Will there be a Playlist Manager?

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1001Musik
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:19 am

Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by 1001Musik »

Hello, I would like to take up the topic of Playlist Managers again.
It is undisputed that it is a very important function that is currently missing in MM5.
I was able to read here in the Forum that the Developer of the Playlist Manager for MM4 has agreed to a port to MM5 and has given up all Rights. So nothing stands in the way of implementation. Whether it will be a Plugin or integrated directly into MM5 is another matter.

I now ask Lowlander and Peke why there is no answer to this?
It would calm many minds if there was a clear statement and a period of time.
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Rob_S
Posts: 879
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:53 pm

Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by Rob_S »

Maybe we should define the key functionality we want that we do not have now?? Here are some random thoughts:

It appears to me that people would want to see for every track they have displayed, a list column or a popup/preview window showing which playlists it is attached to, with the possibility to check/uncheck which one it should be added or removed.

Most of these things exist now - ie the "Highlight playlist tracks" addon will show which tracks in the current list display are contained in a selected playlist. It is cumbersome, because it needs to duplicate the list of playlists in the main window, and it requires a right-click add, or drag, to add unhighlighted items to the list, or right-click, delete to remove. If a checkbox column would appear, that might help.

The classification window of the properties dialog has a list of which playlists the selected track is attached to, with the ability to uncheck if not desired, but no way to add it to another list.

I don't see a column (like multi-genre) working, as it would in some cases have too many entries

For some people, with hundreds of playlists, I don't see how the popup or window would work, as it would have too many entries as well, as it would have to show every single regular playlist - to accomodate additions.

Also, if a track is added by way of a checkbox system, how do you position it in the playlist?

If it were possible to add a checkbox to the EXISTING playlist node, which would indicate if the selected track or tracks is in there or not, that might work the best, and if this could be combines with the "Highlight playlist tracks" for the currently selected playlist subnode?? (a greyed checkbox might indicate that only some of the selected tracks are included) This option would get my vote :) and hardly take up any screen real estate.

Maybe those who really want this improvement should clearly define how it should work?? Devs might be scared o f this one, as it will be hard for any specific solution to please any large enough group of users.
Using 5.1 LATEST alpha or beta build on Windows 10, HP laptop, managing 13k tracks
Barry4679
Posts: 2408
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:07 am
Location: Australia
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Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by Barry4679 »

I think that the mechanism to MAKE playlists is OK as it is.

But I do think the MM5 facility to EDIT playlists is too primitive ... and I think this is what you are saying, right?

I think that both Playlists and Sync lists share this problem in MM5.

What is there is OK for simple cases, and TBH it is completely OK in my simple playlist Use Case.

But I can see somebody who made advanced and complex use of the existing facilities would quickly get in a mess, and would need more from MM5, including:
  • some kind of playlist dashboard, where I could copy or move all, or sections of, one playlist into another playlist.
  • and if I copied some tracks or albums into an Auto-Playlist, it would auto-adjust the criteria for me
AS I said, I haven't personally run into this problem with MM Playlists, but been burnt why trying to achieve too much using MM5 sync facility. I don't find then fit for use in anything but simple cases. Sync List request tracked here.

[UPDATE] What would be good would be something like a text file or folder merge facility, like this. Ie. a 3 way merge facility:
  • either two columns, a playlist in each column. Both columns sorted, so that all the rows line up, showing blank lines where the tracks are missing from one of the columns ... facility to copy or move tracks or albums, to the other playlist .. and facility to delete tracks or albums in either
  • or three columns, where the contents of the two playlist could be selectively merged into a third playlist
Want a dark skin for MM5? This is the one that works best for me .. elegant, compact & clear.
Erwin Hanzl
Posts: 1189
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:47 am
Location: Vienna

Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by Erwin Hanzl »

It would be nice if you would accept the needs of other users.
You are album fans, we are playlist fans.
Who already has 1000s of playlists?
Only those users who have 1000s of albums and create a playlist for each album.

Es wäre schön, wenn ihr den Bedarf anderer User akzeptieren würdet.
Ihr seid Album-Fans, wir sind Playlist-Fans.
Wer hat schon 1000e Playlisten?
Nur solche User, die 1000e Alben haben und für jedes Album eine Playliste erstellen.

viewtopic.php?p=498804&hilit=playlistmanager#p498804
viewtopic.php?t=98469
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=100631

Image

MM5 without playlist manage and without CustomFieldsTagger: NO THANKS
I said goodbye to MM5 and continue to work with MM4.


MM5 ohne Playlist-Manage und ohne CustomFieldsTagger: NEIN DANKE
Ich habe mich von MM5 verabschiedet und arbeite weiterhin mit MM4.
Last edited by Erwin Hanzl on Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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1001Musik
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:19 am

Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by 1001Musik »

Everyone has their needs. I only work with playlists and don't care about albums.

New songs come in different playlists. It becomes difficult when I create new playlists with various properties. How is the user supposed to see whether the song in question already exists in this or that list? Should I take the song every time and move it to the playlist and wait for the message "This song already exists, add it anyway?") That's counterproductive and nonsensical.
My user behavior also changes sometimes. I like the song today, maybe not so much tomorrow. That's what playlists are for, to give each individual the opportunity to put together the songs they want.

I have a lot of playlists with BPM, years, artists etc. That's what MM5 is for. The only thing missing is the optimal way to organize it.
If I just want to manage a few albums, there are enough other programs.
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Rob_S
Posts: 879
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:53 pm

Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by Rob_S »

Reading the few responses in this thread, the devs could easily conclude that there is little interest in a playlist manger.

I think we need a few more enthusiastic seconders if there is to be any hope at all.
Using 5.1 LATEST alpha or beta build on Windows 10, HP laptop, managing 13k tracks
1001Musik
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:19 am

Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by 1001Musik »

I would like to bring the subject to the fore again.
My music collection is getting bigger and bigger and I lose track of the playlists and their songs.
I don't collect albums, only songs that I only want to have once. These are placed in different playlists. But nowhere is it apparent in which the song is. Right-clicking on the file is clearly too cumbersome here.
It would be enough for me if the corresponding playlist e.g. got a different color when playing the song. But I'm also open to other suggestions.
If there is a Programmer who would like to deal with it, I am happy to pay something.
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MikeGahrns
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2020 9:37 pm

Re: Will there be a Playlist Manager?

Post by MikeGahrns »

I would be happy to pay for add-on here as well.

Like 1001Musik, I rely extensively on playlists. Now that many users are just collecting individual songs (not albums), I think more and more people will use playlists as a way to organize their collections.

While there are many useful things a playlist manager could do, I think basic needs could be met in MM5.

My needs would be met if:

1) MM5 showed which playlists the song belonged to as a column in the list view. There may be lots of playlists, and the names of the names might get truncated. But this is no different than how some people get very descriptive with genres, why columns are resizable and can be easily over come with a personal playlist naming scheme. Essentially this would do what the MM4 "Playlist in MainWindow" add-on does, but without jamming the playlist names in a custom field.

2) If MM5 autoplaylists allowed you to use which playlist a song is in in the autoplaylist criteria. This would allow you to create all sorts of auto playlist management playlists to do things like automatically find which new songs you haven't added to playlists, etc. This is described in more detail here:
viewtopic.php?t=102132

I would love to see the above two basic playlist management things get built into MM. But if not, would pay for a playlist manager add-on that did.
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