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[creal]

Hello,

I noticed a problem with playlists since a moment but I don't know how to formulate it. Some songs disappeared from the playlists if the path changes, if I replace them by other files, if I rename or change the metadatas, or if I remove them from the computer (I'm not sure when the problem actually occurs).

Maybe it's logical for some users, but the way I use playlists is different. I use them for archives. For example, I have a big playlist for a friend, I add regularly add songs, but since my library is living (move, delete, modify songs), the playlist is not full as it should. Therefore, I have to compare old exported playlist with the current one with Notepad++ and a compare plugin, and fill the ones that miss.

Can you confirm this behaviour? What do you propose to "fix" it? Or can you suggest me a different way to use playlists for my purpose, please?

Thank you,

creal.

[creal]

Instead of auto-removing songs from playlists, maybe a useful feature would be to warn the user that a file has been (locally) moved/removed/replaced, for example hilighting in red the corresponding line of the song in the playlists that use it.

A step forward would then be to "auto-search for lost songs in playlists", with a kind of simple report.

What do you think about that?

Thanks for your feedback

[wer]

Playlist membership is maintained in the database.  If you remove a file from the database, record of its playlist memberships is erased.

Your problem would appear to stem from two separate factors:

1. You like to manipulate (rename, move, or delete) songs outside of MC, using Windows Explorer or other programs (like when you say "if the path changes" what you really mean is you are moving the file without MC's knowledge). 

2. You are running auto import in the background, and the Fix Broken Links setting is set to something other than NO.

So the symptoms you are experiencing are caused by you.

Suggestions:

For #1:  Don't do that.  If you want to rename or move a file, do it using the tools in MC.

For #2: Set Fix Broken Links=NO

Because here is what is actually happening:
-You delete, rename, or move a file outside of MC.
-Because you have auto-import running in the background, MC sees that file for one of your songs in the database no longer exists. So it removes the file from the database, which is how you have MC configured to behave.
-Let's say you just renamed the file. Now MC's auto-import runs. It sees a new file with a new name. It imports it.  That file has the same tags as the old file. But to MC it is a new file and has no playlist memberships. 

If Fix Broken Links=NO, instead of deleting the reference in the database when you delete/rename/move the file, MC will leave it there, and note it as a broken link with the broken link icon.  There is even a smartlist to find broken link files.

No changes to MC are necessary. It is working properly.

So you need to change your behavior, and/or adjust your MC configuration.

I hope this helps...

[creal]

Thank you very much for your reply. It helps a lot. I didn't aware of the "broken links" feature. I set it to "no".

But I don't have the smartlist containing all the broken links. Can you tell me what rule do I have to add to do such, please?

It's kind of another topic, but I'm also wondering if there's any tool/feature that indicates all the playlists concerned for a particular song?

[wer]

1. https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=jriver+broken+links

2. Each file has a Playlists field that you can view as a column.

[creal]

Hi Wer,

Thanks for your message.

Concerning the broken links, I may be missing something but I don't find the feature very efficient. Now that the "fix broken links" is off, it does not remove a moved file (intended) but it does not appear in red (or any other mark that could be useful for the user, instead of using an expression column that would display 1 if the link is broken).

How can I do to have this little "no entry sign" this user have here: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,125573.msg869875.html#msg869875 (I displayed the image small thumbnail column but it does not work).

The smartlist works great, but only after 2 minutes, the time MC has to take to "working" on the library.

Finally, the "playlists" column is what I searched for (and yes, I should have found it on my own) but the field cannot be part of the tag panel, which is a pity.