What if Beatbox displayed the tracks of an album in a view pane on the right or bottom side (adaptive like Postler) when an album is selected in album art view mode

(Scott) This is a good idea, but there are a few concerns. The first is space/simplicity. I don't want a complicated UI so we would have to make sure to keep things simple and to not require a huge screen just to use BeatBox. Second, the song list would go on the RIGHT side, not the left. And not the bottom either. Lastly, what you are proposing is basically a miller column. This would mix with the already existing miller column. So maybe we should combine them somehow?

(David) Ah, sorry about that, I absolutely meant the right side, not quite sure what made me say left in the blueprint title. What if the Postler-like adaptability were expanded, so if Beatbox detected that it had a small window size then when clicking on an album it would change mode from the album art view (first button on the view changer) to a simple list of those songs (third button on the view changer) instead of adding a new column. If Beatbox were of a decent size, it would display the list on the right of the window, displaying both columns to allow for quick switching. I've attached a screenshot of the implementation Rhythm-e uses which is, as you suggest, a combination of the album and text miller columns.

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/213/6/0/rhythm_e_by_davidraid-d42cf4a.png

(Scott) So what's the difference between that and a miller column?

(David) Ah, I thought miller columns only worked with text lists. If this would be possible to implement, I think it'd be a good view to have as it means less clicks switching between albums and is therefore quicker. Is the idea about Beatbox changing what view it uses depending on the window size or maximized state feasible?

Also, thanks for your quick replies and the work you put into this program, it's shaping up to be a serious contender already to Banshee and Rhythmbox, already outclassing them in looks. :D

(Scott) There's no rule about miller columns as far as I'm concerned :). I would agree that something like this would be very handy. I'll keep this blueprint around for later.

(Scott) Hey David, I'd like to get back to this. How would you feel about using the current popup list when space is limited, but when there is enough space to put a list on the right as we are talking about.

(David) Hey Scott, I'd love to get back to this. Beatbox has come a long way since this blueprint, heh. I've been following the improvements with amazement. I like the current implementation of the popup list, it's a fancy and simple way of showing tracks in album view. I was pretty pleased with it. When space is limited, it should absolutely be in use, I'd hate to lose it.

However, I agree that when Beatbox is maximized, putting a list on the right would be a great idea. This would mean a static, constant list in the same window, allowing for dynamic and very quick switching between albums and, best of all, higher click efficiency. Rather than having to close the popup, you could move straight to another album. It might (?) also make clicking and dragging a track to a playlist easier to code. In deciding when to use this list, it could use the same judging mechanism as Postler, if for consistency if nothing more. A mixture of window size and maximized state.

Heh, perhaps, in time, even a slick slide animation, with the list sliding from the right into view, could be added. If do-able. :D

Work items:
Implement show/hide side track list system: TODO
Create custom FastList for right side in album view: TODO