Improve consistency and restore removed features of "Now Playing" view.

[loner]

Despite some annoyances, MusicBee remains my top music player and manager. But while I have many great things to say about the program, I have to dedicate this thread exclusively to annoyances (some of which are new to v3.4):

- - - - -

It has always bothered me how "Now Playing" tab behaves differently from regular library views. And not in a good way. "Differently" meaning "you can't do things here that you can do anywhere else". To list some:

- You can't use custom layouts.
- You can't use many layout elements.
- You can't use search bar to filter out the queue. *
- You can't sort list by any column you want. *

* Some of these things actually were possible in earlier versions of MusicBee (as recent as v3.3, I believe).

Additionally, in earlier versions the Now Playing window displayed the exact number of tracks you had in the queue. Combined with the ability to sort by any column, you could quickly and easily find and remove an artist/album/whatever from the queue.

Now it displays only 100 tracks max, even if I have 9999+ in the queue. If I have less than 100 tracks in the queue but have shuffle enabled - the queue will automatically populate until there's 100 tracks visible.

- - - - -

So far I can see this being solved one of two ways:

A. Add "In queue" field which could be used as a playlist rule or filter rule. This will allow users to create a custom "Now Playing" view in form of an auto-playlist or a library filter.

B. Add all missing functionality from normal library views to "now playing" and vice-versa, so that none of the functions or customizations are exclusive.



Thank you for consideration!

[frankz]

https://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=20829.msg123174#msg123174

I use Now Playing in Playing Tracks mode and can do the things you say are impossible, including displaying any field I want, sorting, showing all queued tracks, filtering, etc.

Maybe you just haven't experimented enough with the currently available options

[Steven]

Additionally, in earlier versions the Now Playing window displayed the exact number of tracks you had in the queue. Combined with the ability to sort by any column, you could quickly and easily find and remove an artist/album/whatever from the queue.

Now it displays only 100 tracks max, even if I have 9999+ in the queue. If I have less than 100 tracks in the queue but have shuffle enabled - the queue will automatically populate until there's 100 tracks visible.

it sounds like you are viewing "Upcoming Tracks" instead of "Playing Tracks"

[loner]

Additionally, in earlier versions the Now Playing window displayed the exact number of tracks you had in the queue. Combined with the ability to sort by any column, you could quickly and easily find and remove an artist/album/whatever from the queue.

Now it displays only 100 tracks max, even if I have 9999+ in the queue. If I have less than 100 tracks in the queue but have shuffle enabled - the queue will automatically populate until there's 100 tracks visible.

it sounds like you are viewing "Upcoming Tracks" instead of "Playing Tracks"

That was indeed the case. I did not realize that feature existed, or that it was enabled since I usually hide the header bar to keep the UI clutter to a minimum. I did check everywhere in the options though, as I thought this was the perfect place for these kinds of settings.

Nonetheless, I still think it would be better if "Now Playing" and normal library views were more consistent in terms of their functions. I hope that's something you'll still consider.

[Steven]

Nonetheless, I still think it would be better if "Now Playing" and normal library views were more consistent in terms of their functions. I hope that's something you'll still consider.

You can already do all those things when you show the playing tracks in the main panel. If you mean you are using another view for the main panel and are referring to the right sidebar, then I doubt i would change that

[loner]

You can already do all those things when you show the playing tracks in the main panel.

Not quite. Yes, you can add a "playing tracks" element to the main panel, but you cannot remove the "files" element from it, so you're stuck with both. Why not allow users simply uncheck and hide the "files" element? (And do the same for other permanently-enabled elements, like the tab bar).

Also correct me if I misunderstood: You're suggesting to customize "Now Playing" view by... not using the "now playing" view because it lacks the necessary features?

One reason why I'd like "Now Playing" to have the same level of customization as other views, is the fact that it has a dedicated button on the sidebar. This makes it very quick and easy to switch between the queue and library views. I don't think this is possible with the solution you suggested.