Foobar2000 noob: Show playlist queue

[drdeutsch]

So I'm setting up Foobar2000. It's a PITA, but I'm hoping it'll be worth it.

I have Columns UI, Album Art, Lyrics, etc. Got it all layed out pretty much like I want it, but the one thing that's missing is a playlist queue.

I can double-click on files to play them. I can even double-click to queue them up... but nowhere am I seeing a queue of playlist songs, so as soon as I add a song to the queue... there's nothing to tell me that it's queued or what's coming up next.

Am I missing something here? Can someone point out to me what I need to install/do in order to see the playlist queue?

Using Playlist Tree on the top left and Columns Playlist on the bottom.

 

[nick8571]

The idea of a "playlist queue" as such seems slightly frowned on in foobar2000, if by that you mean a consecutive list of files from different playlists. The preferred method is to manage everything by creating actual named playlists, which are central to the whole concept of foobar2000, and each of which will play back files in the order you specify in the "playback" menu.

You could install playback queue viewer which will create a sort of pseudo-playlist showing everything you've got queued up, but it seems a bit of an afterthought - a better way of accomplishing much the same thing would be to install foo_utils from the 3rd-party component page, and create a default "send to" playlist of your own choice.

foobar2000 is a fabulous app which will reward you enormously if you have the time and inclination to fully get to grips with it, but I think even its most enthusiastic fans would admit it's lacking in the documentation department, particularly for newcomers who are often put off by its complexity.

 

[drdeutsch]

Yeah, after some searching, I got basically the same answer from the Foo Forums. Seems kind of odd to me, but I'll give it a go and see if I can learn to live without it.

If not, perhaps Songbird is in my future or I'll go back to Winamp.

 

[nick8571]

Honestly, do try and persevere with fb2k if you can - especially if you have a huge music collection, you'll soon wonder how you ever managed without it.

One thing I would suggest though is that you use the default interface rather than Columns_UI, at least until you get a proper feel for the app and the way things are done - it's more intuitive and easier to use, although Columns_UI is ultimately more customisable.