Radioboss 7.1.5.1 – The bug in Multiple events action still remains.

[tomimatko]

In the end, the bug in Multiple events action still hasn’t been fixed, and what’s worse, it has now become confusing. OK, the commands are working now (although it now activates immediately, I would prefer to see the command in the Playlist), but the bug remains that when you try to add Generate a playlist in Multiple events action, instead of e.g. “generate Funky” it shows:
run PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe "-preset=Funky" "-out=C:\Users\Downloads\funky.m3u8"
And of course, this doesn’t load into the Playlist at all (just like before).

In the previous version, at least I could manually type “generate Funky” and everything worked fine, but now I get the warning:
The "generate" command is not allowed in a multiple action events!!!
But why??? Why complicate things when before it was simple and worked.

And one more thing – in Multiple events action > Generate a playlist, when I want to add a playlist, I now have to check Save generated playlist to a file!?!? Why? I don’t want that, I just want a simple playlist. Just as before.
I get the message: Must be checked when using a multiple action events.
But when I add Generate a playlist in Events, then I don’t have to check Save generated playlist to a file.

And one more question – is this now the direction Radioboss is taking with Multiple events action? That it always has to create some files for playlists, and won’t accept the generate command anymore?

I regret to say this, but since we use Multiple events action quite a lot, this is unacceptable for us (inability to create a playlist). We have to go back to the previous version.
Where can I download the previous version?

 

[Guillaume]

Where can I download the previous version?

Hello,
To view your license information and download older versions: Customer Area
And click : Previous Versions

 

[djsoft]

but the bug remains that when you try to add Generate a playlist in Multiple events action, instead of e.g. “generate Funky” it shows:
run PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe "-preset=Funky" "-out=C:\Users\Downloads\funky.m3u8"
And of course, this doesn’t load into the Playlist at all (just like before).

This is not a bug, generate command is not allowed in multiple action events, so you will see a warning when trying to do so - and in previous versions it was also not allowed, but there was no warning (to handle the case when it's entered manually).

More than that, generate command, generally, should not be used at all. The preferred way to create playlists is to use two events: one to generate playlists, and another to start.

generate command is unpredictable - it will start creating a playlist, then it will start playing at some (unknown) point in the future, once it's created.

And one more thing – in Multiple events action > Generate a playlist, when I want to add a playlist, I now have to check Save generated playlist to a file!?!? Why? I don’t want that, I just want a simple playlist. Just as before.
I get the message: Must be checked when using a multiple action events.
But when I add Generate a playlist in Events, then I don’t have to check Save generated playlist to a file.

This is the same reason as stated before. In multiple actions, if, for example, you use:

• some_action_1
• generate something
• some_action_2

- it will execute some_action_1, then queue "generate something" in the background, and immediately execute some_action_2. Then, some time later, could be minutes, the generated playlist will finish creating, and start.

That's why it issues warnings when used like this.

I regret to say this, but since we use Multiple events action quite a lot, this is unacceptable for us (inability to create a playlist). We have to go back to the previous version.

It actually allows to create a playlist. It's just it doesn't make any sense for a multiple actions event, because order of execution is weird, due to the nature of how the generate command operates. I suggest redoing the events.

 

[tomimatko]

1. I don’t understand why the generate command even exists then?
   In Events > Wizard > Generate a playlist, it does exactly that – Generate. And it has worked like that for decades (even in Multiple action). I don’t have to think about whether to check Save to file, choose a path, give a name to the m3u8. Nothing, I just select the Preset and that’s it.
   In Multiple event action > Wizard > Generate a playlist, all of a sudden I have to select a Preset, check Save to playlist, choose a path and give a name for the m3u8??? So we’ve gone into overcomplicating things.
   Instead of leaving it as before, or keeping it like in Events > Wizard > Generate a playlist.
   How come the generate command in Events is OK, but in Multiple suddenly it isn’t?
   Why do I have to check Save to file, choose a path, give a name to the playlist instead of it just creating some temp file by itself?
   I don’t know how you can explain to me that this is now much better?
   I don’t want to think about the m3u8 file and its path, that should be handled by Radioboss with a temp file. That’s why I asked if the future of RadioBOSS means I’ll end up with some folder full of endless m3u8 files?
2. See the picture – in Multiple I generated a playlist with:
   PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe "-preset=Funky" "-out=C:\Users\tomim\Downloads\funky.m3u8"
   And nothing happens, the playlist doesn’t load. It shows up in the Log, but not in the Playlist.
   Either I’m making a mistake somewhere, or I’m not finding my way around the new circumstances, or generate playlist in Multiple doesn’t work?

 

[tomimatko]

This is not a bug, generate command is not allowed in multiple action events, so you will see a warning when trying to do so - and in previous versions it was also not allowed, but there was no warning (to handle the case when it's entered manually).

1. In previous versions, generate was allowed in Multiple, and it worked without errors or complications, so these claims that it wasn’t allowed or that this is somehow better now don’t really make sense to me.

2. Before, the command in Multiple wouldn’t execute right away but would nicely appear in the Playlist, making everything clear and easy to follow.

My conclusion: before it was better, simpler, and more transparent.

See the pictures for both examples

 

[tomimatko]

For example in the new version, I created an Event with a command Scheduler off and set the Insert position to "End of the playlist." The command executed immediately instead of appearing at the end of the playlist. Sometimes I want a command to execute after a certain song or after some time in the playlist, rather than immediately. But that is currently not possible.

 

[djsoft]

I don’t understand why the generate command even exists then?

It's a legacy from the older versions. When the Playlist Generator was simple.

And it has worked like that for decades (even in Multiple action). I don’t have to think about whether to check Save to file, choose a path, give a name to the m3u8. Nothing, I just select the Preset and that’s it.

Problem is, you don't know when such a playlist will start. Using it in a multi-action event does not make any sense, see example above. The execution order is not obvious because of how the generate command works. I guess this command will be removed in one of the future updates.

I don’t want to think about the m3u8 file and its path, that should be handled by Radioboss with a temp file. That’s why I asked if the future of RadioBOSS means I’ll end up with some folder full of endless m3u8 files?

You can use the same playlist name, or different playlist name for each preset.

PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe "-preset=Funky" "-out=C:\Users\tomim\Downloads\funky.m3u8"
And nothing happens, the playlist doesn’t load. It shows up in the Log, but not in the Playlist.

This is correct because this command only creates the playlist and saves it to a file. You need to load it with a separate event. Probably, using the multi-action event you wanted to use with generate command, but now the playlist will start when the event starts - not delayed by some unknown amount of time.

 

[djsoft]

2. Before, the command in Multiple wouldn’t execute right away but would nicely appear in the Playlist, making everything clear and easy to follow.

It either executed right away or queued into the playlist, depending on what actions an event does. I explained it in another post. This remains unchanged for many years.

See the pictures for both examples

This is what I'm talking about, and why it's not working as expected:

This event will do the following: schedule off, then immediately generate Funky, and then, immediately(!) schedule on. So, scheduler will stay off for about zero milliseconds. Meaning schedule off effectively did nothing, and the whole schedule on/off thing also did nothing. And then, several minutes later, the generated playlist will start. Could happen like 20 minutes later, depending on the complexity of the template.

 

[djsoft]

For example in the new version, I created an Event with a command Scheduler off and set the Insert position to "End of the playlist." The command executed immediately instead of appearing at the end of the playlist. Sometimes I want a command to execute after a certain song or after some time in the playlist, rather than immediately. But that is currently not possible.

If you created and saved the playlist before, then you can use a multi action event:

• schedule off
• C:\path\to\playlist.m3u8
• schedule on

This way, it will do the expected thing: turn off the scheduler, play the playlist, turn on the scheduler.

 

[tomimatko]

Maybe I wasn’t clear, this picture is from the previous version and everything was working fine.
So, it turned the scheduler off, loaded the playlist, and then at end turned the scheduler back on. And that worked without any problems. And everything was very clear and simple.

 

[tomimatko]

How does Multiple work now? For example, does the scheme look like this:
In one Multiple event action is:

1. Command_1
2. Generate playlist
3. Play a playlist
4. Command_2

Or do I have to create a separate event for generating the playlist, scheduled some time before the Multiple event, and then follows the Multiple event action:

1. Command_1
2. Play a playlist
3. Command_2
   
   Oof, it’s going to be quite complicated, especially to remember all those steps and also to make sure the m3u8 files don’t get mixed up or the wrong one gets called.

 

[djsoft]

Maybe I wasn’t clear, this picture is from the previous version and everything was working fine.
So, it turned the scheduler off, loaded the playlist, and then at end turned the scheduler back on. And that worked without any problems. And everything was very clear and simple.

The event didn't work this way in any of the RadioBOSS versions. It had always been working as I described in this message: https://www.djsoft.net/community/th...-events-action-still-remains.12677/post-55048

That is, the event had never worked as you expected it to work.

How does Multiple work now? For example, does the scheme look like this:
In one Multiple event action is:

1. Command_1
2. Generate playlist
3. Play a playlist
4. Command_2

No, it will not work this way, because action 2 (to create a playlist) will be put into background and it will immediately move on to the next command, and try to play non-existent playlist.

Or do I have to create a separate event for generating the playlist, scheduled some time before the Multiple event, and then follows the Multiple event action:

1. Command_1
2. Play a playlist
3. Command_2

Yes, this is the correct way to do it.

Oof, it’s going to be quite complicated, especially to remember all those steps and also to make sure the m3u8 files don’t get mixed up or the wrong one gets called.

The core problem here is that creating a playlist takes time (and in some cases - significant time like 10+ minutes). Imagine freezing the playlist and waiting for playlist creation to complete.

It may be a good idea to have a single event to create all playlists for day/week/other appropriate time period, and then you will have playlists like 01.m3u8...24.m3u8 for every hour of the day, and launch them as needed, in multiple action events or usual events, and execution of the commands/playable items will be predictable and logical.

 

[tomimatko]

Okay, I got it - I assume the second setup is the one you had in mind.

So, first comes Event – Generate with Save playlist to a file checked (for example, 20 minutes earlier), and only after that comes Multiple event with Play a track or playlist.
The issue is that, the very first time you set it up, you can’t choose which playlist will play, because the .m3u8 file doesn’t exist yet - you have to create it manually.
Later on, you’ll need to be extra careful to keep track of which .m3u8 file is which, so they don’t get mixed up.

I assume also, if in your daily rotation you have three different Multiple event actions (with same category), you need to create a separate Event for each of them (or one with several Start time). Otherwise, if you only create one, the other Multiple events will keep repeating the same song order.

I’m not a programmer, so I don’t know if this logic is possible: wouldn’t it be simpler if Multiple worked like before with Generate, but with the option that each action only shows up (or executes) in the playlist after the previous one has appeared?
That way, for example, the last command would only be added to the playlist once all the previous songs are already there.

 

[djsoft]

if Multiple worked like before with Generate, but with the option that each action only shows up (or executes) in the playlist after the previous one has appeared?

There were no changes, so I'm not sure about "before". Also considering what I told above about the generate command - it will never work right this way; if inserted into the playlist, it's the same, it would either not work at all or the result will be unpredictable.

but with the option that each action only shows up (or executes) in the playlist after the previous one has appeared?

This will be even more unpredictable. From your event, you will see "scheduler off", then "generate" then some arbitrary time later, "scheduler on" command suddenly gets inserted into the playlist. This would be a total mess.

To sum all this up: set up event(s) that will create all necessary playlists first. This can be done when you see appropriate. Once per week/day/hour/whatever. Just ensure they are created some time in advance before they are supposed to start. This way it's much easier to manage. And imagine the generate command doesn't exist, it doesn't have any good use anyway.

Also, a good idea is to utilize file name templates like ?hh and others: https://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/scheduler_options.htm
Usually this allows to reduce the number of events significantly, e.g. instead of 24 events that start hourly playlists, you will only have one.

 

[tomimatko]

In this way, everything would be simpler and cleaner.

• For example, each command in a Multiple Event would have a condition: “execute only when the previous command or track has been added or played in the main playlist.”
• The event handler checks the state of the main playlist before “activating” the next object.

 

[djsoft]

I don't see a reason to add more complexity, it's already to possible to do what you need to do using the existing features.

 

[tomimatko]

Ok, I’m currently exploring the option:
run PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe "-preset=W Pop Rock" "-out=C:\Playlist\Funky-?yyyy-?mm-?dd-?hh-?nn.m3u8"

And now I have a folder Playlist with:

Funky-2025-09-24-09-49.m3u8
Funky-2025-09-24-10-36.m3u8
Rock-2025-09-24-09-23.m3u8
Dance-2025-09-24-8-45.m3u8

How can I now load the latest Funky playlist?
Or do I need to create a separate folder for each preset so that playlists for each preset are stored separately and then getfile "C:\Playlist" /newest ?

 

[djsoft]

There are multiple options. The simplest one is to not include date/time in the playlist name. Simply
run PlaylistGeneratorPro.exe "-preset=W Pop Rock" "-out=C:\Playlist\Funky.m3u8"

New playlists will overwrite old playlists.

If you need to keep the playlists you should probably leave only date, maybe hour, I doubt minute makes any sense in the playlist name. This way, you will be able to start them using the same template:
Funky-?yyyy-?mm-?dd.m3u8"

and then getfile "C:\Playlist" /newest ?

I advice against this approach. Using fixed file names or templated file names is much more reliable and understandable.