VLC for Android: Playlists items deleted when changing media directories

[DiGjCzMh]

Hi,
there is a problem with playlists on Android. I don't think it's a bug, but a usability problem.

When you go to the settings and change the media directories, playlist contents are deleted. In my case, I first removed the SD card directory and then selected two of its sub directories, because I don't want VLC indexing everything on the card. The items in my playlist were located in one of those sub directories. When I returned to the playlists, they were empty.

I get why this happens, but it shouldn't happen. First of all, the files are still available, so there's no reason to remove them, even if the directory they are in is not a VLC media directory. And then, even if the files were deleted, it would be better to keep them in them in the playlist so you can at least re-create the playlist. Users spend hours creating their playlists and they shouldn't just be emptied like that.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Is it playlist created manually or m3u in the SD card?

[DiGjCzMh]

It's created manually from within VLC.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

And all the items were inside the folders that got deselected?

[gross_atuin]

Hi there (my first entry),

I might have the same problem. I've a (rooted) Samsung XCover4 (SM-G390F),
Android 7.0 (3.18.14-10811636) and I'm using VLC on PCs on every OS.

My VLC on Android "forgets" all Songs formerly known by it. Usually I
don't use playlists on the phone, I simply choose the directory on my SD card
where all music is located, then (after the time of exploration) I see all music
(Titles/Albums/Artists and so on). Then - most times - I choose a specific
album and start playing let's say at song No 1. While playing or stopping playing
music after a while (e.g. with switch to a different application) then all songs
occasionally will be forgotten by VLC. Usually many entries of apparently existing
Artists still exist, but when I go into the corresponding folder (clicking on it),
there's no song. Even some of the artist entries are gone then.
Only thing which helps then: Deselect the directory where music should be searched,
then close the application, re-open it, select the directory again where music is
located, then - after a while - all songs are visible again.

Don't know whether this is a VLC or an Android problem, but it's annoying anyway
Maybe this might be an issue based on Android 7 with SD cards(?)

Hopefully there's a workaround, thanks in advance,
Martin

[ROLAND123]

Hello -- newbie (and idiot) here -- RE: Android & playlists -- I seem to experience same
issues as described in this original post. I have manually created several 'playlists', 'bringing'
the files [titles/songs/whatever the nomenclature] 'into' a particular playlist FROM an Android 'folder'
I had created on a win7 machine & dragged/dropped into Android directory I had created -- named it
XYZ-Songs-Date. Process seemed to work OK. Checked XYZ contents, and was OK. However, I ALSO wanted
to 'import' into SAME XYZ playlist several OTHER files [titles/songs/whatever the nomenclature] which are/were
VIDEO files w/audio contained therein. As I could NOT utilize same above 'importing into XYZ playlist' method
(I suspect due to different 'file type' [.3gp versus .flac]; not certain), I opened the 'video "folder" ' (which had already
been populated w/most of the video files that had been found in the phablet 64GB micro SD card in the
ORIGINAL dragged/dropped win7 file when VLC starts & probably 'loads up its cache' w/compatible media files) and 'play as audio'; which I did; then, went to 'hamburger 3 dot menu icon just to right of small 'menu icon w/a music note' and
brought up yet ANOTHER ARCANE set of hieroglyphics w/what looked like an old floppy and clicked IT (thinking it was
to SAVE that file) and then MY phuching battery crapped out !!!! No, no --- just kidding. My entire list of playlists
showed, so I selected XYZ and hit 'OK'. Which, indeed, 'saved' that item in that playlist. HOWEVER, the 26 OTHER entries
I had made (which took longer to load as audio files than the time to write this stupid post) now DISAPPEARED !!!
PLEASE - someone uv u kids who are 45X smarter than an old phart like me, TELL me howta load BOTH video & audio
INTO a playlist. ALSO, howta arrange them serially by my OWN choice --- NOT by date of publication/alphabetic by
genre/artist/album names/number of florets on a head of broccoli/publisher/etc..... Sorry to drag this out. Thanks.