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kraqh3d
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@all
the initial commit was just done. it currentl only works for the primary artist and genres. i'll have it updated for multi aritst and multi genre support soon. i have the sql worked out. i need to fake tag a boatload of songs to test it better. but for now, have a go and let me know what you think.
here's some info:
- filtering is done in the following order: genres -> artists -> albums. the final result is a filtered list of songs that match all three criteria.
- the root list presents genres, artists, albums, and songs. these can be used to skip into the filter tree at any point. entering artists from the root means the genre filter is wide open.
- each layer has an "all" option which skips to the next layer unfiltered. (for example: selecting genres, then "all genres", will bring up the artists screen, but not filter by genre. this is the same as entering artists from the root.)
- you can use the play action on any folder item (except those at the root) to play the list of filtered songs using the "temporary" playlist.
- you can use the enqueue action on any folder item (except those at the root) to add the list of filtered songs to the current playlist.
- when you get down to songs, you'll notice theres also an "all songs" item. if you hit select on it, it wont actually do anything. the intention is that it's there to be used to play/queue the current song list. i'm still working on this. i'm contemplating moving this off to the left menu or something.
- the search works exactly the same as in artists view. this may need to be overhauled.
@jcage
you are correct, they are not mapped by default. theres limited buttons on the controller so other functionality needs to be sacrificed. we leave that to the user to figure out what they can live without.
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kraqh3d
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@jone:
thanks. i'm hoping to reduce the number of music windows. in its current state, it already takes the place of artists and genre views.
i'm planning on adding a "top 100", and 100 "most recent" items to songs, and a "top 20", and 20 "most recent" items to albums. the problem is, i'm not sure where they should go on the screen. i was thinking of having them be buttons on the left side, or virtual items (like the "all" items) that are available entering those sections from the root.
i hate to tell you this, but the speed is probably only going to get worse for you when i commit the changes to support multipe genres and multiple artists. i'm running it at home now, and will probably commit in a few days. i've been working in this for the past week or so. using sqlite explorer i managed to cut the query times in half.
for my testing, i tagged 1200 songs with anywhere from 2-4 artists, and anywhere from 2-6 genres for testing. the load times on the xbox are tolerable, though, it is relative to the size of the database.
i have one more tricks up my sleeve, but id rather not go down that path unless i have to. keep an eye on cvs and post your results when these changes are available. [how large is your database (# of songs)?]
and one more thing - i named the view nav for lack of anything else. i'm hesitant to use the name songs since that used to be the name for the files view. so, what should i call this new view?
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i think it'd best be called "music library" once we completely ditch the other views. so there'll be file view and library view.
as for the switches for most recent/top100 etc i'm not sure how to best handle them - both systems have pros and cons i think.
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kraqh3d,
is the 'shuffle' command still planned to be included once you've got the basics sorted?
i have around 5000+ songs in my library and i think the slight slowness is a worthy tradeoff to get the better navigation.
good work so far thou.
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kraqh3d
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@jmarshall:
i was thinking that albums view would remain. it's got that cool listview that i cant seem to duplicate.
@bigbellybilly:
no. shuffle is already available in playlists. so i see no need to duplicate it. you can use the enqueue action almost everywhere to add the filtered song listing to a playist. then switch to playlist view and enable shuffle or random or whatever its called.
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using your explanation; when you see the list of albums, is that automatically a temp. playlist or do i have to manually create it, before i can select shuffle?
when your drilling down and you get to a certain level (ie genre / rock ... ) you get a list of albums. i envisiged a simple (shuffle) button on the left menu that would work across the albums listed? personally i think that would be simpler than having to switch to another view to select random.
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kraqh3d
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you can do both. keymap.xml defines two different actions: play and enqueue. on the remote, play is mapped to the play button, and enqueue is mapped to the zero button. i dont know the default mappings for the controller, but i dont think play is mapped by default.
if you use the play action, it will use a temp playlist which you cannot shuffle.
if you use the enqueue action, it will use a real playlist which you can shuffle once you switch to playlist view. you can also use enqueue from the context menu.
here's some examples:
if you enter genres, highlight rock, and use either of these actions, it will get the list of songs matching: genre=rock, artist=all, album=all.
if you enter genres, then select rock, then use either of these actions on u2, it will get get the list of songs matching: genre=rock, artist=u2, album=all.
if you enter songs from the root, and use either of these actions on the all songs item, it will take the full song database.
if you enter artists from the root, highlight u2, and use either of these actions, it'll get the list of songs matching: genre=all, artist=u2, album=all.
if you enter albums from the root, highlight "how to dismantle an atomic bomb - u2", and use those either of those actions, it will only get the songs in that album.
in short, if you use these actions when not at a song listing, it assumes that any unset filters are "all".
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yes, i understand your navigation, which is excellent, its just the switching to a separate playlist once you can see your desired list is clumbersome.
doesn't enqueuing the list add the tracks to an existing playlist, which means i'd have to clear it out first if i just wanted shuffle my new filtered list?
i see simplicity as being the important issue, even if it means duplicating a function available elsewhere, to me it cries out for a shuffle menu button.
could it not be added on a trial basis just to gauge usability and feedback ?
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i guess it depends on exactly what it is that you want to achieve.
do you want all songs in your library to be shuffled? if so, you want a "party mode" like in itunes.
do you want just whatever dir/album/genre/whatever to be shuffled, if so you probably do want a shuffle button to be available at all times. does it make sense to have this as an option? imo, shuffle generally applies to either playlists or the entire library. thus, a "party mode" where you can choose a source playlist (or the library) to play from (ala itunes) does the job admirably.
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kraqh3d
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yes, enqueue adds the selection to the existing playlist. this has not changed. enqueue always worked like that. so, if you want a clean playlist, you need to make sure its already empty.
i see no reason to add shuffle to the main view. i dont see the purpose when this can be reasonably done today.
enter songs from the root, enqueue "all songs", switch to playlist view, then hit shuffle. thats 4 actions.
and if you want to shorten it, after you queue up all songs, save the shuffled playlist. next time you just have to switch to playlists and open it and turn on shuffle. it's now 2 actions.
something that's reasonable is adding a way to view the temp playlist from the music playlist window. right now, its completely inaccessible. and yes, this can get confusing. again, this was always the case but since (i think) the only other view which takes advantage of the temp playlist is albums no one noticed it.
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2005-02-28, 23:58
thanks kraqh3d,
i look forward to being able to try out your changes (learning curve with the self-compiling process permitting).
i agree with bigbellybilly on the shuffle feature. one of the great aspects of the new (4th gen) ipod is that wherever you happen to be, you can turn shuffle (randomize) feature on or off with a single click.
so i know i want to listen to reggae, i browse by reggae genre to see the reggae artists and choose bob marley. i decide i want to listen to all the bob marley music i have, but do not necessarily want to listen to it in order. i should be able to press a single button that would randomly play tracks from any of the filter criteres (bob marley albums).
thanks again for all your work!
jc
