I go in and sync the files through windows media player, with the playlists created in windows media player, and they lump all the songs together in one list, with no playlists showing up on the playlist tab on the mp3 player itself.
Okay. This has got to be the least user-friendly mp3Â player ive ever seen, but hereâs how you do it.
MSC mode. Open the mp3 player using explorer, open the audible folder in there. Drag in whatever folders full of music you want, to differentiate the different playlists.
Open your music player of choice. open a new playlist in it. click open one of the folders you dragged into âaudibleâ to designate playlists, and highlight all the mp3s. drag them into the âplaylistâ for the computer music player. SAVE that playlist in the default format INTO the same folder you dragged the mp3âs from, on the mp3 player itself.
This, in fact, works. Maybe theres a simpler way, but it sure as hell isnt obvious. Not that this is hard, its just a lot of steps.
Hopefully this info will save someone else the headache i just endured.
Try following these steps in the following How-To Videos for an easier way of adding a playlist.
[How to Add a Playlist in WMP10
](http://mp3support.sandisk.com/wmp10/wmp10playlist.wmv)[
How to Add a Playlist in WMP11
](http://mp3support.sandisk.com/wmp11/wmp11playlist.wmv)
Here is a link to the rest of the videos.
it works on sansa m230âŠ
use the program Playlist Creator 3
set mp3 sansa usb in MSC mode and
look thisâŠ
video
Luck 
I come to find that it has to be in auto detect mode for a playlist to transfer properly, whatever that means.
Hopefully someone who has influence on the design of this unitâs firmware/software, etc. will read this thread.
Please inform whomever that may be that there is little logic behind the layout and design of this player.
Itâs a great piece of technology and is quite ruined by a few minor shortcuts and/or flaws in the method upon which
a)playlists are created
b)the file system is managed by the player
c)the user interface for pc clients provided
d)the user interface for the sansa player internally.
Some of thses things include:
playlists MUST be bound to not only a subfolder (no root support unless manual for Go List only) but MUST contain ALL songs in their entirety.
-drawback :What if I have a folder in Music called âJazzâ but I want my playlist only to contain 12 of the 102 Jazz mp3 files that are in there⊠I cannot do this.
-drawback :A user cannot simply go down a list of mp3 files regardless of where they reside and âtagâ them to a playlist. (PC SIDE and NOT Go List)
for example, if I had 3 folders âJazzâ âMetalâ and âBritish Rockâ and then in the root had 200 mp3 files, letâs say I want to construct a playlist on my pc
that would have SOME tracks from âJazzâ and only a select few from âMetalâ and a handful from âBritish Rockâ and then about half of the root mp3 filesâŠ
this cannot be done.
-drawback:A user cannot call the playlist whatever they wish and have it contain any assortment of non-contiguous mp3 files. Even if they are in one folder.
The playlist MUST match the foldername. My Mix.pla/plp containing all mp3 files from Jazz cannot happen.
Also why is the extension of contructed (via Sansa Playlist Creator by Tu Wein) .pla whereas when it creates the Go List itâs extension is plp.
Why arenât they all the same and what is the difference?
Use of menus does not allow direct forward and backward navigation.
-drawback: There are menu items that you can get to but you cannot back out of them.
-drawback: There is no âNow playingâ feature such as on the Creative Labs Zen:Vision M which will drop any currently viewed menu item and go directly to the playing song/video
-drawback: You cannot backtrack to save time or see the screen beforehand. Some menus do not back out the way you got in. (Such as a back button on a browser.)
There are a few more items but I think this gets the point across.
The playerâs capabilities such as 8Gb of solid state storage, relatively fast processor and extremely low voltage consumption for extended use on one charge in addition to an incredibly small size
yet while maintaining a useable screen for videos, makes this a great player and an attractive buy, but ownership and use will serve to discredit all of those hard accomplished breakthroughs
in consumer technology.
Just a thought.
BTW I understand that MP10 does this all very easilly but I donât have it nor do I want to endure the schema changes in order to upgrade to it.
As well, it requires SP2 and I do not wish to run SP2 on my system because then I will no longer have the ability to join domains.
My laptop MUST be able to join domains for me to keep my job.
I think what I will have to do is stage a workstation that has all the MS â â â â and latest everything patch wise
seeing as how Vista and SP2XP are being shoved down my throat. It will be stricktly as a compatability system so I can do playlists on my sansa.
(As well as a slew of other things that I have been prejudiced from participating in because I am refusing to adopt all updates blindly)
Also after watching that video Iâd like to see the file structure. I am willing to bet thereâs a new folder called ânewplaylistâ with those 3 songs in it.
Maybe I am wrong but Iâd be plenty shocked if that werenât the case.
Message Edited by playlistsblow on 03-16-2008 09:47 PM
Try this. It works everytime using Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10, which the m200 series were designed for.
Part A: Prepare the Player and Windows Media Player
- With the m250 connected start WMP. Click on " Sync", then " Sync Settings". Uncheck " Synchronize device automatically". Click OK. Click on " Tools", " Options", " Privacy". Click " Clear History" and then " Clear Caches". Close WMP.
Note: Clear History and Clear Caches will erase all memory of the MP3 device in WMP so you effectively erase all mistakes you made in the past that kept playlists from working. Also, I had 2 m250s showing permanently on Windows explorer and this cleared that up. - With the m250 not connected to the USB, power it on. Press the " menu" button, select " settings", " USB" and make sure the checkmark is by " Auto Detect".
- Connect the m250 to the PC via a USB. Make sure the m250 displays MTP (Media Transfer Protocol).
- Right click on " Start", then " Explore".
- Locate the m250 device (listed with the disk drives), right click on it and select " Format".
Part B: Load your Playlist on the m250
- With the m250 not connected, build the playlists in WMP you want to load. The total of the songs on the playlists should not exceed the size of the player minus about 4 meg. (The m250 shows 1.9 GB total storage. After loading 1.87 GB of songs, WMP aborted and said I had 480 kb left.) Itâs best to play it safe and allow for WMPâs eccentricities.
Note: If you have a song referenced by multiple playlists, that song will only be loaded once. - With the m250 connected start WMP. Click on " Tools", " Options", " Devices". Highlight the Sansa device you have connected (m250, etc.) then click on " Properties". Uncheck " Create folder hierarchy on device" and " Start sync when device connects".
Notes:
(1) If âCreate folder hierarchy on deviceâ is left checked, WMP creates a folder for each artist. If you have several artists, WMP will give a message that you are out of space on the m200 when it actually has lots of room left. Unchecking this allows you to fill your device. (2)âStart sync when device connectsâ is really a choice type of setting. I turn it off, because the m200 locks up so often and needs a re-format I donât want to have to sit and wait through a sync when Iâll have to format the device anyway.
(3) These options have to be checked only once after each re-formatting - Click on " Sync", then " Set Up Sync". Check âSynchronize device automaticallyâ. Select the playlist(s) you want to transfer to the device. Click " OK". Synchronization begins.
Note: This can take quite awhile. It starts quite fast and slows down as the device fills. Takes an hour plus to fill my m250.
You should now have a playlist on your m200 that works. To update this playlist or add additional playlist(s), go through Step B above. You should need to repeat Step A if your device locks up or starts doing weird things. Sansa support recommends formatting the device occasionally to remove fragments, residual data, etc⊠They also recommend formatting the device in MSC mode before starting on Step A above.
