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Topic: Columns UI Filters: Any chance to get them mutually dependent? (Read 4207 times) previous topic - next topic
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Columns UI Filters: Any chance to get them mutually dependent?

Dear all,
I use foobar to manage and listen to my exclusively classical CD collection. To do so, I use a custimized tag structure (composer, workgroup, work, conductor, orchestra etc). For 95% of my usage, the filter structure I set up accordingly perfectly works to narrow my selection in this order:

composer - workgroup - work - conductor - orchestra - soloists - year of recording

C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\Hallo\Desktop

However, in a few instances I would like to filter in a different order, e.g. starting with choosing the conductor:

conductor - composer....

Wright now, when starting with any filter being not the first one (counted from the left side), all filters being left from the activated filter do not narrow, i.e. after choosing a conductor first, I see the results for this conductor in the playlist "filter results", which is in my case not very helpful with e.g. 2,800 results for "Karajan, Herbert von".

What I'm looking for is a way to make filters narrowing in all directions, i.e. once picked any tem from any filter, I would like all filters to show only items relevant for this selection, e.g.: I pick the year of recording first and the filter "composer" (left from the recording year-filter) narrows automatically to all relevant composers for this recording year. Sure, I could change the order of the filters, however, I'm looking for a better solution.

Thanks for any input!

Matthias

Columns UI Filters: Any chance to get them mutually dependent?

Reply #1 –
CUI Filters have the option of sorting by the order they occur in the splitter or by the order they are listed top to bottom in the filter settings; however, that latter setting isn't particularly helpful for those filter sets with more than a few filters. As CUI seemingly has been abandoned, those choices very likely will remain unchanged.

I can think of some reasons why clicking order precedence wasn't included, but I'm not a developer so I'll keep my pointless conjecture to myself.

Quote from: Saitenblick on
Sure, I could change the order of the filters, however, I'm looking for a better solution.

It takes at most 4 or 5 seconds to right-click a filter's header and change its contents, just saying, but there is another option: adding a Tab Stack to your layout with each tab containing a set of filters. The drawback to this is each set works independently of the others so it's likely most of the sets will have only minor differences. You can decide which is the "better solution."
 

Columns UI Filters: Any chance to get them mutually dependent?

Reply #2 –
You have these tags: %composer%, %workgroup%, %work%, %conductor%, %orchestra%, %soloists%, %date%

You have the filter columns spanning left to right using those tags.

You would like the 1st column (composer) to also be the column for (conductor) on occasions.
You would like the 4th column (conductor) to also be the column for (composer) on occasions.

If we have this example album: "BEETHOVEN: Symphonies 5 & 7 - Carlos KLEIBER, Vienna PO (1975-76)"

and we split the composer tag field with multiple values like this: "Beethoven; conductor: Kleiber"
and we use this syntax pattern in the CUI "Composer" filter: "%<composer>%"
then we can select composer OR conductor at "Composer" (1st) column.

And ..... we split the conductor tag field with multiple values like this: "Kleiber; composer: Beethoven"
and we use this syntax pattern in the CUI "Conductor" filter: "%<conductor>%"
then we can select conductor OR composer at "Conductor" (4th) column.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT . . . .

I suggest you abandon Columns UI and try using Default UI (or at least start a new portable DUI installation and test).
Install the component "foo_facets" (Facets) .
Install the component "foo_simplaylist" (SimPlaylist).

Facets allows you to group multiple tags into one filter column, causing a much finer-grained column selection.

SimPlaylist allows you to create sub-groupings, giving you MUCH better presentation of Classical albums.
FYI, here is the Subgrouping preferences from my own SimPlaylist layout:

1st subgroup - this splits the playlist view if value is found in Discnumber tag
Code: [Select]
[Disc %discnumber%]

2nd subgroup - this splits the playlist view if double-colon characters ("::") are present in the track title tag
Code: [Select]
[$ifgreater($strstr(%title%,'::'),0,$left(%title%,$sub($strstr(%title%,'::'),1)),)]


Example of how the 2nd subgroup works:

If track title tag value is:
Code: [Select]
BEETHOVEN:  Symphony No.5 in C minor, op.67   (1975)::   [1]  Allegro con brio

then Playlist Viewer will display:
Code: [Select]
BEETHOVEN:  Symphony No.5 in C minor, op.67   (1975)      <<<<<<<<this is a subgroup heading
[1]  Allegro con brio    <<<<<<< this is a track

Notice how I used 3 blank spaces after the double-colon in the track title value, but the Playlist View does not pad the string right.
This is because I am displaying the text "   [1]  Allegro con brio" in a column named "Track", and its syntax pattern is this:
Code: [Select]
 File > Preferences > Display > SimPlaylist > Name = Track | Pattern = see below

$if($trim($meta(title)),$ifgreater($strstr(%title%,'::'),0,$trim($right(%title%,$sub($len(%title%),$add($strstr(%title%,'::'),$len('::'))))),%title%),%filename_ext%)


-----------------------------------------

Personally, my order of importance/preference when listing Classical items is this (left to right):

%composer%, %workgroup%, %work%, %soloists%, %conductor%, %orchestra%, %date%

I think the soloists are the "stars" of the piece and take priority over Conductor/Orchestra in naming order.

Columns UI Filters: Any chance to get them mutually dependent?

Reply #3 –
Guys, thanks a lot for your input. I was busy the last couple of days and now really looking forward to giving your suggestions a try!

Again: Thanks for your input!