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Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 23 Oct 2012 08:30
by Aethir
Hi again...

Once more, something I've trawled for and couldn't find a definitive answer.

How do I force VLC to save my playlists between sessions? Because it's infuriating to have to re-do a playlist every time VLC crashes or after a restart.
I assume it's a simple, small toggle that I simply can't find, but who knows...

Thanks people :)

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 13:44
by Jean-Baptiste Kempf
Export the playlist with the menu.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:30
by Aethir
After some searching, I found the menu option you refer to...
which raises 2 points.

1. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the 'save playlist' option as part of the right-click menu within the playlist itself, as opposed to hiding it away in the main menus where it's not immediately obvious?
1a. conversely, Why does the playlist have no buttons to allow this to be done at the playlist itself, without forcing you to search though menus in the main program window?
2. Why then is it not possible for VLC to auto-load the last playlist used, instead of forcing you to re-load it manually every time I restart the program?

VLC is great for many things, but the method in which it deals with playlists leaves a lot to be desired.
(I refer to VLC 2.0.1 twoflower)

Thank you for your reply; I can only hope that future iterations usher in a few changes!

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 26 Oct 2012 15:05
by Jean-Baptiste Kempf
2. there is the media library for that.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 26 Oct 2012 16:28
by Aethir
2. there is the media library for that.
I think you may have missed the point of the statement. My media library is my entire collection, and I shouldn't have to treat it as a pseudo-playlist just to have VLC load a particular compilation on launch without manual input.
It makes far more sense for the program to simply save the current playlist automatically on closing, and to re-load it automatically on relaunch, rather than forcing the user to manually open a playlist every time.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:09
by MauriceB
I agree with Aethir. Technically, I find VLC superior to any media player I've used but from a usability perspective I find it extremely frustrating.
What are simple tasks in other media players, like creating/modifying playlists, are not at all obvious with VLC.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 26 Mar 2014 03:58
by Pdub247
i know this thread is old now.. but id like to say that im amazed this hasn't been fixed yet! considering its 2 years later and how simple it would be to fix.

i say this as an average PC user who is this very minute looking at a 'favorite playlist' that i cant figure out how to save!

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 12 May 2015 03:53
by Neuk2015
"If you want an answer to your question, just be specific and precise." I should that goes for answering questions as well. "Export the playlist with the menu." M. Kempf, I need details. I understand the export part. I don't know if using the export wizard is what is next. I tried that and the playlist somehow vapourized. The answer to this is to burn a playlist I listen to all the time to CDR and listen to the CDR w/VLC wh. provides superior sound compared to other media players.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 12 May 2015 11:13
by Jean-Baptiste Kempf
"If you want an answer to your question, just be specific and precise." I should that goes for answering questions as well. "Export the playlist with the menu." M. Kempf, I need details. I understand the export part. I don't know if using the export wizard is what is next. I tried that and the playlist somehow vapourized. The answer to this is to burn a playlist I listen to all the time to CDR and listen to the CDR w/VLC wh. provides superior sound compared to other media players.
You need to go to Media, and 'Save playlist to file'.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 07 Jun 2015 00:06
by Neuk2015
Thank you, I'll try that!!

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 18 Mar 2017 06:45
by aitte
Nothing's better than:
1.starting up VLC
2. ctrl+F
3. navigate to video folder
4. open video folder
5. playing and enjoying video

rather than the ideal scenario:
0. previously closed out of a vlc instance which had a playlist (see aforementioned steps ^ )
1. playing and enjoying video - even resuming from the video you left off on! WOW! 2017 BABY! WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN! WOOOO haha lol what am i tpying WOOO!O! HECK YEAH!
WOOO!O!WOOO!O!WOOO!O!WOOO!O!WOOO!O!

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 11 Dec 2017 04:28
by JoeCool6969
YES! Please! There must be a way to save playlists automatically by now. Does anyone know it? Have it remember where I was last session automatically? I think I've figured out how to get it to remember where I was in a movie file.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 14:06
by rtv
I am using VLC player V 3.0.4 on iMac OS X 10.12

-To save playlist, open VLC player, create your list.
-Go up to the VLC File menu, click on File and go down to Save Playlist, the last option on the bottom of the list.
-A small window will open asking you to name the file
It will then create a folder on my desktop with that name and a suffix of .m3u

When you want to listen to that playlist just double click on the folder that was created and the VLC will open and all your songs will be right there.

Re: Saving Playlists between sessions

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 16:51
by rtv
My post above is wrong.
Save your music files to a folder.
Then open VLC Player, go to the File menu, click on Open File, then choose your music folder and all the songs will load and begin play.