Separate button for continuous play

[tomtom]

Checklist

• I have used the search function to see if someone else has already submitted the same feature request.
• I will only create one feature request per issue.
• I will describe the problem with as much detail as possible.

System info

App version: 2.1.3

App source: Google Play

Feature description

Problem you may be having, or feature you want:
Users can switch on continous play from the preferences dialog. But the decision whether I want to AntennaPod to stop after each episode or continue to the next one, changes depending on the context. In order to make AntennaPod work the way I want I would have to always go to the preferences dialog and change the setting. Sometimes I would forget the status of the setting and AntennaPod would continue playing although I'm not listening. I.e. the preference "continuous play" isn't a constant preference but depends on the context.

Suggested solution:
I would like to have two play buttons.

1. Play one episode
2. Play all queued episodes

[Matth7878]

If sleep timer allowed you to stop after current episode would it be good enough?
I think it probably will and there is an existing issue asking for it.

[tomtom]

I can already set the sleep timer to end at about the end of the current episode. But this is cumbersome and sometimes I forget about it. I think the best solution (for me at least :-)) would really be to a have separate play button.

[keunes]

I understand the use-case, but to be honest I don't think it's worth an extra button. We strive for AntennaPod to be easy to use - one of the ways is keeping the user interface simple.

Adding an extra button to the player interface (which now is quite clean) would go against that goal. And since (as @Matth7878 noted) a workaround could become available (see #2146) I don't think it's worth going against the simplicity principle in this specific case.

[ByteHamster]

Another data point: In my user interviews last year, a person asked for such a button, too ("how do I play all of them" when looking at the queue). I, personally, also think that a button would be too much (that's why I didn't create an issue) but I would say let's keep this open for a while to collect ideas and opinions.

[keunes]

I thought this should be some toggle on the main player thing. But actually an alternative approach is to have a 'play all' button (e.g. in a FAB or the app top bar) on the queue screen. At least it wouldn't further complicate the player screen.

[tomtom]

But this would always begin with the first item in the whole list, wouldn't it? It would be great if users could select the first episode and then continue from there on.

[Matth7878]

What about a not discoverable idea but perfect for power user : long pressing play/pause button to toggle continuous mode.
It's not perfect because not discoverable but it could be pointed out in the FAQ.

[tomtom]

I don't think I was addressed by this question. Anyway, I would have concerns about discoverability too but other than that it would be ok for me. It would solve the problem.

This solution would raise the question though how this interacts with the "continuous play" preference.

1. Does this option act as a switch then - i.e. switch the short/long press function?
2. One could add a note there so that "power users" could discover this functionality without looking up the FAQ.

[keunes]

If a button in the queue doesn't work for you @tomtom, then I think I would prefer a new setting in the 'Audio controls' (which should be renamed to 'Playback settings') over play button long press. It is more or less as convenient I would think, but a little bit more discoverable.

it could be pointed out in the FAQ

I don't think any of these settings are big/important enough to be included in the FAQ.

[tomtom]

If I understand you right, you would prefer adding a new (global) option "Enable long press for continuous play" or something like that? I think this is a good idea that circumvents the discoverability problem. Thanks for considering this idea.

[Matth7878]

I don't think adding a new button is a good idea as you will already have a way to do it when you will be able to set sleep timer to end of episodes.
Besides when I spoke about this solution user clearly stated it won't work as it wouldn't be a button he will directly have access to. So IMHO the only solution is long press to toggle preference to play next episode.

Edit :
User was you @tomtom and from my understanding what is proposed by @keunes is to add a preference in player view and advanced settings.
It's not to have a global preference to allow toggling continuous play ? Did I understand correctly @keunes ?

[keunes]

If I understand you right, you would prefer adding a new (global) option "Enable long press for continuous play" or something like that?

No, sorry. What I meant was: allow to toggle (activate/deactivate) the already existing global setting 'continuous playback' directly from the 'Audio settings' dialog (tap on the 'sliders' icon next to the Zzz sleep timer icon to access the dialog).

So: this would not add an extra button, only an extra option in the 'Audio settings' dialog, which is easier to reach than the global settings screen. Not ideal, but so is long-press (hard to discover) and a FAB/new button in the queue screen (doesn't solve @tomtom's use-case).

[tomtom]

Ok. I don't want to test your patience, but what about adding an item "Play from here" to the popup-menu of the items in the queue?

[keunes]

I don't think you're testing anyone's patience :) Happy that you're thinking along!

About that last proposal, I have two doubts: it adds another item to the already really long list of items in the context menu, and 'play from here' doesn't indicate clearly enough that it initiates continuous playback. The latter could be fixed of course with wording. The former can't be easily fixed.

What do you think of my proposal to add a 'Continuous playback' toggle in the Audio/Player settings? I know it's not ideal, but do you think it would improve your workflow to an acceptable level?

[tomtom]

Such an option would be an improvement. My main concern with that option is that it sticks and I will most likely forget the current setting. I personally would rather prefer something that re-establishes the normal behavior once I press stop. But as I said before, such an option would be an improvement.

[keunes]

I personally would rather prefer something that re-establishes the normal behavior once I press stop

That's actually a good point also: let's say we implement a long-press on the play button for 'start continuous playback from here'. When does continuous playback (CP) get turned off again? You say 'once I press stop', but there's not really such thing in AntennaPod. Should CP end when you press pause? (If so: what if you just pause because someone around you asks something quick?)

[tomtom]

Good point. Two comments:

1. If there were two play buttons, this would be no issue since users would always have the choice when switching from pause to play.
2. Since you don't want two buttons or a hidden longpress function, I think the option in the Player setting would be the best solution if the current status of the toggle were visible for the user -- e.g., if the image of the Play button changes slightly when CP is enabled. I was thinking of one or three small dots or an infinity symbol in the lower right corner of the Play sign. Then the behavior of the Play button would be no surprise for user with memory issues. :-)

[keunes]

What do you think @ByteHamster of changing the play button slightly if CP is enabled, or, if it is disabled?
E.g. display a dot next to the play icon when disabled, or a 'stacked' play button when enabled (similar to here).

To determine whether the CP or the normal icon would be adjusted, we would need to know what is the 'normal' behaviour; it'd be interesting to know what most people use. But I reckon that'll be difficult. So deciding on this will be a challenge.

[Matth7878]

There is an area where there is a lot of unused free space and it is a the top. In player view there is no text to indicate on which screen you are and instead it could be used to put more control to access directly some useful features : toggling continuous play.
But I know there is some consensus to consider there shouldn't be too much visible icons at top.

All in all what I think is why not just put it with other audio controls? It's where it belongs and honestly it would be quick enough to open audio settings and toggling a continuous play preference.
When a user is toggling it surely he is smart enough to remember what he did or find what is happening if continuous play is not working anymore. (Would someone not smart enough understand the symbol supposed to indicate if continuous play is on ?)
If what is desired is to toggle off continuous play and next time you play again to toggle it on then what should be used is clearly sleep timer. (When ability to stop after an episode is implemented)

[ByteHamster]

What do you think @ByteHamster of changing the play button slightly if CP is enabled, or, if it is disabled?

To be honest, I would prefer to keep the play button as simple as possible. I think any additional visual indicators make a screen more cluttered and therefore harder to use.

What do you think of my proposal to add a 'Continuous playback' toggle in the Audio/Player settings? I know it's not ideal, but do you think it would improve your workflow to an acceptable level?

I was wondering if we even need that dialog. When implementing #4641, the playback speed bar can be removed. Also, I think that the mono output can be removed because it is not supported in the default player and Android already has a system-wide option for that. The L/R volume is basically non-functional with the default player, too, and we now have the podcast-specific volume reduction setting. So the dialog would be left with only 2 features: Selecting the audio track for videos (not sure if anyone except me uses that) and "skip silence".

Still, I think that moving the setting there is probably the most clean option we have.

[JohnVeness]

The ideal solution to my use-case (below) would be for a button in the playback screen that would stop continuous playback after the currently playing episode ends. The button wouldn't change the overall Continuous Playback setting, just be a one-off action.

My use-case is that I listen to podcasts while driving and have Continuous Playback enabled, which is fine most of the time. But when I'm getting near the end of my journey, I want to listen to the end of the current episode but not start the next one. As I might not know in advance how long the journey will be, using sleep timer (which in any case would cut off in the middle of an episode which isn't what I want), or making a choice between long-pressing or normal-pressing a play button to enable continuous playback or not, is not ideal. That is, I don't necessarily know at the point of starting playback how I want things to progress, but I do know when coming close to the end of my listening session.

Alternatively, exposing the Continuous Playback setting in the playback screen would be OK, but as others have said, I might forget that I have turned it off, which would be momentarily annoying when the next episode doesn't autoplay when I expect it to. This is why I like the idea of a one-time override to stop at end of current episode, while keeping Continuous Playback enabled in general.