Author Topic: Various bugs with M3U playlists  (Read 2795 times)

jhlogin

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Version: 3.1.6385 (installed, not portable)
Windows 10
Patch applied as suggested from here:  https://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=21767.msg127732#msg127732


That patch supposedly resolved issues regarding M3U functionality, but as far as I can tell all it did was disable the screen for setting options regarding M3U playlists.  The following issues remain:

* Exported M3U playlists do not follow the settings specified in Preferences -> Library -> playlists.  M3U files are exported with absolute paths even with 'use relative file paths' checked.  In addition, the file path is in Windows format even with 'use unix path convention' checked.  Finally, the 'map base file paths in exported playlists' setting is ignored as well.

* With the above patch there is now no way to set a playlist to be automatically exported.  This setting was on the Playlist Settings screen which was disabled with the above patch.  Even without the patch this setting didn't work, because the checkbox for specifying automatic export was cleared each time the setting screen was closed.

* Not sure this is a bug or just a usability issue, but each time a playlist is selected from the Explorer screen it is opened as a new tab.  It results in having several duplicate tabs open.  Personally I don't think it makes sense to clutter the UI with redundant tabs like this.

Thanks.

Steven

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the referenced topic is refering to library playlists, not exported playlists.
Trying again now for exported playlists i am unable to reproduce any of the issues you list ie. relative paths works fine, unix convention works fine, export tickbox is persisting.
As to the export setting itself, i cant see any code that disables that setting nor did i have any problems with it.
This functionality has been around for a very long time, so i'm inclined to not spend time investigating it further.

For the last point, when you say "selected from Explorer", do you mean you open the playlist by double clicking in windows explorer?

edit:
maybe if you post a screenshot showing the playlist settings screen where the setting disabled might throw some light on things
Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 10:03:57 PM by Steven

jhlogin

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I created a static M3U playlist named 'Squeezebox'.  Here is where previously I could set the 'export automatically' setting:



Here is the popup I see when I select that menu item with the patch applied:



Here are my library settings regarding playlists:



Here is how I am trying to export the M3U file:



And here is the M3U file with full path despite the library settings specifying relative paths:


redwing

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MB defaults to use mbp format for library playlists, and when you changed the setting to m3u format you must have seen a warning message that says m3u playlists have restricted functionality. I don't know which features are supported and which are not for m3u format, but if you use mbp format for library playlists and m3u for export playlists, all those issues you reported will be resolved.

jhlogin

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The problem with using MBP playlists is you can't use them with other music players.  My goal with MusicBee was to manage my music collection including creating playlists for my Squeezebox server and portable music player.  Both support M3U files but not MBP.  Given that MusicBee supports external devices it would make sense to ensure the playlist functionality needed for them continues to work.  Also, it sounded from Steven's post the features I was looking for - relative paths and unix style convention support in exported playlists - were working for him.  So the ability is there.

I did find a separate UI quirk though that clarifies one of the issues I mentioned.  From the main music explorer window if I right click on an M3U playlist to edit it I get the dialog window I posted earlier.  If I go to the playlist view and right click on that same playlist to edit it I can see the screen where auto export setting is present.  So the same menu item is behaving differently depending on what view you are in.  Unfortunately if I check the auto export box and then close MusicBee that setting is cleared out the next time I open the edit playlist screen.

phred

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The problem with using MBP playlists is you can't use them with other music players.  My goal with MusicBee was to manage my music collection including creating playlists for my Squeezebox server and portable music player.  Both support M3U files but not MBP.  
As has been suggested, MBP is used for the playlists -within- MB. You need to -export- M3U playlists for use with the other devices. I use Squeezebox and SubSonic, and a few portable devices this way.


Quote
Also, it sounded from Steven's post the features I was looking for - relative paths and unix style convention support in exported playlists - were working for him.  So the ability is there.
Yes, the ability is there for exported playlists. You need to export the playlists in M3U format and then point your devices to the -exported- playlists.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

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jhlogin

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Sorry phred, I don't think you read my initial post.  I am aware of the need to export playlists for use by other players.  The issue here is the exported M3U files contain absolute Windows file paths even though my settings specify relative paths and unix-style conventions.  In addition, the auto export setting of M3U playlists is cleared out each time MusicBee is closed.

phred

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I'm not seeing any of the behavior you're describing.

Is your H drive a partition on a hard drive within the machine, or an external or mapped drive?
What happens if you run MB 'as administrator'?


Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

jhlogin

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Hey, you figured it out!  In my example the H: drive is a mapped network drive containing my music collection.  When I have that as the export target in my library preferences none of the settings for relative / unix / etc paths work.  When I change the destination to my C: drive the unix path setting does take effect.  Unfortunately the relative path selection still does nothing.  I can work around that though because the 'map base file paths' option does work, so I can specify the path to my parent folder as the 'from' and leave the 'to' blank which results in relative paths, and since the unix style option works in conjunction with the mapped paths my resulting M3U files are what I was expecting.  I'll just have to manually move the exported files from my local to network drive.

jhlogin

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Update for anyone else who cares about this topic - it turns out the export functionality doesn't work when you specify M3U as the library playlist format.  If you keep it as MBP and then set your export format as M3U everything works as expected - relative paths, unix conventions, auto export setting.  This logically makes sense anyway - MusicBee should manage its playlists in whatever format it needs, and then exported files are generic enough to support external players.  Maybe the option to specify alt format for library playlists shouldn't be enabled if it breaks other functionality.  In any event, I consider this issue resolved. Sorry for the time the devs spent on this.

redwing

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Maybe the option to specify alt format for library playlists shouldn't be enabled if it breaks other functionality.

It used to be that way when mbp format was first introduced, but some members complained so badly and almost forced Steven to add m3u option. I still don't understand why one would want m3u library playlists when mbp format can always be auto-exported into m3u with so much more functionality.