Hi,
If you have any comments, please send your comments to the nvda-spl list (NOT HERE).
Cheers,
Joseph
Hi everyone,
As part of the SPL add-on development process, I would like to receive comments on the following proposals:
Few days ago, a broadcaster sent a message to NVDA users list suggesting a feature for SPL add-on where various info about a playlist can be copied to the clipboard or to a text file. This is in part inspired by a feature in JAWS scripts
for SPL Studio where playlist info can be copied to the clipboard or stored in a file. After thinking about this for a while and looking at usage scenarios, I felt it would be best to implement this in the add-on. Possible usage scenarios include sharing a
list of tracks for a show to listeners for future reference, keeping a record of tracks for royalty reasons and what not.
When it comes to actually implementing it, I found that it is an easy task: have a list of tracks somewhere, which will then be stored in a text file. But if I did just that, it would amount to “stealing”. Thus I decided to add a little
twist to this feature that will surprise current and potential users.
The result: Playlist Transcripts. For those who may have forgotten what a “transcript” is, a transcript is a textual record of spoken word, or for some people, a comprehensive academic record. I’m calling it “playlist transcripts” because
not only this feature will “transcribe” playlist information, but it’ll also store the transcript into a file or prepare it for copying and pasting somewhere.
But that’s not all: you’ll be able to tell NVDA to “transform” playlist data into numerous formats: text to be copied and pasted to and from clipboard, text file with numerous track info formats, an HTML table, a nested HTML list, CSV (comma-separated
values), a Markdown table, an m3u playlist, you name it. Plus, you’ll be able to not only capture the entire playlist, but also a part of it, and perhaps in the future, limit transcripts based on information entered into columns such as looking at tracks from
a specific genre. And the cool thing is that NVDA has all the necessary building blocks to make this (surprise) into a real thing.
Also, given that playlist analysis features are expanding, I’m thinking about grouping various features under one brand, tentatively known as “Playlist Analyzer”. This feature will group track time analysis, playlist snapshots, and the
new playlist transcripts under a common theme. All three have (or will have) something in common: playlist analysis range, defined by a playlist analysis marker (SPL Assistant, F9). For example, if you wish to analyze an hour’s worth of tracks, you can mark
the hour marker for that hour, move to the last track of the hour and either take a snapshot (showing statistics on tracks for the hour such as average duration and top artist), get total duration (track time analysis), or view a CSV representation of that
hour’s playlist (playlist transcripts).
As for when these will appear: playlist transcripts will be done over several months, and Playlist Analyzer theme will be ready as early as version 18.06 (around NVDACon 2018). To give you a taste of what playlist transcripts will look
like, I’ll release a fast ring snapshot around March 23rd that’ll let you see the playlist data as an HTML table (on a separate window), invoked via SPL Assistant, X (eXperimental).
If you have any comments, additional suggestions, questions, concerns and what not, please let us (this list) know.
Cheers,
Joseph
