Playlists - 2 confusing types

[gol]

AS I understand there are 2 types of playlists:

 

1) poweramps own "internal" PL

2) file based PL

 

My questions:

1. Where are the internal PL saved? I cannot find the PL titles when I am screening my file library using a file manager app. Are they hidden/encrypted in a file?
2. What happens to a file based PL when I am adding a new song to it? When I am checking this file after changing the PL the file date has not changed. Are the changes saved in the internal PL file?

The options of importing/exporting PL are good, but in everydays use of the App I would prefer having only one type of PL, the "internal" Poweramp type. Two I find confusing.

 

That would mean: The imported file-PL becomes a "internal" PL. Exporting the playlist (=saving) creates a file, which can be reimported later in case of damage or transferred to another smartphone.

 

I am not sure if I missing somewhat or whether this post should be sent in Suggestions.

 

Thx

gol

 

[flyingdutchman]

Q1 yes, pa playlists are held within the Poweramp database. You normally can not see these files unless your device is rooted.

Q2 a file based playlist is an external (to Poweramp) playlist generally known as m3u or m3u8 playlists. These are simply text files. Poweramp does not alter these, it is able to play them or import them.

M3u playlist may be created by other music players or tools such as New Playlist Manager. As you point out, it is a good way to backup your playlists.

You have understood everything correctly. Rather than finding 2types inconvenient, this actually provides more flexibility and interchangeability.

[andrewilley]

If you add or remove songs from a Playlist that Poweramp has imported from a file, the contents of the playlist file itself are not altered, only the current "in use" copy that is held within Poweramp. This means that when you do a full rescan, the original file version will be re-read and any changes lost. Same applies if you modify the playlist file, the new one will be picked up by a scan and replace the in-memory copy.

Internally created playlists can be written back to files with the Export Playlists feature.

Andre

[gol]

Thank you TheoKlink and andrewilley,

 

andrewilley has made the point: after rescan alll changes are gone. Even when I restart Poweramp, the data based playlist always greet me "not loaded yet".

I stick to it: Having both types is confusing. Importing and exporting ist great, but once imported the formerly file based playlists should be "incorporated" or modified into a "decent" internal database. This would make the use less "confusing". Once incorporated it can again be exported to save the playlist ....

 

I would be very happy you could offer this possibility in al later update ....

Thank you!

[gol]

Sorry to be persistent:

 

What do you suggest, when I have lost the playlists or changed the device and therefor have to reimport the before saved playlists:

 

How will I edit this playlists after this new start? How can I save the imported PL with the newly added songs, when I cannot generate a new internal PL including the old songs?

A new internal playlist would always have to be a fully naked one?

This doesn't make sense to me. How do others deal with this problem?

 

Thank you for your help.

[andrewilley]

There's no easy answer to this own (apart from TheoKlink's app of course). If you use a file-based playlist then it is safe from being lost if you have a problem with the app, need to re-install ROM, etc. However that safety also means you can't edit the FILE copy from within Poweramp, the file-saved version stays the same. Internally created or edited playlists are more flexible in terms of editing, but you do run the risk of losing them if something goes wrong.

Andre

[flyingdutchman]

The way I see it, if you use Poweramp to add/manage its own playlists then make sure you export them each time as m3u8 files after you make amendments. This is the only way to ensure you do not lose your changes. Also, if you import a file based playlist, I advise that you delete this playlist after it was successfully imported. This will prevent that a rescan (a reboot for instance) will revert the playlist back. Alternatively you can change its name so a rescan can not affect the original.

[gol]

Thank you again.

@ TheoKlink: "I advise that you delete this playlist after it was successfully imported"

You mean I delete the imported file-based playlist from the directory which is sreened by Poweramp so it cannnot overwrite the alraedy imported one by a rescan?

That means, that Poweramp is saving the imported file-based playlist somewhere? WHERE? And - Where does Poweramp save this imported playlist after I added another song? How can I save/export this changed file-based playlist?

 

@ Andre: "file-saved version stays the same. Internally created or edited playlists are more flexible in terms of editing"

But once an internal Playlist had been saved and had to be restored it becomes inevitable a file-based Playlist and all the editing options are gone... ! The functionality of the app has then gone.

 

It all could be overcome when imported file-based playlists could be imported/incorporated/transformed into internal playlists.

Are you power amp staff members or "just" enthusiastic users?

I see many other users have questions concerning the playlist confusion. I cannot understand why this is not delt with.

[flyingdutchman]

the pa playlists and everything else is held in a database located in data/data/com.maxmpz.audioplayer/databases/folder.db

You will not be able to see anything in the data folder unless you have a rooted device though.

In the same way, android playlists and track details etc are held in data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/external.db

I think the reason Poweramp uses its own database, rather than the android one, is that this allows them to create their own database structure, making it independent from android, and they can add their own fields such as rating etc. which the he android database does not provide .

Poweramp provides import and export functionality under Setting>Folders and Library>Import System Library Playlists and Export Poweramp Playlists

When you import, pa will import this into its own database, when you export, it will create an external .m3u8 playlist which then is totally independent from pa.

Rather than depending on Poweramp to manage playlists, you can use a dedicated tool such as New Playlist Manager 

 

http://www.playlistmanager.webspace.virginmedia.com/npm/

which creates the playlists in android, then export them to m3u, scan by Poweramp, play. As a result of previous threads on this forum,  It even has new functionality to write the rating and times played to the mp3 tracks. 

[andrewilley]

While I agree the situation is not perfect, TheoKlink and I have given you all the current workarounds available within Poweramp (or in his own external app New Playlist Manager).

File-based playlists are imported into Poweramp's own database system, but those are NOT re-exported using PA's Export function on the basis that they already exist as files, and they will also be reset back to the file-based contents should you modify the file or do a Full Rescan in Poweramp.

My status is in my sig, I am not a dev. I do know that the dev has been working specifically on v3 of Poweramp, which will use a completely rebuilt audio engine, which is what is taking the time. The only real updates to the existing version of the app for several years have been bug fixes and urgent modifications to allow for changes in Android (since the last major Poweramp release, Google has issued Android APIs JellyBean 17/18, KitKat 19/20, Lollipop 21/22 and Marshmallow 23). New or user-requested features probably won't get added until to Poweramp after v3 is released and stable - which will hopefully be before Android releases Nougat, Oreo or Pecan Pie.

Andre