Yes. Large box sets in folder view look a lot like box sets from years ago used to look before the CD’s were hidden in the drop down (v1.3 I think?). The main difference is the large folder icons and double spacing means a lot more scrolling.
On the general point of being able to rename and reorganise folders for usability, there would need to be a lot of re-invention of the wheel. There is a lot more functionality to folder browsing than meets the eye in a typical operating system that we tend to take for granted I think. With the playlist folder view for example it is possible to rename both local and Qobuz (and I assume Tidal) folders and move them around. Not so with folder browsing.
At the moment:
Approx. 1/3rd of my library is invisible in folder view because it is streamed content.
Because of a combination of organic growth of my local library over many years with roon and performance limitations on the size of local folders my folder structure on disk is highly fragmented over several NAS and hard drives. So, for example, all my Classical folders are not in one place. In fact I found I had 11 Classical folders. When I try to favorite them I end up with this which is not much use if I cannot rename folders or put them in some kind of logical structure:
I am one of those that welcome folder view as a much more intuitive way of navigating a library especially when I am looking for nothing in particular (most of the time) but it is probably going to need quite a bit of work to add functionality that we take for granted in something like Windows Explorer.
Well done Roon, responding to user requests that mean a lot to a substantial subset of users.
I cannot see the folders view will be used by me any more than I currently (do not) use the genre, composer and composition tabs. I did think when I heard about folder view becoming available that I would prefer it to be an option but seeing it in practice I don’t think it’s an actual issue (for me).
We’ve made some progress on this but there does seem to be people who are still having problems. I want you all to know that we’re aware of it, and further work is underway.
Tags are perfect for this while the folder browser is for providing additional visibility of local files.
Urgh, from some recent posts I conclude that users already rely on the file browser for new imports instead of getting their tags correct, because they are not forced anymore. Fun
Of course they aren’t, but people often go the path of least resistance. Those who started Roon before folder browsing were forced to get their tags in order, and this was a long-term benefit.
New beginners won’t be, and not everyone will diligently work on their tags. I’m wondering if this will lead to two very different Roon experiences.
Should, maybe. But if you design software you find that forcing users to do it how it is right in the long term, although maybe more work in the short term, is often necessary. It’s why we have databases with structured data entry and most other software designs.
For the novice user it may not be obvious what’s best in the long term.
Edit: It applies to myself. I may have dumped everything into a folder structure and told myself „I‘ll fix tags later“, had the option existed. But making Roon work well required to fix the tags right away, and I’m happy that I did
There is one thing which would be great, if it can be added. At the moment when I select a folder which contains many subfolders (albums) and its tracks, I can only add tags on the track level.
However this means in the album view, I’ll have every such tag displayed on every single track.
Would be great it there was an option to add tags also on the album level for the selected folder. So if all the subfolders and the included albums would get a specific tag attached.
Then I could simply find the albums based on the tag and not use the folder view anymore.
Also the tag would only show up on the album info and not on every single track.
Another useful feature would be to add the folders into the Focus feature, so I could filter out tracks/albums/compositions (depending on the view I’m in) based on folders.
I was an early adopter of Sooloos and converted to Roon years ago and have no idea what folder browsing is and Roon has been scanning my library now for about 24 hours and is about 2/3 complete and I sure do hope it will be of use to me! [Meanwhile, I have been without ARC for a little more than 4 months and have my fingers crossed that a fix will soon be included in a new version]
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
134
The file browser will be useful to me. My library folder structure is:
[file source]/[album artist]/[album]
Examples:
HDTracks/Pink Floyd/Dark Side of the Moon/
CD/Jean-Michel Jarre/Oxygene/
And sometimes I am looking for an album that for some reason is not showing up in the library, and for that I have used the Track view Path filter, but with this it will be easier.
The sidebar can also be hidden, and accessed with a single click, which is how I have the home screen set up. The advantage being one does not have to constantly look at feature options one finds challenging.
(1-5 stars) for individual tracks!
