Re: Cannot play whole library

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This is another example of inexperienced UI designers

You have a tendancy to exaggerate. This is just one thing they missed. Beside that, a double-click gives you the default action for all important items, wouldn't you agree?

Hm, just tried it, I *can* play the whole library by double-clicking Songs. I believe I tried that once and it did not work. Strange. Build 6324 (Vista).

Making selections by a context menu all day long would result in significantly higher stress, exhaustion, and repetitive motion injuries.

You have a sense of humor, I grant you that.

By the way. I'm left-handed.

Ah, a weirdo. That explains it :-)

Oh, and one more thing. Aren't you supposed to have [MSFT] appended to your name when you post here?

No. I just happen to like WMP11. Try iTunes for a change, and you need to redefine 'inexperienced UI designers'.

Cay

"Dale" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:OLHXbzCaHHA.4808@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The standard and expected behavior in Windows since Windows 3 is to double-click an item to initiate the expected most-common action. The most common action on a playlist or album or your Songs list is to play them. Prior to Windows Media Player 11, the Windows Media Player product team understood this. This was the behavior in all previous versions. This is another example of inexperienced UI designers making changes only as a means of creating something new to market, not based on user demand or an attempt to make the product better.

And getting to a context menu actually does not require a right-click. Technically, it is termed an alternate-click. The reason it is called an alternate-click is that many left-handed mousers swap their mouse button and actually use the left button for alternate-clicks. Why is that? Because the index finger is a more useful and coordinated effort than using the middle finger. The index finger is the primary mouse finger for most users. Using the alternate button, whether it is right or left, is a well-known less-preferred human action than using the primary button - that's why the left button (the index finger for right-handed users) is the default button in Windows.

Next, selecting in a context menu is actually a series of several steps in comparison to the double-click which is actually just a single action to the brain of an experienced mouse user.

To select an option from a context menu you must, after moving the mouse to the item (a good starting point for comparison because either method - double-click or context menu have to get to that common point first) and then stop to think for just a split second that it alternate-click is required because that is not the default click action in Windows.

Next, you move your eyes from the item you clicked to the context menu that pops up.

Now you scroll your eyes down the context menu looking for the Play option. Unfortunately, in the design of Windows Media Player 11, because Play is not the default behavior (which would eliminate the need to be in the context menu in the first place), the word Play is not even highlighted so you have to read each item until you get to the Play option.

Now, you primary-click the Play option - which is all you would have had to do in the first place had they just made it the default double-click behavior because to anyone with any experience in using a mouse, a double-click is not two clicks. It is a single action The mind does not think about clicking once and then clicking again. The mind thinks about double-clicking. One action.

Making selections in Windows by single- or double-clicking all day long is not a terribly wearying thing to do. Making selections by a context menu all day long would result in significantly higher stress, exhaustion, and repetitive motion injuries.

By the way. I'm left-handed.

Oh, and one more thing. Aren't you supposed to have [MSFT] appended to your name when you post here?


Dale

"Cay T." <ct11221@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:uNa2WTCaHHA.4000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
it is more work and frustrating.

Right-click Songs and choose Play.

Two clicks as opposed to a double-click. What's your problem, Dale?

Cay

"Dale" <dale0973@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:A64C7E32-5D11-49FC-930C-684E46ECC705@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You are correct. Windows Media Player 11 has changed the way you have to
play a whole playlist or your whole library and the change is not only
unintuitive, it is more work and frustrating.

Now, you can use the Songs list found on the left. I don't remember what
happens when you double-click that one or if you have to do like you do with
a playlist and right-click and choose Play from the context menu and I'm not
at my Vista/WMP 11 PC to check. But one way or another, Songs is where you
want to start now.

Dale

"miss-baba" wrote:

Have just downloaded Windows media PLayer v 11. In the previoius versions, by
double-clicking 'library' in the side column in the library tab I could
automaically play all the songs in my library; cannot seem to do this in the
new version. Is there anyway of playing my whole library without creating a
playlist which has to be updated each time I get new songs?



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