Rockbox Technical Forums
Support and General Use => Audio Playback, Database and Playlists => Topic started by: mdouet on September 25, 2007, 01:29:53 AM
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How do I go about getting my sync'ed playlists to show up in Rockbox? I read somewhere that you need the playlist in a m3u format, but I tried creating one using a text editor, but when I load it it gets "Err" for each file found in the playlist when I select "View Current Playlist" after selecting the playlist under "Playlist Catalog". What am I doing wrong?
Rockbox is pretty useless if I can't even use my sync'd playlists.
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How do I go about getting my sync'ed playlists to show up in Rockbox?
Synced with what? You also did not specify the Operating System you are using for people to recommend programs. By the sound of things you are using Windows, try MediaMonkey:
http://www.mediamonkey.com/
There are many programs that can write m3u files since it is a standard playlist format.
I read somewhere that you need the playlist in a m3u format, but I tried creating one using a text editor, but when I load it it gets "Err" for each file found in the playlist when I select "View Current Playlist" after selecting the playlist under "Playlist Catalog". What am I doing wrong?
Please upload a sample.
Rockbox is pretty useless if I can't even use my sync'd playlists.
Why?
Charles
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Sorry for leaving out the specifics, here's more info...
I am using Winamp on Windows XP to sync my playlists to my Sansa e280, the problem is Winamp creates .pla files which apparently RockBox can't read. If RockBox is supposed to support Sansa, how come it doesn't support its playlist format? The reason I said RockBox is useless without the ability to use playlists I sync to my device is because without access to my playlists it is very tedious to listen to my music.
Anyway, my question is how do I convert my .pla playlists to .m3u playlists so RockBox can read them? I tried editing one of my .pla, stripping off all the data except the path to the files and changing the '\'s to '/'s and saving the file in the Playlists directory. The new playlist shows up in "Playlist Catalog", but when I select it and go to "View Current Playlist" it shows "Err" for each file. Here is an example of a m3u file I created that did not work:
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/106 - Diggnation - July 12, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/107 - Diggnation - July 19, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/108 - Diggnation - July 26, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/109 - Diggnation - August 2, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/110 - Diggnation - August 9, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/111 - Diggnation - August 16, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/122 - Diggnation - Aug 23, 2007.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/113 - Diggnation - The Sensitive Episode.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/114 - Diggnation - Back in LA.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/115 - Diggnation - Time to leave home.mp3
/MUSIC/Revision3/Diggnation (Mp3)/116 - Diggnation - Kevin's Big Announcement.mp3
I did a little experiment last night and created a dynamic playlist in Rockbox and saved the playlist, it saved it as a m3u8 file in the root directory, when I moved this file to the playlists directory I was able to load it from the catalog with no problems, the weird part is that the format was the same as what I had done for the m3u files that didn't work. Does RockBox only support m3u8 files?
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Is it a line-endings problem (Windows-style CR/LF vs Unix-style LF-only)?
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I'm not sure what you mean, can you clairfy? I created the file in notepad.
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Does RockBox put some kind of encoding on the m3u8 file that I am unable to see in notepad? Because I just copied the text of the m3u8 file that does work into a new m3u8 file (using notepad), and that file doesn't work. This doesn't make any sense.
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Please don't double post. Use the modify button.
This won't have anything to do with line endings - Rockbox doesn't care.
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Well it's got to be some kind of hidden text that I am unable to see because creating a file with EXACTLY the same contents as the file that works, doesn't work. Why does this have to be so complicated, I'm a software developer and I can't get this thing to work, how is a normal person supposed to use this firmware?
EDIT: Is it just not possible to create a m3u file using notepad? If not, does anyone know of a program that will convert from pla to m3u? Surely someone has figured this out....
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Can we have a side by side comparison of a list that does work, and a list that doesn't.
Plenty of other people have managed this in the past - it's not difficult.
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You're wrong, if it were easy I wouldn't be bothering you about this. :P
Here is a file that does work:
/MUSIC/The Shipwrecks/CAG Foreplay/-1 - CAG Foreplay #17_ Rise of the Anti-Halo.mp3
/MUSIC/IGN Staff _podcasts@ign.com_/IGN Games Podcasts/-1 - Game Scoop! Ep. 50_ Gold Anniversary.mp3
/MUSIC/Destructoid/Podtoid - Destructoid.com Video Game Podcast/-1 - Podtoid 32 - Bloody coup.mp3
And here is a file that does NOT work:
/MUSIC/IGN Staff _podcasts@ign.com_/IGN Games Podcasts/-1 - Game Scoop! Ep. 50_ Gold Anniversary.mp3
/MUSIC/Destructoid/Podtoid - Destructoid.com Video Game Podcast/-1 - Podtoid 32 - Bloody coup.mp3
/MUSIC/The Shipwrecks/CAG Foreplay/-1 - CAG Foreplay #17_ Rise of the Anti-Halo.mp3
Good luck. :P
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If you're using the plain notepad that comes with winXP, I have a half-educated guess and suggestions for you.
As far as I know, notepad does not support unicode text but only the windows "native" one - the m3u8 files on the other hand are expected to be in in the UTF-8 codepage (I think) so maybe here's the conflict. Rockbox also supports simple m3u files which are not expected to be in UTF-8 (I think), did you try? You could also try copy and pasting in a different editor that supports UTF-8 (e.g. notepad++) but since you are using Winamp...
I would be surprised if Winamp is not able to save your playlists as m3u or m3u8 but I don't use that program myself so can't tell for sure.
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You're wrong, if it were easy I wouldn't be bothering you about this. :P
Here is a file that does work:
You neglected to tell us what filenames you were using for the playlists themselves.
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The files I just listed are both m3u files.
I've tried to use winamp to save my pla files as m3u files, but it doesn't seem to support this.
I'll try to find a unicode supported text editor, you mentioned there is a windows native one, what is its name?
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Notepad++
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I am using Winamp on Windows XP to sync my playlists to my Sansa e280, the problem is Winamp creates .pla files which apparently RockBox can't read.
Huh, Winamp have m3u support right from the beginning in addition to pls. Actually winamp was the first program to support the m3u format:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3U
If RockBox is supposed to support Sansa, how come it doesn't support its playlist format? The reason I said RockBox is useless without the ability to use playlists I sync to my device is because without access to my playlists it is very tedious to listen to my music.
Rockbox is suppose to be a REPLACEMENT firmware for a number of players. Also there are far more programs that support m3u than pls and pla.
Anyway, my question is how do I convert my .pla playlists to .m3u playlists so RockBox can read them?
You can either use an unoffical build that contains the Sansa Playlist convertor plugin, such as mine:
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12583
Or use a playlist converter. Since I don't use Windows, Google is your friend here.
Does RockBox only support m3u8 files?
No, it support m3u and m3u8 (unicode) files.
Charles
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...a different editor that supports UTF-8 (e.g. notepad++)...
Get it here (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm)
This won't have anything to do with line endings - Rockbox doesn't care.
If that is true, then it is probably a BOM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte_order_mark) problem. This previous thread goes into some depth on this very same issue...
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=3444.0
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You're wrong, if it were easy I wouldn't be bothering you about this. :P
It is easy, I have no problems using m3u files created under Linux with easytag, grip, xmms, Amarok, etc. I am also the Sansa Rockbox moderator over at "Anything but iPod" and none of the Windows users in the forum have any problems either- I believe the majority of them use MediaMonkey, you might want to give that a try.
Charles
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That does not help me, here is what I need....
I need to be able to convert my pla files to m3u files, if you can tell me how to do that then you can say it's easy, but no one has shown me an easy way to do it thusfar, only convoluted ways to do it by editing text files and such.
Ok, I downloaded notepad++ and I was able to successfully convert a pla file to a m3u file that RB could understand, but this is very tedious to have to do everytime. Are there no tools that will convert from pla to m3u? If not I'll try my hand at writing one using VBScript.
This functionality should really be native to RB, it's pretty ridiculous to expect a user to be able to jump through all these hoops just to get basic functionality out of this firmware.
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a .pla file is not "Basic functionality" it's a propriertary format.
We support .m3u's - which are a standard format.
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Curiouser and curiouser...
According to this accepted patch (http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/5089) Rockbox should correctly deal with a byte order mark...
Are there no tools that will convert from pla to m3u? Â If not I'll try my hand at writing one using VBScript. Â
This may be your best bet. Even the previous thread I linked to didn't have a definitive answer, although a link was given to 'iconv' (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=25167), but that doesn't look like a particularly elegant solution, either.
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I need to be able to convert my pla files to m3u files, if you can tell me how to do that then you can say it's easy, but no one has shown me an easy way to do it thusfar, only convoluted ways to do it by editing text files and such.
Huh, I offered a couple of solutions here:
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=12908.msg97644#msg97644
including the fact tha winamp does support m3u.
This functionality should really be native to RB, it's pretty ridiculous to expect a user to be able to jump through all these hoops just to get basic functionality out of this firmware.
You are actually the only one that I know who have problems creating playlists.
Charles
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a .pla file is not "Basic functionality" it's a propriertary format.
We support .m3u's - which are a standard format.
How can you say you support Sansa if you don't support their playlist format?
I need to be able to convert my pla files to m3u files, if you can tell me how to do that then you can say it's easy, but no one has shown me an easy way to do it thusfar, only convoluted ways to do it by editing text files and such.
Huh, I offered a couple of solutions here:
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=12908.msg97644#msg97644
including the fact tha winamp does support m3u.
This functionality should really be native to RB, it's pretty ridiculous to expect a user to be able to jump through all these hoops just to get basic functionality out of this firmware.
You are actually the only one that I know who have problems creating playlists.
Charles
The only solution you offered me isn't acceptable. I already created playlists in Winamp, I'm not going to recreate them again just so I can play them in RockBox. A more elegant solution would be to have a program that converts between pla and m3u, you have not supplied that solution. And I am not the only one experiencing this problem, read the boards, there are several other users having this same issue. I'm a software developer, so if II'm having these types of issues using this firmware, just image what issues a normal user is having. Someone needs to write a plugin to allow you to convert your pla playlists to m3u on the fly because doing it manually is BS.
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Because we support the hardware - NOT the crumby firmware and it's features that it shipped with.
We don't do the same thing for any of the other players we have as targets, and don't plan on making any exceptions for the sansa.
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The aim of Rockbox is not to support all the original features of the device. If a model is 'supported', it means Rockbox runs on it.
We also do not 'support' iPod playlists or database format.
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Then your soltuion is broken IMO, I shouldn't have to do extra work just to use your product.
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Fine - then don't use it.
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If I don't find a solution to this I won't don't worry, it's useless without this feature.
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I'm a software developer, so if II'm having these types of issues using this firmware, just image what issues a normal user is having. Someone needs to write a plugin to allow you to convert your pla playlists to m3u on the fly because doing it manually is BS.
Rockbox is a community project - all developers are volunteers contributing to the project in their spare time.
If you would like to write a plugin to convert playlists for the Sansa, I'm sure it would be welcomed.
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mdouet, it has been pointed out that Winamp supports m3u playlists. I don't understand why you can't save your playlists in the proper format. Or is opening your .pls playlists in Winamp and resaving them in the proper format too much work for you?
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You seem to think that Rockbox is merely an extension to the OF. It is not. Rockbox is intended as a replacement firmware. By this model, why should we make an extra effort to implement proprietary "standards" just because the OF uses it on one device? You have to keep in mind that we really don't care what the OF does, and there isn't much reason to, as Rockbox runs on many different devices (that is a lot of firmwares to support their bad decisions). As well, Rockbox isn't a "product" as you call it. This can explain why you think we have any obligation at all to make you happy.
And for the record, demanding that we do something for you is NOT the right way to go about things and only serves to get people very angry at you.
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mdouet, it has been pointed out that Winamp supports m3u playlists. I don't understand why you can't save your playlists in the proper format.
Confirmed from the Winamp site, .m3u8 format is suported since ver 5.3
http://www.winamp.com/player/version-history
So at least a one-off conversion should be possible by re-saving.
And if Winamp has any sort of scripting ability (doesn't everything now?), it should be really easy to batch convert all your playlists at once.
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How can you say you support Sansa if you don't support their playlist format?
Rockbox support the hardware, like I said Rockbox is a REPLACEMENT FIRMWARE. Also, have you tried loading a large pla file in the OF? I was floored by how slow it was.
The only solution you offered me isn't acceptable. I already created playlists in Winamp, I'm not going to recreate them again just so I can play them in RockBox. A more elegant solution would be to have a program that converts between pla and m3u, you have not supplied that solution.
Huh, I also offered you a canned solution:
You can either use an unoffical build that contains the Sansa Playlist convertor plugin, such as mine:
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12583
And I am not the only one experiencing this problem, read the boards, there are several other users having this same issue. I'm a software developer, so if II'm having these types of issues using this firmware, just image what issues a normal user is having.
Ha ha, the Sansa Rockbox forum that I moderate is a hundred times more busy than the one here and like I said you are the only one that are having problems.
Charles
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As has been pointed out there is a patch available FS#6884
To convert .pla to m3u/8 and m3u/8 to .pla. I started this before
sound on the sansa and have kept it up to date.
IIRC there is support for iriver playlist conversion in RB.
I very rairly use the sansa OF any longer but when i do
this converter is very helpful to have my RB playlists in the OF.
There are also several 3rd party applications including my perl
Sansa sync and playlist tool available at ABI and the lodist forum.
GRaTT
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just to quote two lines from the top of each source file:
* This software is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
* KIND, either express or implied.
And to keep my usual statement: Rockbox is not a product. Period.
If you don't agree with that you should leave now.
IIRC there is support for iriver playlist conversion in RB.
Iriver uses the same playlist format (m3u) as Rockbox but with different path delimiters. So they do not really use a different format ...
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Ok, problem solved!
I wrote a VBSCript that allows me to browse to my PLA files and convert them to M3U files on the fly. All I have to do now is connect my Sansa to my PC and run my program to convert all my playlists and then they will work in RockBox, works like a charm.
I have a few tweaks to make to it, but after it's done I'll post it here in case any other Sansa/RB users are interested.
Once again I think it's pretty sad that I had to write a program to be able to use RB, good thing I'm a Software Engineer or I wouldn't be able to use this firmware at all. :P
As has been pointed out there is a patch available FS#6884
To convert .pla to m3u/8 and m3u/8 to .pla. I started this before
sound on the sansa and have kept it up to date.
IIRC there is support for iriver playlist conversion in RB.
I very rairly use the sansa OF any longer but when i do
this converter is very helpful to have my RB playlists in the OF.
There are also several 3rd party applications including my perl
Sansa sync and playlist tool available at ABI and the lodist forum.
GRaTT
From what I read that only converts from m3u -> pla which does me no good, I need to go from pla -> m3u. I searched all over and haven't been able to find any program that does this, which is why I had to write my own program.
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You needed to use a program to use Rockbox because you were unwilling to accept the fact that it's designed as a stand-alone application that runs on the hardware.
If you put a different game disc in your XBox, you don't complain that your complete savegame from Halo doesn't mean you can load up at the final fight in Half Life. They're two separate pieces of software that run on the same hardware. Though in this case, not even the underlying operating system is the same.
For quite some time we didn't even offer WMA, a format supported by the original firmware of several of the devices we run on.
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I don't see that you had to write this VBScript in order to *use* Rockbox. You felt that you needed to write it in order to use Rockbox *the way you wanted to*. That is a big difference. And also, once you've done it (and shared it) then anyone else who wants to use Rockbox in the same way as you will be able to.
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As has been pointed out there is a patch available FS#6884
To convert .pla to m3u/8 and m3u/8 to .pla.
From what I read that only converts from m3u -> pla which does me no good, I need to go from pla -> m3u.
Read it again...
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If any other Sansa users are having problems importing their Sansa playlists into RockBox, here is a program I wrote that will allow you to convert the playlists on your player (\PLAYLISTS\*.pla) to a format that can be read by the RockBox firmware. Feel free to read the VBScript code (open in your favorite text editor) if you're concerned that this is a milacious script:
http://home.houston.rr.com/douet/PlaylistConverter.zip
Enjoy!
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Once again I think it's pretty sad that I had to write a program to be able to use RB, good thing I'm a Software Engineer or I wouldn't be able to use this firmware at all. :P
You are the only one who needs to do that.
From what I read that only converts from m3u -> pla which does me no good, I need to go from pla -> m3u.
What part of:
This new version converts from (m3u8->pla) or (m3u->pla)
Rockbox playlist to Sansa Original Firmware playlist
and from (pla->m3u8)
you don't understand?
Charles
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What plugin/patch are you referring to? The patch that was linked to earlier had this for a description:
This is a viewer plugin (m3u2pla) to allow a user to convert
a rockbox created playlist either (name.m3u or name.m3u8) to a
(name.pla) playlist file that will play on the Sansa E200
in the Original firmware.
Regardless of whether it does pla->m3u or not, the program I wrote probably works just as good or better. :P
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What plugin/patch are you referring to?
Same patch. You didn't scroll down to see the updates.
Charles
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As pointed out there are several 3rd part options already for
pla to m3u format over at ABI. They were also the first
programs to support the sansa .pla format on a user level.
The sansa OF can not really boast about playlist support at all
in comparison to RockBox. And Sandisk did not offer any application
to create playlists at all and still went for a proprietary format.
RB with the pla converter patch makes the best of both worlds.
GRaTT
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cp, I installed that patch last night, how do I access the converter, does it automatically convert any .pla files it finds in my playlist folder?
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This is a viewer plugin (m3u2pla) to allow a user to convert
a rockbox created playlist either (name.m3u or name.m3u8) to a
(name.pla) playlist file that will play on the Sansa E200
in the Original firmware.
With it being a viewer and all, I would assume "open with..." in the context menu in the file browser.
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What menu do I go to to access this feature, I don't see anything menu labeled file browser.
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If you do not know how to access the context menu, you might want to see about reading the manual and finding out.
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We're talking about the patch, not the official build, so the manual won't help me much. ;)
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But we are talking about how to use a viewer through the context menu, so the manual will help you with that. ;)
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The easiest way to convert .pla files with the patch is to
select any .pla file. The converter will open automatically
and convert it to the same_name.m3u8. You must have
the file view set to "All" in order to even see the .pla files.
It would only be a small change to make this batch convert
all the files in the PLAYLISTS folder feel free to alter it to fit
your needs.
To the Devs: Is there any chance of getting FS#6884 committed.
as it is only for the sansa? The .pla format used it just text encoded
in UTF16. Chances of any change in this format for the E200 are slim.
For those that go back and forth between RB and the OF it is great.
I have used linux almost exclusively for the past ten years, but still keep
a dual boot option open to that other OS and use the sansa the same way.
GRaTT
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Sure, like I said in the last thread, get the patch into a state you're happy with and let someone with SVN access know. One of the Sansa people would be best, but if not, I can do it.
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The easiest way to convert .pla files with the patch is to
select any .pla file. The converter will open automatically
and convert it to the same_name.m3u8. You must have
the file view set to "All" in order to even see the .pla files.
It would only be a small change to make this batch convert
all the files in the PLAYLISTS folder feel free to alter it to fit
your needs.
Ok, I have a .pla file in my playlist folder, but when I go to Manage Files and then the Playlist folder it doesn't show up there. Am I looking in the wrong place?
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Ok, I have a .pla file in my playlist folder, but when I go to Manage Files and then the Playlist folder it doesn't show up there. Am I looking in the wrong place?
Did you select it?
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Well the file isn't showing up, so there is no way to select it.
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The easiest way to convert .pla files with the patch is to
select any .pla file. The converter will open automatically
and convert it to the same_name.m3u8. You must have
the file view set to "All" in order to even see the .pla files.
It would only be a small change to make this batch convert
all the files in the PLAYLISTS folder feel free to alter it to fit
your needs.
I assume you just ignored the bolded text?
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To the Devs: Is there any chance of getting FS#6884 committed.
as it is only for the sansa? The .pla format used it just text encoded
in UTF16. Chances of any change in this format for the E200 are slim.
For those that go back and forth between RB and the OF it is great.
I have used linux almost exclusively for the past ten years, but still keep
a dual boot option open to that other OS and use the sansa the same way.
GRaTT
From a functionality point of view, I don't see a problem including it in Sansa builds (there's an iriverify plugin for iriver players with a similar purpose), but the code would need some cleanup first, IMO.
For example, from a quick look at the code, I'm pretty sure it would crash on large .pla files. But I won't go into the details here on the forum... :) Sorry, read the code incorrectly...
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I agree about some code clean up. This was my first C project
in 7 years. I wrote it first in perl so that is why it looks as it does.
I have gotten a little better at RB specific programing and will look
over the code and see if it still makes sense and clean it up, remove
nick from screen and other non required stuff.
I have founds no bugs since the last version and have no problem
converting 1000+ song playlists both directions (pla<>m3u)
If there are any bugs or feature requests regarding this patch
reply here.
GRaTT
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I have gotten a little better at RB specific programing and will look over the code and see if it still makes sense and clean it up
Great! We're counting on you! As one wise man has already pointed out, rockbox is:
... useless without this feature.
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The easiest way to convert .pla files with the patch is to
select any .pla file. The converter will open automatically
and convert it to the same_name.m3u8. You must have
the file view set to "All" in order to even see the .pla files.
It would only be a small change to make this batch convert
all the files in the PLAYLISTS folder feel free to alter it to fit
your needs.
I assume you just ignored the bolded text?
I'm sorry I don't follow. I don't see an option to set the file view to All under the Manage Files section.
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Please, stop now, read the manual, search for "File View" or simply familiarize yourself with it in general. Honestly, I'm not even sure what you're referring to by the "Manage Files Section." It would help drastically if you would choose to call things by specifically what they're labeled in the menus, and use the terms as they're used in the manual and official documentation.
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I already told you a few posts ago that I'm running a menu patch, so the manual will not help me, the menu is totally changed from the standard build.
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Well then why don't you learn where it is in the OFFICIAL version, since you're in the official forums, and all questions should relate to the OFFICIAL build as per the rules. So when you say you don't see something, it's expected that you've chosen to follow the rules and are using an official build.
If you aren't, honestly, check your own patch and figure out where the heck it put the option, but you still need to read the manual. If your next response sounds like "I can't be bothered to follow or read the rules" or any variant thereof, I'm just going to lock this thread and be done with it.
And even assuming your patch modifies the menu, I've a very hard time believing that it's removed any currently existing options. You're more than capable of reading the manual, then attempting to extrapolate.
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I already told you a few posts ago that I'm running a menu patch, so the manual will not help me, the menu is totally changed from the standard build.
The "Show files" feature is a feature that is described in the manual. The fact that you're running a patch doesn't change that.
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I really don't see why we need a thread explaining to people how to read a manual, how to scroll down through a page on the patch tracker, etc. Anyone can trivially figure these things out for themselves.