new main menu

[keuleJ]

I didn't update for quite a while. When I turned on my iriver after the latest update I was amazed by the new main menu. What a great change!  8-)

I think RockBox is far better in usability terms since the last changes: main menu, Icons in menus

[|2eM!x]

agreed x100  

[sduck]

Just curious - am I the only one who's bugged about one new feature - when you finish playing all the files in a directory, the new behavior is to go to the menu list, instead of the file view. I liked the old way, and would like it to be an option.

[Llorean]

It returns to the last place you called the WPS from, not just "The Menu List" as you put it.

If you run a playlist or file from the filetree, when playback ends you'll be there. If you are in the WPS, go to the menus, and then call the WPS from the menus, you'll end up in the menus when it leaves.

[AlexP]

It returns to the last place you called the WPS from, not just "The Menu List" as you put it.

If you run a playlist or file from the filetree, when playback ends you'll be there. If you are in the WPS, go to the menus, and then call the WPS from the menus, you'll end up in the menus when it leaves.

The only thing about this to me that doesn't make sense is the resume functionality.  If you start playback from the file tree, normally if playback was stopped for any reason it'd go back to that place in the file tree.   However, if you stop then resume playback, on playback stopping again you go to where you resumed from.  So if you start listening, turn the player off (mid album say), turn it back on, press play to resume, when playback subsequently ends, you end up in your start screen as that was where you resumed from, rather then where you were in the tree.

I see why it is like this and can live with it, but it is irritating.

[sduck]

It returns to the last place you called the WPS from, not just "The Menu List" as you put it.

If you run a playlist or file from the filetree, when playback ends you'll be there. If you are in the WPS, go to the menus, and then call the WPS from the menus, you'll end up in the menus when it leaves.

No it doesn't, at least when I wrote that. This is on an iriver ihp140, and it's a build from last week I think. When the playlist ends (not stopping it, when it ends). if it's started from the files view, it exits to the menu list. I was informed by one of the developers that this is the new behavior, agreed upon in irc, but I don't like it, and am just trying to see if anyone doesn't like it. Personally I think it stinks actually - I thought I could get used to it, but it's turning out to be a major pain in the ass for me.

[pondlife]

I suggest you update - it's not meant to do that and it doesn't on the current build, unless you'd recently pressed the MENU button (so had manually called up the menu since you were last in the browser).

pondlife

[sduck]

Thanks for the advice - you've made my day actually! I was pretty sure what I was experiencing was "wrong" behavior - I'll try a new build and see how it works.

Edit - I've now installed and tried the latest build, and it's still not doing what I want, but I may not have been completely clear about what I'm looking for. In the latest build, start playing the first file in a folder from folder view, it plays all the tracks in that folder, then exits back to that same folder view - very good, that was broken in a previous build that I had. However, if you turn off the unit anywhere during that playing cycle, and have it set to resume playing upon restart, when you get to the end of the last track (end of the playlist), it exits to the menu list view, instead of the folder view. It used to exit to the folder view in this situation.

Just so you don't think I'm crazy, here's why I don't like this behavior, and how I use my mp3 player. I use my mp3 player mainly in my car while driving arround town to gigs or whatever - I'm a professional musician, and throw tons of rips of cd's onto my iriver, each stored seperately in individual folders,and after listening to most (9 out of 10) of these cd's,  I want to immediately delete that folder (to make room for new stuff), or move it to one of my permanent storage folders. Because I'm driving in irregular bursts, there's bound to be lots of stopping and restarting of the mp3 player, and the resume playback feature and bookmarking is very nice. With the old behavior, if I wanted to do any of this folder maintanace immediately after the tracks had all been played, it was no problem - just 3-5 clicks on the nav button, and the folder was deleted or moved. Now, I've got to either remember what the folder was called, and renavigate to it, which is nearly impossible to do safely while driving, or just try to remember, which is an uphill battle at my age. So you see, adding an option for the screen to go to when a playlist ends would be a great idea. And possibly save my life!

Thanks for listening.

[AlexP]

However, if you turn off the unit anywhere during that playing cycle, and have it set to resume playing upon restart,

It's if you stop and resume at all.  I often turn off during an album, turn back on later and press play to resume.  At the end of the playlist, you are returned to where you resumed from, i.e. what screen you were in when you pressed play, not in the directory you really launched playback from.

I can see why it is doing this, rockbox think you launched playback from where you resumed from, but it is really really annoying.  I shouldn't have to navigate to the folder where the music I am listening to is in order to resume so I am then put into that folder when playback ends, instead of the main menu or wherever I resumed from.

[sduck]

You can set the thing to automatically resume playing - all you need to do is hit the play button once, and it will resume where you left off. One button convenience! Except for my nitpicky little needs, of course...

Settings->General Setting>System>Start Screen to "resume playback".

For the time being, I've installed an older (20070207) version of rb, and it works the way I want it to. I'll continue to try newer versions, maybe the developers will fix this eventually.

[AlexP]

You can set the thing to automatically resume playing - all you need to do is hit the play button once, and it will resume where you left off. One button convenience! Except for my nitpicky little needs, of course...

Settings->General Setting>System>Start Screen to "resume playback".

For the time being, I've installed an older (20070207) version of rb, and it works the way I want it to. I'll continue to try newer versions, maybe the developers will fix this eventually.

I am aware of the resume playback setting, which doesn't even require pressing play, and don't use it because I don't always want to resume immediately.

Really, this thread is just a grumble about the change in behaviour, it isn't a bug.  I agree with you, I would prefer the other way, but I don't think this will get "addressed by developers" as you mean it, as it is not a bug but intended behaviour, just behaviour you (and I) don't like.

[tab]

While I like the new main menu style, there is one thing that really bugs me. I'm not sure if it's a bug or if it was changed intentionally. The problem is, I can't access the settings and the quick menu via the A-B key anymore on my iRiver H120. This is the case in the current CVS build and has been in older builds from last week. It worked again in between, so I first thought, it was a glitch in some builds and was then fixed. But now it's gone again, bye bye quick menu . I could live having the main menu instead of the settings on A-B, but the quick menu is missed badly. Pleeeeaaase fix the A-B button functions again. Right now, short pressing A-B brings up the new main menu if I am e.g. somewhere in the file browser. A long press on A-B seems to do nothing.

Oops, now wait a minute, the quick menu is not completely gone, I get the quick menu with long A-B while I'm in the file browser or the database, but not while being in the (top level) main menu or other submenus. At least it should work in the playlist submenu as well, where it's useful for turning shuffle on/off quickly. Well, now I'm not sure anymore if it really worked (again) yesterday, maybe I was in the file browser when I tried it.

tab

[Llorean]

I don't believe it ever worked in any of the places you've listed it as "not working".

[Mikerman]

A question about the main menu ordering:

I know that alot of thought went into deciding the item order of the main menu, but I wonder if it might make sense to have Files on top followed by Recent Bookmarks, rather than the other way around?

While I assume that Recent Bookmarks was placed on top for ease of use and given the nature of bookmarks--to easily get to where playing was left off--I wonder if more people use thier players without bookmarks such that there would be a greater ease factor with Files on top?  That way, one most easily could get to the Files listing (without setting the player to use that as a default).

Just a thought, based on 2 weeks of use and occasional bookmarks use, but greater direct Files screen use.

[Llorean]

Recent Bookmarks won't be visible if there aren't recent bookmarks, so for people who don't use bookmarks, or keep their bookmarks cleaned up, it won't be in the way.