Smart lists

[Pongo]

Hi Arlo,

The songs in my Show were added over a period of time and are currently in that same order. I know that I can navigate to Databases>[name]>Smart Lists- to change the order to be alphabetical. As soon as I select `by title', my show opens and the songs are sorted.

Is it possible to use this Smart List (sort by title) and have it be the default for this existing Show, or will I need to use the steps above to now navigate to that Show to have this sorting preference?


Thanks

[arlo]

A show and a smart list are different and separate. A show contains the songs you add to it, in the order you arrange them to be; a smart list contains all the active songs in your database.

What are you trying to accomplish?

[Pongo]

I'm trying to permanently sort the songs that are within my one and only show (for now) alphabetically by title...without having to do it manually.

Just to clarify:

When I use a smart list to sort my songs, SLM instantly switches to my Show, where the songs are miraculously sorted by title. If I do this each and every time I use SLM, my songs will be sorted in my Show as desired. I was just hoping that there was a way for my show to remember this, but...I guess that's not a current feature.



Thanks for responding.

[arlo]

"When I use a smart list to sort my songs, SLM instantly switches to my Show" ... no, a smart list is a separate thing from your show. If you've manually added all your songs to a show, they are similar, but they are not the same thing. If you add a song to your database, it will appear in the smart list automatically, but it won't appear in your show unless you add it there.

I'm still not sure what you're trying to do. The purpose of a show is to create a subset of songs in a particular order that you decide. If you just want an alphabetized list of all your songs, you can use the smart list and don't worry about setting up a show.

[Pongo]

But in my case, and on my device...that's exactly what happens.

1. I launch SLM
2. I select Smart Lists and tap- sort songs by title
3. SLM instantly switches to my Show and displays `swipe to start the show'
4. My show has loaded and my songs are now in alphabetical order.

If I navigate back and select my show again, the songs are not sorted. I don't just want an alphabetized list of all of my songs, because by doing that (and selecting a song) I wouldn't have any of the automation or MIDI features that are only recorded for that song in the show.

I guess I'll just have to take the time to manually clean up my mess. LOL! Truth is, I've been compiling a bunch of songs (most have automation, lyrics, MIDI, etc.) and just been adding them to my only show, as I create them. Now it's time to put them in order.

[arlo]

When you select a set list, Set List Maker doesn't switch to a show. It displays the smart list, which looks just like a show and has all the same functionality, but contains all the active songs in your database.

If you want to verify this, add a new song to your database, then view a smart list and it will be there, then view a show and it won't be there.

It sounds like you should just use the Songs By Title smart list and forget about manually updating and sorting your show.

[Pongo]

I still don't understand the difference, since the dialog message on the screen after I tap Sort by Title is `swipe to start the show', but it really isn't a show?

I'll just stick with the Smart List> Sort by Title for now and be thankful that it's there.

Thanks Arlo.

[arlo]

You can think of a smart list as a show that automatically contains all your songs, in a standard sort order.

The "swipe to start" screen only appears when you have song selection actions enabled. Its purpose is to prevent the first song's selection actions from firing when you open a show or smart list.