Basic playlists: Difference between revisions
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A Playlist is a file that | A Playlist is a normal text file that lists one or more media files (Audio or Video), and plays them in succession. | ||
You can either create your own or use existing playlists from other sources, e.g. Winamp | You can either create your own or use existing playlists from other sources, e.g. Winamp M3U playlists. | ||
Going to the Playlist item | Going to the ''Playlist'' item in the right pane of the [[Music]] and [[Videos]] page will take you to the corresponding playlists. | ||
==Supported Playlists== | |||
XBMC supports [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLS_%28file_format%29 PLS], Winamp [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3U M3U] and [[Playlists#Smart Playlists|XBMC Smart Playlist (XSP)]] playlists | |||
==Working with Playlists== | ==Working with Playlists== | ||
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There are several ways to manipulate playlists in XBMC, one is the [[The Web Interface|the web interface]], another is using the "controller / remote" | There are several ways to manipulate playlists in XBMC, one is the [[The Web Interface|the web interface]], another is using the "controller / remote" | ||
Pressing the '''black''' button on the gamepad or '''"Title"''' button on the Remote control, brings up the context menu. The playlist is accessible via the "Now Playing" item. If the playlist is currently empty, that option will not be visible in the context menu. | Pressing the '''black''' button on the gamepad or '''"Title"''' button on the Remote control, brings up the context menu. The currently playing playlist is accessible via the "Now Playing" item. If the playlist is currently empty, that option will not be visible in the context menu. | ||
You can add songs or entire folders with the '''Y''' button on the gamepad, or '''0''' on the Remote Control. Alternatively, the "Queue Item" option in the context menu can be used. | You can add songs or entire folders with the '''Y''' button on the gamepad, or '''0''' on the Remote Control. Alternatively, the "Queue Item" option in the context menu can be used. | ||
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Switching back to the playlist view with the '''black''' or '''Title''' button (gamepad/remote) and then pressing the '''A''' or the '''Play''' button (gamepad/remote) will play your playlist. | Switching back to the playlist view with the '''black''' or '''Title''' button (gamepad/remote) and then pressing the '''A''' or the '''Play''' button (gamepad/remote) will play your playlist. | ||
Once in The Playlists view, you can save your playlist. Playlists are by default saved in | Once in The Playlists view, you can save your playlist. Playlists are by default saved in a subfolder of $HOME\[[The_UserData_Folder|UserData]]\playlists (separate folder for music and video playlists). | ||
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== | ==Playlists on Remote Computers== | ||
{| | {| | ||
| valign="top" | | | valign="top" | | ||
If you use | If you use playlists to play files on a remote computer, make sure the contents of the playlist file match the file structure relative to XBMC.---(ie, if your using samba, you'll need to use smb://fullpath/file.mp3). | ||
'''Example:''' | '''Example:''' | ||
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"C:\music\mp3s\" is shared out as mp3 on your PC using [[Configuring PC Shares|PC file sharing]] | "C:\music\mp3s\" is shared out as mp3 on your PC using [[Configuring PC Shares|PC file sharing]] | ||
For that to work each item in your playlist file must be formatted thus: | |||
smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/fileN.mp3 | |||
smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/fileN.mp3 | |||
Alternatively, there are settings in [[AdvancedSettings.xml]] for path substitutions in playlists. For instance, by adding | Alternatively, there are settings in [[AdvancedSettings.xml]] for path substitutions in playlists. For instance, by adding | ||
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</pathsubstitution> | </pathsubstitution> | ||
</xml> | </xml> | ||
You could use the same playlist file on your PC and XBMC. That is, anywhere the path c:\music\mp3s\ is found in a playlist, XBMC would substitute smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/ | |||
substitute smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/ | |||
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|} | |} | ||
==Party Mode Playlist== | ==Party Mode Playlist== | ||
{| | {| | ||
| valign="top" | | | valign="top" | | ||
The [[Music Library#Party Mode|Party Mode]] playlist is the only predefined playlist in XBMC. It can be configured via the [[PartyMode.xml]] file in [[The UserData Folder]]. The Party Mode playlist is a smart playlist and can be configured as seen below. | The [[Music Library#Party Mode|Party Mode]] music playlist is the only predefined playlist in XBMC. It can be configured via the [[PartyMode.xml]] file in [[The UserData Folder]]. The Party Mode playlist is a smart playlist and can be configured as seen below. | ||
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XBMC now supports "Smart" playlists for music, which essentially use a set of rules to limit the songs from the music database.<br> | |||
XBMC now supports "Smart" playlists, which essentially use a set of rules to limit the songs from the music database. | Smart playlists can be created either by using the built-in GUI Smart Playlist Editor accessible from the Playlist section, or by creating an xml file with the extension .xsp (XBMC Smart Playlist). | ||
===Format of a Smart Playlist File=== | ===Format of a Smart Playlist File=== | ||
Smart playlists are plain text files that can be parsed by an xml reader. Any text editor can be used to create them.<br> | |||
Smart playlists are | The format is as follows: | ||
<xml> | <xml> | ||
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Basically there are 2 header tags, <name> and <match> and then a set of <rule> tags that define the rules to use, along with an <order> tag to allow sorting and a <limit> tag to limit the returned results. Note that the tags and attributes are all case-sensitive. The <name> tag is the name of the playlist (currently unused) and the <match> tag indicates how the <rule> tags should be matched. If <match>all</match> like in the above example, then only songs which satisfy all the <rule>'s will be included. If <match>one</match> is specified, then songs that satisfy any one (or more) of the <rule>'s will be included. | Basically there are 2 header tags, <name> and <match> and then a set of <rule> tags that define the rules to use, along with an <order> tag to allow sorting and a <limit> tag to limit the returned results. Note that the tags and attributes are all case-sensitive. The <name> tag is the name of the playlist (currently unused) and the <match> tag indicates how the <rule> tags should be matched. If <match>all</match> like in the above example, then only songs which satisfy all the <rule>'s will be included. If <match>one</match> is specified, then songs that satisfy any one (or more) of the <rule>'s will be included. | ||
The <rule> tags, of which there can be as many as you wish, have 2 attributes (field and operator) and a value (the parameter). The allowed fields are | The <rule> tags, of which there can be as many as you wish, have 2 attributes (field and operator) and a value (the parameter). The allowed fields are: | ||
{| | {| | ||
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===Smart Playlist Examples=== | ===Smart Playlist Examples=== | ||
'''Recently played songs''' | '''Recently played songs''' | ||
<xml> | <xml> | ||
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===Combining Playlists=== | ===Combining Playlists=== | ||
The "playlist" field can be used to combine several playlists together. When playlists are combined, the <limit> and <order> tags of the included playlists are ignored; only the <order> and <limit> of the final playlist are used. | The "playlist" field can be used to combine several playlists together. When playlists are combined, the <limit> and <order> tags of the included playlists are ignored; only the <order> and <limit> of the final playlist are used. | ||
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[[category:Customization]] | [[category:Customization]] | ||
[[category:Usage]] | [[category:Usage]] | ||
[[category:User Interface]] |
Revision as of 17:14, 26 May 2007
A Playlist is a normal text file that lists one or more media files (Audio or Video), and plays them in succession. You can either create your own or use existing playlists from other sources, e.g. Winamp M3U playlists. Going to the Playlist item in the right pane of the Music and Videos page will take you to the corresponding playlists.
Supported Playlists
XBMC supports PLS, Winamp M3U and XBMC Smart Playlist (XSP) playlists
Working with Playlists
There are several ways to manipulate playlists in XBMC, one is the the web interface, another is using the "controller / remote" Pressing the black button on the gamepad or "Title" button on the Remote control, brings up the context menu. The currently playing playlist is accessible via the "Now Playing" item. If the playlist is currently empty, that option will not be visible in the context menu. You can add songs or entire folders with the Y button on the gamepad, or 0 on the Remote Control. Alternatively, the "Queue Item" option in the context menu can be used. Switching back to the playlist view with the black or Title button (gamepad/remote) and then pressing the A or the Play button (gamepad/remote) will play your playlist. Once in The Playlists view, you can save your playlist. Playlists are by default saved in a subfolder of $HOME\UserData\playlists (separate folder for music and video playlists). |
Playlists on Remote Computers
If you use playlists to play files on a remote computer, make sure the contents of the playlist file match the file structure relative to XBMC.---(ie, if your using samba, you'll need to use smb://fullpath/file.mp3). Example: You want to play several files located in C:\music\mp3\ on your PC with XBMC. "C:\music\mp3s\" is shared out as mp3 on your PC using PC file sharing For that to work each item in your playlist file must be formatted thus: smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/fileN.mp3 Alternatively, there are settings in AdvancedSettings.xml for path substitutions in playlists. For instance, by adding <xml> <pathsubstitution> <substitute> <from>C:\music\mp3s\</from> <to>smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/</to> </substitute> </pathsubstitution> </xml> You could use the same playlist file on your PC and XBMC. That is, anywhere the path c:\music\mp3s\ is found in a playlist, XBMC would substitute smb://workgroup;someuser:somepass@computer/mp3/ |
Party Mode Playlist
The Party Mode music playlist is the only predefined playlist in XBMC. It can be configured via the PartyMode.xml file in The UserData Folder. The Party Mode playlist is a smart playlist and can be configured as seen below. |
Smart Playlists
XBMC now supports "Smart" playlists for music, which essentially use a set of rules to limit the songs from the music database. Format of a Smart Playlist FileSmart playlists are plain text files that can be parsed by an xml reader. Any text editor can be used to create them. <xml> <smartplaylist> <name>All U2 from after 1990</name> <match>all</match> <rule field="artist" operator="is">U2</rule> <rule field="year" operator="greaterthan">1990</rule> <limit>50</limit> <order direction="descending">playcount</order> </smartplaylist> </xml> Basically there are 2 header tags, <name> and <match> and then a set of <rule> tags that define the rules to use, along with an <order> tag to allow sorting and a <limit> tag to limit the returned results. Note that the tags and attributes are all case-sensitive. The <name> tag is the name of the playlist (currently unused) and the <match> tag indicates how the <rule> tags should be matched. If <match>all</match> like in the above example, then only songs which satisfy all the <rule>'s will be included. If <match>one</match> is specified, then songs that satisfy any one (or more) of the <rule>'s will be included. The <rule> tags, of which there can be as many as you wish, have 2 attributes (field and operator) and a value (the parameter). The allowed fields are:
The operator attribute specifies the rule that should be used to match the parameter to the field. All matching is done case-insensitive. The allowed operators are
The <limit> tag simply takes a number of songs as it's limit. A missing limit tag, or <limit>0</limit> will retrieve all matching songs. The <order> tag has a direction attribute, the values of which can be "ascending" or "descending", and it's value is a field as above, or can be <order>random</order> if you want a random ordering returned. Note that random should be used with care - it is quite slow if the returned results from the <rule> sets is large (> 500 items). The above example, therefore selects all songs whose artist field is U2 and whose year field is greater than 1990, orders them by the number of times they've been played (most played first) then limits it to just 50. Thus, the top 50 songs you've played from all U2 songs published after 1990. Smart playlists should be placed in your $HOME\UserData\playlists\music folder on the xbox harddisk. They cannot be read off of remote shares at present. Smart Playlist ExamplesRecently played songs <xml> <smartplaylist> <name>Recently Played Songs</name> <match>all</match> <rule field="lastplayed" operator="inthelast">2 weeks</rule> <order direction="descending">lastplayed</order> </smartplaylist> </xml> Top 100 songs <xml> <smartplaylist> <name>Top 100 Songs</name> <match>all</match> <rule field="playcount" operator="greaterthan">0</rule> <order direction="descending">playcount</order> <limit>100</limit> </smartplaylist> </xml> Rock music from the 1970s <xml> <smartplaylist> <name>Rock Music from the 1970s</name> <match>all</match> <rule field="genre" operator="is">Rock</rule> <rule field="year" operator="greaterthan">1969</rule> <rule field="year" operator="lessthan">1980</rule> </smartplaylist> </xml> Combining PlaylistsThe "playlist" field can be used to combine several playlists together. When playlists are combined, the <limit> and <order> tags of the included playlists are ignored; only the <order> and <limit> of the final playlist are used. As a simple example, lets create a new playlist combining the "Rock Music from the 1970s" and "Recently Played Songs" playlists above, to produce a playlist with the recently played rock songs from the 1970s. Recently played rock tracks from the 1970s <xml> <smartplaylist> <name>Recently played Rock Tracks from the 1970s</name> <match>all</match> <rule field="playlist" operator="is">Rock Music from the 1970s</rule> <rule field="playlist" operator="is">Recently Played Songs</rule> </smartplaylist> </xml> Using this system allows very complex queries to be built. Note that in a single playlist, you can only match ALL of the rules, or ONE (or more) of the rules. This is basically either ANDing the conditions together, or ORing them together. You cannot mix AND with OR in a single playlist. To build up a playlist with both AND and OR operations on the rules, you use multiple playlists to group the AND operations and the OR operations, then combine them as above. |