Make entire play queue editable

[Dommedagsprofet]

There's currently two queues in Spotify:

• The editable queue. ("Queued tracks")

• The locked queue. ("Next tracks")

If you press the  queue button with tracks in both lists, you can see that these two queues follow each other. The editable queue always plays first.

The problem is having a locked queue at all.

You can't empty it without interrupting playback, and you'll have to use a workaround to do so. You can't reorder it or add or delete songs. After finishing the editable queue, Spotify always continues playback from the locked queue.

The workaround is starting playback at the very last item on a page. The locked queue will then have no further items. Then you can continue by purely using the queue right-click function instead of double-click or enter. This adds items to the editable queue. These tracks can then be reordered and deleted as you wish.

This UI behaviour is, however, not very user-friendly and quite frankly really annoying. It's also very unconventional having two queues in a music player. I've never seen any other software using either a dual-queue system or a locked queue system.

Here's a good implementation suggestion from user Styrke:

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Google Play Music's queue system is really easy to understand and use. Just do what they do.

I can describe it by three (3) easy bullets:

• Double clicking a song starts playing it and adds the rest of the list that the song came from to the queue. (The queue gets overwritten)
• Right click one or more songs to add them to the top ("play next") or the bottom ("add to queue") of the queue.
• Everything in the queue can be removed or rearranged by drag-and-drop

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EDIT: I updated the terminology to match the new Spotify. Items are no longer yellow and white, but are now under separate headings and in the same color instead.

[rednblu]

What is missing from Spotify that would bring you back is a simple Users' Manual that would explain how to do the things that you want to do with the Desktop player.

@Doughnuts

Here is the Users' Manual section for "clearing or cancelling the White queue"-- as you so insightfully requested.

* Block Desktop updates and install version 0.9.x as explained at >> this link. <<

* Drag the icon of the current Track from the LowerLeftCorner onto the Playlist titled Empty; then drag that Playlist "Empty" onto the "Play Queue".  Now delete the one track from the Playlist "Empty".  (You can check the bottom of your Queue to see that you have successfully disabled the White queue that you dislike so strongly-- and justifiably so.)

* "Queue" your Block of tracks selected-- Never "Play" them-- and as a result the uneditable "White" queue is always empty.

* I have a Playlist "AllOfSpotify" that you can find under Ctrl-L "AllOfSpotify" that you can simply copy and cut directly in sections to your Queue by

1. Scroll down [Some pleasant fraction] in your copy of that big Playlist,
2. Hold Shift down, Home -- to select the top portion of your big Playlist.
3. Right Click on the selection, Queue.
4. Delete -- to complete the "Cut" to the queue.  This "Cut" step removes the "Duplicate" and "Repeat" and "Loop" plays that the Spotify so-called "Shuffle" gives you every few minutes.

[Doughnuts]

So, @rednblu, in order to clear the white queue, "all" I have to do is change the client configuration, install an older version of the client, then do a whole bunch of steps in the UI.  And if I ever accidently play a track instead of queue it then I have to do the UI steps again.  I used to do the empty playlist trick when it worked, which made the Spotify client bearable, but it still wasn't good enough.

Having to revert to an old desktop client version is not an acceptable answer.  Especially when it doesn't even fix the issue, it just enables a workaround.

[user-removed]

New to Spotify and and came on here trying to find out how to clear or delete items from the queue, which there didn't seem to be a way to do, and was getting very annoying. Now I find this is by design, and folks have been screaming about it for years without any action.

The current queuing system is the most bizarre I have seen. It is complex, confusing and less functional than a much simpler system. Why would you ever have a non-editable part of the queue? I have many years software development experience, and there is no way I'd let something this complex, frustrating and confusing out of the door. It breaks every rule of good UI design, and must be far more complex to implement that something simpler. Any yet all the complaints are put off for years! So, either:

• The code is such a complex ball of spaghetti that the engineers dare not change it for fear of breaking something, or
• There is an ulterior motive to push us to listen to what Spotify wants, not what we want, or
• Spotify either don't care about, or don't listen to their users.

It's not a show stopper for me as I use a Sonos system, and the Sonos controller does have exactly the sort of queue that everyone wants. It just means I won't use the Spotify app a smuch as Spotify would like me to. But if I had to use the Spotify queue I'd be looking hard at other options.

[rednblu]

Does the Sonos controller "prevent repeats" and "randomize" the editable queue with one button click?  I ask because if you say Yes, then I would like to try out the Sonos controller.  Does the Sonos controller cost more than a Premium Spotify subscription?

@user-removed hooked me with the good recommendation:

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. . . the Sonos controller does have exactly the sort of queue that everyone wants.

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I don't see what problem anyone would have with an UNeditable queue-- as long as Every track on the editable queue always plays before any track from the uneditable queue plays.

Have you ever had a problem with there being an UNeditable queue-- if all of the editable queue plays first always?

[user-removed]

The Sonos controller is free - but what it does is manage a hardware Sonos wirelesss streamer. So it's no use unless you have a Sonos system.

Problems with an uneditable queue?

1. I have an album in my queue that I no longer want to listen too. It's liable to start playing as soon as the editable queue finishes. How do I get rid of it?

2. I add an album that has one track that I hate. I can't remove it.

Having played around a little more, I'm even more confused. If I use 'add to queue' on an album it goes on to the editable queue, and I can delete, re-order etc. If I use 'play' it goes onto the uneditable queue and I can't do anything. If I hate the first track there seems to be no way to remove the remaining tracks except by playing another album. 

Sorry - I can't figure out any reasonable justification to make it work this way. It's plain bizarre.

[rednblu]

Can you try this, please?  Both approaches work on >> Desktop version 0.9.x. << 
Two variations . . . .


First variation of solution:

* Never use "Play".

* Always use "Add to queue".  Thus, you never worry about the uneditable queue.

Second variation of solution:

* Never use "Add to queue".

* Never use "Shuffle".

* Always use "Play".  When you want to change anything in the Uneditable queue, simply Add, Move, Delete in the Playlist that you are "Playing".  Notice that the changes you make directly to the "playing" Playlist, reflect immediately in the Uneditable queue.

* If you want to "Shuffle", >> Randomize the Playlist that you are Playing. << 

If you experiment, you can combine those two solutions to great effect to get exactly what you want-- as long as you understand that every track of the Editable queue will play before any track of the remaining Uneditable queue.

@user-removed, Thanks for the very useful information about the Sonos system!

[saarepet]

With latest windows desktop version queue now works a bit better. Re-arranging queued songs now works, but queue only displays 50 first songs in queue. Now if I have more than 50 songs in queue and want to add one song and move it to the next in queue, I can't because only 50 songs are displayed. Songs over 50 are still in queue but I can't see them or re-arrange or delete them after position 50...
I add interesting albums to queue and sometimes I'd like to move some album to be played next or next one to a little bit later into queue.

[rednblu]

Yes.  You need to attach that >> 0.9.x << tool that gives you "edit" control over your whole queue-- even up to 70,000 queued tracks-- if you want to go there!

Here is how to do that in 1.0.11.134-- You start with 1.0.11 running and playing; then bring up your 0.9.x fully-functional player at the same time with both versions connected to the same network.  From your 1.0.11, Click the Speaker icon in the lower left corner to select playing from your 0.9.x; you will notice that the Spotify "Connect" feature will replace the 0.9.x player queue with the 50 track queue you so carefully assembled on 1.0.11.

Then you do the following all on the fully-functional 0.9.x:

* Select the track that you want to insert at the top of your queue.

* Drag that selected track onto the "Play Queue" icon and hold-down your "drag" button while your Queue opens; then drag your selected track to the position that you want it in your Queue.

If you still insist on playing from your 1.0.11, then just Exit and then Restart your 1.0.11; your 1.0.11 will notice that you are playing from your 0.9.x and Spotify Connect will copy the queue from your 0.9.x.  You might notice that your "Now playing" track does not change, but when you click NextTrack, you will be playing your 51 track edited queue from the top.

I usually just run my fully functional 0.9.x from the start, but it is always good to have options, right?

@saarepet:  Is there any advantage to using 1.0.11.134 and beyond that you have found?

[saarepet]

@rednblu Thanks, but too much hassle for me 🙂  And so long time since 0.9.x that I can't remember anymore how was it like.copared to 1.0.11.  Less complex UI but slower and more/different bugs 🙂

[melanke]

@rednblu , Can you remove all music from queue In version 0.9.x ?