Getting the top menu to be the database browser in new builds.

[lalittle]

I recently installed a new Rockbox version and I discovered that the "top" menu screen is a "main" menu rather than my top level "database" menu.  Previously, I had to press the "menu" key in order to bring up this menu, but now I get this menu just by pressing "left" one too many times when navigating.  This means that I constantly have to manually select the "database" item in order to see my main database menu, which is annoying since it adds another level of navigation where there wasn't one before.

I've looked through the menus, but I can't figure out how to get the previous behavior, where the highest menu level showed my choices for browsing the database (genre, artist, etc.)  I'm assuming there is a way to do this since I honestly don't see the logic in taking this capability away, but I just can't figure it out.

Thanks for any help with this,

Larry

[lights0ut]

I don't see how having a the main menu as the top level of the filebrowser/database is such a huge inconvenience. I have been a fan of the new menu style since the first changes, it is far more intuitive than the old behavior. I'd say that it makes things easier because it integrates File browser view,  Database view , and a link to the WPS into the main menu, whereas these controls were not so easily accessed before. And now you don't have to switch the file view setting to go from file browser to database. I'm sure this makes sense for people who read text files while listening to their music and can only browse by database because they loaded their iPod with itunes. (ie. they do not need to change a setting every time they change a song, before going back to reading)

[lalittle]

I guess it's a personal thing, because it actually REALLY bothers me.  The previous behavior was just more "elegant" in my use since I could just bang away at the left button in order to quickly get back to the main "browser" menu.  It may seem like a small thing, but that single extra navigation step actually adds up when navigating a lot -- I find myself constantly cursing the fact that I "overshoot" the menu I'm looking for.  This is one area where I have to say that Apple got it right -- i.e. being able to have "Genres, Artists, Albums" etc. on the TOP menu just makes a lot of sense from a useability standpoint, which is why Apple originally did it this way.

Is there any chance that the new Rockbox builds might offer the previous navigation behavior as an option at some point, or perhaps allow us to put our choices of browsing categories on the top menu instead of under the new "Database" heading?

Thanks again,

Larry

[lights0ut]

Just to add on to the discussion a bit, not all rockbox users are iPod users so there may not be a demand for a specific player to cause a function in the menu for artists, genres etc. because its original firmware had it that way.

I think it should not be this way because the menu is reserved for menu functions, not things concerned with database. Wouldn't having entries in the menu for artists, albums, songs, genres, years, composers etc. clutter up the main menu? And for those of us that do not have/use database at all or seldom(like myself) it would be utterly useless and very annoying to have such useless functions someplace where they have to be run into.

(I understand you are advocating for a setting for the old menu style, I am just offering some constructive argument supporting the current style. As I understand things there are other things beside the organization of the menus that might get in the way of this (may cause some unnecessary bloating of the code?) )

[cpchan]

You can set the start screen to whatever you want. Go to "Settings"-> "General Settings"-> "System"-> "Start Screen". However, it still wouldn't be the top level though- you will still go to the "Main Menu" if you press << one too many times. I myself prefer the "Main Menu" as top level.

Charles

[lalittle]

Wouldn't having entries in the menu for artists, albums, songs, genres, years, composers etc. clutter up the main menu? And for those of us that do not have/use database at all or seldom(like myself) it would be utterly useless and very annoying to have such useless functions someplace where they have to be run into.

I wasn't advocating that it should "automatically" be this way -- I was asking about a possible "option" to add items to the top menu so that users "could" get it to display this way if they wanted.  I simply prefer that "settings" be reserved for a sub menu since the most common menu I use by FAR is the database browser.  Regarding it being "cluttered," I agree that it would be a bit cluttered, but it's all the OTHER stuff that, in my opinion, causes the clutter.  In other words, I would prefer to have NONE of the current main menu items on the main menu -- I would much rather have the database browser for the top menu, and the current top menu to come up when pressing "menu" or when navigating to a "settings" item.

On this subject, I noticed that the tagnavi.config file has a line that defines the "root" menu as the "main" menu.  Can this somehow be used to help give me what I'm looking for?

Thanks,

Larry

[lalittle]

However, it still wouldn't be the top level though- you will still go to the "Main Menu" if you press << one too many times.

Unfortunately, this is the part that I was hoping to change.  I did change the "start" menu already, but I was hoping that I could get my most commonly used menu (the database browser) to be the top menu, or at least to be able to add some of my own choices to the "top" menu like "Genre."

Thanks again,

Larry

[lights0ut]

I suppose what you're talking about wouldn't involve a rewrite of the menus come to think of it, just a setting for what happens when you hit left, and all that's left to go up to is the main menu. I suppose you could just say, "at root left goes to main menu" and yes or no. You would still be able to access the menu as usual by pressing menu, so you wouldn't lose any essential functionality. I don't know how to code so I could be completely wrong as to how simple it is.

A little off topic, I'm all for having as many features in rockbox as possible, especially around the user interface, but it has to be configurable (as you said, it would be a setting) I love how rockbox makes your DAP extremely configurable so you can have just about everything just the way you like it.

I don't use the database, let alone the customizations of tagnavi so I can't say if that would work, but it sounds like you're headed in the right direction.

[JdGordon]

No, there is almost 0 chance that the old behaviour would be brought back in the official builds, also about the same chance that a left -> any other screen setting would be added.

[lights0ut]

thanks jd, doesn't get any clearer than that

[JdGordon]

although... a patch for the left->blaa bit could be done for custom builds fairly easily...

[lalittle]

No, there is almost 0 chance that the old behaviour would be brought back in the official builds, also about the same chance that a left -> any other screen setting would be added.

That's too bad.  I guess I could use an earlier build, but I'd kind of hate to miss out on any fixes or additional features of newer builds.

Thanks for letting me know.

Larry

[Llorean]

A tip: Hold left rather than tapping it repeatedly.

If you hold left, it should stop going back at the top level of the database, rather than going all the way to the menu (at least I believe this is true with the filetree, and if it's not true with the database it should be).

[bascule]

Llorean, you are always the man!

That works exactly as you said for the Database viewer and was something I was unaware of. Thanks

[elborak]

It is indeed true with the database as well as the file view.