Adding to Playlists

[Rich]

Keith Hanlon wrote:
> I usually keep Amarok open with the "Entire Collection" playlist
> selected. I'm used to iTunes from my Mac & Windows days, so that's

first, you could try exploring smart & dynamic playlists. just create a 
new smart playlist when you have some time, explore options available.
then create a new dynamic playlist, see how it can draw songs from all 
combinations of smart playlists. enable this new dynamic playlist, see 
how it can help you.

> what I'm comfortable with. However, I have noticed that when I add
> tracks to my media directory, they are usually not added to the
> "Entire Collection." Even if I select Rescan Collection, new tracks
> are not present. I have to browse my files, select the appropriate

first, are they not added to the collection ? or to your playlist ?
you can filter collection with the field above, so check that these 
tracks are not there.
if they are not added to the playlist, that is an intended behaviour (as 
they are added to the collection), so see my suggestion above.

if they are not added to your collection...

on what filesystem are your tracks located ?
if you disable 'watch folders for changes' in the collection setup, then 
click on 'scan changes' button in the collection browser - do these 
tracks appear in your collection ?

> tracks or directory, then choose "append to playlist." Then I have to
> wait for the tracks to load, then resort my Entire Collection so it
> appears in the proper order.
> 
> Is this the way it's supposed to work? I find it tedious and
> unreliable. Or is Amarok not supposed to be used this way?
> 
> I'm really not the type of person that uses playlists. I like to have
> access to everything right in front of me, sometimes listening to my
> entire collection on random. I'd hate to break down my entire
> collection into smaller playlists. I don't even know where I'd begin
> if that were the case!
> 
> I'm using Ubuntu Dapper with Amarok 1.4.3 built from source with MySql enabled.
> 
> I'm just looking for some clarification. Am I using Amarok correctly?

to be fair, not exactly ;)
smart & dynamic playlists are very powerful. they allow you to keep 
short playlists while still listening to your whole collection randomly, 
add arbitrary tracks from the collection to the current playlist - and 
much more.

> Thanks for your help with this issue.
> 
> Keith
-- 
  Rich