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Bug 634717 - Have banshee treat playing from filesystem like totem does
Have banshee treat playing from filesystem like totem does
Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX
Product: banshee
Classification: Other
Component: Other Extensions
1.8.0
Other Linux
: Normal normal
: 1.x
Assigned To: Banshee Maintainers
Banshee Maintainers
gnome[unmaintained]
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
 
Reported: 2010-11-12 21:17 UTC by Michael Stephenson
Modified: 2020-03-17 08:49 UTC
See Also:
GNOME target: ---
GNOME version: ---


Attachments
add an auto-purge option that clears the queue when new files are opened (4.07 KB, patch)
2011-03-19 04:48 UTC, Frank Ziegler
none Details | Review
add an auto-purge option that clears the queue when new files are opened (5.13 KB, patch)
2011-03-21 02:49 UTC, Frank Ziegler
none Details | Review
add an auto-purge option that clears the queue when new files are opened (5.15 KB, patch)
2011-03-21 03:04 UTC, Frank Ziegler
needs-work Details | Review
add an auto-clear option that clears the queue when new files are opened (5.14 KB, patch)
2011-04-02 04:39 UTC, Frank Ziegler
none Details | Review

Description Michael Stephenson 2010-11-12 21:17:09 UTC
I dislike the filesystem queue intensely, for one I can't order it manually, and it's an ever growing list I have to delete occasionally, and if I watch a video and go to sleep watching it, often the entire list of videos I have watched in the past few weeks will play through. The only reason I use it is because adding every video I watch to the library is even more annoying. 

Can't we just have it behave like totem, play the video and forget about it by default, or add it to the play queue which can be ordered manually but not to the library.

Basically I want the default behaviour to act as if the file had been launched using ctrl-L
Comment 1 Michael Stephenson 2010-11-12 21:18:40 UTC
Added bounty here: http://www.fossfactory.org/project/p246
Comment 2 Michael Martin-Smucker 2010-12-20 15:48:16 UTC
I've been meaning to let you know that I think you're awesome for opening a report and adding a bounty.  It's great that you care enough about improving Banshee that you're willing to back up your request with a monetary incentive.

I do have a few questions about what you're requesting, though, and it's possible that others do as well, which would explain why this hasn't received much attention.  Could you make a list of steps that highlight what Banshee is doing, and what you would expect it to do instead?  Also, I have some specific questions below:

(In reply to comment #0)
> I dislike the filesystem queue intensely, for one I can't order it manually,

I didn't realize that this was the case, but I doubt that this behavior is intentional.  For the sake of keeping one issue per report, could you file a new bug report for this?
 
> Can't we just have it behave like totem, play the video and forget about it by
> default

If you right click on the File System Queue, I think you can turn on an option like "Clear the queue on exit."  Does this help? or is it at least a step in the right direction?
 
> Basically I want the default behaviour to act as if the file had been launched
> using ctrl-L

I'm not near my own computer right now, and I don't know off the top of my head what ctrl-L does.  Could you elaborate?

Thanks!
Comment 3 Michael Stephenson 2010-12-21 18:02:33 UTC
By default what Banshee does is add any file loaded from the filesystem into it's corresponding library, ie if you right click a video and select "open in banshee" it will add that Video to the Video library, and then play it.

If you use the "Filesystem Queue Plugin" instead it adds the Video to a pseudo library posing as a playlist called the "Filesystem Queue". I call this a psuedo library because it can not be ordered like a playlist but instead sorted like a library, by ascending/descending on any given field.
This results in a library which fills up with rubbish over time and has to be emptied periodically.
Clear the queue on exit means you have to select this every session you use Banshee.

If you have the filesystem queue library ordered ascending by time and it is full of 2 hour long movies and you want to play a 2 minute video it will then proceed to play every movie you have watched since you last cleared it.

I don't see why any file loaded from the filesystem need be entered into a library of any description unless explicitly instructed to do so.

Banshee should rather play then forget.

CTRL-L opens the "open location" dialogue, when a video is opened this way it is not added to any library, just played and forgotten.
This should be the default behaviour when a file is opened in banshee from the filesystem.

This video should highlight what I have said: http://db.tt/078PKzX
Comment 4 Fabio Durán Verdugo 2011-02-21 05:03:51 UTC
the information is provide, reopening.
Comment 5 Frank Ziegler 2011-03-17 02:41:12 UTC
I have written a new Banshee Community Extension to solve this bug which I called "Just Play Files". Currently I am awaiting feedback from the Banshee/Banshee Community Extension developers for possible objections or the like.

If nothing speaks against it, I will soon commit the code the the BCE git and close this bug.
Comment 6 Frank Ziegler 2011-03-19 04:48:35 UTC
Created attachment 183777 [details] [review]
add an auto-purge option that clears the queue when new files are opened

After discussion about the new extension I followed Chow's advice and added a new option to the FSQ to clear the queue when new external files are opened using commandline or a file manager. This is actually a much nicer solution as it still allows for opening playlists and inspecting the media information (just as totem can and other players can). It still serves the purpose of preventing file build-up in the queue.
Comment 7 Michael Stephenson 2011-03-19 14:19:38 UTC
I like that new behaviour for the Filesystem Queue, it actually transforms it to something useful, no longer is it merely a junk library.
However it 2 questions remain.

* When the FSQ is not used the behaviour is to import to library when a file or files are loaded from the command line. Is this really the most desirable behaviour?

* Does it make sense for the FSQ to be a library in disguise, sortable rather than manually arrangeable as the play queue?

I assume that the way banshee works for a play queue to be made the files have to exist in a library.
Would it be possible to make the library not user facing, and instead make a playqueue that is user facing so the filesystem queue can be arranged manually?
Comment 8 Frank Ziegler 2011-03-19 15:03:14 UTC
I'll try to answer:

1. The FSQ is an extension in the Banshee codebase, so ever user has it. If he/she chooses not to use it, I just cannot imagine a better behaviour than to import files opened with Banshee to the library, as for that library alone such a user would use Banshee, right? And if he/she choses to open a file with his library managing application, what would be his/her intention? To add the files to that application's library, I'd say. Short answer: Yes.

2. If the FSQ is a library in disguise or not is a technical question, and does not really affect functionality. If it should be re-arrageable is the real question, that would best be a second feature request. I'd say that would be easy to do...
Comment 9 Michael Stephenson 2011-03-19 18:43:37 UTC
Trying out the patch I've noticed two things:

* It doesn't autoplay the file added.
* Handling multiple tracks does not work:

banshee trackG.flac trackB.flac trackF.flac

should result in the FSQ playing the tracks in the order trackG TrackB trackF

However in reality no files at all are added to the FSQ and the FSQ icon disappears from the sources tree as it does when no files are present

Another thing I noticed is that because the FSQ becomes empty momentarily when a new file is launched FSQ dissappears creating an annoying switch in focus back to the music source.
Comment 10 Frank Ziegler 2011-03-20 14:51:11 UTC
Can reproduce. I'll look into that. Did you try a playlist? I had weird behaviour the other day with all applications on my machine and couldn't retest it.

btw. it does autoplay the file on my machine, when music is playing, afaik
Comment 11 Michael Stephenson 2011-03-20 15:53:24 UTC
Testing the playlist it works correctly the first time a play list is loaded, however, loading another playlist while the first playlist is still playing causes the FSQ source to disappear.
Comment 12 Michael Stephenson 2011-03-20 15:59:02 UTC
Disregard that, it was actually an issue with the second playlist being corrupted. Trying with other playlists its works fine.
Comment 13 Michael Stephenson 2011-03-20 16:04:03 UTC
Another slight issue is with the arrow being overlapped by the FSQ icon.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eg3nj7unkce445o/FSQ.png
Comment 14 Frank Ziegler 2011-03-21 02:49:25 UTC
Created attachment 183889 [details] [review]
add an auto-purge option that clears the queue when new files are opened

The updated patch fixes the issue of not being able to open multiple files by adding a little time window of 200ms within auto-purge does not get active as it assumes multiple files are enqueued by intention.

As mentioned, all files autoplay when opened on my machine. If they do not on your machine, please re-check with the original (unpatched) FSQ.
Comment 15 Frank Ziegler 2011-03-21 03:04:40 UTC
Created attachment 183891 [details] [review]
add an auto-purge option that clears the queue when new files are opened

Fixes a little misbehavior when opening a file, quitting Banshee, then opening another file, where initially they where both added to the queue. Now works correctly.
Comment 16 Michael Stephenson 2011-03-21 14:55:25 UTC
Can't seem top reproduce the autoplay problem any more, if I come across it again I'll try and investigate under what circumstances it happens.

The patch functions perfectly now on my end.
Comment 17 Gabriel Burt 2011-04-01 14:45:31 UTC
Review of attachment 183891 [details] [review]:

Looks pretty good, though we can't do string changes until after stable-2.0 is branched.

Can you reformat the commit msg to match existing `git log` entries, eg (bgo#...) at the end etc?

::: src/Extensions/Banshee.FileSystemQueue/Banshee.FileSystemQueue/FileSystemQueueSource.cs
@@ +85,3 @@
+            uia_service.GlobalActions.Add (new ToggleActionEntry [] {
+                new ToggleActionEntry ("PurgeFileSystemQueueOnOpenNewAction", null,
+                    Catalog.GetString ("Auto-purge on Open New"), null,

I'm not happy with this wording ("Auto-purge on Open New").  We use 'clear' instead of 'purge' already, so should probably be consistent and use that.

Maybe "Auto-clear Prior Tracks" or something?
Comment 18 Frank Ziegler 2011-04-02 04:39:03 UTC
Created attachment 184930 [details] [review]
add an auto-clear option that clears the queue when new files are opened

Thanks for thinking about the naming, it was a major headache when writing this. Changed the wording and the naming in the code accordingly. Also altered commit message format.
Comment 19 Dave Wales 2011-05-01 19:00:11 UTC
Is this applied/ resolved yet?
Comment 20 André Klapper 2020-03-17 08:49:37 UTC
Banshee is not under active development anymore and had its last code changes more than three years ago. Its codebase has been archived.

Closing this report as WONTFIX as part of Bugzilla Housekeeping to reflect
reality. Please feel free to reopen this ticket (or rather transfer the project
to GNOME Gitlab, as GNOME Bugzilla is being shut down) if anyone takes the
responsibility for active development again.
See https://gitlab.gnome.org/Infrastructure/Infrastructure/issues/264 for more info.