Author Topic: Playlist Folders of Auto Playlist showing in DJ Software (via iTunes .xml)  (Read 4676 times)

Lukevdw

  • Guest
Hi

Many DJ Software like Traktor and Serato has a built in function where it can read to the iTunes .xml file and the associated playlist and playlist folders.

Traktor which is one of  the leading DJ software is shockingly lacking when it comes to music organization unlike MB THAT KICKS ASS IN SO MANY WAYS

Alot of DJs  create Smart (Auto) Playlist  of iTunes to help with their DJing and Set building by using  tags. Many do so even tho they hate iTunes and been looking for an alternative for ages

Therefor I was very excited to see that MB exports a iTunes .xml file. Plus MB;s versatility lets you create such playlist with custom tags, which is awesome which really takes your set building and mixing to a next level

HOWEVER

I noticed that my playlist are showing but not my "playlist folders"

It would be really great if it did, easy navigation is important to DJs, especially when you trying to decide what track to mix next and time is of the essence.
 
Once again amazing product! If above request would be implemented I would personal campaign and advocate MB on every DJ forum and website  known to man!

Thanks!



inaki_mtz

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 2
+1 here! ;)

I tink that folder and file structure in playlists disappears because the correct XML tags aren't in the exported file. Tag (<key>Folder</key><true/> in the playlist parent folder and <key>Parent Persistent ID</key><string>parent folder ID</string> in the son playlist)


alec.tron

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 752
+1 here as well for respecting MB's playlist hierarchies on iTunes xml export - that would be swish!
Cheerio.
c.

Rekordbox

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
+1 here for playlist folders export to DJ-Software with itunes.xml. Many thanks in advance. 

alec.tron

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 752
Heya,
Steven did attempt this briefly, but after a first attempt where folders were present in the xml, but were not populating their parent folders correctly as per the iTunes xml spec (where all parent folders need to hold the combined content of all children), which then in turn caused issues, he rolled it back and said that he'll to never touch it again.
So seems this is of no interest to him unfortunately. See:
https://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=23776.msg139074#msg139074

Churs.
c.

Rekordbox

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Hello alec.tron,

thank you very much for your explanation. It's really a pity, that it is so complicated. Maybe Steven has an idea to solve this problem in the future. Hope always dies last  ;) . Maybe there is a workaround to sort playlists in the right order without folders. I tried it with one letter in front of every playlist. E for English Music, F for French, G for German, I for Italian, L for Latin etc. . It depends on how much folders you have without the same letter. It is not a real replacement for a folder structure, but maybe better than nothing.

Kind regards



alec.tron

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 752
Yea, I don't think this would be difficult - since MusicBee is aggregating child playlists' content into folders already - so the iTunes xml would have only needed that same info... but since Steven is not interested in this area, this sounded unlikely to ever be addressed... so hope is all we can do.

On the upside, the itunes XML does order 'as if' the folders were there...
i.e.
MB playlists structure:
FolderA
   PlaylistA
   PlaylistB
FolderB
   APlaylist
   BPlaylist

Will arrive in the xml in the same order at least... i.e.
   PlaylistA
   PlaylistB
   APlaylist
   BPlaylist


So there is not need to prefix/rename your playlists to force some sorting, MB already keeps the folder based internal playlist sorting order... it's just without the folders. But if you know your playlists folder/structure, you can fairly quickly navigate a very long list (i.e. I have around 300 playlists.... so that's a long flat list... but at least I have access to proper smart-crates and multi-value/custom metadata this way... opposed to the shit-show that all 3 main DJ softwares have managed to come up with in terms of library and/or metadata management... and it works surprisingly well with DVS if you have a mini-ctonroller to scroll quickly, or use a single controller for all DJing for which browsing through hardware is fairly quick to navigate a long  list with as well... just mouse/trackpad interaction becomes a bit of a nightmare when dealing with long flat lists...  :D)
Hope this helps.
c.
Last Edit: March 08, 2018, 07:44:13 PM by alec.tron

Rekordbox

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Hello alec.tron,

thank you very much for your detailed explanations  :) . Maybe we should understand Steven, because there seems to be not much interest in this topic. We will see, if he changes his mind in the future and a fix comes around.

Kind regards