Want to configure Album/Track view - leave off Artwork and Summary

[marcsansoucie]

I recently upgraded to MM5 from MM4, while changing computers from Windows 10 to 11. I am seeing what is for me a bit of a functional regression.

I organize my catalog with AlbumArtist as the top level. When I click the name of an AlbumArtist in the Browser pane, I expect to see - and do see - a list of all albums associated with that AlbumArtist. With MM4, the list contained all of the individual tracks as well, so I had a complete view of everything by that AlbumArtist, sorted according to my sort settings.

Under MM5 (using the Monkey Groove skin), the Main Panel shows the list of albums, but:

Each album shows at most 4 tracks
Each album shows album art or a placeholder
Each album shows a "summary" which for me is not helpful

When I am managing my collection I do not want or need Album Art or the Summary. I want to see a MM4-style list of all albums and tracks under the selected AlbumArtist.

Can this be configured?

Thank you,

Marc San Soucie
Oregon

Screen cap of browser and album list:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IR0y8L ... sp=sharing

[Barry4679]

I recently upgraded to MM5 from MM4, while changing computers from Windows 10 to 11. I am seeing what is for me a bit of a functional regression.

Hi Marc,
I am sure that they would say that MM5 has more flexibility with regard to display options.
This is true, but there are some losses. Whether it is a regression is a matter of opinion.
I don't find it to be so.

Under MM5 (using the Monkey Groove skin), the Main Panel shows the list of albums, but:

Each album shows at most 4 tracks
Each album shows album art or a placeholder
Each album shows a "summary" which for me is not helpful

When I am managing my collection I do not want or need Album Art or the Summary. I want to see a MM4-style list of all albums and tracks under the selected AlbumArtist.

Can this be configured?

Your image shows what you have achieved with MM5.
A reminder of what was possible in MM4 would have been more helpful. It is hard to see exactly what you are aiming for.
The image shows what appears to be a series of 1 track albums .. What is going on there? You have a series of 1 track Strauss albums?

I think that MM4 allowed you to specified how many tracks to display, by default, in what is now called List By Album view.
In MM5 this is not possible. The limit is dependant upon the height that you have set for the album art cell; ie. your Art column is relatively narrow, which allows for 4 tracks to be displayed ... although looking at your image, it does appear that there should space for >4 rows. ... Change album art dimensions, by dragging the column to narrower|wider.

If you look at the toolbar in your image you will see an icon with two vertical arrows pointing at each other. That allows you to toggle between full and truncated track display. You can setup a Hot Key to achieve this from the keyboard. Look for the "View .. collapse albums" action at Tools>Options>General>Hotkeys.

The setting is sticky, so it should persist when restarting MM5 or switch between AlbumArtists.

You can hide the Columns for the Art and the Album Summary. Right Click the column heading, and take the Hide option for each.
See before and after images. ... IMO the before image is more helpful.

Your other option is to use Grid view rather than List By Album.
See here. I have navigated to Kodály Quartet. I see all of their albums. I clicked on one of them, and am shown the full track list.

Change Views via View>MainPanelView menu option, or the down arrow icon on the toolbar

[Lowlander]

You can switch to the List View.

[Barry4679]

You can switch to the List View.

Yes, that is easier.
The other way shows albums in groups, as I was guessing the he was using MM4 in Art+Details View, with Artwork & Summary suppressed.

[marcsansoucie]

Thank you to all who have offered suggestions! The configuration options of MM5 are in different places than back in MM4, and frankly I don't recall exactly which options I chose in MM4 to set up my preferred layout.

In this case, List View appears to give me what I'm looking for. I am not into album artwork - I live in the "meta" data, and just listen to the music. I know I can call up artwork if desired, but don't need to have it in front of me all of the time.

Incidentally, Barry4679 asked: "What is going on there? You have a series of 1 track Strauss albums?"
Yes, my classical collection (most of my music) is organized AlbumArtist(=Composer) / Album / Title. In the case of many classical compositions, new and old, there is only one track. No sweat - the MM5 (and MM4) database has been plenty capable of handling the thousands of album entries my organizational scheme creates.

Thanks again for all of the great suggestions!

Marc