[Ross Campbell]

I'd like to have XBMC add enhanced support for favorites including:

- ability to create folders in favorites
- better UI to manage repositioning of favorites and folders
- option for UI menus to default to displaying favorites, and not just a sidebar, but in a style similar to default menu items.

Since this may be easier said than done, I'd like to suggest that a first step would be to support something like an opml file for favorites and allow users who know what they're doing to hand edit the opml file.

I'm suggesting that favorites should be promoted to a top menu item vs. a star in the corner, and that the rendering of a hierarchal favorites menu should be a full-screen experience -- not just the side of the screen, not a small font.

The next goal would be to create an option for xbmc to start in favorites menu by default.

Then, there needs to be some guidance for how this would be portable to existing skins.

Anyway... here are the use cases for a hierarchal favorites menu, and why I think a lot of people would want to use this for their default browsing:

- ultimate customization - current ability to show 4 or 5 apps under Music, Videos, Programs is too generic an inflexible. Users with many plugins may have VASTLY different use patterns for xbmc that render the default menu options not very useful.
- Existing favorites menu is not useful for a large list of favorites
- There are many things that can be bookmarked that cannot be otherwise put under the Music, Videos, Program menus
- Customizing menus in xbmc is too complicated today and too skin-dependent
- Make it easier to build purpose-built XBMC installs that only show relevant options.
- Elevate the status of xbmc plugins in general. Many xbmc plugins are far more important to users than default menu items.

For me personally, my 'favorites menu would look something like this:

- Live TV
- Video
--- Netflix (call advanced launcher favorite)
--- Hulu (call advanced launcher favorite)
--- Files(Browse videos by file)
--- Movies (Browse videos by file, start in movies dir)
--- Home Movies (browse videos by file, start in 'home movies' dir)
--- Youtube
--- More...
----- PseudoTV
----- Apple Movie Trailers
----- any favorites from video plugins with subdirs based on content
- Music (run xsqueeze)
- Photos
--- My Photos
--- Big Picture
- Games
--- Favorites
----- all sorts of favorites from local games, emulators, advanced launcher, etc sorted how ever I want
--- Arcade (call advanced launcher favorite)
--- Emulator 1 (call advanced launcher favorite)
--- Emulator 2 (call advanced launcher favorite)
- Weather
--- Weather (default xbmc)
--- local weather streaming report

In my opinion, everyone who uses XBMC should be able to relatively simply customize a favorites list like above and have the option for it to be a navigation default. The default menu items are good to get people started, but I honestly believe that most power users if given the opportunity would JUMP to have the ability to build their own menu structure that wouldn't REPLACE the derfault menus, but augment them by greatly enhancing the favorites functionality.

[Ross Campbell]

<cleaned up and consolidated in first post>

Of note: for me, I don't use 'play dvd', I don't use XBMC music, If I could bury the settings menu somewhere, and almost never see it, I'd do that too. But... I do use "music plugins", so I'd still want a Music category... it just wouldn't be XBMC's music player.

So, an interesting question... while I'd really like to see favorites embraced in main xbmc code, would it be possible or easier to implement this as a customized xbmc favorites 'program' app with a unique UI that reads and manages xbmc favorites? Can an xbmc program app launch programs and have them return to the xbmc program app? I assume so, correct?

Upon reflection.. I don't think a plugin would work... because it would have to be able to exec part of xbmc and I just don't see how it would be able to exit back to the plugin after exiting another plugin or exiting a core module in xbmc.

[artrafael]

The leading space didn't come out right...

HINT: You could simply edit your previous post to add the formatting dashes rather than re-entering those items in a new post.

Of note: for me, I don't use 'play dvd', I don't use XBMC music, If I could bury the settings menu somewhere, and almost never see it, I'd do that too.

System/Settings > Appearance > Skin > - Settings > Home window options > Hide - Music
The PLAY DISC menu option should only appear if you have a disc inserted in your optical drive.

Can an xbmc program app launch programs and have them return to the xbmc program app? I assume so, correct?

If you are referring to launching an external app from within XBMC and then returning to XBMC upon exiting the external app, then see the Advanced Launcher add-on.