Grouping tracks for suites

[BLOWERS]

Is there any way we can show the groupings in the album display window (as opposed to album properties)? By tweaking the template?

[Joebugs]

Is there any way we can show the groupings in the album display window (as opposed to album properties)? By tweaking the template?

Hi,

The groupings show in the current album display window (at the moment incorrect; but should be corrected in the next update) no tweaking is required.

[Jazz_North]

joebugs must use the default template as some changes (actaully quite minor but essential) are required to custom templates to get the groupings to show. Here's what I did. I assume you are familiar with the template editor if you have a non-default template. After you have brought your template into the editor:

1. On the CSS tab add the following at the end, just before the printer specific statement (actually I suspect you can add it anywhere on this tab, but that is where Andrei put it in the default template):

td.grouped {
padding-left: 2em;
}

This is to get the parts of the group to indent. As we know there is a glitch and the last part won't indent (or group or something).

2. On the Album Page tab search for dax:volume. This is the section of code that controls the display of track information. I suggest you compare your code for this section to that in the new default template and make the necessary changes (this is the only section of code that I changed and it works okay for me). Alternatively, you can simply copy the whole dax:volume section from the default (it ends at /dax:volume) and paste it over the dax:volume section in your template. I didn't do that because I had made other changes to the default and that is why I suggest you do the comparison rather than give you my code. There are really just two parts to change here. One is at <dax:if(trackgrouptitle) ending at the second </dax:if> (there is ratings dax:if in the middle); this displays the group name. The next is just a couple of lines down right after the dax:tracknum statement. There two lines with a dax:if(trackisingroup) statement that controls whether or not the track title is indented. You may need to fiddle with this a bit if you have modified the original default as I had.

3. I did not find that Andrei had modified any of the Album Preview, Track Page or Track Preview code to include the group field. The template editor indicates that the group variables are available to all these tabs, but I haven't done anything with them as I am waiting for Andrei to fix the "last part" problem before I start really modifying my template for groups. It looks to me as if you could make exactly the same changes on the Album Preview code that were made on the Album Page code.

I hope this enables you to easily display the group information. The grouping is exactly what is needed to make OCD a really useful manager for classical cds. It will require some effort for users to include this information as I don't think it is in the ID3 tag and so will have to be manually added. (I would be delighted to be corrected on this.)

Is there any way we can show the groupings in the album display window (as opposed to album properties)? By tweaking the template?

[Jazz_North]

Let me to add to my previous (too lengthy) response. Yes, the two key grouping fields (trackisingroup and trackgrouptitle) are usable in code on the Track Page. But - and it is a big but - the trackgrouptitle field is associated ONLY with the first track in the group. That makes the code for the Album page simpler - I think - but makes the field much less useful on the Track Page.

[Rob]

Joebugs - thanks. Let me be a little more clear with my question. Will the "group title" field appear in tracks view, next to the track field? If not, I may not make use of this feature. If it does, I may use it a lot.

[frederf]

@Rob... just try it. Edit one.... and look at how it displays.

[Jazz_North]

Track group does not seem to be currently one of the Insert field options in track view. In any case, as I pointed out in a previous post, the track group title is associated only with the first track in the group. That means it would not appear with all the tracks in the group in track view. I have told Andrei that I think this limitation makes the feature much less useful and have asked that he find a way to associate the group title field with all the tracks in the group.

Joebugs - thanks. Let me be a little more clear with my question. Will the "group title" field appear in tracks view, next to the track field? If not, I may not make use of this feature. If it does, I may use it a lot.

[andrei_c]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback in this thread. Next update will have slightly different template tags for grouping:

1) 'trackgrouptitle' will be extended to all tracks in group, not just first one.

2) new tag 'trackbeginsgroup' will be applied just to the first track in group.

3) new tag 'trackendsgroup' will be applied to the last track in group.

There will be no changes to 'trackisingroup' semantic.

Andrei

[Jazz_North]

Excellent news.

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback in this thread. Next update will have slightly different template tags for grouping:

1) 'trackgrouptitle' will be extended to all tracks in group, not just first one.

2) new tag 'trackbeginsgroup' will be applied just to the first track in group.

3) new tag 'trackendsgroup' will be applied to the last track in group.

There will be no changes to 'trackisingroup' semantic.

Andrei

[Rob]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback in this thread. Next update will have slightly different template tags for grouping:

1) 'trackgrouptitle' will be extended to all tracks in group, not just first one.

2) new tag 'trackbeginsgroup' will be applied just to the first track in group.

3) new tag 'trackendsgroup' will be applied to the last track in group.

There will be no changes to 'trackisingroup' semantic.

Andrei

Great - thanks, Andrei