Proposed (optional) changes for simplified layout

[Bee-liever]

i have added "MainPanelTopBorderColour" bdr="90,90,90"

Thank you for doing this.

Unfortunately it is also being applied to all the borders of the LH panel.

[Steven]

Unfortunately it is also being applied to all the borders of the LH panel.

can you send me your settings file and the skin

[Bee-liever]

can you send me your settings file and the skin

file link via PM

[hiccup]

  <element id="ClassicNewTabButton">true</element>
  <element id="UseModernLayout">false</element>

Do these two still have a function?
They don't seem to have any effect anymore.

[Steven]

@Bee-liever, that should be fixed if you use the latest version:
http://musicbee.niblseed.com/V2_4/MusicBee_Exe_Patched.zip

  <element id="ClassicNewTabButton">true</element>
  <element id="UseModernLayout">false</element>

Do these two still have a function?
They don't seem to have any effect anymore.

no - these elements no longer serve any purpose with the new functionality

[mikebo]

Some minor bugs:
- tab border isn't flush with MainPanelTopBorder (only on the left side)


- when switching tabs with ctrl+tab MainPanelTopBorder isn't redrawn properly


- when changing the position of player controls between top and bottom they aren't redrawn properly. (don't know if this bug is a side effect of the layout changes or unrelated)

[hiccup]

I think this (error?) was introduced with the new layout:



1. is intentional set to yellow (id="MainPanelTopBorderColour")
2. are borders that then also appear (unwanted) in that color

[Steven]

I think this (error?) was introduced with the new layout:

those should have been addressed in today's version

[hiccup]

I think this (error?) was introduced with the new layout:

those should have been addressed in today's version

You are right, it is displaying properly again with 2.4.5315

[KissCool]

Well, I'm not really enthousiastic about this new layout. I like the idea of merging the toolbar and the tabs bar but here the result with my usual layout: too many "...":

I don't wanna use vetical tabs bar (same result + vertical text isn't easily readable) or horizontal in titlebar (I'm trying to get a clean layout in my skin, so titlebar have to be clean + "1 click" toolbar buttons become "2 clicks" buttons).

I was quite pleased with the old layout. Enough space for all my tabs and no icon, only text:

Tried to solve this. Let's try to hide the tabs text and just display the icon. In fact, it's gonna be perfect: this new bar is going to display icons only.
But I forgot that almost all my tabs have the same icon (the library one).
So, would you consider to add something like this: right click on the tab, then "choose icon" (the icon would be in the Icons folder") and hide text? So, tabs icons would look like the toolbar buttons (same space between icons and same icon size), but left aligned (toolbar icons will still be right aligned).


One last thing, about the now playing duration. I don't get it. I would have understood if the Now Playing header had been removed. But this header is still here. So, why moving the duration so far?

vs.

[mikebo]

One last thing, about the now playing duration. I don't get it. I would have understood if the Now Playing header had been removed. But this header is still here. So, why moving the duration so far?

If you have tabs in caption and the now playing list is docked in right sidebar the header is removed to make it flush with main panel. So with the header gone Steven had to put the duration somewhere else and he chose the status bar. I guess that for consistency he made it show in the status bar even for layouts where header is visible.
I too would prefer the duration to remain in the header, and only for instances where the header or now playing list is hidden to show duration in status bar.
Also it was possible to change the total duration in header to remaining time. Can't do that in status bar.

[Pingaware]

Also it was possible to change the total duration in header to remaining time. Can't do that in status bar.

I suspect Steven removed that functionality because it was very broken when it came to a shuffled now-playing list. He once turned down a wishlist request of mine regarding the remaining time feature for that reason.

EDIT:

But I forgot that almost all my tabs have the same icon (the library one).
So, would you consider to add something like this: right click on the tab, then "choose icon" (the icon would be in the Icons folder") and hide text? So, tabs icons would look like the toolbar buttons (same space between icons and same icon size), but left aligned (toolbar icons will still be right aligned).

This strikes me as a good idea, particularly if it can be done for filters (so each filter can be assigned a custom icon). That would save having to re-choose the icon every time tabs are opened or closed.

[HHM]

This: http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=9352.15 thread has over a year now, MB looked a bit differently then, but I guess some of it's ideas are being discussed now, so thou outdated (f.e. right now the search box is situated in much better position than in my ideas), it may be useful.

If you don't want to go through the whole thread, here are some mockups for Main/Mini/Compact player unification ideas I did then.

MAIN PLAYER:





MAIN + COMPACT (the view could switch automaticlly after a set up idle time)





MINI PLAYER (based on an old miniplayer)






MINICOMPACT PLAYER (this is sth between the new mini player and compact player):







NOTE: images should be resizable. Please don't a lo-fi design quality, I'm an amateur and these are just ideas. EDIT: they weren't, so I've changed them to bigger ones.
NOTE2: As mentioned above - right now in the changes being introduces the search box is located in much better place than in these ideas.

NOTE3: I like these changes you introduce and the direction MB goes to. Great job, people!!!

[Steven]

i have added an extra option in the toolbar configuration dialog so that the toolbar buttons can be displayed on a separate row when tabs are docked in the main panel ie. effectively the old layout

http://musicbee.niblseed.com/V2_4/MusicBee_Exe_Patched.zip

[hiccup]

This was added a few days ago:

"to force musicbee to display the status bar in the main panel when the player is docked down the bottom (I might remove support for this):
<element id="AllowStatusBarInPanel">true</element>"

When activated, some abnormalities appear in Library Explorer and Track Information.
I assume this element is abandoned and shouldn't be used anymore?