playlists Not Saving... ever.

[2Spirals]

So, I checked the FAQ and the Greatest Hits, then did a search. No one has my specific problem. Ok. I have Win 7 64. I had installed Winamp when I first got the netbook, and everything was fine. I had no problems with it. Until I started having memory issues. I found Winamp was big, and so I had to get rid of it, sadly, and install Foobar2000 which took less memory.

I installed more memory and also tried to change my foobar skin and F'd it all completely up (its not easy to skin Foobar). So I went back to winamp just a few days ago. So, previously, when I had winamp before, I made a bunch of playlists. Psychill, Psytrance, Psychill Compilations, Psytrance Compilations, Other Stuff, Dave Matthews Band, etc etc you get the point. Each time I put music in a playlist, and then decide to listen to another playlist, I double click on the new playlist. Nothing is there. So I go back to the playlist I just had been playing.. and no music is in it.

What in the world?? Before when I had Winamp it saved everything I had in my playlists and I could switch around between them whenever I felt the need, and the music would still be there. Whats happening here?

I would appreciate some help.
Thank you,

[Aminifu]

You implied you may have read the "FAQ: Troubleshooters - Info Required When Posting - Read This First - Do NOT Ignore !" sticky, but you have not provided any of the requested computer and Winamp configuration information.

You can start with a Winamp Info Tool report of your configuration (http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=328932).

[2Spirals]

Sooo what you're saying is, in order to help me, I have to download an info tool that will generate a report to tell you how my winamp is configured?

This is getting to be a big pain in the butt. But ok.. I'll download the little doo-hickey you want me to...

[2Spirals]

Ok downloaded the tool. Is this what you were looking for?

Installed Windows Version: Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 (64 Bit)
Installed DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Installed Internet Explorer Version: 11.0.9600.17420 (32/64-Bit)
Installed Winamp Version: 5.6.6.3512 ⇒ Update available! ⇐
Installed Winamp Backup Tool Version: Winamp Backup Tool is not present on the system
Installed Winamp Tray Control Icon Pack Version: Winamp Tray Control Icon Pack is not present on the system
Installed Sonic Burning Engine Version: 4.28.6.0
Installed Gracenote CDDB/MusicID Version: 2.6.206.205
Currently Used Skin: cPro2__Aluminum.wal
Currently Used Language Pack: None
Currently Used Output Plug-in: Nullsoft DirectSound Output [out_ds.dll]
Currently Used Visualization Plug-in: None
Currently Used DSP Plug-in: None
Currently Used Encoding Plug-in: Nullsoft FLAC Encoder [enc_flac.dll]
Currently Used File Type Icon Library: None
Currently Used Tray Control Icon Pack: None
Winamp Directories


Winamp Installation Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp
Winamp Configuration Path: C:\Users\Kidron\AppData\Roaming\Winamp
Winamp Backup Path: No Backup directory available
Winamp Plug-in Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins
Winamp System Components Paths: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\System
C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Components
Winamp Skins Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Skins
Winamp Language Pack Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Lang
Winamp Visualization Plug-in Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins
Winamp DSP Plug-in Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins
Winamp File Type Icon Library Path: No File Type Icon directory available
Winamp Tray Control Icon Pack Path: No Tray Control Icon directory available
MilkDrop Presets Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins\Milkdrop2\presets
AVS Presets Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins\avs
CD-Ripping Destination Path: C:\Users\Kidron\Music
CD-Ripping File Naming Scheme: <Artist>\<Album>\##. <Trackartist> - <Title>
CD-Ripping Playlist Naming Scheme: <Artist>\<Album>\<Artist> - <Album>
Format Converter Destination Path: C:\Users\Kidron\Music
Format Converter File Naming Scheme: <Artist> - <Album>\## - <Title>
Portable Players Destination Path: C:\Users\Kidron\Music
Portable Players File Naming Scheme: <Artist> - <Album>\## - <Trackartist> - <Title>
Winamp Configuration File Path: C:\Users\Kidron\AppData\Roaming\Winamp\winamp.ini
Media Library Configuration File Path: C:\Users\Kidron\AppData\Roaming\Winamp\Plugins\gen_ml.ini
Winamp General Settings


Internet Connection Settings: Always Connected (LAN, DSL, Cable)
Taskbar/Notification Area Presence: Winamp is shown in Taskbar only
Priority Class: Normal
Visualization Plug-in Priority: Normal
Allow Multiple Instances: Disabled
Always on Top: Disabled
Recycle permanently deleted files: Disabled
Prevent the mouse wheel from altering the volume: Enabled
Winamp Playlist Settings


Repeat Mode: Repeat Mode and Manual Playlist Advance disabled (Repeat None)
Shuffle Mode: Disabled
Currently used Playlist Font: Calibri
Currently used Playlist Font Size: 13 Pixels
Currently used Playlist Text Direction: Force left-to-right order
Show Numbers in Playlist: Enabled
Metadata Reading: Metadata will be read in background, when file(s) are loaded into Winamp or are played or viewed in Playlist Editor (Standard)
Currently used ATF String: [%artist% - ]$if2(%title%,$filepart(%filename%))
Winamp Playback Settings


Volume: 100%
Speaker Balance: Center
Playback Thread Priority: Highest (Default)
Output Bit Depth: 16 Bit Output
Surround Sound: Enabled
Dithering: Enabled
Forced Mono Output: Disabled
ReplayGain Support: Disabled
Equalizer: Disabled
Preamp: +0.0 db
Buffer length: 2000 ms
Prebuffer on start / seek / underrun: 500 ms
Buffer-ahead on track change: 500 ms
Crossfading at start: Disabled
Crossfading on first start: Disabled
Crossfading at end of song: Disabled
Crossfading on Pause/Stop: Enabled (Duration: 333 ms)
Crossfading On Seek: Enabled (Duration: 333 ms)
Remove silence at the beginning/end of track: Disabled
Registered File Extensions


MP3; MP2; MP1; AAC; VLB; AVI; CDA; MKV; WEBM; NSV; NSA; SWF; OGG; OGA; M4A; MP4; MPG; MPEG; M2V; FLAC; FLV; WMA; WMV; ASF; AIFF; AIF; AU; AVR; CAF; HTK; IFF; MAT; PAF; PVF; RAW; RF64; SD2; SDS; SF; VOC; W64; WAV; WVE; XI; MID; MIDI; RMI; KAR; MIZ; MOD; MDZ; NST; STM; STZ; S3M; S3Z; IT; ITZ; XM; XMZ; MTM; ULT; 669; FAR; AMF; OKT; PTM; M3U; M3U8; PLS; B4S; XSPF; WPL; ASX
Installed Winamp Input Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft AVI Demuxer in_avi.dll * 0.74 68 KB
Nullsoft CD Plugin in_cdda.dll * 4.0.1 84 KB
Nullsoft DirectShow Decoder in_dshow.dll * 1.12 71 KB
Nullsoft FLAC Decoder in_flac.dll * 3.1 48 KB
Nullsoft Flash Decoder in_flv.dll * 1.44 43 KB
Nullsoft LineIn Plug-in in_linein.dll * 3.16 8 KB
Nullsoft Midi Player in_midi.dll * 3.54 109 KB
Nullsoft Matroska Demuxer in_mkv.dll * 0.82 40 KB
Nullsoft Module Decoder in_mod.dll * 2.93 161 KB
Nullsoft MPEG Audio Decoder in_mp3.dll * 4.103 263 KB
Nullsoft MP4 Demuxer in_mp4.dll * 2.64 53 KB
Nullsoft NSV Decoder in_nsv.dll * 1.74 76 KB
Nullsoft Flash Control Playback in_swf.dll * 1.15 23 KB
Nullsoft Vorbis Decoder in_vorbis.dll * 1.75 242 KB
Nullsoft Waveform Decoder in_wave.dll * 3.24 23 KB
Nullsoft Windows Media Decoder in_wm.dll * 3.77 306 KB
Installed Winamp Output Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft Disk Writer out_disk.dll * 2.17 24 KB
Nullsoft DirectSound Output out_ds.dll * 2.63 52 KB
Nullsoft WaveOut Output out_wave.dll * 2.16 19 KB
Installed Winamp Vizualization Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft Advanced Visualization Studio (AVS) vis_avs.dll * 2.8.2 452 KB
MilkDrop 2 vis_milk2.dll * 2.25.3 415 KB
Nullsoft Tiny Fullscreen vis_nsfs.dll * 2.15 33 KB
Installed Winamp DSP / Effects Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft Signal Processing Studio DSP dsp_sps.dll * 0.39.0.2 40 KB
Installed Winamp General Purpose Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft Error Feedback gen_crasher.dll * 1.11 50 KB
Nullsoft Modern Skin Support gen_ff.dll * 1.48 1673 KB
Nullsoft Global Hotkeys gen_hotkeys.dll * 1.96 30 KB
Jump To File Extra gen_jumpex.dll * 1.3.1.1212 188 KB
Nullsoft Media Library gen_ml.dll * 3.74 322 KB
Unknown General Purpose Plug-in gen_plsave.dll - 6 KB
Nullsoft Tray Control gen_tray.dll * 2.45 26 KB
Installed Winamp Media Library Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft Auto-Tagger ml_autotag.dll * 2.0.7 27 KB
Nullsoft Bookmarks ml_bookmarks.dll * 1.26 31 KB
Nullsoft Device Manager ml_devices.dll * 1.34 221 KB
Nullsoft Rip & Burn ml_disc.dll * 1.99.3 196 KB
Nullsoft Downloads ml_downloads.dll * 1.3 56 KB
Nullsoft History ml_history.dll * 2.0.2 60 KB
Nullsoft Database Import/Export ml_impex.dll * 2.63 52 KB
Nullsoft Local Media ml_local.dll * 3.31 320 KB
Nullsoft Now Playing ml_nowplaying.dll * 4.0 22 KB
Nullsoft Online Services ml_online.dll * 2.0 136 KB
Nullsoft Playlists ml_playlists.dll * 1.7 109 KB
Nullsoft Playlist Generator ml_plg.dll * 1.8 83 KB
Nullsoft Portable Music Player Support ml_pmp.dll * 2.23 280 KB
Nullsoft Replay Gain Analyzer ml_rg.dll * 1.27 38 KB
Nullsoft Format Converter ml_transcode.dll * 2.75 33 KB
Audioscrobbler Winamp Plug-in ml_wa2_scrobbler.dll 2.1.0.9 274 KB
Nullsoft Podcasts ml_wire.dll * 1.51 124 KB
Installed Winamp Portable Media Player Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
Nullsoft ActiveSync Plug-in pmp_activesync.dll * 0.22 29 KB
Nullsoft Android Device Plug-in pmp_android.dll * 1.7 57 KB
Nullsoft iPod Plug-in pmp_ipod.dll * 0.88 157 KB
Nullsoft Creative NJB Plug-in pmp_njb.dll * 0.57 20 KB
Nullsoft PlaysForSure Plug-in pmp_p4s.dll * 0.99 111 KB
Nullsoft USB Device Plug-in pmp_usb.dll * 1.6 52 KB
Nullsoft Wi-Fi Device Plug-in pmp_wifi.dll * 1.55 76 KB
Installed Winamp Encoder Plug-ins


Name of the Plug-in File Name File Version File Size
MPEG-4 AAC Encoder
SHOUTcast MPEG-2 ADTS AAC Encoder enc_fhgaac.dll * 1.0.8 1020 KB
Nullsoft FLAC Encoder enc_flac.dll * 2.43 18 KB
Nullsoft MP3 Encoder enc_lame.dll * 1.37 18 KB
Nullsoft OGG Vorbis Encoder enc_vorbis.dll * 1.54 1605 KB
Nullsoft WAV Encoder enc_wav.dll * 1.0.2.1 14 KB
Nullsoft WMA Encoder enc_wma.dll * 1.23 19 KB
Installed Winamp Language Packs (.wlz Extension)


File Name File Size
Winamp-de-de.wlz 1992 KB
Winamp-es-us.wlz 1816 KB
Winamp-fr-fr.wlz 1877 KB
Winamp-hu-hu.wlz 1359 KB
Winamp-id-id.wlz 1814 KB
Winamp-it-it.wlz 1408 KB
Winamp-ja-jp.wlz 1346 KB
Winamp-ko-kr.wlz 1107 KB
Winamp-nl-nl.wlz 1664 KB
Winamp-pl-pl.wlz 2019 KB
Winamp-pt-br.wlz 2085 KB
Winamp-ro-ro.wlz 1483 KB
Winamp-ru-ru.wlz 2270 KB
Winamp-sv-se.wlz 1512 KB
Winamp-tr-tr.wlz 1601 KB
Winamp-zh-cn.wlz 1106 KB
Winamp-zh-tw.wlz 1127 KB

Installed Additional Language Files (.lng Extension)


None installed
Installed Winamp System Components


File Name File Version File Size
..\System\aacdec.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 902 KB
..\System\adpcm.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 17 KB
..\System\alac.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 22 KB
..\System\albumart.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 25 KB
..\System\auth.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 166 KB
..\System\bmp.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 18 KB
..\System\ClassicPro.w5s - 126 KB
..\System\devices.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 33 KB
..\System\dlmgr.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 18 KB
..\System\f263.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 52 KB
..\System\filereader.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 15 KB
..\System\gif.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 19 KB
..\System\gracenote.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 17 KB
..\System\h264.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 666 KB
..\System\jnetlib.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 610 KB
..\System\jpeg.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 153 KB
..\System\mp4v.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 203 KB
..\System\ombrowser.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 302 KB
..\System\pcm.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 13 KB
..\System\playlist.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 86 KB
..\System\png.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 84 KB
..\System\primo.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 14 KB
..\System\tagz.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 23 KB
..\System\theora.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 54 KB
..\System\timer.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 33 KB
..\System\UnicodeTaskbarFix.w5s * 3.5.0.0 10 KB
..\System\vlb.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 122 KB
..\System\vp6.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 178 KB
..\System\vp8.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 230 KB
..\System\wasabi2.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 45 KB
..\System\xml.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 87 KB
..\System\xspf.w5s * 5.6.6.3512 17 KB
..\Components\ssdp.w6c * 5.6.6.3512 17 KB
..\Plugins\freeform\wacs\freetype\freetype.wac * - 326 KB

Installed Winamp DLL Files


File Name File Version File Size
..\burnlib.dll * 5.6.6.3512 82 KB
..\elevatorps.dll * 5.6.6.3512 50 KB
..\jnetlib.dll * 5.6.6.3512 607 KB
..\libFLAC.dll * 1.3.0.0 135 KB
..\libmp4v2.dll * 5.6.6.3512 205 KB
..\libsndfile.dll * 5.6.6.3512 254 KB
..\nde.dll * 5.6.6.3512 84 KB
..\nsutil.dll * 5.6.6.3512 409 KB
..\nxlite.dll * 5.6.6.3512 28 KB
..\pxsdkpls.DLL * 4.28.6.0 194 KB
..\tataki.dll * 5.6.6.3512 86 KB
..\zlib.dll * 1.2.8.0 43 KB
..\Plugins\nsvdec_vp3.dll * - 99 KB
..\Plugins\nsvdec_vp5.dll * - 169 KB
..\Plugins\lame_enc.dll * - 499 KB
..\Plugins\read_file.dll * - 82 KB
..\Plugins\ReplayGainAnalysis.dll * - 11 KB
..\Plugins\tataki.dll * 5.6.6.3512 86 KB
..\Windows\System32\d3dx9_31.dll 9.15.779.0 2357 KB
..\Windows\System32\D3DX9_42.dll 9.27.952.3001 1847 KB
Installed Gracenote System Files


File Name File Version File Size
CDDBControlWinamp.dll 2.6.206.205 1577 KB
CddbMusicIDWinamp.dll 2.6.206.203 905 KB
CddbPlaylist2Winamp.dll 2.6.206.202 1101 KB
CDDBUIWinamp.dll 2.6.206.205 1017 KB
CddbWOManagerWinamp.dll 2.6.206.201 381 KB
Cddbx1.dll 1.3.3.0 221 KB
Cddbx2.dll 1.1.0.24 1353 KB
Cddbx3.dll 1.1.5.0 1641 KB
Cddbx4.dll 1.3.0.0 269 KB
Cddbx5.dll 1.0.4.0 381 KB
Installed Classic Skins (.wsz Extension)


None installed

Installed Modern Skins (.wal Extension)


File Name File Size
cPro - AaM.wal 243 KB
cPro - Adery by Fer.wal 434 KB
cPro - CgA.wal 312 KB
cPro - iRda by Fer.wal 443 KB
cPro2__Aluminum.wal 1130 KB
CPro_Relax_by_Veroka.wal 563 KB
cpro_satin_carbon_v1_1_2_ns_by_victhor_by_victhor-d5kleo8.wal 465 KB
cPro_Vista_SimpleX_v1.03.wal 553 KB
cPro_XSP.wal 494 KB
cPro__Ayon_Port_by_victhor.wal 391 KB
cPro__Bento.wal 255 KB
cPro__Insomnis-v2.wal 153 KB
cPro__Smooth.wal 205 KB
Orion1-0.wal 119 KB
Vision_V1.wal 257 KB
Winamp_Azenis_2_by_Skin_Consortium.wal 959 KB
Installed Skins (.zip Extension)


None installed

Installed Skins (in a Folder)


File Name File Size
Bento 286 KB
Big Bento 853 KB
Winamp Modern 922 KB
Installed Winamp File Type Icon Libraries


None installed

Installed Nullsoft Tray Control Icon Packs


None installed
Summary / Statistics


Plug-ins Total Number
Installed Winamp Input Plug-ins 16
Installed Winamp Output Plug-ins 3
Installed Winamp Vizualization Plug-ins 3
Installed Winamp DSP / Effects Plug-ins 1
Installed Winamp General Purpose Plug-ins 7
Installed Winamp Media Library Plug-ins 17
Installed Winamp Portable Media Player Plug-ins 7
Installed Winamp Encoder Plug-ins 6
60 Plug-ins installed
Language Files Total Number
Installed Winamp Language Packs (.wlz Extension) 17
Installed Additional Language Files (.lng Extension) 0
17 Language Files installed
System Files Total Number
Installed Winamp System Components 34
Installed Winamp DLL Files 20
Installed Gracenote System Files 10
64 System Files installed
Skins Total Number
Installed Classic Skins (.wsz Extension) 0
Installed Modern Skins (.wal Extension) 16
Installed Skins (in a Folder) 3
Installed Skins (.zip Extension) 0
19 Skins installed
Miscellaneous Total Number
Installed Winamp File Type Icon Libraries 0
Installed Nullsoft Tray Control Icon Packs 0
Installed Nullsoft Signal Processing Studio DSP Presets 17
Legend


* Official shipped component
◼ Component with known compatibility issues
— Currently used component
↑ Back To Top
End of Report

[DrO]

and because of providing that, we now know that you're not running the current Winamp release and that there's 2 3rd party plug-ins in your install:

Audioscrobbler Winamp Plug-in ml_wa2_scrobbler.dll 2.1.0.9 274 KB
Unknown General Purpose Plug-in gen_plsave.dll - 6 KB


so, re-download and re-run the Winamp installer from http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....74929#download (use the .co.uk link).

then also remove the two plug-in dlls (ml_wa2_scrobbler.dll and gen_plsave.dll) from your Winamp\Plugins folder (either rename them to have a .off extension or just move them out of the folder completely) and see if that resolves things along with using the current patched Winamp installer.

[Aminifu]

Hi 2Spirals,

The "pain in the butt" is people expecting magic. How can anyone help you, if you don't provide the details. Especially when using old unofficial plug-ins that are probably not compatible with the recent Windows and Winamp versions.

[2Spirals]

Thanks DrO! I will do that and hopefully it will work.

[2Spirals]

Ok so I followed the directions you gave to a T, and it still doesn't work. I will put songs in a playlist, and then double click on another playlist and put songs in that one. Then I will double click on the first one to go back to it and... music is gone. So I go to the 2nd one... no music there either. I am so stumped.

[DrO]

when you say "I will put songs in a playlist" - where in Winamp are you doing that ? is it a library playlist or the main playlist ?

[2Spirals]

Playlist says "the one and only playlist" (incidentally, I titled that because multiple playlists were proving difficult, per this issue).

There is music in it now, but if I click on the playlist below, "Testing", there will be no music in either playlist.

So to answer your question, I am not completely sure if its a library or main. Are you able to tell, from the image?

[DrO]

you're selecting a library playlist into the main playlist editor. however, there's no tracking of what's in the main playlist editor back to the library playlist. so any changes you make in the main playlist editor will not go back to the selected library playlist unless you make it do so.

also in the way you've got things setup, you cannot actually see what the contents of the library playlist are which also allows you to edit that playlist (if needed manually pulling in the contents of what's currently in the main playlist editor).

if you click and move the divider which is inline with the right-edge of the 'library' button then you'll see a whole lot more and also what's in the actual library playlist being selected and the options to be able to edit it.

[Aminifu]

In addition to DrO's suggestion to expand the media library panel's view (to see all the info you are currently not seeing), you can right click on the button on the lower right corner of the playlist editor panel and select the command to save the current contents of the list from there.

You can save the listing in a new playlist or re-save to a previous playlist in the same folder.

[2Spirals]

I would save the playlists as pls or m3u but I am constantly removing the music from that playlist and then putting different stuff into that playlist (its sort of a test/temporary playlist to listen to music that I've acquired in order to see if I want to keep it or toss it away. So do I have to keep saving it all the time as a pls or m3u? And then each time I remove an artist (which can happen after the album is over, so like, every hour) then save again?

[Aminifu]

If you switch to another playlist without saving any changes made in the active playlist, then those changes will be lost. Winamp does not automatically save changes whenever you decide to change something (that could slow down the interface response for users who keep tens of thousands of items in their playlists).

You can also listen to something in the active playlist and then copy it (path + filename) to another playlist that was saved previously. Right click on the item and select the appropriate "Send to:" command.

Winamp will automatically save what is in the playlist editor when it is shutdown, so that that listing will be there when you restart. This could take a few seconds depending on the number of items (tens of thousands) and the speed of the hardware.

[DrO]

closing the library view will save it and with the build being used there's a 'save' button at the bottom of the library view which allows for ensuring changes are saved.

however, based on the screenshot, it's primarily the difference between a library playlist and how the main playlist editor works (which is just a temporary list of items that once you've added something into it, Winamp doesn't track where it's come from).

so a change in usage is most likely what's needed to ensure that what is done is correct for what is being wanted e.g. don't use the library playlists and just keep everything in the main playlist editor. or make sure the contents of the library playlist are visible and then ensure that those are worked with correctly (including force saving them as needed).

also it's not clear if the playlists are ones that Winamp has initially imported or if they're the actual playlists. as Winamp's library playlists can be used to either import and work with the imported copy and never touch the original external playlist or it can be made (when using the import option) to just use the external playlist which is helpful if other things need to modify said playlists as well.

[MrSinatra]

this might be heresy, but I've often found the way winamp handles playlists confusing.

imo, the "scratch area" playlist, meaning the one usually in the top right in Bento, should be called something else besides "playlist" b/c that confuses and conflates with the playlist editor in the ML area / tabs. in fact, I still don't know the proper names for each area, even though they are seemingly distinct from another, albeit related. this confusion comes up over and over again in the forums.

a playlist is to me, a static txt list/file which can be edited. so I would change the name of the area in the top right to "cue tracks" or "queued tracks" or "scratch tracks" or something like that. It would still have the same functionality, with just slight modifications to make it so that if one wanted to save it or load a playlist, they would have to import/export to/from the playlist editor. sounds complex, but it actually would be very intuitive, a single button to load (import) whatever is already in the editor, and a single button to save (export) whatever is in the scratch area to the PL editor (switching to that tab automatically). the scratch area then becomes an exclusively dynamic list in that it is itself not saved without first going to the PL editor, and there is now a clear and distinct difference in the mind of the user between "list of upcoming songs to be played" vs "an actual playlist / file / editor"

I realize this is likely going to be a very unpopular idea with DrO, but I just thought I'd address the conflation confusion. it seems like it never goes away.

[DrO]

you're thinking skin specific and not about things in general, so you're right, i don't like your comment as it's not thinking overall as needs to be the case irrespective of the display of things by the skin being used. and what you refer to as the "scratch area" playlist is just the main playlist editor and acts as it's always done.

the crux of the issue is that people shouldn't need to know the difference between things and this pretty much goes back to how things were implemented to start with in 2.9 when library playlists were added and the main playlist editor was left untouched. thus the implementation is sub-par if there's confusion as is the current case (and has been for 11 years).

ultimately either the main playlist editor behaviour needs to be changed (i.e. some form of tracking back to the external / library playlist which would just make things more complicated and confusing imho unless a clean way can be found) or making it clearer that there is a distinction between the two. and what you've mentioned, can already be done within the library playlist views, it's just going from the main playlist editor that it's less clear (other than using the send-to menu or some variation of that).

but that all seems to rely on adding additional ui elements to make it more obvious and that's ultimately not possible due to limitations with most skin compatibility and right-click options people just don't find so it's all at an impasse as such.


and finally, the expected behaviour of the main playlist editor cannot really be messed with (as you're effectively proposing) as there's all of the users who never use the library and library playlists and so that's another area that needs to be considered before any sort of change could be considered. so it's not as simple a thing to change as you're indicating it would be.

[Aminifu]

Originally Posted by DrO

...

so a change in usage is most likely what's needed to ensure that what is done is correct for what is being wanted e.g. don't use the library playlists and just keep everything in the main playlist editor. or make sure the contents of the library playlist are visible and then ensure that those are worked with correctly (including force saving them as needed).

...

The way things were added over time has resulted in multiple ways to work with playlists. Once these are understood, it is not hard to pick a particular method to use and become comfortable with it, imo. Like in other cases, it just takes learning Winamp's way of doing things and not confuse yourself with expectations picked up from using other apps.

In cPro skins it is possible to have the playlist editor (PE) shown in different panels, but only 1 panel at a time. It was confusing at first to open the PE in one place and see it disappear from the panel it was already in. I kept trying to open 2 PEs at the same time until I realized that that is not possible (due to all the underlying tracking issues that would cause).

[2Spirals]

So basicaly it depends what tab I have my playlist in, that makes or breaks the deal. So you're saying in just by creating a playlist and naming it something, and then putting music into it, and then not being able to keep switching back and forth between them, expecting them to still have all the same music that I put there before... is all just because I'm using the wrong part of the UI? This seems really confusing.

I realllly hate to do this, because I know there's a lot of Winamp-for-lifers here, who love and adore it, and I do too (uh apparently previous builds?) but I have to do this:

In Foobar2000 you create a simple playlist. In the only area where you can create a playlist. Then you put music into it. Then you create another one, and put music into that one. You then switch back to the first playlist and SURPRISE! the music is still there. And there's no confusion over different panels or making sure I'm in some main editor or library area or whatever...stuff like that. And I realllly hate to do this, as it will be extremely unpopular but please keep in mind I've been using Winamp since 2001. With the exception of half a year of Foobar, ok?

Do you see how there is just one panel, on the left, under the image, where the playlists are? No craziness, no other panels to switch to or make sure to put music into instead of a different one, etc? I could click a different playlist and music would be saved into all of them from the moment the music is put in.

If Foobar2000 can do it... why can't Winamp?

[DrO]

because it's just not been coded to do it that way. that's why it's not doing it like it as this all pre-dates fb2k's existence (which you can thank one of the ex-Winamp devs for leading to Peter making his own player) as someone using Winamp since 2001 would know.

in Winamp it's all played from what is basically a temporary playlist and not what you select from the library view (especially when you'd got things setup to not show the actual playlists). whereas what fb2k shows as the playlist is that playlist since it's got a true multi-playlist setup instead of Winamp's 'main' + 'library' setup (since the library playlists were meant as a repository to load into the main one, edit and save back, not to be used directly as you want).

so the two players are implemented in completely different ways especially when it comes to where / how the playlists are treated and saved and so it's not a true comparison between one or the other. so probably fb2k is the better choice for your needs and we can put one more nail in Winamp's coffin as the chances of seeing it get the multi-playlist handling you want is pretty slim as things go with everything else needing to be re-done.

[2Spirals]

P.S. That "Save" button on the bottom of the library playlist window does the trick!!! Thank you!!!