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[Pike84]

The summary of the discussion on the first suggestion is that I mistook "Folder:" in the Open dialog for a way to open folders of files, so your suggestion of renaming the field "Folder History:" would clarify that.

It wasn't a suggestion, it's what it currently says - or at least should say. Some Vista weirdness perhaps?

The second suggestion has been discussed some times before, but it's basically up to people who make the skins (= anyone who wants to make and submit one). The main window isn't going to be resizable (at least for a while), but there are differences between the skins in how many rows they can show there.

Nevermind, I finally figured out what you're after.

Hmm... What's that then? You mean advertising his favourite internet forum ? Oh well...

[kstuart]

It wasn't a suggestion, it's what it currently says - or at least should say. Some Vista weirdness perhaps?

Maybe the miscommunications is that we are seeing different things ??

Can you please post a screenshot of your Open file dialog?

[Dotpitch]

It wasn't a suggestion, it's what it currently says - or at least should say. Some Vista weirdness perhaps?

Maybe the miscommunications is that we are seeing different things ??

Yep, blame your font settings (see attachment).

The discussion got sidetracked from the original suggestions

Ahem.

I understand that the Open Files dialog box cannot automatically open whole folders that are selected - because one would have no way to just select individual files within the folder.

True. That's why there is an Open directory dialog, which can open whole folders. This seemed to be your problem, but it's not.

And so there is a separate "Folder" selection field in the same Open dialog.

So that's not there, it says Folder history.

However, this "Folder" selection is the most underdeveloped one I have ever seen in any Windows programs.    All other folder selections have a "Browse..." button next to them, so that you do not have to type the entire path name of the folder. A workable alternative would be to use the existing File interface for Browsing and just allow the user to drag a folder down to the Folder field.

Hmm... What's that then?

He wants an easier way to navigate through the folder structure, like the folder tree you get on the left side of Explorer.

[kstuart]

He wants an easier way to navigate through the folder structure, like the folder tree you get on the left side of Explorer.

No, I had thought that "Folder History", which is mislabeled on my XMPlay as "Folder" was a mechanism for opening only folders.

That is what I do 90% of the item - open all the music files in an album, just as in the screenshot, all those FLAC files are from an album.  I usually want to queue them in the original album order (hence the additional desire to sort by track number).

I can do this in Windows Explorer using the context menu on a Folder, but if XMPlay is running rather than Windows Explorer, then it can save some time by doing it in XMPlay.   The workaround to do this is to simply use the Open File(s) dialog, open the folder by right-clicking and then click cancel to close the dialog.

Yep, blame your font settings (see attachment).

  Are these font settings in XMplay, the Neutron skin, or separate Windows font settings ?

[Dotpitch]

Yep, blame your font settings (see attachment).

Are these font settings in XMplay, the Neutron skin, or separate Windows font settings ?

Windows settings.

That is what I do 90% of the time - open all the music files in an album, just as in the screenshot, all those FLAC files are from an album.  I usually want to queue them in the original album order (hence the additional desire to sort by track number).
I can do this in Windows Explorer using the context menu on a Folder, but if XMPlay is running rather than Windows Explorer, then it can save some time by doing it in XMPlay.   The workaround to do this is to simply use the Open File(s) dialog, open the folder by right-clicking and then click cancel to close the dialog.

Could you please explain why you choose not to use the Open directory dialog for this?

[Pike84]

You can bring up the "Add directory" window from the tray by holding down the "shift" key when you select the "Open / Add file(s)" menu option.

The "shift" key does not change the "Open / Add file(s)" menu option for me.  In both cases, the Open File(s) dialog box is presented, and in both cases, the (Open) Folder field does not have a corresponding "Browse..." button as you would find in all other Windows dialog boxes that open files.

Isn't this the problem here? (Works fine for me, btw)

[piovrauz]

Have you tried the right click on the "Open / Add file(s)" button? If I understand the thing you want, it opens a window where you can use to choose a directory and play itss content.

[Ian @ un4seen]

Well, I did try, but had different results. If the zipped file is a module, it remains in memory/the archive isn't locked and I can remove the key; If the zipped file is a mp3/something else, even if it's smaller than the read-ahead limit tthe archive is locked (I suppose) and I can't unplug, even if I set the track to be looped eternally...
So I was asking for more info, expecially wanting to do so (unplug the key whileit's still playing the cached file).
I do know that if I'll skip to the next song all files in playlist will be marked as dead, but that's no issue.

Zipped (or any other archived) files are fully loaded/decompressed to memory prior to playback, and the archive is then closed, so it should be fine to remove the USB key mid-playback in that case.

The "shift" key does not change the "Open / Add file(s)" menu option for me.  In both cases, the Open File(s) dialog box is presented...

Oh right, I forgot that the shift-key modifier actually only applies when the "Default action" is not set to "replace playlist". To address that and make things clearer, here's an update where the open files and open directory menu options are separated...

   www.un4seen.com/stuff/xmplay.exe

The "Default action" and "Play listed tracks" settings still determine what happens to the new tracks, ie. whether they replace the existing tracks, etc.

Can you please post a screenshot of your Open file dialog?

That's strange. The "Folder history:" area has been slightly widened in the update above. Let me know if you still don't see the "history" part of it.

[kstuart]

I am not getting anything different in the stuff version... still 3.6.0.15, same right-click context menu, etc.

[kstuart]

Yep, blame your font settings (see attachment).

Are these font settings in XMplay, the Neutron skin, or separate Windows font settings ?

Windows settings.

I do use 192 DPI (instead of 96) because of the aforementioned factor of the PC being for both video and audio (1920x1080 "1080p HD" screen).   I have "Aero" (desktop composition) turned off.

(I use Vista because of the improved video and audio, such as the excellent sound using XMPlay's WASAPI exclusive plugin.)

I'm not the only one doing such things, the Neutron skin comments include a number of people saying that the Neutron Large skin is the only large enough one, and other skin's comments include several people asking for larger versions of those.   The Head-Fi thread included one mention that the default skin is too small, but one could find a larger one.

[Dotpitch]

I am not getting anything different in the stuff version... still 3.6.0.15, same right-click context menu, etc.

You should download it again then, because this is what 3.6.0.16 has.

[kstuart]

I am not getting anything different in the stuff version... still 3.6.0.15, same right-click context menu, etc.

You should download it again then, because this is what 3.6.0.16 has.

Okay, that is the problem with a web link to an executable file that is the same filename every time... The browser cached the 3.6.0.15 file, which is what it is designed to do.

When I used a different browser on that link, then it downloaded the 3.6.0.16 version.  If these are only for alpha testing, then "xmplay-3-6-0-16.exe" would be a clearer nomenclature and it would avoid caching (and make it easier for testers to go back and forth between versions to verify differences).

---

The Open Directory choice works fine, thanks !

A small request is to put both choices on the first menu as:

Open File(s)
Open Folder

The Open submenu requires more time and attention to make a choice, and so far, the menu is not particularly long, so nothing is gained.

And, while I myself used the term "directory" before the term "folder" existed, these days, only computer techs use it.   In fact, the "Open Directory" dialog has a button "New Folder".

The background is:

The name folder, presenting an analogy to the file folder used in offices, and used originally by Apple Lisa,[5] is used in almost all modern operating systems' desktop environments. Folders are often depicted with icons which visually resemble physical file folders.

Strictly speaking, there is a difference between a directory which is a file system concept, and the graphical user interface metaphor that is used to represent it (a folder). For example, Microsoft Windows uses the concept of special folders to help present the contents of the computer to the user in a fairly consistent way that frees the user from having to deal with absolute directory paths, which can vary between versions of Windows, and between individual installations.

If one is referring to a container of documents, the term folder is more appropriate. The term directory refers to the way a structured list of document files and folders is stored on the computer. It is comparable to a telephone directory that contains lists of names, numbers and addresses and does not contain the actual documents themselves.

[Ian @ un4seen]

Okay, that is the problem with a web link to an executable file that is the same filename every time... The browser cached the 3.6.0.15 file, which is what it is designed to do.

When I used a different browser on that link, then it downloaded the 3.6.0.16 version.  If these are only for alpha testing, then "xmplay-3-6-0-16.exe" would be a clearer nomenclature and it would avoid caching (and make it easier for testers to go back and forth between versions to verify differences).

I don't think different filenames would be very convenient, eg. links would then become outdated/invalid and even savvy users that think to try modifying the URL would need to know what the latest build number is to get the latest version. To address the cache issue, a "Cache-control" header has now been added to downloads, which should force the browser to check whether the file has changed. Of course, the browser will need to have received the header for it to take effect, so you may have to clear your browser's cache once initially.

And, while I myself used the term "directory" before the term "folder" existed, these days, only computer techs use it.   In fact, the "Open Directory" dialog has a button "New Folder".

Yep, for consistency, I guess instances of "directory" ought to be replaced with "folder". I'll look into it.

[amit]

In integration section of the options and tools there's an option to play after bookmarking. It is nice but could you also add an option to the right click menu of the position slider to "queue bookmark"? It will help to resume the original playlist order without waiting for the added tracks to end first.

[kstuart]

By the way, 3.6.0.16 also corrects the display of the phrase "Folder history:" on my installation.

So, now that the misunderstandings have been cleared up (that resulted from that display bug), here is what I would like to request:

- Moving the contents of the new "Open" sub-menu (of the tray icon right-click menu) into the right-click menu in order to save time & effort (admittedly small, but it adds up over many uses).   The right-click menu is not long enough to warrant sub-menus... yet.

- Add a "Replace Queue" choice to "Default Action" (in addition to Replace Playlist, Add to Queue and Add to Playlist).   (This, in fact, is the choice I would use.)

- Allow main window to be resized in the same way that info window can be resized.

PS  I looked at the "Play listed:" setting and its documentation:

Play listed tracks:
    This determines whether XMPlay should immediately play tracks that are
    added to the list via external means (not when using the "Add to list"
    button), optionally bookmarking the current playback first.

and unless I am still misunderstanding something, it seems to me that it should be:

" Play opened: "

since the choices concern the playing the newly opened tracks, and not the tracks in the existing playlist.

I mention this because I had some confusion in trying to figure out how to set these options, and it might help others in the future if the name were more accurate.

I hope that I can help by having a perspective of a "newbie" - which those who have been happily using XMPlay for years cannot have.

[Dotpitch]

I looked at the "Play listed" setting and its documentation ... and unless I am still misunderstanding something, it seems to me that it should be "Play opened", since the choices concern the playing the newly opened tracks, and not the tracks in the existing playlist.

And what if those tracks are added to the playlist, but not played? The tracks are not really opened in that case. How about 'Play new tracks'?

[kstuart]

I looked at the "Play listed" setting and its documentation ... and unless I am still misunderstanding something, it seems to me that it should be "Play opened", since the choices concern the playing the newly opened tracks, and not the tracks in the existing playlist.

And what if those tracks are added to the playlist, but not played? The tracks are not really opened in that case. How about 'Play new tracks'?

That sounds fine.

[kstuart]

Another request/suggestion:

Support Next/Previous Track from Tray-Icon-Right-Click-Menu for track information from cue files.    I believe that this is also called "Next-Sub-Track" and "Previous-Sub-Track".

These could either be added directly to the menu, or using the same right-click-on method that is used for the Next-Track and Previous-Track buttons would be fine.

(I'll add a Global Shortcut, but the "Pause" key on the keyboard is the only one that is easy to remember, I keep forgetting the others.  )

[Pike84]

Since it's a Windows thing, it's possible that left and right clicks cannot be differentiated in this menu (I've never come across one, where they were). I could be wrong though.

[wrkq]

I personally am using a set of Ctrl+Shift+Numpad global hotkeys for controlling XMPlay.
Up, down, left, right, plus, minus, etc... relatively easy to remember.