Working playlist editor/maker for MSC mode

[Skinjob]

Originally Posted by sosidge

WinAmp and Media Monkey (latest versions) DON'T work unless you tweak the playslists manually in a text editor. WinAmp will allow you to make a playlist based on what is on the Fuze, but when it creates the .m3u file it puts an unnecessary "\ " before the filename and the Fuze cannot deal with it.

This is absolutely not true. Follow these simple instructions to easily create playlists using Winamp without any manual editing:

1. Drag files from the Fuze into Winamp's playlist editor.
2. Arrange the playlist as desired.
3. Save the playlist to the Fuze's MUSIC folder.
4. If you later want to edit the playlist, drag the m3u file from the Fuze into Winamp's playlist editor and repeat steps 1-3, overwriting the original m3u on the Fuze.

This assumes you are using MSC mode and added all your files under MSC mode. If not, you'll want to format the Fuze, switch to MSC mode and reload all your files.

FYI, there is no Playlist folder in MSC mode (and it won't work if you create one). Make sure you save the playlist to the MUSIC folder.

Also, it's critical that you save the playlist directly to the Fuze's MUSIC folder. If you save it somewhere else and then copy it to the player, you'll end up with full paths (leading "\") and it won't work. If you save it directly to the MUSIC folder, Winamp will use relative paths and it will work perfectly.

[CrowdAds]

[sosidge]

Skinjob - you are very insistent it does work, I am very insistent it doesn't (as are a lot of other people who can't get Winamp playlists to work).

I'm trying to work out what the differences are between our setups.

What Fuze do you have and what firmware are you on? I have 8gb and v1.01.22

What version of Winamp do you have? I have v5.541

How do you arrange the files on your Fuze? I use subfolders according to the album, rather than keep every track in the root "Music" directory.

Whatever I do (and trust me, I have followed your instructions, and I have tried a number of different approaches too), I just cannot get a playlist out of Winamp that will run on the Fuze.

Playlist Creator works perfectly though and I find it a lot easier to use.

[firedown]

I'm a user of playlist creator too and find it is easier than copy/paste or drag/drop of Winamp. But I use both.

Winamp also works for me using firmware 2.01.17. So maybe it has to do with the firmware version? It works on both my Fuze and Clip.

And I find Winamp is better/quicker for arranging and sorting the songs in the exact order I want.

[Skinjob]

Originally Posted by sosidge

Skinjob - you are very insistent it does work, I am very insistent it doesn't (as are a lot of other people who can't get Winamp playlists to work).

I'm trying to work out what the differences are between our setups.

What Fuze do you have and what firmware are you on? I have 8gb and v1.01.22
same

What version of Winamp do you have? I have v5.541
I have 5.55 now, but I've been using various versions of Winamp with the Fuze since it came out around a year ago.

How do you arrange the files on your Fuze? I use subfolders according to the album, rather than keep every track in the root "Music" directory.
\MUSIC\AlbumArtist\Album

I put my playlists in the MUSIC folder. So paths in my playlists look like:

AlbumArtist\Album\Song.mp3

Paths must be relative to the location of the playlist. Since the playlist is in the MUSIC folder, the paths must start with the AlbumArtist subfolders with no leading baskslash.

If you save a playlist to the same drive as the files in the playlist, Winamp will try to use relative paths in the playlist. So you can have any folder structure you like under the MUSIC folder and as long as you save the playlist to the MUSIC folder or root, Winamp will use the correct relative paths.

[OldOrpheus]

Originally Posted by sosidge

The below are my thoughts on other software...

WinAmp and Media Monkey (latest versions) DON'T work unless you tweak the playslists manually in a text editor. WinAmp will allow you to make a playlist based on what is on the Fuze, but when it creates the .m3u file it puts an unnecessary "\ " before the filename and the Fuze cannot deal with it.

Media Monkey will not let you create playlists from the files on the Fuze, only from the files on your PC. It also adds an unnecessary "\" and more besides.

Corrent firmware for the Fuze definately allows the initial "\". I have my playlists in

\Playlists\
and my music in
\Music\artist\album

and the playlists work perfectly. I made them with MediaMonkey.

For the full method I use successfully see:

 http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showpost.php?p=324852&postcount=13

[Eli3000]

Originally Posted by Skinjob

This is absolutely not true. Follow these simple instructions to easily create playlists using Winamp without any manual editing:

1. Drag files from the Fuze into Winamp's playlist editor.
2. Arrange the playlist as desired.
3. Save the playlist to the Fuze's MUSIC folder.
4. If you later want to edit the playlist, drag the m3u file from the Fuze into Winamp's playlist editor and repeat steps 1-3, overwriting the original m3u on the Fuze.

This assumes you are using MSC mode and added all your files under MSC mode. If not, you'll want to format the Fuze, switch to MSC mode and reload all your files.

FYI, there is no Playlist folder in MSC mode (and it won't work if you create one). Make sure you save the playlist to the MUSIC folder.

Also, it's critical that you save the playlist directly to the Fuze's MUSIC folder. If you save it somewhere else and then copy it to the player, you'll end up with full paths (leading "\") and it won't work. If you save it directly to the MUSIC folder, Winamp will use relative paths and it will work perfectly.

What about the Sansa Express?
I have winamp and each time i send my playlist to my Sansa Express it NEVER shows up in its playlist. All of the songs are on there the mp3 player, but it doesnt give me an option to play them in an organized playlist.

And how do you "drag the files to the playlist editor" in winamp? I have many playlist in my winamp but I cant see how to drag files over from a mp3 player to any editor.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by Eli3000

And how do you "drag the files to the playlist editor" in winamp? I have many playlist in my winamp but I cant see how to drag files over from a mp3 player to any editor.

First open "My Computer" and navigate to the player.

Personally I usually right click on the file name and choose either "Play in Winamp" (starts a new playlist), or "Enqueue in Winamp" (adds to existing list). But "drag and drop" from the My Computer window (actually Windows Explorer) to the Winamp window works extremely well also.

BTW, I consider the above as "basic PC usage". Too bad lots of folks don't get taught/learn the basics.

Steve

[skip252]

I believe that taking people to task over not being able to use Winamp to create playlists is unfair. The procedure is fairly simple but Winamp is not. Menus nested inside other menus and dozen of settings to mess around with (and possibly get wrong) puts Winamp at the bottom of the list, right next to WMP, as my recommended program for learning how to make playlists.
My brother was also having the same problem. He knows his computer basics but was new to Winamp. He was having problems makig playlists on his Clip. I tried to walk him thru it over the phone but was hindered by not having Winamp on my computer. I have dumped that menu ridden resource hog. He seemed to be following my over the phone directions and the online instructions by Skinjob but his playlists were either broken or Winamp would sync another copy of the song along with a broken playlist.
When I got with him at his computer I found he was trying to work either from the media library or the main window. Too many damn menus!! Changed his View menu to Playlist Editor- Problem Solved!
Making .m3u playlists work with Winamp must be done from the Playlist Editor and then saved back to the Music folder or the root of the player.

[Marvin the Martian]

I am amazed at how much time and effort are put into playlists , and how much aggravation ensues when they don't work....what happened to listening to an album, or shuffling all, or shuffling one artist, or even just using the GoList, which is ridiculously easy to build? Not trying to argue with anyone here, but come on, listening to music is supposed to be enjoyable, not annoying

[FreeZ5]

skip252:

I have been using winamp for so many years that I have no idea how it comes up 'by default' because it comes up 'right' on my computers. But over the last few years, I have dealt with too many people who don't know what "My Computer' is. That is what I was referring to as 'basics'. If I 'play' with your computer you will probably end up with an icon labelled 'Hard Drfive Explorer' or something similar. The people I know seem to understand that better than 'My Computer'.

Besides the poster that I quoted seemed to know how to access the Playlist Editor but not how to drag to it. Sure sounds to me like he/she doesn't use 'My Computer'.

Steve

[skip252]

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

But over the last few years, I have dealt with too many people who don't know what "My Computer' is.

Your point is well made and well received. I have also used certain programs for so long that I just reset them to my defaults whenever I reinstall Windows. Being a regular user I am also amazed at how many intelligent people who use computers everyday will go blank when you tell them to right click or open an Explorer Window. I have helped 4 people in the last 2 years set up their first home PC and have found a lot of things you and I take for granted are new and confusing to someone who has IT at the job set up and maintain their computers. You are right in that most new users should learn the standard terminologies and usages in order to use their machine and programs easily and productively. I always insist that anyone I help learn the basics. Once you get past the basics that's when the fun begins!

My point was about Winamp and how to get to the right window to make a playlist easily. Winamp 'out of the box' has caused a lot of blank looks and frustrations with new users, me included.
I had used Sanse Playlister to make playlists on my e250 before I Rockboxed it and XMPlay after. I installed Winamp after reading in this forum that it could create playlists that would work on my Clip.
I read Skinjobs sticky and used his search and replace batch file to create playlists with Winamp. It worked but just felt too clunky. Kept reading posts about playlists and the light came on! I was working in the library not the playlist editor. Opened the playlist editor and started cranking out working playlists in a few quick clicks. Looking at the working vs. the non-working playlist in Notepad I realized I could go back to XMPlay and get rid of Winamp.

I didn't mean to dump on anyone's choice of media player but Winamp doesn't work for me. My brother loves it and can't stand XMPlay. What works for you is fine by me. That's why there are so many media players available.

[sosidge]

It is not fair to berate people for not dragging files out of "My Computer" and into WinAmp.

The assumption with programs (and the correct one at that) is that you should be able to manipulate files within them.

WinAmp has it's own file browser, you should be able to drag files from your Fuze using that. You can't expect people to use My Computer as the source, it is counter-intuitive.

And WinAmp's playlist window is tiny and unmarked in the default configuration.

PS I have now managed to create WinAmp playlists. If you "enqueue" files from your Fuze in the WinAmp browser they will go to the playlist (can't drag them). It's a hassle but I accept now that it can be done. Playlist Creator still gets my vote.

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

skip252:

I have been using winamp for so many years that I have no idea how it comes up 'by default' because it comes up 'right' on my computers. But over the last few years, I have dealt with too many people who don't know what "My Computer' is. That is what I was referring to as 'basics'. If I 'play' with your computer you will probably end up with an icon labelled 'Hard Drfive Explorer' or something similar. The people I know seem to understand that better than 'My Computer'.

Besides the poster that I quoted seemed to know how to access the Playlist Editor but not how to drag to it. Sure sounds to me like he/she doesn't use 'My Computer'.

Steve

[skip252]

Originally Posted by sosidge

It is not fair to berate people for not dragging files out of "My Computer" and into WinAmp.

Isn't berate a strong term for pointing out some users could improve their basic skills? If they do then listening to their music should become more "enjoyable, not annoying". (Thanks for the reminder Marvin the Martian )

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by skip252

Isn't berate a strong term for pointing out some users could improve their basic skills? If they do then listening to their music should become more "enjoyable, not annoying". (Thanks for the reminder Marvin the Martian )

My pleasure! It needs to be mentioned once in a while, when people get frustrated over things like this

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by sosidge

It is not fair to berate people for not dragging files out of "My Computer" and into WinAmp.

BERATE??? Eli3000 asked how to drag files from a player to winamp. I answered the question. Everybody else is cluttering this thread with crap.

Originally Posted by sosidge

The assumption with programs (and the correct one at that) is that you should be able to manipulate files within them.

Yes you should be able to. As long as you are in the right program. When I did tech support a very common problem was "I saved this file yesterday and now I can't find it". Reality? They were looking in Word and it was an Excel file (or whatever). Never will be found that way. I usually found it for them with 'My Computer'.

I very rarely load a file of any kind with the intended program. I let my computer pick the program that matches the file that I want.

Steve