Topics

1

MusicBee Wishlist / Uninstaller - Option needed to preserve user settings

« on: June 27, 2014, 09:55:28 AM »

I'm still unable to make the switch to MusicBee full-time (because of this, this, this, and this), but I test the latest build every so often to see if any of my issues have been addressed. When I uninstall, I often forget that the uninstaller removes user settings unconditionally, which, because I intend to come back to MusicBee at some point, isn't what I want. I recommend either providing an option to preserve user settings in the uninstaller or just not removing them at all.

2

MusicBee Wishlist / Scripting - Additional functions needed

« on: July 19, 2013, 10:07:09 AM »

Clearly, the goal of the MusicBee scripting language is to be less messy than that of competing players. To that end, I'd like to suggest inline "and", "or", and "not" operators.

For example:

$If(<Bitrate> != "320k" && <Bitrate> != "256k" || $Right(<Encoding Quality>,1) > 2,Low Quality,High Quality)

vs.

$If(<Bitrate> = "320k",High Quality,$If(<Bitrate> = "256k",High Quality,$If($Right(<Encoding Quality>,1) > 2,Low Quality,High Quality)))

As in most languages, "and" would take precedence, thereby negating the need for additional parentheses.

Though I'm sure this has been raised a million times, I'd also like to note that MusicBee simply doesn't contain enough functions. There are a number of kludgy workarounds that can be used to fill in some of the gaps, but at minimum, I'd like to see the following irreplicable functions added: $len, $lower, $upper, $substr, $stricmp, $strchr, and $strrchr.

One last thing: I don't expect this one to happen, but if I were in charge, I'd replace $IsNull with [] (or something like $NotNull). How many times do you want to display something if the value *is* null? It's just one extra comma, I know, but all the same, it's a baffling design decision.

3

MusicBee Wishlist / Winamp API - Additional functions needed

« on: July 19, 2013, 10:04:36 AM »

To make the switch to MusicBee, I need the following items added to its Winamp API support:

• Get Repeat (WM_USER 251)
• Get Repeat Track (WM_USER 634)
• Get Shuffle (WM_USER 250)
• Set Repeat (WM_USER 253)
• Set Repeat Track (WM_USER 635)
• Set Shuffle (WM_USER 252)
• Jump to File (WM_COMMAND 40194)
• Seek Back (WM_COMMAND 40144)
• Seek Forward (WM_COMMAND 40148)

In addition, the "Stop After Current" API function is supposed to be a toggle. Currently, MusicBee will only set the value -- it won't clear it.

4

MusicBee Wishlist / Overwriting view preset should propagate changes

« on: July 19, 2013, 10:03:00 AM »

As the title suggests, I believe overwriting a view preset should immediately update all other sections using that preset. Currently, even switching to another preset and back doesn't work -- you have to restart MusicBee entirely for the changes to propagate.

I suppose this is half feature request and half bug, but I'm opting to post here because the feature is more important to me than the bugfix.

5

MusicBee Wishlist / Full column customization (a la foobar2000)

« on: July 19, 2013, 10:02:06 AM »

The inconsistencies with MusicBee's current variable/column paradigm present a number of problems -- for example, <#> returns an unpadded value, while the "#" column doesn't; meanwhile, <Bitrate> returns "192k" just like its column, which renders "$If(<Bitrate> >= 64)"-style comparisons extremely, extremely cumbersome with the current set of functions the program provides. For this reason, I recommend that all variables return only their exact values with no display flourishes (like the "k" at the end of <Bitrate>) and that column formatting be configurable in the "Fields Layout Editor".

Aside from making life easier for scripters, this would give the user complete control over how his library is displayed. If I prefer my Bitrate column be displayed as "192 kbps", I can readily change that without messing around with virtual tags. Want only the first two genres displayed? Want to change the format of something in all views without adding a virtual tag column to each one? No problem -- suddenly, anything is possible!

With such a system in place, I would also:

• Make the "this track is currently playing" speaker icon its own column. In fb2k, I use this functionality to display queue information using: "['['$if($strchr(%queue_indexes%,','),%queue_index%+,%queue_index%)']']". Enterprising individuals could no doubt come up with other uses (or even remove the column entirely if that's their desire).
• Remove the "Show Encoding Quality in place of Bitrate" feature and replace the Bitrate column with a formula to replicate this behavior. If the user so chooses, he can simply change the column to display "<Bitrate>k" instead.

6

MusicBee Wishlist / foobar2000/Winamp-style queue system

« on: July 19, 2013, 09:59:37 AM »

I'm ever so close to making the jump to MusicBee, but one thing that'll keep me away until an alternative emerges is the queue system.

I don't understand "Now Playing" at all. My playlist is my primary queue. If I want a different set of songs, I'll make a different playlist. Why do I need a playlist for my playlist?

When choosing the next track, here's what fb2k and Winamp do:

• If there are items in the queue, the first one is played until it's empty.
• If shuffle is enabled, a random item from my playlist is played.
• If shuffle isn't enabled, the next track is played.

Meanwhile, in MusicBee, if I load my entire library and queue a single song with shuffle disabled:

• The track I queued is played immediately after the current one. So far, so good.
• Rather than playing the next track after the queued song in my playlist, it then plays the next track after the previous track.
• If I hit the "Previous Track" button, it goes back to the song I queued rather than the previous track in my playlist.
• If I later choose to listen to the track I queued again by selecting it from my playlist, the same songs that came before and after it previously will come before and after again.

Because MusicBee has more than one user (the author), clearly, not everyone is irritated by this design; as such, I'm not asking that it be replaced -- only supplemented with the queue system most players use and most people will be expecting when they make the switch. Make it an option. Don't make it the default if you're a true believer in the current method of management, but make it an option for those who aren't.