rockbox/manual/working_with_playlists/main.tex

\chapter{Working with Playlists}
\label{ref:working_with_playlists}

\section{Introduction}

\section{Playlist terminology}

Here are some common terms that are used in Rockbox when referring to playlists:

	\begin{description}
	
	\item[Directory:]  A playlist!  One of the keys to getting the most out of 
	Rockbox is understanding that Rockbox \emph{always} considers the song that it 
	is playing to be part of a playlist, and in some situations, Rockbox will 
	create a playlist automatically.  For example, if you are playing the contents 
	of a directory, Rockbox will automatically create a playlist containing the 
	songs in that directory.  This means that just about anything that is 
	described in this chapter with respect to playlists also applies to 
	directories.
	
	\item[Dynamic playlist:]  A dynamic playlist is a playlist that is created 
	``On the fly.''  Any time you insert or queue tracks using the 
	\setting{Playlist submenu} (see \reference:{playlist_submenu}), you are creating (or adding 
	to) a dynamic playlist.
	
	\item[Insert:] In Rockbox, to \setting{Insert} an item into a playlist means 
	putting an item into a playlist and leaving it there, even after it is played. 
	As you will see later in this chapter, Rockbox can \setting{Insert} into a 
	playlist in several places.
	
	\item[Queue:]  In Rockbox, to \setting{Queue} a song means to put the song 
	into a playlist and then to remove the song from the playlist once it has been 
	played.  The only difference between \setting{Insert} and \setting{Queue} is 
	that the \setting{Queue} option removes the song from the playlist once it has 
	been played, and the \setting{Insert} option does not.

\section{Creating playlists}

Rockbox can create playlists in four different ways. 

	\subsection{Creating playlists by playing a song}
	
	Whenever a song is selected from the \setting{File Browser} using the 
	\ButtonSelect\ button, Rockbox will automatically create a playlist containing 
	all of the songs in the directory in which that song is located.
	
	\note{If you already have already created a dynamic playlist, playing a new 
	song will \emph{erase} the current playlist and create a new one.  If you want 
	to add a song to the current playlist rather than erasing the current 
	playlist, see the section below on ``Adding music to playlists.''
	
	\subsection{Creating a dynamic playlist using the Insert and Queue functions}
	
	\subsection{Creating a playlist using the Playlist Catalog}
	
	\subsection{Creating a playlist from the Main Menu}

\section{Adding music to playlists}

	\subsection{\label{ref:Playlistsubmenu}Adding music to a dynamic playlist} 
	\screenshot{rockbox_interface/images/ss-playlist-menu}{The Playlist Submenu}{} 
	The \setting{Playlist Submenu} allows you to put tracks into a ``dynamic 
	playlist''. If there is no music currently playing, Rockbox will create a new 
	dynamic playlist and put the selected track(s) into the playlist.  If there is 
	music currently playing, Rockbox will put the selected track(s) into the 
	current playlist.  The place in which the newly selected tracks are added to 
	the playlist is determined by the following options:

	\begin{description} 
	
	\item [Insert:] Add track(s) to playlist. If no other 
	tracks have been inserted then the selected track will be added immediately 
	after current playing track, otherwise they will be added to end of insertion 
	list. 
	
	\item [Insert next:] Add track(s) immediately after current playing 
	track, no matter what else has been inserted. 
	
	\item [Insert last:] Add track(s) to end of playlist. 
	
	\item [Queue:] Queue is the same as Insert except queued tracks are deleted 
	immediately from the playlist after they've been played. Also, queued tracks 
	are not saved to the playlist file (see \reference{ref:playlistoptions}). 
	
	\item [Queue next:] Queue track(s) immediately after current playing track. 
	
	\item [Queue last:] Queue track(s) at end of playlist. \end{description}

The \setting{Playlist Submenu} can be used to add either single tracks or 
entire directories to a playlist. If the \setting{Playlist Submenu} is 
invoked on a single track, it will put only that track into the playlist.  
On the other hand, if the \setting{Playlist Submenu} is invoked on a 
directory, Rockbox adds all of the tracks in that directory to the playlist.  

Dynamic playlists are saved so resume will restore them exactly as they were before
shutdown.

\section{Saving playlists}

\section{Loading saved playlists}

\section{Helpful Hints}

	\subsection{Including subdirectories in playlists} 
	
	You can control whether or not Rockbox includes the contents of subdirectories 
	when adding an entire directory to a playlists.  Set the \setting{Main Menu 
	$\rightarrow$ Playlist Options $\rightarrow$ Recusively Insert Directories} 
	setting to \setting{Yes} if you would like Rockbox to include tracks in 
	subdirectories as well as tracks in the currently-selected directory.}