Creating playlists on the Sansa Clip

[daveyh]

The media and data folders are shown after you click on the Sansa Clip icon. Inside the media folder is the music, audiobook, podcast, etc. folders.

[CrowdAds]

[rrfpacker]

I keep reading all these posts about people who say to use WinAmp or WMP or this or that or try this executable or that one to create playlists. NONE OF THESE WORK IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS 2000. I have done everything to the letter on most of these forums and it does not work.

The only way I have been able to get a playlist is to download all my music from the Clip to an XP or higher PC, create playlists and sync back.

Does anyone know how to make a playlist with a Clip or a Creative Zen using Windows 2000, WMP 9. I think it is not possible and am tired of trying.

Thank you for allowing me to rant.

[skip252]

Your posts about playlists not working on the Clip under Win2000 piqued my curiosity enough so that I dug out my old Win 98 machine. I figured if I could make playlists in an even older OS they should work in Win2000.
Formatted my Clip, set the USB mode to MSC and connected. Took a few moments but the system saw the Clip as a external drive and installed it. I guess the drivers I had installed to manage my old Sansa m240 worked for the Clip too. The player showed as connected but the only USB ports are 1.1 so it doesn't charge. Used Bonkenc and WMP to rip several CDs to high and low bitrate .wma, .ogg, .mp3 and FLAC. (slow day, nothing else to do, my NCAA brackets busted already)
Stil in MSC mode I used drag and drop to copy the tunes to the Clips' MUSIC folder. installed and opened a copy of XMPlay and used drag and drop to open various combinations of files into the players main window. I also used the File>Open dialog to add tunes. Saved the playlists back into the MUSIC folder. For the heck of it I connected my m240, dropped the .mp3 files into that and made some playlists.

They all work.

The Wiki says that .m3u files are simple text files that follow a set format. That may be but the version of WMP I had installed on my old computer did not write .m3u files the Clip recognizes. I didn't install MM to try it but it may very well write the leading "\" like WMP. The Clip can't use playlists that are written in the absolute path form but relative path playlists should work just fine.

Suggestions for making playlists under Win2000:

1. Make sure that your Clip is set to MSC mode and transfer the music thru drag and drop. Do not use Mediamonkey, Winamp or WMP to transfer the files.
2. Find a simpler music manager/jukebox to create the playists. XMPlay works for me.
3. Be sure to save the playlist back to the MUSIC folder the first time. If you save it anywhere else it creates the leading slash that breaks the playlist.
4. Check the playlists in an Explorer window using Notepad after you create them, they should follow this format:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:236,Donna Lewis - I Love You Always And Forever
I Love You Always And Forever.ogg
#EXTINF:234,Bee Gees - Emotions
Emotions.ogg


If you see- (note the leading "\")
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:234,Bee Gees - Emotions
\MUSIC\Emotions.ogg
#EXTINF:236,Donna Lewis - I Love You Always And Forever
\MUSIC\I Love You Always And Forever.ogg


the playlist will not work. Either the program can't write the playlist in the proper format or it is being saved in the wrong place.
Believe me I understand your frustration. I returned my first Clip in frustration over not being able to create working playlists simply. Worked out ok though. They went on clearance a few weeks later.
Fortunately I found Skinjobs' instructions and have been able to play my music my way ever since.

[Skinjob]

Originally Posted by rrfpacker

I keep reading all these posts about people who say to use WinAmp or WMP or this or that or try this executable or that one to create playlists. NONE OF THESE WORK IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS 2000. I have done everything to the letter on most of these forums and it does not work.

The only way I have been able to get a playlist is to download all my music from the Clip to an XP or higher PC, create playlists and sync back.

Does anyone know how to make a playlist with a Clip or a Creative Zen using Windows 2000, WMP 9. I think it is not possible and am tired of trying.

Thank you for allowing me to rant.

Any of the methods described for m3u playlists in MSC mode will work on any version of Windows (or any other OS for that matter). MTP mode, pla playlists depend on the MTP drivers installed with WMP 10 or greater. I believe WMP9 had some primitive version of MTP, but 10 was the first that was decent.

From you description it sounds like you are using MTP, so you sould really point your frustration at Microsoft, not the Clip.

Unless you need subscription/DRM support you should switch to MSC mode (I only use MSC). If you need subscription/DRM support you should upgrade to an OS that supports WMP10 or higher.

[rrfpacker]

Thanks to all who have sent replies to help me out. Playlists are still a bit of a mystery and until I research them in earnest will probably stay that way.

I learned about MTP and MSC in the beginning of my journey, so I know to use MSC. I am still learning about relative and absolute file paths, which could be my problem.

Good news is I found MP3Tag a while back and the playlists created there seem to work the way I think they should. I can create a playlist on my computer, save it to a folder, then drag and drop onto the Clip's Music root and it works. I don't have to move the music files with the playlist.
Yay!

This method did not work with my Zen, but I think that's because it doesn't see an m3u, only .zpl and whatever WMP uses.

So I will continue to learn. Thanks again to all for your help.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by rrfpacker

Thanks to all who have sent replies to help me out. Playlists are still a bit of a mystery and until I research them in earnest will probably stay that way.

I learned about MTP and MSC in the beginning of my journey, so I know to use MSC. I am still learning about relative and absolute file paths, which could be my problem.

Good news is I found MP3Tag a while back and the playlists created there seem to work the way I think they should. I can create a playlist on my computer, save it to a folder, then drag and drop onto the Clip's Music root and it works. I don't have to move the music files with the playlist.
Yay!

This method did not work with my Zen, but I think that's because it doesn't see an m3u, only .zpl and whatever WMP uses.

So I will continue to learn. Thanks again to all for your help.

Take a look at this It's got a lot of fans.

[apathy]

Originally Posted by leanmushroom

I Found the easiest way to create a playlist on Sansa Clip, was select the songs you want to create it from (these have to be loaded on to the player), right click & select 'create playlist'.

Hope this helps.

This totally worked as expected Kudos. I'm glad I can keep my existing directory structure on the Clip.

Win XP w/ WMP 11 installed (but I'll never be running it)
Clip in MTP mode

[JK98]

I never used playlists(other than the go list). What happens when the playlist(in MSC) comes to a song that was deleted from the player? Does the player crash, or just quietly go to the following song on the list? What happens with the go list when a deleted song is encountered on the list(or does the player automatically remove the song from the go list when it is deleted?)

[ultrauber]

sticky about this
http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27216

[dbpaddler]

am I missing something? I created playlists in WMP, connected the Clip in MTP, dragged the PL over to the sync box and then synced. Worked just fine. I'm using Win7 if it matters.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by dbpaddler

am I missing something? I created playlists in WMP, connected the Clip in MTP, dragged the PL over to the sync box and then synced. Worked just fine. I'm using Win7 if it matters.

One thing you are missing is that many folks are using MSC rather than MTP. Also some people don't like to use WMP (although I read that it is much better in Win7).

Steve

[dbpaddler]

I use MSC mostly, but switched it over to MTP to create the playlists. I wouldn't call WMP much better in Win7, but it does seem a little more polished. I don't do gapless or have many needs in general. Just need to do certain things consistently so quick and easy works for me. Rip in EAC, check my tags in the zune software, and use WMP for my Zen and Clip.

[corto9]

Originally Posted by RickH57

... I finally figured out how to create & transfer playlists using WMP11 after nearly giving up from frustration. Anyway, in case anyone wants to know, here's the method I'm using:....

Hello,
I did exactly this (however, it's now WMP12) but the result is that :
- The mp3 files are on the sansa indeed
- playlist directory is empty on the sansa

I have a SANSA Clip 4Gb and a windows-7 system.

This is the 3rd time I come back on this problem, I thought software was bad but it seems everybody has trouble (or not) with winamp, mediamonkey or WMP.

Any help would be grateful...


BTW, that's my first post here, so hello to everyone

[skip252]

Welcome to ABi

I'd like to encourage you to create a separate thread listing your exact setup and steps you've tried to create playlists. Adding on to a thread this old with as many confusing sets of directions as I see here won't be the best way to get help.

I'd post your steps instead of referring to someone else did. You may be doing something just enough differently than them to make your playlists break.

I'd list which Clip you have. Clip, Clip+, Clip Zip? What USB mode are you using? MTP, MSC, Autodetect? Are the files on the player or still on the PC? Are they part of your WMP library? Are you expecting to have .m3u playlists or .pla playlists? Which type is WMP actually creating?

A tip, stay away from Autodefect, it's been one of the greatest sources of confusion on sansa players. Pick either MTP or MSC and stick with it. If the files were added under autodefect I'd take them off, pick one or the other and start over. If you're going to use WMP to create playlists from your PC library, pick MTP. If you're going to create playlists from the files on the player use MSC.

[Mrvolbeater]

I have now succesfull created a playlist via mp3tag - my problem is that I made the playlist with music fra both the players internal memory and the memory-card BUT ONLY the music on the players internal memory shows up on the playlist

[skip252]

There's no way to make persistent playlists that have files on both memories I've found using the sandisk firmware. If you have a Clip+ video4fuze has a playlist feature that will makes combined lists but they tend to break unpredictably. There's no software or technique I know makes that them work on the Clip Zip.

It's a firmware, not hardware, limitation. Rockbox makes playlists that include files from both memories.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by Mrvolbeater

I have now succesfull created a playlist via mp3tag - my problem is that I made the playlist with music fra both the players internal memory and the memory-card BUT ONLY the music on the players internal memory shows up on the playlist

and if you had saved the playlist to the memory card, only the songs on the memory card would have appeared.

Steve

[dave61430]

Originally Posted by dbpaddler

am I missing something? I created playlists in WMP, connected the Clip in MTP, dragged the PL over to the sync box and then synced. Worked just fine. I'm using Win7 if it matters.

It's the version of WMP that matters as far as playlist is concerned. I think clips originally worked ok using Rhapsody which came with the clip. It probably comes with the clip+, I wouldn't know since my laptop doesn't play those little biddy things, something Sansa might realize and stop shipping same, since a lot of drives now swallow and spit out cd's without using a tray.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by dave61430

It's the version of WMP that matters as far as playlist is concerned. I think clips originally worked ok using Rhapsody which came with the clip. It probably comes with the clip+, I wouldn't know since my laptop doesn't play those little biddy things, something Sansa might realize and stop shipping same, since a lot of drives now swallow and spit out cd's without using a tray.

Dave:

1) you replied to a post from June 2009

2) your laptop doesn't play what "little biddy things" that Sansa shouldn't ship anymore? The little CDs?

Steve

[Adam K7]

I've tried this:

Originally Posted by mkduffer

Media Monkey

1. For MediaMonkey, you need to first create a Playlist on your computer, then sync that playlist to your Clip.
2. Open Media Monkey and select the tracks you want to add to your playlist. You can select either from your local library or from your Clip.
3. Right Click on the selected tracks and choose "Send to...", "New Playlist", and then name your new playlist and select "OK".
4. Now that your playlist is created, choose it from the library, right click on it, and then choose "Send to...", then "Sync to SanDisk Sansa Clip". If you've choosen files already on your Clip, then the playlist will simply be created. If the files have not been previously transfered, then MM will transfer the files, then create the playlist

Trying to create the playlist in the memory card I have in there, where Ikeep the music. As I speak, instead of creating a playlist, it is creating separate files for each song and duplicating them. It's taken about half an hour to do that. i somehow feel that this is not the way.



I, too, am being driven nuts by this. MM worked fine in my old iRiver, but since I've upgraded (to a Cown X7 for big use and the Sansa clip + for the gym) I've had absolutely no luck with this and I'm close to despair!!!


Maybe I'll try something else, although WMP is a no-go, as when I finally got to add the library, half the files didn't show up in it.