[ubuntu-mono] [Bug 486588] Re: Cannot drag and drop playlist contents after sorting by a column and hiding it

[Mohamed Amine IL Idrissi]

Bug is still present on Ubuntu 10.10.

** Changed in: banshee (Ubuntu)
       Status: New => Confirmed

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Cannot drag and drop playlist contents after sorting by a column and hiding it
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/486588
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Status in “banshee” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed

Bug description:
Binary package hint: banshee

Ubuntu 9.10
Banshee package version: 1.5.1-1

When a user sorts a playlist by a particular column and then hides the column, the user will be unable to reorder that playlist by drag and drop until the column sorting criteria are removed.

This may be easier to explain with a step by step reproduction method.

1. Create a new playlist. Add some music tracks to it.
2. Click the unlabeled track number column heading (the one with the gray column below it and the directional triangle on it) three times until it disappears.
3. You will now be able to drag and drop tracks to reorder them on the playlist. Note how none of the column headings have the directional triangle on them.
4. Right click on the row of headings. Select an unchecked heading to add it.
5. Click on this heading to sort the tracks by it.
6. Right click on the heading you just added and click "Hide [heading name]" to remove it.
7. Observe how the state of the row of column headings is visibly identical to how it was in step 3. There is no indication that the playlist is sorted by a column.
8. Try to drag and drop some tracks to reorder them. Observe how this is no longer possible. This is because the tracks are still sorted by the criteria given by the now invisible column header. 
9. See step 8. This is the bug. The user can no longer reorder tracks via drag and drop and they don't know why.
10. Right click on the row of headings and recheck the column header. Note that the directional triangle is still on it.
11. Click twice on the column header the tracks are being sorted by, or three times on any of the other column headers.
12. You may now drag and drop tracks to sort them on the playlist.

I'm not sure what the most elegant way to avoid user confusion is. The simplest option would be to unsort by the column when it is removed and sort by the user's manual ordering. The worst would probably be to replace the user's manual ordering of the music with that of the removed column. 

RhythmBox seems to avoid the issues involved with sorting playlists by allowing the user to sort music by drag and drop (playlists) or by columns (main browser interface) but never both.