Version 2123 feedback

[Barry4679]

I am so pleased to see MM5 getting its own equivalent of MM4's Tools|Options|Appearance|Art&Details|ShowOnly#Files option, as that is my default MM4 viewing option

• The MM5 control name is not as helpful as it could be ... "collapse all groups" ... firstly it doesn't "collapse", it just filters ... secondly, it appears that it only affects albums and their tracks ... so why not be clearer, and have the option name something like "limit album track rows"

• why have 2 separate controls just to toggle something off and on? ... it should be a single button control like the Location node's "include subfolders" button

• the option setting does not persist ... ie. it is reinitialised to default whenever you re-enter Album&Tracks view ... eg. toggle through cycle of Art>List>Album&Track views

Album&Tracks View

• the 2nd column has a confusing name ... it should be "Album Summary" ... or just "Summary" ... there is already a column named "Album"

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c7lammxcz21jw ... s.png?dl=0

• the Choose Columns dbox is confusing when called from A&T view. It doesn't display the first two columns (ie. Artwork & "Summar") ... They should show in that list, as disabled, ie. not available for Add|Remove actions

https://www.dropbox.com/s/48c041s0apwwr ... g.png?dl=0

• the incorrectly named "album" column heading cannot be used to set descending sort sequence ... ie. I can click it to cause display to be sorted by AlbumSummary, but a 2nd click does not reverse the sort order

Filter (magnifing glass)

• it would good if the entry field had a little "x" hotspot, so I could clear the search field

• search tooltip ... would good if it mentioned that all search is for words starting xxx, not for words containing xxx ... eg "ank" finds Paul Anka, but not Frank Zappa

• search string +A... tooltip isn't very clear ... is a case sensitive search? ... is, you should state explicitly

• the tool tips do not make clear I can use multiple characters, such as +Fran ... ie use multi character strings in your tooltip examples, where applicable

• a pattern of AA:xxxxx for AlbumArtist:xxxxx would be really good, due to length of that tag name ... probably mnemonics for other primary tags also as Track, Genre, ALbum, ARtist

• tools|option|library|search|searchmode "respect diacritix" ... causes the following crash when sorting.. big stack of error dboxes ... if I get past one of these sql errors, these is a different sql error in a following query ... both shown in illustration below

https://www.dropbox.com/s/js2spm3g7ajqz ... s.png?dl=0

• tools|option|library|search|SearchForFollowFields ... Custom6, Custom7, etc are defaulted off ... intentional?

• tools|option|library|search|SearchForFollowFields ... suggest Path is off by default ... for the same reason (I guess) that Publisher is off by default, ie. the path col is not usually displayed, so can be hard to see what caused the match ... ie. I spent a lot of time trying see why unexpected tracks were returned ... the cause was the path, ie. Search for +Frank and was returning a track with tag containing "frank" ... the issue was that the track name (in path) was spelt in lower case

• maybe have a sort configuration option which only will only search the currently displayed columns? ... this could be a good default option ... ie. will generate less support queries, maybe

Filter (funnel)

• crash: 367589F0 ... filter a display (with funnel) ... click funnel to collapse filter, or change to another node .... then click the funnel icon again ... dump, and UI then goes white

• filter of Artist & AlbumArtist tabs is potentially confusing. ... below I have filtered Genre=Jazz & AlbumArtist starts with J ... the result includes all albums by Anouar Brahem (ie. no J) ???? ... after some study I found that I have one album which lists both Anouar and John Surman as AlbumArtists. .... the question is whether Anouar should be listed here at all? ... the album appears in this filtered view twice ... once under Anouar Braham, which lists that one album PLUS all the albums that have no albumartist starting with J .... AND it also lists that album under John Surman ... maybe we only need the John Surman group? ... or maybe the Anouar group should not display his other albums, because they have no artists start with J ?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jxp2w6i7w9m1z ... e.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wbgrpe3mhe4ax ... m.png?dl=0

• there was an exception that occurred that wasn't sent to you

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i985w4obmdo2a ... n.png?dl=0

Toolbar buttons commands can be reassigned or messed up.

• The following shows that a press of the filter button had an unexpected result.
  I reported something similar to Peke, but then was unable to replicate it. ... that time I pressed the Location tab's "subfolders" toolbar button, and it took me to the same place as the Filter button in the diagram attached below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9hr5hzimpt2do ... p.png?dl=0

• I have PM'd Peke a link to my persistent json file while this problem persisted

Year tab subview menu options

• confusion about what "tracks" relates to here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vx3j2qq8u12y7 ... g.png?dl=0

Column Browser

• Both the Genre node and tab, group genre names, in a case insensitive manner ... ie "Jazz" == "jazz" ... there is only node .... This does not happen in the column Browser ... there is a row for "Jazz" and also a row for "jazz"

Album Detail screen
The MyLibrary|Online toggle currently looks like a facility which is still searching for its purpose.
I would use the panel to see a comparison between my own album, and the official version: ie. what is extra on my version, or is missing, or is a different length to the official version.
The current design is not ideal for this purpose. ... A combination screen would be better for seeing differences. ... You already have the version comparison logic for sync to Google Play Music

Track name | MyLibrary Length | Online Length
-----------------------------------------------------
The Visitor ....... | ...... | 05:47
Head over heels| 03:47 | 03:48

[PetrCBR]

Hi Barry.

Thanks for your feedback about "limit album track rows" ... will add it to my TODO.

[Davo]

the Choose Columns dbox is confusing when called from A&T view. It doesn't display the first two columns (ie. Artwork & "Summar") ... They should show in that list, as disabled, ie. not available for Add|Remove actions

I agree with Barry that they should appear in the 'Choose Columns' box. However I would like to be able to disable the Artwork so i could have an Album & Tracks view without the art.
Refer my post - Views
by Davo » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:48 am

[PetrCBR]

Will add your request (about Choose columns and ability to hide Artwork column) to my TODO.

[MiPi]

Column browser case (in)sensitivity tracked here: https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=15101

Re Year tab subview - "Tracks" item in subviews section in menu refers to subview/control, that displays Top Tracks or All Tracks. The second is general album grid popup, it is feature of the grid, not the view or subview, so this menu item cannot be related to it...

[Ludek]

The contextual search issues tracked as https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=15106

[Barry4679]

Re Year tab subview - "Tracks" item in subviews section in menu refers to subview/control, that displays Top Tracks or All Tracks. The second is general album grid popup, it is feature of the grid, not the view or subview, so this menu item cannot be related to it...

Sorry, I didn't explain myself clearly.

I was meaning to suggest that the toggle item named "Tracks" in the Years tab subview menu section does not clearly describe what it affects. ... ie. there are two track-related areas on that panel ... the menu item would be clearer if its name was "Top Tracks"

btw, what is "Top Tracks"? ... this not clear ... highest rated tracks? ... most played tracks? ... tracks at the top of the current sort sequence? .. most recent tracks? .. etc

That panel name could do with a better title, or have a tool tip which explained your selection criteria

[MiPi]

Barry4679: but the second "tracks area" you mentioned is album grid popup, i.e. it does not make sense for me to expect, that the subview switcher "Tracks" will affect this, it is not subview, it is feature of the album grid, common for all grids, were albums appear, displayed always after clicking the album, not after switching some subview on.
We are open to rename the "Tracks" switcher, but I am not sure what is better. "Top Tracks" is not accurate too and can be more confusing, as this component can display also All Tracks (after clicking "Show all ... tracks" in case there are more tracks to display). Maybe "Top/All Tracks".
"Top Tracks" is meant to display some set of representative tracks. E.g. if you display "1960s" and have big DB, it could contain hundreds of tracks from 1960s. To speed things up, the Tracks component displays only some of the tracks by default. Currently it chooses the highest rated and most played tracks.

[Barry4679]

but the second "tracks area" you mentioned is album grid popup, i.e. it does not make sense for me to expect, that the subview switcher "Tracks" will affect this

Thanks for your explanation.

You may be correct, and its obviously not a big issue. I was just reporting anything that was initally confusing

I don't think that MM5 users can see MM5 like like you do. I don't see a grid and any obvious popup separate window ... I just see it, after you have stitched it all together, as as a single window, and there was a menu saying that it I could tailor the appearance of that window, and the selection terms used were not clear to me. ... I don't have your insight.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vx3j2qq8u12y7 ... g.png?dl=0

Not only do I not see it as one of the designers or developers see it, I don't even see as it as I may in a few months, after I grow to understand its overall design.

I am still finding the new UI to be semi-confusing ... ie. lots of different tabs ... with different view modes, different facilities, and different buttons

Take that tab for example, ie the Years tab ... it seems to have come from a different designer than other parts of MM5... ie. only one view mode ... no column browser facility ... no SortBy facility, ... and a facility to tailor what i do and don't see, something which I haven't noticed anywhere else.

This type of variation makes it difficult to get a clear picture of the overall design of MM5.

BTW I am not saying that the Year tab isn't useful.

"Top Tracks" is meant to display some set of representative tracks. E.g. if you display "1960s" and have big DB, it could contain hundreds of tracks from 1960s. To speed things up, the Tracks component displays only some of the tracks by default. Currently it chooses the highest rated and most played tracks.

Thanks. A toggle between those two options would be good ... and a tool tip show the current selection criteria.

It doesn't see to be working 100%.
All of my tracks are unrated (because that was the only way in MM4 that I could get an ungrouped cover flow display, ie. https://www.dropbox.com/s/3kncn6m71fmlk ... d.png?dl=0)

In my MM5 db I have synced with my GPM library, so MM5 has imported a lot of unwanted junk into my MM5 library ... so now I do have same tracks with ratings.

In the following image you can see my library for the 1970's. All those "top" tracks have been imported from GPM. The track by Blondie and the track by The Byrds are there because in GPM they seem to have a track rating, although I didn't put it there. The tracks by The Peddlars are unrated (ie = None), so presumably you include them due to their "high: play count.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ruktfsysnlcgw ... s.png?dl=0

But if I display all of my 1970 tracks, and sort by play count, you can see that they were not my most played unrated tracks from the 1970's .
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4jheccozso7z3 ... s.png?dl=0

ie. the {top) albums part of that display gets it right, those are my most played albums from the 1970's, but the top tracks part does not.

[Davo]

I would prefer that "Top Tracks" was an optional view/function. imo there are already enough mechanisms to deal with large databases, eg Filters; Collections; Playlists; Views etc. If i want to listen to random tracks i can use Shuffle. "Top Tracks" seems too arbitrary & vague to be of much use.

[MiPi]

I would prefer that "Top Tracks" was an optional view/function. imo there are already enough mechanisms to deal with large databases, eg Filters; Collections; Playlists; Views etc. If i want to listen to random tracks i can use Shuffle. "Top Tracks" seems too arbitrary & vague to be of much use.

It is optional, you can switch to All Tracks and this should persist.

[MiPi]

Barry4679: thanks. Yes, UI is not ideal yet. We will try to unify views more. Some features were added only to some views and not others yet. Years and Genres should have probably the same features as e.g. Artists. Tracked: https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=15112
Top Tracks/All Tracks subview will be probably revised to be more clear.
Yes, it is hard to look at the application as "ordinary user", when you see it from the other side as a developer for a long time, that is why is your feedback important for us, thanks.

[MiPi]

There were bugs in importing rating values from GPM and in sorting by rating, that were causing some of the mentioned problems in top tracks, will be fixed in the next release.

[Davo]

Yes, it is hard to look at the application as "ordinary user", when you see it from the other side as a developer

On that point, why not put Views under Tools & let the "ordinary user" arrange their own views. Then you wouldn't have to try & guess what users really want. For example I would like to be able to set up a Global View applicable to all my Collections & Nodes.

[MiPi]

On that point, why not put Views under Tools & let the "ordinary user" arrange their own views. Then you wouldn't have to try & guess what users really want. For example I would like to be able to set up a Global View applicable to all my Collections & Nodes.

There is already option "Manage views" in context menu for some views. It has currently limited functionality, but should be expanded in the future.