No Genre list in new Collection [#9132]

[Davo]

I've just noticed that when you create a new "Collection" the Genre list in Edit Properties is empty? but all the other fields that have drop down lists eg, Artist, Album Artist, Conductor, Composer etc show the Entire Library list which is what i would expect. I have an extensive list of Genres & i want to be able to see them when i'm editing tags in Edit Properties

[Lowlander]

Are there any files in the Collection and if there are do any of them have Genre assigned?

[Davo]

All my files have Genre assigned. If i use Edit Properties in the Music Collection or Entire Library I can see the genre & in the drop down list i can see my complete list of Genres. So that part is Ok.
The problem comes when i create a new Collection(s) for example:
1. Create a Collection - R&B Music (Criteria - Genre = R&B)
Now when i view those files in the new Collection the only Genre i can see in Edit Properties is R&B but all the other fields that have drop down lists eg, Artist, Album Artist, Conductor, Composer etc show the Entire Library list.
So if i want to edit Genre via my drop down list of Genres i have to get out of the Collection & view the files in The Music Collection or Entire Library.

I suspect that all this has something to do with the way MM4 is using Genre to differentiate "Music" from "Classical Music"

[BKKKPewsey]

I have found that sometimes it takes MM awhile to populate the drop down lists.
Quite often all my lists are blank but after a time they will suddenly appear.
I have a collection called new age and I just tested with that and all the genre's populated but only after about the 6th attempt.

[1472 portable-Gold]

[Davo]

@BKK - In your "New Age" collection if you go to Edit Properties & look at the Genre list do you see ALL your genres or just the "new age" genres

[BKKKPewsey]

Yep you are correct, the drop down menu only has the genre's that are associated with New Age collection eg no heavy metal or blues etc.
I also looked at my classical collection node where, because there are much fewer multiple tags used, it is more obvious.
Hmm so its a bit odd that I can rename a David Arkenstone track to artist Black Sabbath but not give it the appropriate genre.
Not that I would want to
i must admit I cannot work out if this is a bug or an undocumented feature

[Davo]

Thanks BKK - Not sure either if it's a bug but it's definitely a design/logic flaw of some kind. You should be able to see all the values in the Genre table same as you do for all the other fields no matter what Collection your in. Otherwise how can you Edit File Properties correcty.

[Lowlander]

That's up for debate, many will argue that it is nice it isn't cluttered with non-collection values. Especially as Movies use very different Genre's than Music. However Artists may be active in both Movies and Genres. Furthermore there is nothing that prevents you from adding any Genre existing or not to the files in the Collection, even when the values aren't shown.

I personally like the current implementation, but I'm building Collections on Type or Location and not on Genre.

[nohitter151]

Thanks BKK - Not sure either if it's a bug but it's definitely a design/logic flaw of some kind. You should be able to see all the values in the Genre table same as you do for all the other fields no matter what Collection your in. Otherwise how can you Edit File Properties correcty.

Why should "Horror" and "Comedy" show when I'm editing music, if I only want to use them for videos? IMO genres should be limited by collection. You can always add a genre to a new collection by typing it out.

[Davo]

I only use MM for music so i see your point. Even so to achieve what you want wouldn't it be better to restrict Genre by Type not Collection. My problem is i'm being restricted even within the one Type. Also i don't want to type in new Genres I want to select from the ones i already have.

To give you another example:

I create a new Collection called Quarantine this where i will edit the tags/properties for all newly added files to the Library.
Criteria = Path\Filename contains Music Quarantine (where they temporarily reside on the hard drive until i finalise the editing). Then I'll use Auto Organise to move them to a new Folder on the hard drive where i keep all my MM files.

So when i access Collection - Quarantine I only ever see new files not edited.

Assume that a new file does not have the Artist info & no Genre. When I go to Edit Properties & type in the first few letters of the Artist Name, if the Artist is already in the database the full name appears in the drop down list & i select it. But when I want to do the same thing for the Genre the drop down list is empty. That is my problem.

[Lowlander]

As most people probably end up splitting on Type and not within a Type the chosen option seems to make sense.

Added as: http://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=9132

[Davo]

Thanks Lowlander

[nohitter151]

I only use MM for music so i see your point. Even so to achieve what you want wouldn't it be better to restrict Genre by Type not Collection. My problem is i'm being restricted even within the one Type. Also i don't want to type in new Genres I want to select from the ones i already have.

To give you another example:

I create a new Collection called Quarantine this where i will edit the tags/properties for all newly added files to the Library.
Criteria = Path\Filename contains Music Quarantine (where they temporarily reside on the hard drive until i finalise the editing). Then I'll use Auto Organise to move them to a new Folder on the hard drive where i keep all my MM files.

So when i access Collection - Quarantine I only ever see new files not edited.

Assume that a new file does not have the Artist info & no Genre. When I go to Edit Properties & type in the first few letters of the Artist Name, if the Artist is already in the database the full name appears in the drop down list & i select it. But when I want to do the same thing for the Genre the drop down list is empty. That is my problem.

I hadn't considered that use case, but that makes sense to limit by Type rather than collection.