REQ: Auto-View option for music (other) folders ala XBMC

HappyTalk · 2006-08-06, 12:26

I searched and saw one other thread regarding this but it was dated 2004 and the title was misleading, apologies if raking over old ground. I appreciate that the current situation is that MediaPortal operates a 'remember folders view settings' ala windows. XBMC users will remember that it used to have an 'auto-view' settings option based on a few criteria that enabled it to auto switch the view.

Like many (I'm sure) I have an organised music collection thus:-
O:\mp3\A\Air\Moon Safari\_Moon Safari (1998).m3u
O:\mp3\A\Air\Moon Safari\All I Need.mp3
O:\mp3\A\Air\Moon Safari\folder.jpg
etc etc....

I also use:-
O:\mp3\A\Air\_\non_album_track.mp3
for any tracks not organised into an album
AND
O:\mp3\A\_\Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars.mp3
For any bands with only 1 or 2 songs as I don't want an entire folder for EVERY band to avoid folder clutter.

After many years of various schemes this was the only one that made any sense in the end... (to me). So when browsing I like to have list view until I get to O:\mp3\A\Air subfolder then switch to big icon view to see the album covers then OK would play the album or right arrow would go into the folder.

I understand the current algorithm covers all angles but without the auto view is inflexible for a large collection. I totally understand and agree that the current method should not be tampered with so looked for a way to add the old XBMC auto-view on top and so wondered if any of these solutions might be possible:-

1) Add an auto-view to the current list/big/small/film views. In MP Config have a choice of auto-view alogrithms the user can select from. eg 'List + big icon for albums", "list, small icon for albums" etc. I guess an album folder could be detected by looking for the folder.jpg in any of its subfolders.

2) Alternatively have an option again in the MP config under music to select and run an algorithm that intelligently auto sets up all the default views in the database. MP main would then function no differently to now except that rather than having to initially set each folder, it would already be done.

3) A hybrid of both where the default view is set in config is as it currently is but with additional various auto-view options. So when a folder is entered that has not yet had it's defaut view initialised rather than just the just list,icon,film being used an auto-view algorithm could initialise the folders view.

Like other things it can seem complex when describing the logic but from a users Point of view would appear very simple and leave the current method totally unaffected. 2) has one advantage that it could even be a totally seperate program and impinges on current code the least, though disadvantage that it would need to be re-run whenever new music was added. 3) would probably be best of both worlds and simplest, after all if algorithm ever wrongly chose default folder it can be easily changed by the user. Lastly though many people may choose different media organisation methods, only a few variations are actually any good (IMHO), so organisation could become more standardised.

any view on views? + How do you organise yours?

floriank112 · 2006-08-29, 18:43

hi there! i have a similar problem...

i just changed from meedio and my music database is organized in folders:
\Genre\Artist\Album\01. artist - title.mp3

Genre, Artist, Album and Title are also correct in the ID3 Tag.

But here comes the problem: I have a folder called misc where single tracks are stored that also dont have a cleaned an correct ID3 Tag. I would love to have that folder in an extra library where i can sort by folder/filenames instead of ID3 tag information by default! Right now ich have to sort everything in the mode folder/filenames an so i can't use the search feature and the views are also not saved correctly...

does anybody understand my problem?!?! with meedio i was able to define the sorting method for each folder and i had a database/library for each genre...

please help! if you have questions please ask, i hope i have explained everything understadable!

greetz, florian

2006-08-06, 12:26	#1 (permalink)
HappyTalk Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: UK Posts: 269 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts My System	REQ: Auto-View option for music (other) folders ala XBMC I searched and saw one other thread regarding this but it was dated 2004 and the title was misleading, apologies if raking over old ground. I appreciate that the current situation is that MediaPortal operates a 'remember folders view settings' ala windows. XBMC users will remember that it used to have an 'auto-view' settings option based on a few criteria that enabled it to auto switch the view. Like many (I'm sure) I have an organised music collection thus:- O:\mp3\A\Air\Moon Safari\_Moon Safari (1998).m3u O:\mp3\A\Air\Moon Safari\All I Need.mp3 O:\mp3\A\Air\Moon Safari\folder.jpg etc etc.... I also use:- O:\mp3\A\Air\_\non_album_track.mp3 for any tracks not organised into an album AND O:\mp3\A\_\Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars.mp3 For any bands with only 1 or 2 songs as I don't want an entire folder for EVERY band to avoid folder clutter. After many years of various schemes this was the only one that made any sense in the end... (to me). So when browsing I like to have list view until I get to O:\mp3\A\Air subfolder then switch to big icon view to see the album covers then OK would play the album or right arrow would go into the folder. I understand the current algorithm covers all angles but without the auto view is inflexible for a large collection. I totally understand and agree that the current method should not be tampered with so looked for a way to add the old XBMC auto-view on top and so wondered if any of these solutions might be possible:- 1) Add an auto-view to the current list/big/small/film views. In MP Config have a choice of auto-view alogrithms the user can select from. eg 'List + big icon for albums", "list, small icon for albums" etc. I guess an album folder could be detected by looking for the folder.jpg in any of its subfolders. 2) Alternatively have an option again in the MP config under music to select and run an algorithm that intelligently auto sets up all the default views in the database. MP main would then function no differently to now except that rather than having to initially set each folder, it would already be done. 3) A hybrid of both where the default view is set in config is as it currently is but with additional various auto-view options. So when a folder is entered that has not yet had it's defaut view initialised rather than just the just list,icon,film being used an auto-view algorithm could initialise the folders view. Like other things it can seem complex when describing the logic but from a users Point of view would appear very simple and leave the current method totally unaffected. 2) has one advantage that it could even be a totally seperate program and impinges on current code the least, though disadvantage that it would need to be re-run whenever new music was added. 3) would probably be best of both worlds and simplest, after all if algorithm ever wrongly chose default folder it can be easily changed by the user. Lastly though many people may choose different media organisation methods, only a few variations are actually any good (IMHO), so organisation could become more standardised. any view on views? + How do you organise yours?

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2006-08-29, 18:43	#2 (permalink)
floriank112 Portal User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My System	hi there! i have a similar problem... i just changed from meedio and my music database is organized in folders: \Genre\Artist\Album\01. artist - title.mp3 Genre, Artist, Album and Title are also correct in the ID3 Tag. But here comes the problem: I have a folder called misc where single tracks are stored that also dont have a cleaned an correct ID3 Tag. I would love to have that folder in an extra library where i can sort by folder/filenames instead of ID3 tag information by default! Right now ich have to sort everything in the mode folder/filenames an so i can't use the search feature and the views are also not saved correctly... does anybody understand my problem?!?! with meedio i was able to define the sorting method for each folder and i had a database/library for each genre... please help! if you have questions please ask, i hope i have explained everything understadable! greetz, florian