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Topic: foobar2000 Converter friendliness (Read 4904 times) previous topic - next topic
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foobar2000 Converter friendliness

I'm new to foobar2000, but I always stumble on this step although I dig this player from start. Also familiar with all sort of converters from TMPGEnc, MC Reference, MS Expression, VDub, megui, and many others including popular audio editors. I won't tell you which I like the most, but you can guess the opposite unfortunately, while providing OTOH great user interface for the job

I'm posting this because I feel it as only frustration point in my foobar2000 experience. Please consider making it user friendly if possible and thank you for your attention

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #1 –
Complaints without concrete examples of what you consider to be wrong and how to fix those wrongs are pretty useless, I gotta say. Given what it does, I'm not sure how the converter (especially in its recently-revised form) can be more streamlined. I've used many of your examples and I find them all to be very awkward, especially in comparison to foobar2000.

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #2 –
I could be subjective, but I'm expressing what I thing it's not. Later I found thread that discusses this in various details (I didn't found it with simple search before my post)

Quote from: Canar on
I've used many of your examples and I find them all to be very awkward, especially in comparison to foobar2000.

Please, don't!
I think that all those examples share common sense of dialog interaction or features not possible in foobar2000 Windows control follow-up. Post your concrete examples toward your statement if you wish.
Introducing hyper-links as in-dialog replacement is one thing I first see in a program. It could be fine (it could be very wrong also) if I could follow that flow easily, but after any retry I must concentrate and be very careful what I do there: If I press some hyper-link which represents some setting, main dialog is immediately replaced with (sub-?)dialog where I can choose some settings; there are two options "Back" and "Cancel" - if I press "Cancel" everything is lost (I'm not back in main Converter dialog), if I press "Back" it's back with the new settings I may not like maybe, so I have to go again there in this example case. This is just one example, as that other dialog for choosing name pattern without controls in it.
foobar2000 is not the only program I use so to justify this - I have usual expectation from dialog action, and dislike experimentation especially if I find them unproductive to say at least

I read the thread discussing this and not willing to repeat what it's said there, but I agree with most posts that this system is presets for presets while there isn't quick way to encoder and Go button if you didn't prepare one. I really don't know anyone that uses any converter strictly with saved presets (maybe if some company is using foobar2000 as encoding tool this could be the way to go, but not generally IMHO)
There always will be excited followers to any change in their favorite program for sure OTOH

In short I personally don't like it at all, while every other part seems so neatly crafted
It could be just me, but as I noticed it's not only me, I'll join the club

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #3 –
Quote from: ghostly on
Post your concrete examples toward your statement if you wish.


Quite possibly one of the most ignorant posts I've ever seen...

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #4 –
Quote from: ghostly on
I really don't know anyone that uses any converter strictly with saved presets (maybe if some company is using foobar2000 as encoding tool this could be the way to go, but not generally IMHO)

Actually, I exclusively use presets, because it is much faster to just rightclick any songs in your library/playlist and mouse over to Convert->$mypreset. How many times do you need different settings for encoding (unless you're setting up a test suite for something)? I have one base lossy and a base lossless preset, from which I derived presets for every other format, which I was able to set up in some minutes. I hardly saw the converter dialogue again after that.

I agree that I'd like a tabbed interface better, but this is the way it is now, and it doesn't hamper the functionality of the converter at all, and just takes some seconds to get used to.
It's only audiophile if it's inconvenient.

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #5 –
Quote from: gob on
Quite possibly one of the most ignorant posts I've ever seen...

I don't understand what is your problem? What is so ignorant in your quote?
Don't you think that post claiming all those popular packages are awkward and foobar2000 is the best needs some justification, or am I the one that should be writing "concrete examples"? I even added megui in the list.
Or maybe I'm asking a wrong person?

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #7 –
The good side of the converter UI is: You don't need it often, but use context menu presets.

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Squeller on
The good side of the converter UI is: You don't need it often, but use context menu presets.


Your post reads a little like "But thank god you don't need to use it often!"

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #9 –
 
Quote from: dhromed on
Your post reads a little like "But thank god you don't need to use it often!"
Yes, because it always looks confusing and like a strange GUI desaster to me. I liked it more as it was before. Still I think Peter shouldn't waste time with GUI, but e.g. extend the converter with a queueing functionality. I use fb2k for techie reasons.

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #10 –
I agree. The new Converter UI is not userfriendly. Best UI was in Foobar 0.8.3
Unfortunately my english is to bad to explain why.

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #11 –
Quote from: klez on
Best UI was in Foobar 0.8.3

For those who had not the chance to laugh because they don't know the 0.8.3 Ui here an information: each time when you liked to change the output presets you had to go preferences to change the settings in preferences. Everybody is free to take a look in exactly this preferences to see: guess? - how unfriendly they was!

What do the complaints say: "i am not able to find an overview! I don't know how converter works now! It's too complex!" No, they just say: I don't like it! And because of that they misuse the attribute "userunfriendly" for the fact that their taste is not satisfied. You are not friendly!

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #12 –
0.8.3 converter was more like Winamp's filewriter. Winamp hasn't changed that approach still AFIAK, while foobar took couple of steps forward:
0.9.x converter was half settings in preferences half in new dialog
1.x new converter took step forward without relying on preferences at all, while replacing known converter tab dialog (0.9.x) interface with some new invention

Quote from: q-stankovic on
What do the complaints say: "i am not able to find an overview! I don't know how converter works now! It's too complex!" No, they just say: I don't like it!

I want quick access to encoder and go button!

Quote from: q-stankovic on
And because of that they misuse the attribute "userunfriendly" for the fact that their taste is not satisfied. You are not friendly!

Calling new foobar user unfriendly because they lack some foobar history is no good
Discussing issues is fine if it would mean anything other than sharing your view, which I doubt
 

foobar2000 Converter friendliness

Reply #13 –
Having settings half-half distributed is pretty bad, obviously, so the new converter is an imporvement.

The general concept of the new converter is entirely sound and its preset-based layout is strong. I still think all gripes with it can be fixed with a little bit of button-swapping, re-labeling and slighly more intelligent behaviour in certain spots. Will take a look later to investigate exactly what's what.