Previous button in notification on first track exits queue despite repeat category?

[sardonicus87]

So, I can't seem to find a related option for this, is this intended behavior or is it not working right?

So, I'll have a queue setup of a few songs. I have the repeat set to "Repeat Category" and on the last song in the Queue, if I hit next, it starts over at the beginning (which is what I want and as expected).

But if I am on the first track in the queue and I hit the previous button, it exits the queue and starts playing the last track/category that was played before the queue instead of going around to the last track in the queue (not what I want).

This is when using the notification to change tracks, I haven't tried it within the player UI.

Am I missing something here? How do I ensure that hitting the previous button in the notification while on the first track stays in the current queue and just wraps around to the last song in the queue?

[andrewilley]

By default, the Queue does not actually respect the Repeat (or Shuffle) icons at all, it simply plays all of the queued songs in order and then exits. Using using '>>' at the end of the Queue would play the next regular playback track, while pressing '<<' to go backward if you are listening to the first Queued item would result in playback returning to the previous regular playback track.

There are two settings that can adjust that behaviour:

Settings=>Library=>Queue=>Ignore Shuffle. This is ON by default (I think?) and turning it OFF causes the Queue to be played randomly whenever the Player Screen 'Shuffle' icon is enabled.

Settings=>Library=>Queue=>On Queue End. The default is 'Return to Previous Category' (i.e. exit from Queue when it is finished) but you can also set it to 'Stay in Queue / Repeat Queue'. If you set that option, after the last song in the Queue is finished, playback will either stop or, if the 'Repeat' icon is on, it will go back and repeat the queue again. The same thing would happen if you pressed '>>' when listening to the last track in the Queue, it would allow the Queue to repeat. However the control only affects what happens when the Queue is finished, so if you press the '<<' button at the beginning of the queue, the normal behaviour would not be modified (by design) and the Queue would exit back to the previous regular playback track.

I'm going to move this to Feature Requests, as I can see that behaviour is something that you might perhaps expect to occur - even though the control is technically doing exact what the Setting describes.

Andre 

 

 

[sardonicus87]

3 hours ago, andrewilley said:

By default, the Queue does not actually respect the Repeat (or Shuffle) icons at all, it simply plays all of the queued songs in order and then exits. Using using '>>' at the end of the Queue would play the next regular playback track, while pressing '<<' to go backward if you are listening to the first Queued item would result in playback returning to the previous regular playback track.

There are two settings that can adjust that behaviour:

Settings=>Library=>Queue=>Ignore Shuffle. This is ON by default (I think?) and turning it OFF causes the Queue to be played randomly whenever the Player Screen 'Shuffle' icon is enabled.

Settings=>Library=>Queue=>On Queue End. The default is 'Return to Previous Category' (i.e. exit from Queue when it is finished) but you can also set it to 'Stay in Queue / Repeat Queue'. If you set that option, after the last song in the Queue is finished, playback will either stop or, if the 'Repeat' icon is on, it will go back and repeat the queue again. The same thing would happen if you pressed '>>' when listening to the last track in the Queue, it would allow the Queue to repeat. However the control only affects what happens when the Queue is finished, so if you press the '<<' button at the beginning of the queue, the normal behaviour would not be modified (by design) and the Queue would exit back to the previous regular playback track.

I'm going to move this to Feature Requests, as I can see that behaviour is something that you might perhaps expect to occur - even though the control is technically doing exact what the Setting describes.

Andre 

 

 

Yeah I have those options set already so that when the queue naturally ends, it starts over from the beginning and if I am on the last track and hit the >> button, it starts over again at the beginning.

Just wasn't sure if hitting << while on the first track should jump it to the end.

It's easier when you are at the beginning of the queue of 100 tracks to go backward if you want to hear something at the end of the queue rather than having to skip forward several times to get to the end.

Edited April 26, 2023 by sardonicus87

[andrewilley]

6 hours ago, sardonicus87 said:

Just wasn't sure if hitting << while on the first track should jump it to the end.

Technically it is behaving as intended, because the option we've disussed only defines what happens when playback reaches the end of the queue. Pressing << at the beginning is still meant to exit back to regular playback, at a position before the Queue was first started.
 

That said, there has been some discussion recently around a Feature Request for Poweramp to include a new 'Queue Only' mode, where the Queue is then considered to be the normal/only playback method, and Category-based listening is not available at all. This would mimic some other audio players which only work by creating a list of songs to hear, rather than playing sequential Artists, Albums, Folders, etc which is Poweramp's design philosophy. There are quite a lot of interacting elements which would need to be redesigned to make that sort of option work though, and a lot of testing to ensure something hadn't been missed, so I doubt it's on the imminent horizon.

Amongst other things, such a mode would mean:

• If the Queue is empty, nothing will be shown as a "current song" within the Player Screen, and the control buttons for Play/Pause, >>, etc would not do anything.
• The Repeat and Shuffle modes would become simpler toggles, with no ability to see 'Categories' other than the current list of enqueued tracks.
• <<< and >>> button functionality (and guesture swipes) would be unavailable.
• << and >> would not allow moving beyond the currently enqueued songs, and if 'Repeat' was active then playback would jump to the other end of the queue (as per your request). This is already partly supported by existing options.
• Tapping on a title in any Library view would simply add that song to the queue, or multiple songs if you tapped on an Album, Folder, Playlist, etc. Adding a first song would start playback of the Queue. The Queue would still be just a sequential list of songs, which you could re-order at will. This is already partly supported by existing options.

There are probably lots of other subsystems that would be impacted that I haven't considered, hence my comment about a lot of testing being needed.

Andre

[w3wilkes]

What a great option to have a Queue only mode. This would be a major enhancement to an already great product.

[andrewilley]

16 hours ago, w3wilkes said:

What a great option to have a Queue only mode.

It was discussed recently in parallel with a request for a 'Now Playing' screen that regardless of the current playback Category or Shuffle modes would be able to show you (as a long flat list, like 'All Songs') exactly what songs are planned to be played soon and what has already been played.

[Edit] But then you would know that, as I've just noticed that you started the discussion...

Andre