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Rockbox General => Rockbox General Discussion => Topic started by: theanthropos on March 09, 2007, 01:18:52 PM

Title: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: theanthropos on March 09, 2007, 01:18:52 PM
I'm using the iRiver HP-120 and have enjoyed Rockbox for a long, long time. One thing I do after listening to an album is delete it right away. Unfortunately, after and album completes I'm kicked back to the root directory. Can we have an option to remain in the last played directory or the directory prior to that?
Thanks.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 09, 2007, 03:46:35 PM
The forum is not the proper place for feature requests.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: safetydan on March 09, 2007, 05:55:04 PM
The "follow playlist" option might go some way to doing what you want.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 09, 2007, 07:10:18 PM
This has come in since the root menu, and the current implementation was discussed extensively on IRC.  Having said that, I agree with you - it is really annoying after an album has finished to be back in the root menu and have to navigate all the way through the tree again.  At the moment, my work around is to (if I remember) press stop 5 seconds before the end of the last song so I end up back where I was in the file tree.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 10, 2007, 03:26:24 AM
If you have Follow Playlist enabled, you should be highlighting the last file played. If this is not true, it's a bug.

Otherwise, you'll be where you last were before entering the WPS. This means that if you launched the playlist, you'll be highlighting the playlist. But if you entered the menu to do something, then returned to the WPS, you'll end up in the menus because that's where you last called the WPS from.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 10, 2007, 07:37:16 AM
I've done some testing, and the following happens: (edit: all this is with follow playlist turned on)

If an album finishes that you launched from the file tree and listened to without stopping, you get returned to the same position in the file tree as expected.

If an album finishes that you launched from the file tree, you stopped it at some point but resumed by pressing play from within the file tree, you get returned to the same position in the file tree as you were when you resumed - but not from the directory in which the song you are listening to i.e. follow playlist is not respected.

If an album finishes that you launched from the file tree, you stopped it at some point but resumed from the root menu (i.e. you had the player turned off at some point), when the album finishes you get sent back to the root menu, and not to where you were in the file tree.

I think this is probably intended so not a bug, but I don't like it.  It seems at the moment, all follow playlist does is take you to the directory where the song you are listening to is when you enter the filetree with music playing.  When an album finishes, you get taken to where you launched it from, and follow playlist isn't respected.

I can see both sides of the argument, and this is what I meant by saying the behaviour was debated in IRC, as I seem to remember it being.  However, personally I would prefer follow playlist to always be respected, but I can live with this - it just takes more key presses to get back to where I was when an album finishes, as I often have my player turned off and just press play to resume on starting, and hence get chucked back to root menu on completion of the album.  Note that having startup screen set to file tree wouldn't help much, as then you'd just get sent back to the root folder.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: pabouk on March 10, 2007, 08:04:42 AM
If an album finishes that you launched from the file tree, you stopped it at some point but resumed from the root menu (i.e. you had the player turned off at some point), when the album finishes you get sent back to the root menu, and not to where you were in the file tree.
In addition when you open the file browser from the root menu it shows the place where you were last time in the browser (for example where you started the playback) not the last played file as expected with the "follow playlist" setting. If you reboot Rockbox after starting the playback the file browser is in the root directory even if you enter it while the music is playing! It does not obey the "follow playlist" setting at all.

I think this is probably intended so not a bug, but I don't like it.  It seems at the moment, all follow playlist does is take you to the directory where the song you are listening to is when you enter the filetree with music playing.  When an album finishes, you get taken to where you launched it from, and follow playlist isn't respected.
I do not like it too. At least when you end in the root menu after stopping playback and then when you enter the file browser it should show the last played file.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on March 21, 2007, 08:07:13 AM
Dear Rockbox developers,

I'm also very interested in this feature!

How is the chance that you will answer our prayers? If the forum is not the proper place for feature requests, where is it else?

However, thank you very much for this phantastic piece of software!
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: pondlife on March 21, 2007, 08:15:36 AM
IMHO the non-respecting of follow playlist in these examples is a bug.  I don't have a working player at the moment so haven't rechecked and reported it myself, but would expect all entry to the File Tree to go to the currently playing song if Follow Playlist is enabled (whether that be from pressing SELECT, or STOP, or natural playback end).

Someone who's seeing otherwise (BigBambi?) should log onto Flyspray and report a bug.

If however you were last in the main menu (or any other screen) and pressed PLAY from there, it's reasonable that it would return to the main menu.  (If you think of Follow Playlist as purely a file browser configuration option this makes more sense.)

pondlife
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: GodEater on March 21, 2007, 09:21:56 AM
If the forum is not the proper place for feature requests, where is it else?

Flyspray.

Look at the menu down the left hand side of the screen. There's a link there that says "feature requests". Is this somehow unintuitive ?
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: theanthropos on March 21, 2007, 09:40:07 AM
I submitted a feature request. Also, I don't use playlists.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: GodEater on March 21, 2007, 09:52:39 AM
Yes you do.

Every time you start playing a file in Rockbox, it builds a dynamic playlist - even if you don't know it's doing it.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 21, 2007, 01:36:01 PM
I think it may be intentional that from the WPS to filetree follows the playlist, but from the main menu doesn't. I'm not sure, but I can see that behaviour as being seen to offer more flexibility. At least, I remember a discussion on this, but don't remember how it turned out, so it may be that a bug replicates what was suggested by some as intentional behaviour. I dunno.

Anywhere in Rockbox, you're at most two button presses away from the filetree via the WPS. There's only one place outside the filetree that's closer to it than two presses, and that's highlighting the file browser option in the main menu.

Is there a compelling reason why highlighting the last played file is useful outside a few special cases? Because basically, the only time you can't follow the playlist is after playback has stopped, and that makes a lot of sense to me.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 21, 2007, 04:09:45 PM
Anywhere in Rockbox, you're at most two button presses away from the filetree via the WPS. There's only one place outside the filetree that's closer to it than two presses, and that's highlighting the file browser option in the main menu.

Is there a compelling reason why highlighting the last played file is useful outside a few special cases? Because basically, the only time you can't follow the playlist is after playback has stopped, and that makes a lot of sense to me.

I often want to play another album by the same artist.  As I have /music/artist/album/tracks, on stop it is much much quicker to back out one directory then go into another than to select file tree from the menu, then music, then scroll through a very long list to find the artist, then select the album.  Even on my H1x0 which scrolling is quick on, it takes a while to scroll to the middle of a list of 60 gb of music.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 21, 2007, 04:11:25 PM
You do realize that when you start the first one, you can simply queue the second album so you never even have to go back to the filetree, right?

It sounds like we're in another "Flexibility" vs "Convenience" situation. =/
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 21, 2007, 04:16:18 PM
You do realize that when you start the first one, you can simply queue the second album so you never even have to go back to the filetree, right?

It sounds like we're in another "Flexibility" vs "Convenience" situation. =/

Yeah I know, but often I decide when the one I'm listening to has finished.  As I've said before it's not a huge deal, just one of those things that I would prefer to be another way.  

After all to get from anywhere in the file tree to the menu is one click of a button, but to get from the menu to somewhere in the middle of the filetree takes much longer.  Consequently, if end of plaback returned you to the file tree and the song that has just finished if I wanted to go somewhere completely different it is only one click to be the same as the current system and get to the main menu, but would be more convenient if I wanted to select an artist or album close in name to the one I was on.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 21, 2007, 04:19:25 PM
If you're already IN the filetree when playback ends, if you tap the one click to go to the menu, and then choose Filetree, you should return to the same spot you were in the filetree. The filetree is supposed to remember your position, so your statement doesn't work as you thought it did.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 21, 2007, 04:30:42 PM
OK, we both seem to be right.  What you say is true if you don't shut down half way through and then resume.  Position in file tree doesn't seem to be remembered across restarts.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 21, 2007, 04:32:08 PM
Yes, it's not remembered across restarts.

I do think that if you have "Follow Playlist" on, when the playlist ends the WPS should drop you in the filetree no matter where you called the WPS from though. Follow Playlist seems like it should be an override to that behaviour, I just don't think it needs to affect the file browser entry in the Main Menu at all.

I think that'd solve most of your problems with it anyway. :)
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 21, 2007, 04:35:02 PM
Yes, it's not remembered across restarts.

I do think that if you have "Follow Playlist" on, when the playlist ends the WPS should drop you in the filetree no matter where you called the WPS from though. Follow Playlist seems like it should be an override to that behaviour, I just don't think it needs to affect the file browser entry in the Main Menu at all.

I think that'd solve most of your problems with it anyway. :)

I completely agree!  :)

Is it technically possible to remember position across restarts?  I would have thought so - another setting in nvram.bin?  If so, I'll pop a feature request up as that would solve virtually all my annoyances.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on March 21, 2007, 04:36:11 PM
It's technically possible to remember anything you want across restarts, though whether others will agree it's necessary is a second question. :)

I would suggest filing a separate feature request for "Have follow playlist overried where the WPS leaves you when a playlist ends" too, assuming there's not one up there that translates to that clearly.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on March 21, 2007, 04:42:22 PM
Done http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/6882 and done http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/6883.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: LinusN on March 22, 2007, 02:41:10 AM
I think it would be useful for the file browser to remember the position across restarts.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on March 22, 2007, 03:15:53 AM
If the forum is not the proper place for feature requests, where is it else?

Flyspray.

Look at the menu down the left hand side of the screen. There's a link there that says "feature requests". Is this somehow unintuitive ?

No, it isn't!

But it seems, that my post set on this discussion again. And it seems, that this is more effective than just to place a feature request...

However, many thanks to the guys who placed that request! And thank you to Linus for his comment "I think it would be useful for the file browser to remember the position across restarts." That mades me optimistic, that this will quicken the changes.

Thanks in advance to the developer(s) who will implement this feature, and we are looking forward...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Febs on March 22, 2007, 10:47:48 AM
But it seems, that my post set on this discussion again. And it seems, that this is more effective than just to place a feature request...

More efficient in generating discussion?  Yes.  More efficient in actually getting the change made?  No.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: JdGordon on April 07, 2007, 09:56:05 PM
I think it would be useful for the file browser to remember the position across restarts.

I dont think this should be the default behavour, but if te start screen is set to the file browser then im OK with this also.
edit: I had a quick look at doing this and it can be done in two ways.. neither is very nice :p

The first is moving the current_folder buffer from root_menu.c into global_settings (or glabal_status) the other is doing "extern char *current_folder" in settings_list.c

Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Falco98 on April 07, 2007, 11:32:31 PM
But it seems, that my post set on this discussion again. And it seems, that this is more effective than just to place a feature request...

More efficient in generating discussion?  Yes.  More efficient in actually getting the change made?  No.

here's a feature-request-but-not-really:  how about a new subforum specifically for the discussion of existing and/or hypothetical feature requests?  the forum is the first place many people come, and IMHO is quite a bit easier to hold long conversations in.  and multiple actual feature requests can be discussed together in one forum topic, per peoples' preference.  Consider that many more novice users may have good ideas for feature requests, but which may need input and discussion to be boiled down to something feasible, and perhaps more experienced users could occasionally take up the task of drafting the request in FS.  I can think of no real reason not to provide such an option, anyway...

also, hopefully the general discussion area wouldn't be quite as cluttered (knock on wood) with feature requests...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on April 07, 2007, 11:44:08 PM
So, if someone had an idea for a User Interface improvement, and wanted feedback for it before filing a proper feature request, why wouldn't they just post:

"I'm kinda thinking the user interface could be improved by having the main menu keep track of how many times you've clicked on each item, ever, and sort them based upon that so that which item you use the most automatically drifts toward the top. Before I file a request for this, anyone see any real problems with it, or have any improvements upon it?"

I don't disallow discussion of feature requests in their proper place, and having it this way means that people interested in User Interface know where to look for everything UI related rather than just some of it. I'm not sure how a feature request forum would improve anything other than by confusing people into thinking it's the proper place to file feature requests when it's not.

People are already bad enough about posting them in the right place without another ambiguity thrown into the mix.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Falco98 on April 08, 2007, 02:51:10 AM
well i guess part of my idea is that if there were a forum, it could kinda be a catch-all for users who may have a good feature request idea in general, but might not know enough about the workings of the software to be able to set up an official FR correctly, or perhaps just have a more experienced user do it for them.  Of course you may be right, that it would just be redundant and confusing in a way, but I think it's possible that it could do positive things enough to outweigh those worries.  Dunno, but maybe it's something to think about (unless of course it's been debated already ages ago, which wouldn't surprise me)...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: JdGordon on April 08, 2007, 03:04:11 AM
that sounds exactly like http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/index.php?type=1
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on April 18, 2007, 07:13:16 AM
I think it would be useful for the file browser to remember the position across restarts.

I dont think this should be the default behavour, but if te start screen is set to the file browser then im OK with this also.
edit: I had a quick look at doing this and it can be done in two ways.. neither is very nice :p

The first is moving the current_folder buffer from root_menu.c into global_settings (or glabal_status) the other is doing "extern char *current_folder" in settings_list.c

Hello jdgordon,

I don't want to nerve you. But did you already try this?
I'm so anxious to get this feature soon...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: JdGordon on April 18, 2007, 07:15:07 AM
No, iv been playing with other things and I dont really like this idea :p
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on April 18, 2007, 07:27:30 AM
I can understand your point of view, jdgordon.

So, is there any chance at all to get this feature in the near future?
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on April 18, 2007, 07:40:57 AM
Anyone can code the feature and submit a patch.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on April 18, 2007, 08:32:53 AM
Does that mean, there is hope, Llorean?
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: GodEater on April 18, 2007, 08:33:55 AM
What Llorean is hinting at (if somewhat obliquely), is that if you want it badly enough - make it happen yourself.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: Llorean on April 18, 2007, 08:37:35 AM
I wasn't saying that he necessarily should do it himself.

Just that you can always have hope that somebody might, if they want it badly enough. :)
Just, probably not JdGordon, at least not soon.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: GodEater on April 18, 2007, 08:39:07 AM
I also suspect that the patch wouldn't likely be accepted into the core rockbox code base.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on April 18, 2007, 08:47:14 AM
I just thought, another experienced developer could do this...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: JdGordon on April 18, 2007, 08:52:55 AM
I also suspect that the patch wouldn't likely be accepted into the core rockbox code base.
not necessarily.. as long as it was done properly I wouldnt have a problem with it being commited...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: GodEater on April 18, 2007, 08:56:01 AM
I just thought, another experienced developer could do this...

Yes they could - but only if they wanted to. Rockbox does not get features just because a user wants them. It gets features as developers become interested in implementing them.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on April 18, 2007, 09:10:18 AM
I think it would be useful for the file browser to remember the position across restarts.


@GodEater
At least Linus seems to consider this feature as useful...
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: JdGordon on April 18, 2007, 09:21:18 AM
yes, but most (all?) the commiters have todo lists that are huge.... so its all about priorities.. and I imagine this sort of feature wouldnt be too high a priotirty...

your best bet is to find someone who can code and wants the feature.. then head off to te patch tracker and submit the patch.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: MarcGuay on April 08, 2008, 05:50:32 PM
If an album finishes that you launched from the file tree, you stopped it at some point but resumed by pressing play from within the file tree, you get returned to the same position in the file tree as you were when you resumed - but not from the directory in which the song you are listening to i.e. follow playlist is not respected.

If an album finishes that you launched from the file tree, you stopped it at some point but resumed from the root menu (i.e. you had the player turned off at some point), when the album finishes you get sent back to the root menu, and not to where you were in the file tree.

I just tested these two situations as I understand them (as well as restarting the player inbetween) and in both cases was left with the selector on the last song of the playlist, as was requested in this thread as well as the Flyspray task (http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/6882).  Is it safe to assume that the behavior has since changed?
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on May 11, 2008, 11:30:21 AM
Hi guys,

in my opinion nothing has been fixed.

I expected to find myself in the directory with the actual playing playlist file, when pausing/finishing it. This is OK, but just still works within the same session. After restarting the player, I still find myself in the main menu or in the root menu. This is the old behavior

Maybe, there are some (new) settings to do first?
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on May 19, 2008, 01:32:22 AM
Hi,

no comment?

Maybe it's just my mistake. Can anyone of you help me to find the right settings, please? Thank you very much.
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: JdGordon on May 19, 2008, 01:38:00 AM
no your correct.. nothing has been done about saving the location between reboots
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: heze on May 19, 2008, 01:56:16 AM
Thanks jdgordon,

the Flyspray requests are closed now. Why? Is there absolutely no chance, to get this feature?
Title: Re: wish: return to directory last played
Post by: AlexP on May 19, 2008, 03:04:08 AM
I have reopened the feature request (I opened it in the first place, and I hadn't really paid attention to it being closed).  If it isn't going to happen it can of course be shut, but it was shut as fixed, which it isn't.