M3U Dropper

Submit portable freeware that you find here. It helps if you include information like description, extraction instruction, Unicode support, whether it writes to the registry, and so on.
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flector
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M3U Dropper

#1 Post by flector »

M3U Dropper creates playlists (.m3u files) from links. Links can be dropped onto the program from browsers, file managers, and other instances of M3U Dropper, and launched with a double click. The list of links can be rearranged, exported to a .m3u/.m3u8 file, or saved to a M3U Dropper configuration file.

Non-media links can also be dropped and launched (e.g. .exe's, URL's). Configuration files contain a screen location, and can be dropped onto "M3U Dropper.exe".

The app is lightweight, open source, unicode, and fully portable.

http://home.comcast.net/~enitzsche/m3u_dropper/

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webfork
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Re: M3U Dropper

#2 Post by webfork »

A quick rundown:

Good:

* Open format is nice (LGPL license)
* Very recent development activity is encouraging
* Does store relative file paths. This is a very good thing as Foobar and Winamp don't seem to do this. This way, you can just dump files on any drive and they'll run according to the M3U data and they can pull from many different directories to get their songs. However, you must make sure you drop them in the same sub folder everytime (e.g. C:\music will need to be D:\music or E:\music not E:\music\other ).

Bad:

* Can't drag and drop files to rearrange them. For something called "M3U Dropper", I was disappointed by this. Dragging and dropping just copies files. This is something Winamp and FooBar both do beautifully.
* Doesn't work with network mapped drives -- must be local.
* iTunes support will probably not work because their directory structure once it gets moved on to an iPod abandons any semblance of a directory structure.

If accepted, I encourage that we make clear what M3U files do: they are playlist files supported by many different players (Winamp, FooBar, WMP) e.g. a workout playlist (files that motivate you), a chill playlist (music that relaxes you), etc. Its better to do it with this tool than your regular player because you can drag-and-drop, it uses your existing Windows environment, and its all nice and open and portable, etc.

flector
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Re: M3U Dropper

#3 Post by flector »

The app is now at v0.28.

File drags with a mouse now work as expected. It is tested and working on a remote vpn mapped to a drive letter, but not tested with a NAS.

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Re: M3U Dropper

#4 Post by webfork »

Fixes verified:

1. Network drives now work. I couldn't test NAS, but I'm 99% sure it will work with Samba devices on XP.
2. Drag and drop rearranging of files works.

Network drive saves are not relative to path. e.g. Z:\music will always need to be Z:\music on any computer you move "music" to.

Great work.

flector
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Re: M3U Dropper

#5 Post by flector »

App is now at v0.31.

Changes:
* Menu options added for editing, selecting, and checking items
* 64-bit version available

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Re: M3U Dropper

#6 Post by webfork »

Wow - that was fast...

* I hadn't thought of it but the global and selected replace options are spot-on.
* The Move Up 5 and Down 5 options are also great.

Great work.

---

If you don't mind feature requests:

* When you click and drag, either

A. Show a line between other lines to show where the file will end up (foobar style):

Image

B. Drag the entire line (winamp style)

* Randomize order
* Checkboxes for hard (Z:\music), relative (\music), and immediate (song1.mp3, song2.mp3) pathways. This would be my lowest priority request as I think the way you're doing it now is just fine and the search-replace tool already handles that pretty well, but I can imagine someone having that need.

flector
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Re: M3U Dropper

#7 Post by flector »

App now at v0.33.

A drop indicator line has been added (which was a very sticky wicket), and randomizing implemented.

http://home.comcast.net/~enitzsche/m3u_dropper/

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Re: M3U Dropper

#8 Post by webfork »

Holy crap that was fast.

* Randomization works great. Repeated randomizations seemed to have no pattern at all
* Rearranging files Foobar style looks and works beautifully.

Amazing work.

While its Christmas in software, I wanted to ask for some more features but the only things I could think to request:

* Giving the replace function a checkbox to turn case sensitivity on or off (or just adding a note that the replace is case-sensitive).
* PLS support (don't think this is really necessary)

flector
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Re: M3U Dropper

#9 Post by flector »

App is now at v0.42 and essentially finished.

Various recent tweaks...
  • * can build and launch a temporary .m3u file with one keystroke
  • * keep window on top hotkey added
  • * can create playlist (.pls) files (for compatibility reasons, .pls files use non-portable file paths)
  • * fixed a color erasing issue relating to the drop point indicator

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Re: M3U Dropper

#10 Post by webfork »

> Various recent tweaks...

Excellent work. Please keep us up to date.

flector
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Re: M3U Dropper

#11 Post by flector »

App is now at v0.50.

There is only one change from v0.42: the application that receives launched files (playlists/double clicks) is user selectable, and uses a fully portable path.

Note that if something other than the default media player is selected, it will receive all links (not just media files), so if a link looks like *.my_ext, behavior is undefined.

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Re: M3U Dropper

#12 Post by flector »

App is now at v0.55.

It can now also write unicode .wpl (Windows Playlist) files, which Windows Media Player plays uneventfully.

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Re: M3U Dropper

#13 Post by webfork »

Great update -- what I thought was just a fairly basic operation has really come a long way. Thank you for continuing work on this.

If you're still available to suggestions:
  • An "export" menu item to send files to PLS "Winamp", WPL "Windows Media Player", or M3U8 "Unicode" format.

    Alternately:
  • Under the "Create Playlist" button, a dropdown box for "Save as File Type" with PLS, WPL, or M3U8 with their respective names.

    This has no other purpose than just a more familiar interface for most users. Of course we can just type in the extension.
Also:
  • Right-click option with the elements from the "Item" menu. I know that sounds redundant -- like the above idea, its just more familiar.
  • Add files alphabetically / numberically. I know this sounds silly but a bunch of files I dragged in (even when I selected 01-10) came out as "01, 10, 09, 08 ..." Maybe also a "Sort" function that will put them back in alphabetical order as well. This would be part of a different menu that would include "Random" and "Reverse Selected"
  • Drag and drop import of other playlist files for editing.
  • "Undo" function for when you make a playlist change you want to take back. Multi-level undo options would be nice but I maybe unnecessary
Maybe down the road, I also wonder if this tool couldn't be adapted to other list organizers. Basic spreadsheet operations for instance, prioritized todo items, or just a program that's a few steps ahead of ListSorter would be really cool.

Thanks again!

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Re: M3U Dropper

#14 Post by webfork »

Now at v0.561 (links are now relative to where the file is saved, rather than to where the app is)
(From the author.)

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Re: M3U Dropper

#15 Post by webfork »

Can someone do me a favor and run a portability test on this program? I seem to use it on occasion and would just like to see it in the database.

Thanks.

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