.  No problem, just a weird behavior. 

All in all, this approach to managing MC music on my stubborn HTC One M8 Android still works beautifully.  The only (minor) catch is the extra Playlist folder that gets copied onto the phone's internal drive.  I'd delete it when updating your Playlists, just to be safe. 

Maybe others see this behavior.  Glad I was of help.  Thanks, again, Brian, for the keys.