github TT-ReBORN/Georgia-ReBORN 3.0-RC3
v3.0-RC3 - Third Release Candidate
on GitHub

3 months ago

Intro:

The third and final release candidate of Georgia-ReBORN is a major upgrade, featuring new unique additions,
general theme improvements, and numerous bug fixes — all boosting performance and stability!

Important Note: This is the last pre-configured 32-bit release.
Future versions will be pre-configured for 64-bit, with 32-bit support available as an optional download.

I highly recommend updating to v3.0-RC3 as soon as possible.
However, read the full post to ensure you don’t miss any critical details.

This update is just a stepping stone — the real game-changer is the 64-bit version!
The upcoming 64-bit build will enter beta testing in a few days in the DEV TESTING thread.
Stay tuned!


Highlights:

  • Dynamic Display Scaling:
    Scale the UI from 50% to 150% for resolutions up to 8K, with fine-tuned font and button adjustments
    via keyboard (Ctrl + +/-) or mouse wheel (Ctrl + wheel for scaling, Alt + wheel for reset).

  • Enhanced Theme Customization:
    Save and apply theme settings, styles, or presets per album with custom GR-tags in one click.
    Improved day/night mode with custom time ranges and theme setups (e.g., White for day, Black for night).

  • Background Image Support:
    Add customizable background images for Playlist, Library, and Lyrics panels, with options to cycle images,
    adjust opacity, and select sources (artist, album, or custom images in foobar2000\profile\georgia-reborn\images\background).

  • Redesigned Lyrics Layouts:
    New full, Left, and Right Lyrics layouts with hover-over album overlays for ratings and playback pause on click,
    using background image functionality by default.

  • Advanced Playlist Features:
    Sort by album/artist rating, playcount, genre, label, or country.
    New diagnostics lists check for missing album art, disc art, files, and metadata.
    Export configurable statistics (e.g., top-rated or top-played lists).

  • New Rating Systems:
    Five-star fractional ratings (quarter, half, three-quarter stars) and artist ratings based on track ratings,
    integrated into Lyrics layouts and playlist sorting.

  • Browse Mode:
    Explore albums/tracks in Playlist or Library without altering playback, with synced album art and metadata across Details,
    Biography, and Lower Bar.

  • Enhanced Lower Bar:
    The artist button creates discography playlists or opens custom websites; track title button jumps to now playing.
    New add tracks button for user-defined playlists.

  • Custom Disc & Album Art:
    Dynamic disc art placeholders and filtered album art via config file,
    with cropped/stretched options in maximized/fullscreen mode and channel logos in Details.

  • Library Source Mode:
    Switch Library to show selected/active playlist content, with seamless syncing and backup support.

  • Performance Boost:
    Faster playlist loading with dynamic batch processing (1000 tracks initially, rest in background),
    improved theme initialization, and enhanced stability.

  • ESLyric & Lyrics Enhancements:
    More lyric sources, mouse drag scrolling, and auto-download modes for lyrics/biographies (5s/15s timers).

  • Theme Sandbox Upgrades:
    Experiment with styles/presets, with seamless save/restore/reset options.

  • Developer-Friendly Updates:
    Full JSDoc documentation (except Library/Biography), code cleanup, debug tools (CPU tracking, performance overlay),
    and waveform bar enhancements.


Note:

It is recommended to make full use of the improved theme backup and restore feature.
That means you configure your Georgia-ReBORN theme as you want and then make a new theme backup.
When new updates are released or when you make a new foobar2000 installation, you can just copy
your theme backup folder and restore your saved state with just a few clicks.
This will make the update process and transition to the latest version much smoother and easier!

How it works:
Set up your Georgia-ReBORN theme and settings as you like. When you are happy with the theme state,
make a new backup via top menu Options > Settings > Theme backup > Make backup.
This will automatically create a new backup directory in your foobar2000\profile\backup.
After you install a new foobar2000 installation with the Georgia-ReBORN theme, just copy this backup folder from your old foobar2000
and copy it in the same path as it was previously located in: foobar2000\profile\backup.
Now go to Options > Settings > Theme backup > Restore backup and wait until the restore process is complete.


Changelog:

V3.0-RC3 changelog - click to open!

Added:

Playlist Grouping Presets:

  • Implemented Playlist grouping presets in the config file
    • Playlist grouping presets and changes are now saved to the config file when using the Playlist grouping manager
    • Playlist grouping presets can also be edited directly in the config file
    • Playlist grouping presets will now be saved and restored in the theme backup process

Library Source Mode:

  • Added Library source mode in top menu Options > Library > Source
    • When changing Library source mode and selecting a playlist, the Library will show the content of the selected playlist in the Library instead of foobar's Media Library
    • When changing the Library source to active playlist, it will sync the content of the current active playlist
    • The Library source mode can also be quickly accessed via Library's right click context menu or via the Library's hamburger menu (...)
    • The Library source mode settings are saved when making a new theme backup and written to the georgia-reborn-config.jsonc file

ESLyric and Playlist Enhancements:

  • Added additional ESLyric sources
  • Added index number support for playlist row customization
  • Added option to flip playlist header rows in top menu > Options > Playlist > Album header > Flip header rows
  • Added theme preset info in top menu > Options > Preset > Info

Rating Systems:

  • Implemented a new 5-star rating system with fractional ratings

    • Supports quarter, half, and three-quarter star ratings
    • Used in the new Lyrics layouts for displaying track ratings

  • Implemented artist rating functionality

    • Calculates artist rating based on all rated artist tracks
    • Visible in the new Lyrics layouts to encourage comprehensive track rating

Playlist Diagnostics:

  • Implemented playlist diagnostics lists

    • Accessible via right-click on Playlist's context menu > Write playlist diagnostics to list

    • File checks:

      • Missing album art (checks for local or embedded album art in music album folders)
      • Missing album art (local) (checks for local album art in music album folders)
      • Missing album art (embedded) (checks for embedded album art in music files)
      • Missing disc art (checks for local disc art in music folders)
      • Missing playlist files (checks for dead music files in the playlist)
      • Check all missing files (writes all file checks in one list; includes album art item menu for selection)

    • Tagging checks:

      • Missing artist name (checks for %artist% metadata)
      • Missing album title (checks for %album% metadata)
      • Missing track number (checks for %tracknumber% metadata)
      • Missing track title (checks for %title% metadata)
      • Missing year (checks for %date% or %year% metadata)
      • Missing genre (checks for %genre% metadata)
      • Missing label (checks for %label% metadata)
      • Missing country (checks for %artistcountry% or %country% metadata)
      • Check all missing tagging (writes all tagging checks in one list)

Playlist Sorting:

  • Added new playlist sorting options
    • Added Artist rating and Artist playcount sorting options
    • Accessible via Top menu > Options > Playlist > Sort order > Artist rating and Artist playcount
    • Requires custom metadata from tags; use Write album statistics to tags via Playlist's context menu to write metadata

Lyrics Layouts:

  • Implemented redesigned Lyrics layouts

    • Completely redesigned Lyrics full layout

      • Mouse hover on the right edge displays an album overlay with artist, album, and track ratings
      • Clicking the right edge pauses the track

    • Added two new Lyrics layouts: Left and Right

      • Hovering over album covers displays the new fractional ratings
      • Clicking the album cover pauses playback

    • All new layouts use the background image functionality by default, with Shift + mouse wheel to cycle images

Background Image Support:

  • Implemented background image functionality for Playlist, Library, and Lyrics

    • Lyrics background image functionality

      • Navigate to Top Menu > Options > Lyrics > Background
      • Alternatively, use Lyrics's context menu > Playlist options menu > Background
      • Features mirror Playlist and Library background functionality:
        • Show image on background (must be activated)
        • Cycle images with configurable intervals
        • Image source: Artist, Album, or Custom (from foobar2000\profile\georgia-reborn\images\background)
        • Image scaling: Proportional, Filled, or Stretched
        • Image opacity and row opacity adjustments
        • Manual image cycling with Shift + mouse wheel

    • Access for Playlist:

      • Navigate to Top Menu > Options > Playlist > Background
      • Alternatively, use Playlist's context menu > Playlist options menu > Background

    • Access for Library:

      • Navigate to Top Menu > Options > Library > Background
      • Alternatively, use Library's context menu > Playlist options menu > Background

    • Features:

      • Show image on background (must be activated)
      • Show now playing rows only (Playlist only): Hides Playlist header and row backgrounds for the currently playing track
      • Cycle images with configurable intervals
      • Image source: Artist, Album, or Custom (from foobar2000\profile\georgia-reborn\images\background)
      • Image scaling: Proportional, Filled, or Stretched (default: Filled)
      • Image opacity and row opacity adjustments for readability
      • Manual image cycling with Shift + mouse wheel

Display Scaling:

  • Implemented display scaling
    • Accessible in top Menu > Options > Display > Scaling
    • Use keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + +/- for increase/decrease and Alt + +/- for reset
    • Scales the UI from 50% to 150% for each player size and display resolution (up to 8K)
    • Allows fine-tuning of font and button sizes alongside scaling
    • Settings saved in theme backup

Browse Mode:

  • Implemented Browse mode
    • Available in top Menu > Options > Player controls > Mode > Browse mode
    • Allows browsing albums/tracks in Playlist or Library without altering playback
    • Syncs album art and metadata across Details, Biography, and Lower Bar
    • Library play mode enabled; does not modify playlist content until disabled
    • Use "Show Now Playing" or lower bar track title click to return to playing track

Lower Bar Features:

  • Implemented Lower Bar features

    • Artist button actions (top Menu > Options > Player controls > Lower bar > Artist button action or right-click context menu):

      • Artist playlist: Creates "Artist Discography" playlist with all artist albums (requires indexed Media Library)
      • Open website: Opens custom website links set in georgia-reborn-custom.jsonc

    • Track title button: Clicking shows now playing in Playlist or Library

Playback Time Display:

  • Implemented Playback time display menus for Lower Bar and Playlist
    • Includes playback time percentage
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Lower bar > Playback time display or by clicking Lower Bar time
    • Playlist playback time row display via top Menu > Options > Playlist > Track row > Playback time display or Playlist's context menu

Library View by Folder Options:

  • Implemented Library View by Folder options
    • Hide album year, track number, and file extension via Library hamburger menu > Views > View by Folder Structure > Hide
    • Node auto-expand and Node auto expand single items via top Menu > Options > Library > Track row

Mouse Wheel Interface Scaling:

  • Implemented mouse wheel interface scaling
    • Ctrl + mouse wheel to enlarge/shrink; Alt + mouse wheel to reset
    • Available in top menu, lower bar, Playlist, Details, Library, Biography, and Lyrics panels
    • Lower bar transport buttons: Shift + mouse wheel for button spacing, Shift + Alt + mouse wheel to reset

Playlist Dynamic Batch Processor:

  • Implemented playlist dynamic batch processor
    • Loads 1000 tracks initially, processes remaining tracks in background for faster startup and playlist switching

Website Searches:

  • Added Album of the Year, Rate Your Music, Sputnikmusic to website searches
    • Accessible via Playlist's and Library's context menu > Weblinks

Playlist Statistics and Sorting:

  • Implemented playlist average album rating, playlist average album playcount, playlist statistics, and improved playlist rating, sorting, and tag writing:

    • Playlist sorting:

      • Unified sort order main and context menu
      • New sort options: Album rating, Album playcount, Track rating, Track playcount, Genre, Label, Country, Artist rating, Artist playcount
      • Improved auto-sort indication and fixed sort order issues

    • Playlist rating:

      • Average album rating calculated from track ratings, written to %ALBUMRATING% (0-100 scale, displayed as 0-5)
      • Top menu rating now supports non-playing tracks and multiple selections

    • Playlist playcount:

      • Average album playcount calculated from track playcounts, written to %ALBUMPLAYCOUNT% and %ALBUMPLAYCOUNTTOTAL%
      • Requires manual update via Playlist's context menu > Write album statistics to tags

    • Playlist statistics:

      • Accessible via Playlist's context menu > Write playlist statistics to text
      • Lists: Album rating, Album playcount, Album playcount total, Album track rating, Album track playcount, Track rating, Track playcount, Top rated, Top played
      • Configurable include settings: artist, album, track, stats, year, genre, label, country
      • Sort by stats or other metadata; ascending/descending order
      • Lists saved to foobar2000\profile\cache\playlist

Theme Day/Night Mode:

  • Implemented configurable theme day/night mode
    • Custom time range via top Menu > Options > Settings > Theme day/night mode > Set custom time range
    • Theme setup for day/night via top Menu > Options > Settings > Theme day/night mode > Theme setup for daytime/nighttime
    • Supports custom GR theme tags; Reborn and Random themes start dark-themed at night

Channel Logos:

  • Implemented channel logos for metadata grid in Details
    • Two variants: logo only and text with logo
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Details > Metadata grid > Show channel logo

Auto-Hide Metadata:

  • Implemented auto-hide metadata on small player size in Details
    • Ensures artist logos remain visible
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Details > Metadata grid > Auto-hide full metadata on small player

Custom Disc Art:

  • Implemented dynamic custom disc art placeholder configuration
    • Configurable in georgia-reborn-custom.jsonc under "customDiscArtStub"
    • Images located in georgia-reborn/images/custom/discart

Album Art Display:

  • Implemented album art display features in maximize/fullscreen mode
    • Options: Scale album art cropped, stretched, or always (no aspect ratio limits)
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Album art > When player size is maximized/fullscreen

Custom Theme Images:

  • Implemented support for custom theme images
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Settings > Theme images > Use custom theme images

Add Tracks Button:

  • Implemented "Add tracks" button
    • Adds selected albums/tracks to a user-defined playlist (default: "Favorites")
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Lower bar > Show add tracks button
    • Options to switch to playlist or add now playing track

Auto-Download Modes:

  • Implemented auto-download biography and lyrics modes
    • Requires Developer tools enabled
    • 5s timer for biography, 15s timer for lyrics

Album Art Filtering:

  • Implemented custom configurable album art filtering
    • Configurable in georgia-reborn-config.jsonc under "artworkPatterns"
    • Default excludes disc art; supports inclusion/exclusion patterns
    • Requires enabling in respective panel options

Debug Tools:

  • Implemented debug performance overlay and CPU tracker
    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Developer tools > Enable debug performance overlay

Lyrics Scrolling:

  • Implemented mouse drag scrolling for lyrics
    • Left-click and drag to scroll; Alt + drag to reset position
    • Option to disable auto-scroll for unsynced lyrics via top Menu > Options > Lyrics > Controls > Auto-scroll unsynced lyrics

Waveform Bar Enhancements:

  • Added waveform bar visualizer fallback options

    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Seekbar > Waveform bar > Analysis

  • Added waveform bar mouse wheel seek speeds, seek type, and analysis save mode

    • Seek speeds: Options > Player controls > Seekbar > Peakmeter bar/Waveform bar > Mouse wheel seek speed
    • Seek type: Options > Player controls > Seekbar > Waveform bar > Mouse wheel > Seek type
    • Analysis save mode: Options > Player controls > Seekbar > Waveform bar > Analysis (always, library, never)

  • Added waveform bar compatible extensions list

    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Seekbar > Waveform bar > Analysis > Show compatible extensions

Miscellaneous:

  • Added option to disable jump search

    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Jump search > Disable jump search

  • Added option to disable ESC key to exit fullscreen

    • Accessible via top Menu > Options > Player controls > Panel > Disable fullscreen ESC

  • Added new codec logos

  • Added disc art placeholders for existing and custom themes


Changed:

Main:

  • Restored original playlist header album subtitle behavior

  • Removed intentional set alpha value from Playlist thumbnails

  • Changed Filter disc art from artwork to Filter album art images

    • Moved to Options > Player controls > Album art > Filter album art images

Improved:

Main:

  • Implemented custom DrawString method to support font fallback for special characters

  • Improved theme brightness and initialization

    • Added more brightness levels
    • Improved text color handling based on brightness
    • Optimized initialization order

  • Changed "Use auto panel width" to "Auto panel width" in top Menu > Options > Player controls > Mode

  • Improved top menu collapse

    • Hides caption buttons in Artwork and Compact layouts for small player sizes
    • Option for compact top menu (symbol only) via top Menu > Player controls > Top menu

  • Implemented custom disc art paths in config file

    • Configurable in georgia-reborn-config.jsonc under "discArtPaths"

Code Rewrites:

  • Rewritten playlist statistics codebase

    • Improved modularity and simplified logic
    • Added artist ratings and playcounts as separate lists

  • Rewritten main album art and Details disc art resize functionality

    • Enhanced modularity and simplified logic

  • Refactored progress bar, peakmeter bar, waveform bar, and seekbar refresh rate system

    • Modularized code, separated draw logic, added JSDocs, optimized calculations
    • Seekbar refresh rate now uses FPS, with popup warnings for fast rates

  • Refactored configuration write code

    • Modularized, improved readability, added backslash escaping

Details:

  • Improved metadata grid menu live edit with safeguards

Library:

  • Improved Library’s album & artist grid view menu items

Biography:

  • Improved country flags in Biography with tooltips

Lyrics:

  • Improved mouse wheel lyrics scrolling
    • Added Shift + wheel for faster scrolling
    • Consistent behavior in Biography and Lyrics panels

Removed:

Main:

  • Removed and merged Options > Lyrics > Controls > Remember active lyrics state into Remember lyrics panel state

  • Removed Options > Library > Controls > Switch to playlist when adding songs (replaced by Player controls > Panel)

  • Removed Shift + mouse wheel lyrics shortcut for 10-second offset

    • Replaced by left-click dragging; shortcut now cycles background images

  • Removed Options > Lyrics > Display > Show lyrics on album art

    • Replaced by Options > Lyrics > Background > Show image on background

Fixed:

Fixed - Main:

  • Fixed QHD display mode fullscreen issue
  • Fixed embedded album cover display when cycling artworks
  • Fixed Lower Bar country flags display
  • Fixed fractional Lower Bar playback length
  • Fixed rare artCache crash
  • Fixed disc art rotation crash in 4K mode for high-resolution images
  • Fixed styled tooltips truncation and sticky issues
  • Fixed country flag parsing with parentheses in filepath
  • Fixed auto panel width init with embedded album art
  • Fixed cosmetic lyric state issue in full-width Library layout
  • Fixed cosmetic gradient bevel issue
  • Fixed rare disc art rotation crash
  • Fixed Reborn theme brightness issue on reload
  • Fixed playlist manager text button visibility and history button positioning
  • Fixed sticky scrollbars when dragged outside window
  • Fixed panel display/state issues in full-width lyrics layout
  • Fixed custom cache usage abort on popup cancel
  • Fixed waveform bar issues with incompatible files

Fixed - Playlist:

  • Fixed Playlist drag and drop crash during theme load
  • Fixed Playlist user-defined grouping and reset
  • Fixed cosmetic Playlist repaint issue
  • Fixed Playlist header hyperlink issues

Fixed - Library:

  • Fixed Library drag and drop crash in split mode with Playlist source
  • Fixed Library filter/view issues
  • Fixed Library item list refresh with Playlist source
  • Fixed missing default Library settings

Fixed - Biography:

  • Fixed Biography top menu option for Sources > Cover
  • Fixed Biography file name issues with reserved characters

Fixed - Lyrics:

  • Fixed lyrics parsing with parentheses in filepath

Fixed - Details:

  • Fixed cosmetic metadata grid refresh in Details for wide artwork

Fixed - Playlist Statistics:

  • Fixed ghost folder creation in playlist statistic lists

Updated:

  • Updated audiowaveform to v1.10.1
  • Updated Biography to v1.4.2
  • Updated foo_cuefixer to v1.3.2
  • Updated foo_ui_columns to v2.1.0
  • Updated foo_uie_eslyric to v1.0.3.2

Thanks:

Over the past few years, beta testing was very good with all the bug reports received from the DEV TESTING thread!
I want to thank all Beta tester who participated with patience and dedication:

Many thanks:
@acstrp, @erusapien, @silverwings15, @Cardiacs1964, @giorgiobrit, @takaji10, @d3rb, @Zephyr0ck, @mauriva, @PSVLTT, @kyxap, @YuumiPie, @SWu, @KorenLesthe, @ZavierQuixote, @TheMan133, @gnihtytterp, @doud-49,
and many others I may have forgotten to add!

Special thanks:
@Meisfuture and 风里尘 ( Georgia-ReBORN fanatic as Meisfuture described 😅 ) ,
you guys were really awesome with all the bug reports and feedback!

Help thanks:
@regorxxx and @Wil-B.


Outro:

I have put a lot of work into the RC3 release, it is the preparation for the v3.0 final release.
I hope you enjoy the v3.0-RC3, let's make v3.0 final a great release!

P.S: You are wondering how to help?
The answer is really simple, promote Georgia-ReBORN wherever you can
and tell your friends, parents and grandparents ( no joke, there was a 70-year-old fan! ).

That is all, signing off until next time...

-TT

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