Question about the licence model and browsing through music

[Music-Guy]

@simonc and @simbun
Thank you for the detailed explanations.

The fact that the software can also be used offline after licensing is extremely gratifying.
Do software updates then have to be installed manually, or can this also be done automatically?

I have already set up a test instance with an activated test licence.

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  I've already replied to one of your earlier posts on the dbpoweramp forums but now that you've provided a little more detail I'll reply on here as MinimServer is my music server of choice so I know it a little better - and because I think it's the best one out there :-)

Nice to see you here too. It is very helpful that you know both programmes and their range of functions well!

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  There's an option called excludePattern which takes a comma delimited list of strings that are matched (just a straight textual match) against the files and folders in the music directory, all matches being excluded from presentation e.g. the string 'audiobooks' would exclude that entire folder structure.

That sounds like exactly what I was looking for in this point.

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  As an example, a standard browse tree might look something like this:
n Albums*
n items*
n playlists*
Artist
Genre
[folder view] *

Those indexes marked with a * are a constant and can't be removed but everything else can be customised.

It is a pity that the indexes with the * cannot be hidden, as I have no use for them.

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  Also, rather than have an index (that presented the 4 options) you could instead create them as direct filters (as you have in your navigation structure for Audiobooks) which when clicked on will subset the browse tree immediately.

So, the 4 index entries (*) cannot be deleted, but they can be adapted so that they correspond to this structure:?

• Podcasts
• Audio Books
• Compilations
• Music (without the filtered items)
  

That would be great!

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  One other thing to point out here (as simoncn has already alluded to) is that MinimServer doesn't define drill hierarchies, whereas Asset will allow you to define [Genre/Artist/Album], I have no idea about Twonky but I assume it does as you're asking for it.
With a defined hierarchy you'd select the [Genre/Artist/Album] index and will be presented with a list of Genres, after which a list of artists would follow, finishing with the albums. With MinimServer you'd have to select the Genre index, then select from one of the values presented, then do the same for Artist, and finally select the Album view.

Whilst it may initially seem a little more work it is much more flexible, and with some of the intelligent browsing features it has I bet it'll actually feel quicker.

Is it possible to manually define the elements that are filtered by intelligent browsing?

Another thing I noticed during the test:
When navigating through the given structures, the number of items is always displayed at the top if more than one subordinate element is found.
I have no use for that either. Can this be hidden?

And can thumbnails also be displayed above the lowest level?

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  That requires a little customisation, but we'd be able to help you with that. Alternatively, you could first browse by folder, choose '/music/compilations' and then switch into Tag View to compete your browsing.

The creation or customising of the configuration seems to be relatively complex. At least for me, as a newcomer to the software, it represents a major hurdle, as there seem to be a lot of adjusting screws and parameters.
Can you provide me sample configuration that at least approximates the desired requirements?
I'm grateful for any help!

(06-07-2022 11:34)simbun Wrote:  Finally, in your example navigation structure you have 'By Date', is this a tag that's in your audio files?
MinimServer has RecentlyAdded and RecentlyPlayed which are limited to a maximum of 1000 entries each.

My audio files are all tagged "YEAR".
Twonky has automatically built this structure on them:
Centennial -> Year -> Album