Hq player playlist

[beerandmusic]

i have seen many people complain, on other forums as well, about the playlist interface on HQPLAYER. I am surprised the Miska hasn't responded to potential customers. I don't mind that his interface looks very rudimentary, but the playlist is so bazaar. Is there a mode or setting somewhere where you can just click (or doubleclick a song) and it plays that song and continues playing subsequent songs without dealing with the playlist like 99% of the other players out there?

Maybe i am overlooking something obvious?

[beerandmusic]

also, i don't get the field boxes on the main screen.

there are 4 field boxes, but only 3 titles for the 4 fields (artist, performer, and album)??

also no search button....suppose you add a library, and then i want to search for chet...i enter chet into one of the 4 fields and i dont see a submit button...i know i can hit the return key, but what if i want to use a mouse? Not sure what difference is between artist and performer, and album or last field doesn't seem to work at all?

[Miska]

i have seen many people complain, on other forums as well, about the playlist interface on HQPLAYER. I am surprised the Miska hasn't responded to potential customers. I don't mind that his interface looks very rudimentary, but the playlist is so bazaar. Is there a mode or setting somewhere where you can just click (or doubleclick a song) and it plays that song and continues playing subsequent songs without dealing with the playlist like 99% of the other players out there?

Maybe i am overlooking something obvious?

 

That's how it works? At least for me...

 

Or alternatively I'm misunderstanding what you want.

[Miska]

also, i don't get the field boxes on the main screen.

 

From left to right:

- Free form search

- Artist filter (filter mask, regular expression capable)

- Performer filter (as above)

- Album filter (as above)

 

also no search button....suppose you add a library, and then i want to search for chet...i enter chet into one of the 4 fields and i dont see a submit button...i know i can hit the return key, but what if i want to use a mouse?

 

You type it in the left-most entry box, which is functionally same as the search of cover flow in full screen / touch mode GUI.

 

Why would you want to move your hands from the keyboard? Or do you also type in the search string with mouse?

 

Not sure what difference is between artist and performer, and album or last field doesn't seem to work at all?

 

They apply filters on different fields, you can of course combine the filters or use just two. Each of those also supports regular expressions when prefixed with hash '#' character.

 

Without hash character they comply with the typical '*' and '?' wild cards, so for example expression "pink*" matches anything that starts with "pink".

[beerandmusic]

That's how it works? At least for me...

 

Or alternatively I'm misunderstanding what you want.

 

It's not very intuitive or there wouldn't be so many people complaining...

I will create a custom library with just 2 artists and take screenshots and try to explain what i am saying...give me a day. I will want to know the steps to play song 2 from artist 1, song 3 from artist 2 and then play song 1 from artist 1 in the least amount of clicks. Most player programs that would either take 3 clicks or 3 doubleclicks, and would not have to add them to a playlist to play them...just click and play. Is that not possible with your player, or am i missing something that others are missing also? I am not used to creating playlists...just click the song i want to play, and then it play continuously from there.

[beerandmusic]

From left to right:

- Free form search

- Artist filter (filter mask, regular expression capable)

- Performer filter (as above)

- Album filter (as above)

 

 

 

You type it in the left-most entry box, which is functionally same as the search of cover flow in full screen / touch mode GUI.

 

Why would you want to move your hands from the keyboard? Or do you also type in the search string with mouse?

 

 

 

They apply filters on different fields, you can of course combine the filters or use just two. Each of those also supports regular expressions when prefixed with hash '#' character.

 

Without hash character they comply with the typical '*' and '?' wild cards, so for example expression "pink*" matches anything that starts with "pink".

 

ok, since there was no description for the first field, i assumed that was the artist field...i will play with this later...it is not intuitive regardless....maybe put the title above the field...jmo.

[beerandmusic]

PS, i really do like the SQ as good or better than any other player out there and i have bought 2 others, so i am only being critical because i want to buy it, but some things need to be fixed before i would. I don't expect you to change design for me as only one potential customer, but if others feel the same, maybe i have something here?

 

Another oddity, or perhaps something else i am overlooking...

 

When i first load a library, i see a "tree view" which is my preferred view that i would always like to go back to....but it seems when you add a song to the playlist, i found i can go back to song, artist previews by clicking the word artist (suggest you underline it so people know they are "clickable") ...but i don't see how to go back to "TREE VIEW"? I have gotten back to tree view either be reloading the library and another time by accident, but not sure how i got back to tree view....how do i go from artist view to tree view???

[beerandmusic]

Maybe this will answer the playlist question above the easiest way....

 

If i am in the middle of a song that is playing from the playlist, and I want to play a different song not on the playlist, what is the quickest way? Most players it would just be one click or one doubleclick...i can't even figure out how to do it short of closing the program.

 

The clear playlist button is greyed out, i can't seem to get to the treeview to select another song even?

[Miska]

It's not very intuitive or there wouldn't be so many people complaining...

I will create a custom library with just 2 artists and take screenshots and try to explain what i am saying...give me a day. I will want to know the steps to play song 2 from artist 1, song 3 from artist 2 and then play song 1 from artist 1 in the least amount of clicks. Most player programs that would either take 3 clicks or 3 doubleclicks, and would not have to add them to a playlist to play them...just click and play. Is that not possible with your player, or am i missing something that others are missing also? I am not used to creating playlists...just click the song i want to play, and then it play continuously from there.

 

It works the same way, you open the library view so that you can see the tracks and double click on the tracks you want to add to the playlist. They are added in that order.

 

But the way I personally prefer is that I double click the album and then it is selected as album entity all at once. No playlist involved and plays nicely from the beginning to the end.

[Miska]

Maybe this will answer the playlist question above the easiest way....

 

If i am in the middle of a song that is playing from the playlist, and I want to play a different song not on the playlist, what is the quickest way? Most players it would just be one click or one doubleclick...i can't even figure out how to do it short of closing the program.

 

The clear playlist button is greyed out, i can't seem to get to the treeview to select another song even?

 

There are many ways. In your example, you just double click on another track in the library view and it's appended to the playlist. Depending if you were already playing the last track of the playlist or not, you can either use next-button and/or single click the track on the playlist view to switch to it.

 

Alternatively you can just drag-and-drop more tracks/folders/etc to the playlist while listening.

 

In the fullscreen / touch mode GUI you can reorder the playlist and do other kind of editing.

[Miska]

ok, since there was no description for the first field, i assumed that was the artist field...i will play with this later...it is not intuitive regardless....maybe put the title above the field...jmo.

 

I would actually like to take all the titles away because they just consume precious space. Many modern GUIs omit titles on input fields altogether.

 

Sometimes people claim that for example Apple's GUIs are intuitive. But I cannot agree on that. To me it is not at all intuitive that in order to take a screenshot on macOS you need to press Cmd - Shift - 3 and on iOS you need to press power and menu buttons simultaneously. And of course neither one comes with manual, unlike HQPlayer that at least comes with a manual explaining those entry fields and how to use them.

[beerandmusic]

I would actually like to take all the titles away because they just consume precious space. Many modern GUIs omit titles on input fields altogether.

 

Sometimes people claim that for example Apple's GUIs are intuitive. But I cannot agree on that. To me it is not at all intuitive that in order to take a screenshot on macOS you need to press Cmd - Shift - 3 and on iOS you need to press power and menu buttons simultaneously. And of course neither one comes with manual, unlike HQPlayer that at least comes with a manual explaining those entry fields and how to use them.

 

you talk about precious space on the gui, and i couldn't agree more....i just differ with you on how that space could be used. you have tons of space between titles in the playlist, as just one example. Do people actually use several fields to do a search? I still don't understand difference between artist and performer? A submit button could be very small and easily fit on same line as those long fields...jmo...

 

Anyway, after playing more with your player, i figured out the part that was "most aggravating" about the interface. When i would double click a song, the song was moved to the left margin in the top pane and the "tree view" disappeared. I thought the view was actually changing, but realize that the "tree view" was still there, i just had to scroll back to the left to see it.

 

Is there a setting that will make it so the "tree view" doesn't change where the tree remains in the left margin when you double click a song? Even now that i know that is happening, i don't want to have to scroll back to see the treeview so i can select another song.

[beerandmusic]

There are many ways. In your example, you just double click on another track in the library view and it's appended to the playlist. Depending if you were already playing the last track of the playlist or not, you can either use next-button and/or single click the track on the playlist view to switch to it.

 

Alternatively you can just drag-and-drop more tracks/folders/etc to the playlist while listening.

 

In the fullscreen / touch mode GUI you can reorder the playlist and do other kind of editing.

 

so do you have to add a song to the playlist before it will play? you can't just double click a song in the top pane and it plays? You have to click it in library view to add it to play list and then move mouse down to playlist and click it to play it?

You mention full screen / touch mode gui...i will see if i can find that and if that will work the way i expect?

[beerandmusic]

i think those are the 2 things that are most aggravating about your interface.

 

1. You have to add a song to the playlist, and then move the mouse to the playlist to click it to play...quite tedious.

 

2. The library view scrolls to the right when you click a song and you can't see the tree without scrolling back to the left.

 

Ok, so a default doubleclick in the library view will add it to the playlist, but it won't start playing.

 

It would be nice if you could maybe right click a file in the library view and select either

a) send to playlist and play

b) send album to playlist and begin playing

 

also if the library view didn't scroll to the right, if you right clicked one file and send to playlist and play, you could easily right click a different file and send to playlist and play?

 

This should be easy to program right? it would certainly make the song selecting a whole lot better experience.

[beerandmusic]

I would actually like to take all the titles away because they just consume precious space. Many modern GUIs omit titles on input fields altogether.

 

Taking all the titles away would make more sense than having 3 titles and 4 fields...but i don't agree with either.

You could even put the titles in the field itself, where the title would disappear as you clicked your mouse there....

 

I personally would put the titles above, in, or leave off all together rather than having 3 titles for 4 fields.

[One and a half]

To get around the quirks of HQPlayer's interface, I use Jriver to find and play the songs in hqplayer.

 

How to:

In Jriver options, set the output device to Null.

Open HQ Player and make sure it can play to the DAC as normal. Delete the HQPlayer library and clear the playlist, so you have a blank page.

Have Jriver side by side to HQ Player, highlight the songs you want to play in Jriver, and drag them into HQPlayer window.

Single click in HQPlayer to play, and done!

[Miska]

1. You have to add a song to the playlist, and then move the mouse to the playlist to click it to play...quite tedious.

 

What do you expect to happen? It shouldn't play immediately, because people (including me) usually want to build upcoming playlist content while listening to the current track. What if you add more than one track at once?

 

2. The library view scrolls to the right when you click a song and you can't see the tree without scrolling back to the left.

 

Hmmh, doesn't happen to me... Maybe make the window bigger so that the scrollbar disappears?

 

 

It would be nice if you could maybe right click a file in the library view and select either

a) send to playlist and play

b) send album to playlist and begin playing

 

Context menus are annoying and require extra clicks and mouse movements. Especially annoying with touchpads.

[Miska]

I still don't understand difference between artist and performer?

 

Those are metadata fields defined by FLAC format. You don't listen much classical music? As an example, artist: Gustav Mahler, performer: Budapest Festival Orchestra - Iván Fischer.

 

Is there a setting that will make it so the "tree view" doesn't change where the tree remains in the left margin when you double click a song? Even now that i know that is happening, i don't want to have to scroll back to see the treeview so i can select another song.

 

It is line oriented anyway, so it doesn't matter where you click on the line. You can also make the window bigger so that there's no scrollbar, or alternatively adjust column widths.

 

But overall, this is how things look for me, I don't even have horizontal scrollbar visible:

[beerandmusic]

 

It is line oriented anyway, so it doesn't matter where you click on the line. You can also make the window bigger so that there's no scrollbar, or alternatively adjust column widths.

 

But overall, this is how things look for me, I don't even have horizontal scrollbar visible:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29498[/ATTACH]

 

It was the biggest annoyance for me...and made it difficult for me to understand how to play songs because the treeview kept disappearing on me, and if you don't see the tree you can't add a song...maybe it is the video card or the resolution i have set...i will figure it out then if no one else is experiencing this. the interface is "almost" livable if the scrollbar didn't keep shifting to the right on me.

 

this is how it looks when i load it (like yours, which is fine), but as soon as i add a song or right click a song (do me a favor and right click a song and see if it shifts on you with the beta release)?

 

 

then after right clicking a song or adding asong to the playlist or i don't know what..it keeps shifting to the right like this:

 

I ALWAYS HAVE THE SCROLLBAR VISIBLE, WHETHER THE SCREEN IS MAXIMIZED OR FULL SCREEN....

[beerandmusic]

^^^ Ok, i found the problem. It was that one of the folders the meta data was so long that no matter what, the scrollbar was present. When i removed the folder the scrollbar disappeared.

 

how do i edit the meta data

 

look how long the meta data is....caused the scrollbar always to be present and when you would move along the tree, the library view shifted to the right and made it so you couldn't add songs without scrolling back to the left. Before i realized that problem, that i had to scroll back to get the tree to add more songs...it was extremely annoying. It is almost livable now. (grin). I still wish you could play songs without having to 2 step it (add it to playlist first). You would think that would be an easy fix, to be able to right click a file and say to send song/album to playlist and begin playing.

 

[Miska]

I ALWAYS HAVE THE SCROLLBAR VISIBLE, WHETHER THE SCREEN IS MAXIMIZED OR FULL SCREEN....

 

You can make it disappear by adjusting width of the "Artist / Performer / Album / Song" column. At least for me the scrollbar appears only if the "Path" column is made really narrow.

 

 

Regarding the usage pattern that you want to just select next song and proceed to it. Once you've added new track to the playlist, you can just click the next-button or alternatively use keyboard shortcuts. If you have a multimedia keyboard you can press the "next" button or use the alternative key-binding F9. This of course works as long as your currently playing song is the last one on the playlist. It is faster than clicking the new track on the playlist view.

[Miska]

how do i edit the meta data

 

The table in Library dialog works just like spreadsheet applications. You can double-click on a cell and edit the metadata, hit enter to apply the change and then click OK to save it. These edits don't modify the original files, only the library data stored by HQPlayer.

 

 

P.S. Lot of things are explained in the manual...

[beerandmusic]

Regarding the usage pattern that you want to just select next song and proceed to it. Once you've added new track to the playlist, you can just click the next-button or alternatively use keyboard shortcuts. If you have a multimedia keyboard you can press the "next" button or use the alternative key-binding F9. This of course works as long as your currently playing song is the last one on the playlist. It is faster than clicking the new track on the playlist view.

 

it wouldn't be faster than right clicking the song in library view and select play...i don't understand why you want people to have to "2 step" to play a song...

 

You can make it disappear by adjusting width of the "Artist / Performer / Album / Song" column. At least for me the scrollbar appears only if the "Path" column is made really narrow.

I am relatively sure i tried adjusting the width of the column, and it didnt make a difference, but i will try again...

[beerandmusic]

 

I am relatively sure i tried adjusting the width of the column, and it didnt make a difference, but i will try again...

 

your suggestion didn't work. if i adjust the size of the field column, and then expand the tree to show the songs, the column width that i selected didn't remain and the scrollbar returned.

[beerandmusic]

The table in Library dialog works just like spreadsheet applications. You can double-click on a cell and edit the metadata, hit enter to apply the change and then click OK to save it.

 

is that true in the beta release too? doesn't seem to work for me or i am misunderstanding you?