Unstable User Interface

[ReaSoN]

I like MM in so many ways, but one thing that is really frustrating me is that the interface resets itself every time something 'happens'.

Some examples:

- I use the limited-lines format when displaying several albums. If I expand one, select all of the tracks and open the properties dialog to change something, when I go back to the list it is reset to the limited-line format.

- I would prefer to use multiple tabs to save my workspaces, but that doesn't appear to work either. I might select to display albums/tracks for a specific album artist in one tab, move to a second tab to work on some other stuff, but when I go back to the first tab the list is reset to all album artists, all albums.

Is this really the way it's intended to work, or am I missing something?

[Lowlander]

Which version of MediaMonkey?

[nohitter151]

I like MM in so many ways, but one thing that is really frustrating me is that the interface resets itself every time something 'happens'.

Some examples:

- I use the limited-lines format when displaying several albums. If I expand one, select all of the tracks and open the properties dialog to change something, when I go back to the list it is reset to the limited-line format.

- I would prefer to use multiple tabs to save my workspaces, but that doesn't appear to work either. I might select to display albums/tracks for a specific album artist in one tab, move to a second tab to work on some other stuff, but when I go back to the first tab the list is reset to all album artists, all albums.

Is this really the way it's intended to work, or am I missing something?

I can't test it at the moment but I can say for certain that #2 has never happened to me. The tab should always show what was open last, even after closing MM and reopening it. I can say for certain that's how it works for me.

If your MM is up to date then it sounds like you're experiencing some kind of bug. Maybe it takes a specific set of steps to reproduce the problem so please give exact details.

[ReaSoN]

Thanks to you both. Should have included my details ... running MM 4.1.0.1692 on Windows 8.1 Pro. Not sure about specific steps - this is the only way it behaves.

[Lowlander]

1) I see the collapse on edit on 1693 as well: http://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=11909 You can disable the collapsed view all together if you want under Tools > Options > Appearance.

2) Is the specific Album selected in the tree or in the Column Browser?

[nohitter151]

Thanks to you both. Should have included my details ... running MM 4.1.0.1692 on Windows 8.1 Pro. Not sure about specific steps - this is the only way it behaves.

You're missing many details in second part like which view (Art, Art with details, Details), whether column browser is activated, which node/collection you're viewing, etc.

[ReaSoN]

OK - so it appears the first example is now registered as a bug. The collapsed view is very useful when browsing several albums, particularly when I'm doing large amounts of manual edits. It's not the only way of approaching it, but nevertheless MM shouldn't behave like this.

As for the second example, it doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing to cause this behaviour, but for the sake of focus let's go with any time I'm filtering a collection using the columns.

Given the response it seems this is not standard behaviour, so on that basis I suspect I will try a clean install tomorrow and see if that rectifies the situation.

Thanks

[Lowlander]

So you're filtering using the Column Browser?

[Lowlander]

Sounds like: http://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=10628

[ReaSoN]

Thanks Lowlander. I do recognize those symptoms for sure, but more besides. I've not yet done a re-install as I wanted to try to get a better sense for what is happening. So, here's an example.

I'm currently ripping a lot of CDs. I have one tab which I'm using to look at the contents of the CD drive, another to work with the tracks/files once they've been ripped, and a third for choosing my entertainment while I'm doing it all. Let's also have different column browser selections in each tab.

Whenever I go back to the second tab, it's hit and miss whether the column browser filter will still be set correctly. Even if it is, the actual portion of the list displayed in the column browser is not the same portion of the list that was being displayed when I last used that tab, so if I need to re-select the value then I have to scroll through the list again.

It all appears to be related to how MM responds when it detects/imports new content, and apparently the approach is to reset everything in the interface. Maybe it's me, but I think that is wrong ... a little like working on page 47 of a document in Word, but being forced back to page 1 every time you type a letter. My expectation is that when I go back to the tab it should be largely the same as when I left it, other than absolutely necessary changes to incorporate new or changed content.

There's more - I do find that if I'm ripping a CD for an album artist already in the library, then quite often the column browser now shows that I have two album artists of the same name. It works it out eventually, but only by me changing the tab to a completely differently collection, changing back, and then reapplying all my filters, etc.