[quote=flashbasbo42 post_id=487272 time=1631986623 user_id=115553]
I purchased the upgrade to 5 and am very disappointed and I will be sticking with version 4.
I hope a future patch might resolve the too many problems to list. I'll check back in a year or so
[/quote]

Cutting through the sarcasm, there is no need to wait a year or so.
MM5 has lost nothing in the areas that you mention.
It has been re-organised in some areas.
[list]most of the changes have been beneficial IMO, once you get to understand them[/list]
[list]some are optional, and can be turned off[/list]
[list] a tiny amount are less good, but are under discussion[/list]
[list]some are a questionable half-hearted thought bubble, like the categories you mention ... although they are there, they don't get in the way [/list]

I can see that you are cheesed off, bur IMO you haven't been let down by the MM5 upgrade, which has many really good new features.

But you have been let down by the documentation, especially the total lack of a Migration Guide, where the design aims of the changes are explained, demonstrated ... with advice how to set them off, or tone them down.


[quote=flashbasbo42 post_id=487272 time=1631986623 user_id=115553]
Version 4 has no problem letting me navigate around the genres, artists, albums, tracks, etc, using the tree on the left side.
[/quote]

Ludek explained [url=https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=487386#p487386]here[/url] how to reset left hand side navigation back to how it was in MM4.

The new version of MM5, including the latest alpha release [url=https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=487287#p487287]available here[/url], are pre-configured this way from the get go.


[quote=flashbasbo42 post_id=487272 time=1631986623 user_id=115553]
Categories is confusing, does not help (not even sure how to use it or why), and I can't easily find how to define "category" (although, the thought of having to edit my entire library to include a "category" definition is even more annoying)
[/quote]

Yes, appears to be a thought bubble, and in the absence of any documentation I am ignoring it.

[quote=flashbasbo42 post_id=487272 time=1631986623 user_id=115553]
Text display appears to be banned for some reason in place of showing only album images which then get clipped with just the top part of each image displayed for each track if I attempt to display all the tracks in an album. This causes at least a 2 second delay while the process caches up all the images it can find (and paging down does the same delay).
[/quote]

In MM4 you controlled what was shown in the Main Panel solely via the View menu.
One of the the dislocations that come with MM5, is that much of this control has been moved to the Toolbar ... look for [url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/c26wblw5tzdngzt/dropdown%20%20view%20menu%20in%20MM4.png?dl=0]this dropdown control[/url], or the one to the left, which toggles between each of the views.

I don't see clipped image issue. A screenshot would help.
I don't see any 2 second lags either ... although I do remember that MM5 was little sluggish while it was rebuilding caches, immediately after install.

[quote=flashbasbo42 post_id=487272 time=1631986623 user_id=115553]
I tried the four available "skins", the two "dark mode" give me a headache the fastest while the other two take a little bit more time. I can't even change the font.
[/quote]

See my signature. I think that skin is good effort.

[quote=flashbasbo42 post_id=487272 time=1631986623 user_id=115553]

Version 4 has no problem letting me navigate around the genres, artists, albums, tracks, etc, using the tree on the left side.

Version 5 can't do this and seems limited to 12 hard coded genres (using the breadcrumb across the top). Selecting "genres" on the left just gives me a dump of everything in a form that I find difficult to read even with changing some of the limited display options available.

[/quote]

Hello!

I had this same problem:
[list]only a limited number of genres showed up in the genres across the top in MM5 even though they all showed in MM4[/list]
[list]I could use the search function in MM5 to get a list of songs, so knew they were still tagged correctly[/list]
[list]the Tree view showed NOTHING - was not expandable[/list]

I fixed it accidentally by selecting SHOW ALL SUBNODES under HOME on the Tree......now all my genres show in all views.

[quote]Version 4 has no problem letting me navigate around the genres, artists, albums, tracks, etc, using the tree on the left side.[/quote]

This is still availble though not enabled by default in the initial version, but just click the three dots menu in the tree and select 'Show all subnodes' , see: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7oxjfr5e15cmjkh/Screenshot%202021-09-20%2016.00.24.png?dl=0

1) Genres, MediaMonkey 5 works with any number of Genres. If you're missing Genres make sure they're assigned to files in the Library. Using Music > Genres in the breadcrumbs gives me the full list of Genres used in the Music Collection. The same in the Genres node in the Media Tree and the Genres Column in the Column Filter.

2) What do you mean when referring to Categories?

3) Not sure what View you're using in what node, but there are different Views available: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHelp:Filelisting/5.0#Changing_Views

4) Skins will take time before more are made available: https://www.mediamonkey.com/addons/browse/mediamonkey-5/appearance-1/skins-1/

I purchased the upgrade to 5 and am very disappointed and I will be sticking with version 4.
I hope a future patch might resolve the too many problems to list. I'll check back in a year or so

Some of my issues:
I have over 19,000 tracks in over 60 genres from over 1,300 CDs and albums. I only use this for my local music. I don't use it for video, podcasts, steaming, sharing, or server (or other computer) data.

Version 4 has no problem letting me navigate around the genres, artists, albums, tracks, etc, using the tree on the left side.

Version 5 can't do this and seems limited to 12 hard coded genres (using the breadcrumb across the top). Selecting "genres" on the left just gives me a dump of everything in a form that I find difficult to read even with changing some of the limited display options available.

Categories is confusing, does not help (not even sure how to use it or why), and I can't easily find how to define "category" (although, the thought of having to edit my entire library to include a "category" definition is even more annoying)

Text display appears to be banned for some reason in place of showing only album images which then get clipped with just the top part of each image displayed for each track if I attempt to display all the tracks in an album. This causes at least a 2 second delay while the process caches up all the images it can find (and paging down does the same delay).

I tried the four available "skins", the two "dark mode" give me a headache the fastest while the other two take a little bit more time. I can't even change the font.

I even checked the .INI file to see if I could change some of these settings...no luck.

It may depend what you're sorting on, MediaMonkey 4 also splits Albums if the Album Artist isn't the same for files on the Album.

I understand what you are saying, but it does not suit me. With this new display, unknown artists (for me) are displayed with the same album cover, when I select "artist" in MM5. I have to edit all the albums that have different artists in the same album and choose only the main artist, this to avoid a multitude of covers displayed, I don't have that with MM4. Very tedious to edit the albums one by one, whereas with MM4 everything was in order (the format of the libraries has undoubtedly changed between the two versions). I hope that the audio content is not affected when changing the tags, because if it is, I am considering taking a streaming subscription so i wont be upset anymore with the software versions of my favorite player, until MM5

Also see: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHelp:Editing_Album_Properties/5.0#Multiple_Artist_Albums

[quote=COSMOS1999 post_id=487120 time=1631776903 user_id=106744]
Yes I understand, but then why from the same library folder, the artists are well classified and grouped in MM4 and not with MM5? To avoid having to edit all the tracks, you need an "album artist" button

For example, I have a Johnny Hallyday compilation. Track 1 the artist is Johnny alone but track two he makes a duet with another artist, so in the display you have two covers displayed

Also, why did you remove the letters from the alphabetical classification? (A, B, C ...) it's easier to browse the library
[/quote]

The id3 system - which MM4 & MM5 both use - is designed so that an album has one Album Artist, but each track can have a different Artist. So in your case, the compilation would have Johnny Hallyday as Album Artist, Track 1 would have Johnny Hallyday as Artist, Track 2 would have Johnny Hallyday + Duet Partner as Artist, etc. Since several albums can have the same title, Album Artist is used to distinguish them. That's why the system has both Album Artist and Artist fields, each of which can have different values for the same track (and probably does have for compilation albums).

Yes I understand, but then why from the same library folder, the artists are well classified and grouped in MM4 and not with MM5? To avoid having to edit all the tracks, you need an "album artist" button

For example, I have a Johnny Hallyday compilation. Track 1 the artist is Johnny alone but track two he makes a duet with another artist, so in the display you have two covers displayed

Also, why did you remove the letters from the alphabetical classification? (A, B, C ...) it's easier to browse the library

In both MediaMonkey 4 and 5 the Album Artist needs to be the same for all files on the Album for MediaMonkey to see it as one Album.

It seems that the problem comes from the artists button: obviously the player displays several covers, each possibly corresponding to a different artist in the same album. On MM4 there is no this problem, it would be necessary to modify the button "artists", by "artist of the album"

Are the Album and Album Artist values the same for all files on the Album and if so, what are you sorting on?

The artists display is buggy, on an album of 10 tracks, you have 10 covers which are displayed ....
I am going back to MM4 while waiting for an update to fix this problem because I do not like the display of version 5 at all

The alphabetical classification of artists has disappeared? A, B, C etc

I think not, but it may depend on what View and Node you're in. There is the Music > Files to Edit > Unknown Artist node.