VLC 3.2.0 folders vs playlists

[Heartlight]

After using VLC for many years I updated the app today and can no longer see how to create folders on my iPad. I usually load it with videos from my iMac and put them into folders within VLC on the iPad and they’re automatically listed alphabetically. How do I do this in the new version? I’ve tried making playlists but these seem to be sorted in a random order, how do I sort alphabetically within a playlist? Also I’m guessing that deleting a playlist won’t delete the videos which makes it useless for me, at least when I deleted a folder it deleted the content as well.

Any help with this would be much appreciated as the current setup is virtually unusable for me. I would be happy to replace 3.2.0 with the previous version and never update again, but of course this is another option that seems to be harder to do now apps are no longer downloaded and synced via iTunes.

[Catpeach]

I’m having a similar issue, after returning to the App after upgrading I have found that my folders have disappeared and my videos are now sorted pretty much randomly.

I use VLC with my work and I have about 500 videos that were previously sorted into folders. Now that they’re sorted into playlists I have much less control over how thre videos are sorted; I can understand the logic of e new layout; however I agree with the post above. I ca. I longer delete a whole folder in one click; and I also don’t know if all of a selection of videos has been loaded into a playlist correctly. Before I knew because they no longer featured in the root folder.

I feel like this is a bit of a step back from where the software was previously.

[Heartlight]

I’m glad I’m not the only person who feels this. I’ve just spent hours trying to go back to a previous version and failed. It’s looking as though I need to find another app for my videos which is a shame as I’ve been very happy using VLC for many many years.

[60cyclehum]

Please bring back folders and the ability to manually sort I have just spent hours researching other apps to try to find an experience I have had from vlc for years. OMG why

[Tyrestis]

Is it possible to return the folder option? The app was really amazing. I don't understand why it had to be removed, now everything is a mess and I can't find anything.

[ChemEngr79]

I also am shocked that a feature like this was pointlessly removed. It appears that 5 people registered here just to point out that this is a deal breaker...

It should be restored ASAP!

My VLC is now completely useless on my iPad with all my shows muddled together without any structure.

So...what other apps are recommended to replace VLC?

Key requirements for me include: flexible file formats, flexible play speeds (I am usually between 1.3-1.6x), folder structure like we had before...

Grumbles...

[djmst]

same for me.
I also prefer the folder function. For this reason I’ve deleted the apple-movie-app and downloaded vlc. Now it‘s useless for me again...
Please bring back the folder function!!
tnx

[Tyrestis]

Is it possible to get any feedback from the devs whether they have the intention to reintroduce the folder system?

[PenguinVLC]

Or my pet peeve, at least include the alphanumeric sorting of media files within playlists, as we’d expect to have within folders?

[CheapTom]

Same issues with me. I have about 200 videos in my “main” folder, which displays all of them at once. I put them into different playlists (which are like the former folders we all loved). But now they appear in both places. They are properly in the right playlists, but they also clog up all the room in my main folder.
Previously, I had a few strays in my main view that were easy to spot, and all other videos in folders.
Now I have to scroll around hundreds of videos to find them.

[Montu]

It's not acceptable to see all stored videos when starting VLC.
Bring back folders or I will delete VLC.

[whitehusky]

I registered just to say this new interface is awful. The auto-folder function doesn't work, you can't see the file names anymore, and if an item is tagged with metadata, you don't see the right data on screen AND it doesn't sort items that are the same together (like they would have been, had they been in folders). Please either revert back or provide an option to switch back to a list view, or at least provide a way to sort properly and show relevant information. Like, TV shows should be all sorted together if they have the same name, with visible episode numbers... etc. It's totally useless the way it is now. I'm going to have to switch to some other app if this interface stays the way it is, Almost impossible to find what you're looking for, such as the next episode of something.

[dustinandrew]

Registered just to say PLEASE bring back the old folder system! All of my videos are a hot mess right now and the chaos is giving me anxiety

[vletoux]

+1

[nblr]

It's not only about the folders. I wonder how a major change like this was introduced with seemingly no UX testing at all. I mean... it's free software and all. Any user is not entitled to anything, and after all it's great to have VLC at all and seeing it excelling at most things it does. One could probably fork it if one doesn't like it, etc.
But seeing such a great codebase treated with such an abysmal UI change, I feel at least responsible to take the time and give some feedback about this change from a previously-happy-user perspective. Hope this helps understanding the high expectations that VLC built up in the past and why people are unhappy with the recent UI change.

Here we go:
If a user wants to delete a single item, previously that could be achieved by just tapping on the preview tile - or multiple tiles for that matter - and then pressing the recycle bin icon. Done. Clean good fun.
Now, even if I have located the file - which is annoyingly hard to do - after pressing the pencil(?) icon, I need to once again find it in the differently formatted list.
Why is it annoyingly hard to find files, you ask? Folders are gone! This makes it hard to handle more than just a small hand full of files. Even worse: Auto-grouping based on names is gone.This once was a true killer-feature for vlc. It worked so well and covered almost all cases so that I even invested some time into adjustments to filenames in my library to help VLC guessing minor stuff correctly (e.g. episode titles). The only positive change I was able to locate is the progress bar at the lower rim of each preview tile. Everything else that made VLC one of the most refined and enjoyable video apps on i-devices is gone.

Contrary to the "more intuitive, easier to use" claim in the release notes, this not only breaks and removes functionality, but actually makes it harder to use and quite an unpleasant experience if you have more than, say, five files on the device. Probably moving to Plex, which probably fits my use case better anyways. Sad.

I understand that UI is hard, especially custom UIs on i-devices take some serious effort and expertise. But you already had it all. It worked well. Why not keep the old UI around, user-configurable in settings?

[tom86]

@nblr well said.

Why cant they throw in the towel, admit they messed up and bring back the old interface, or at least make it an option in the settings?

It must've been hard to have spent tons of time, see all the harsh 1 star reviews and realize it was all for nothing. Why can't they shove their egos aside and simply bring back v3.1.9, instantly restoring all the great features, their high rating and user confidence?

But no, they can't let their new UI go. So they elect instead to leave us stuck with it while they promise to readd everything that v3.1.9 already had.

You royally messed up devs. Give it up!!!

How do you release new UI changes without disrupting your loyal base? Establish a beta testing program and setup a separate beta version in the appstore.

[Tyrestis]

@tom86
Have they already confirmed that they'll readd the folder options? That would put me at ease.

[typod]

Hi,

I just joined to say I agree with everything that has been said here. This new UI is a car crash. I was excided with I read the release notes, finally I thought some work has been done on the UI and maybe it will resolve some of the niggles I had with the old version. But dear god what the hell have they done.

I have 100's of videos in a long list, I can't see the full filenames, I have had some files deleted and others duplicated. Its a total mess. Automatic folders had their issues but removing them was a massive mistake. I have had to manually add files to playlists which is really tough when you can't see the full name, and when you do manage to add them they appear in a random order and need sorting.

Please sort this out, VLC was an amazing app and now it's unusable. I have switched to a different player until they sort this out.

[typod]

Just updated VLC as apparently they added grouping again. Better but still not good enough. Things are still a mess.

[tom86]

@typod
Whats the other app you use?

[typod]

@typod
Whats the other app you use?

I am trying Infuse at the moment. It seems decent, I like it so far but I am still trying to figure out how do perform certain tasks on it.

There is a pro version, which I haven't purchased yet, but if it does what I want I will probably upgrade.

[typod]

One thing I really like is when adding files via a browser it generates a random password that you need to enter before you get to the webpage. I always thought VLC's open model was good and easy to use but not really secure.

[ChemEngr79]

Looks like there is a "Video groups" that appears to be working like previously for my files...

This seems very promising...

[tom86]

It is good they re-added grouping and is a serious improvement, but it's flawed. They need to re-add grouping like in the old vlc, where it only auto groups if the files match a specific naming scheme. I had a bunch of weird groupings.

They also need to improve the search function, so found videos can either be deleted from the device or added to a playlist. Currently all I can do is play them.

[tom86]

What tasks are u trying to perform? I just started using infuse and it aint perfect, but more than good enough next to VLC. Does have repeated ads unless u subscribe, so i went for their annual $9.99 plan.

I've also noticed that if you drop folders into the InFuse via Itunes, those folders sometimes show up when using InFuse.

Also, all the VLC refugees using InFuse should tell the developer that they switched over thanks to VLC's horrendous update. First of all, this lets InFuse know they've turned customers from a competitor. Second of all, he or she will know that following VLC's footsteps is a horrible idea.

@typod
Whats the other app you use?

I am trying Infuse at the moment. It seems decent, I like it so far but I am still trying to figure out how do perform certain tasks on it.

There is a pro version, which I haven't purchased yet, but if it does what I want I will probably upgrade.