Author Topic: [Solved] Question about sort order (now playing)  (Read 12593 times)

Parallax

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Hi,

Just wanted to start off by saying I'm new to using MusicBee, so hopefully this question has an easy answer (I was unable to find a clear answer by searching the forum or in the wiki) :D I'm coming from a long term relationship with Winamp, but I quickly fell for the very visual interface and possibilities of MB - still have a huge amount to learn though.

I'm using version 2.3.5188 with the Compact Player mode as seen here:

- Link to screenshot
(the first column displayed is the Track#)

As you can see from the screenshot, the track order does not show correctly. When I test this multiple times, the tracks shift around (never randomly though; for instance 5-12 followed by 1-4). When I add new music to Now Playing, in this instance a whole album, I usually just drag&drop the items into the "Now Playing" area.

My question is: how can I make sure the sort order in "Now Playing" always appear in order of Track# when I add new tracks? (1 through 12 in this case)

(I have tried setting the Sorting options to Track#, but it does not seem to work properly or I am misunderstanding how it is supposed to work)
Last Edit: April 11, 2014, 06:28:53 PM by Parallax

psychoadept

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Welcome to the forum!

It would be helpful to see the tags in the Tag Editor.  Can you show one of the top ones and one of the bottom ones?
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redwing

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Maybe you want to first check how they look in Album & Tracks layout in the main panel. If they are not sorted by track#, then check your Grouping setting under preferences that sets how you define an album.

Parallax

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Hi again and thanks for the quick replies - I'm adding some more information before heading off to work :)

Here is a screenshot from the tag editor of the top and bottom tracks:
- Link #1
- Link #2

I am also including various settings:
- Sourting/Grouping
- Shuffle (it doesn't seem to do shuffle in "now playing", but is there an off button?)
- Album&Tracks

Album & Tracks in the Main Panel is the pane that end with a #-menu that has the settings "Keep columns sized to panel" and "Auto size all columns" among other things, is that right? If so, that area is empty, I guess since I use Compact Player with Now Playing directly.

psychoadept

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Shuffle is toggled on and off via the button in the player panel, or in the right click menu for the player panel.

I don't think it has anything to do with your compact player settings, but your Album & Track settings don't make much sense.  More info here: http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Album_and_Tracks_View

Rather than using Track# as your sorting criteria, I suggest using the "Album" sorting preset.  It includes Track# in its logic and won't mix up tracks from different albums.  If that doesn't help your sorting problem, I will have to ponder it some more, or wait for someone else to have any idea.
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redwing

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Your grouping setting includes Album Artist and Album name, which means your album must have the same album artist and album name to be sorted properly by track #. Check if those tracks have the same album artist, or try removing album artist from grouping setting.

redwing

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BTW why did you add Track# as grouping header for your Album & Tracks view? That's doesn't make any sense unless you want to group tracks with their track#.

Parallax

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All the tracks does indeed have the same tags for Artist and Album.
Here are my current settings:

- Sorting/Grouping
- Album & Tracks

Sometimes when I change the above settings, I get the following error:
- Error Message

Now that I go into Album & Tracks, the Grouping Header is reset back to "Album Artist"
Even when I am able to change it (to "Album") without error - it doesn't seem to have much effect?

psychoadept

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What happens if you go to the Now Playing List in the main panel (found under Playlists), add Track# (not "#", which is playlist order) as a column, and click to sort it?  Can you post a screenshot of that?
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Parallax

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Here is the result after I click to sort the track# column (they appear in correct order, but only after sorting manually):

- Main Player screenshot

psychoadept

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That's helpful, thanks.  In the Now Playing List (as shown), add the # column so that you can see the playlist order, then Right Click > List > Update Play Order Automatically.   That should make the # column match the Track # column.  If it doesn't, sort by Track # again.
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Parallax

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Here's the new result (with # column and Automatically Update Play Order turned on):
- Main Player: Now Playing screenshot

It shows how it looks with the tracks added initially. If I click to sort by Track# - both column values does match.

redwing

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As shown by your last screenshot, your sorting problem has not been fixed yet. Is this album the only exception? In Album & Tracks layout, are other albums sorted properly according to track# (without sorting by it manually)?

If so, try this. Select all tracks in that album, re-enter album name, and save them. Also if you keeping getting the error message, copy the whole message and report it to the bug reports board.

Parallax

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It seemed like it, but today I reinstalled MusicBee because of the error I got when updating the settings - just to be on the safe side.

I tested again with a new album and then with the same one. They are both loaded with the tracks in the correct order in the Library Pane (I guess what I might "Library" is actually the Album&Tracks layout).
So that appears correct, but as you can see they are still jumbled when I add them directly to the Now Playing pane.

- Test #1
- Test #2
(note that the # column is gone in the Library Pane, I seem unable to find it again under Other Fields for some reason)

psychoadept

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It seemed like it, but today I reinstalled MusicBee because of the error I got when updating the settings - just to be on the safe side.

I tested again with a new album and then with the same one. They are both loaded with the tracks in the correct order in the Library Pane (I guess what I might "Library" is actually the Album&Tracks layout).
So that appears correct, but as you can see they are still jumbled when I add them directly to the Now Playing pane.

- Test #1
- Test #2
(note that the # column is gone in the Library Pane, I seem unable to find it again under Other Fields for some reason)


There is no # column for library, because the library does not have a play order.  If sorting the Now Playing List by Track # solves the problem, why not just do that?  What is it sorted by in your screenshots?
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