IMDb Redesigns List-Like Pages

@dwhite1144​ Thanks for the feedback; given your use case, we recommend using the IMDb mobile apps as lists in the apps have a full range of watch-option filters.  

@Col_Needham​ So now I have to switch to using my cell phone to operate the website as efficiently as I did before?  That is a terrible solution, incredibly frustrating.

@dwhite1144​  We are all supposed to be cell phone junkies now.
Personal computers are a thing of the past.

@dwhite1144​ 
This particular solution might not appeal to you, but it is what I do.
I use a regular IMDB list for my "Watchlist", and every once in a while
I use the JustWatch filters to display only movies from streaming services I use,
from a particular time period, and with a minimum IMDb rating.
Then I select which movies I want to watch and add them to my IMDb "Watchlist",
and for each movie I check to see which streaming services it is available on,
and put the streaming service I want to watch it on in a note on my list.
Then I just work my way through the list and remove movies as I watch them.

(Generally it takes me an hour or two to create a watchlist that lasts me
 two or three months.)

Currently I am working my way through movies from the late 1930s
that I don't already own and are available on my streaming services:
My Watchlist

@dwhite1144​ For this specific use case, yes, since your use case is better supported in the apps. We have an increasingly large number of watch options and those are available via the pop-up “(i)” button for each title in a list, which works fine for most use cases.  There are cost and space constraints associated with placing all possible watch options directly in the list interface on the web, sorry. 

@gerard_caron​ Thanks for the feedback.  

Also, lists could be quickly reordered by simply entering the numerical positions desired for any film in the list

This is still supported, please see the Lists FAQ at https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/new-features-updates/list-pages-redesign/GLF7EF3VJPXM34XG specifically:

Hope this helps.

The blue down-arrow is the Filter button, and you can definitely select a range of your ratings, including 7 to 7.

The button has lots of filters; you just have to scroll down.

https://www.imdb.com/user/ur2875687/ratings/?single_user_rating=7%2C7

@niall_hassett​ Thanks for the feedback.  We are still investigating options to support both kinds of pagination as both have different advantages (and disadvantages). 

I thought they had fixed the abbreviated Notes box in Edit mode.
(Only one of my lists uses the new editor because the rest have more than 100 entries,
 and that one apparently doesn't have any notes long enough to reveal the problem.)

You can add that problem to my list of Things I Don't Like.
When I am in edit mode, I often use my browser's Find command to locate certain text
I want to change within my notes fields, and that process won't work very well if my
entire notes fields are not displayed.

I also had not noticed that the editor for the Description field has both the abbreviation
problem and the Enter for End problem. You can add this problem to my list of Things
I Hate.

Overall, the lists of Things I Hate and Things I Don't Like about this new version greatly
outweigh the two new features I really like (the Filters feature and the drag and drop
method for moving entries in a list).

@Horst​ Thanks for the feedback …

And finally, if I include a longer sentence in editing mode and save, it just cuts off at the right at around 70 characters and you cannot see the rest anymore. You see in editing mode it is there, but you have to go into editing mode to be able to read it and obiously visitors do not have that option, so I assume they cannot see it at all what is written, the entire text.

A fix for this is in progress, sorry.  I spoke too soon in the original reply posted here earlier. 

@Col_Needham​ I did this experiment today to find out what Horst was talking about:

I added the following line to the first Note in my list:
"I thought they had fixed the abbreviated note box problem but apparently I was wrong"
then hit Enter to save my change.

As you can see, only the first part of that line is displayed after you hit Enter.
You have to edit that particular note again to see the rest of the line in edit mode.

(The entire line is displayed when you select "< Back" to get out of edit mode.)

This does not appear to me to be a "local browser issue". I am seeing the same result that he is.

I recreated the problem using both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

@MSebring​ Thanks for the example.  I have edited my original reply on this -- a ticket is open for this issue but it is not yet fixed. Sorry for the confusion. 

On second thought, I don't think the abbreviated notes box in edit mode
will affect me much, if at all. I mostly use my browser's Find command in
edit mode when I am removing movie titles from my "Director Index" list,
and with around 70 characters before the truncation, that shouldn't be a 
problem. However, other users might be affected by it more.

"find out what Horst was talking about"

Many were wondering, most of them still are.

Thanks guys and I hope these issues can soon be fixed!

@Horst​ / @MSebring  The truncated notes issue in edit mode has now been fixed.  Thanks for your patience. 

How about fixing the truncated notes issue when NOT in edit mode but in viewing mode as well?

Why must I scroll down, hunt within a note field (sometimes my notes fields are very lengthy) to edit or add information at the bottom of a notes box? Why can't I just go directly to place I want to edit?

@denise_6033628​

How about fixing the truncated notes issue when NOT in edit mode but in viewing mode as well?

Sorry, but we are not sure what you mean here; the previously reported issue does not exist in viewing mode.  Please can you provide a screen-shot to illustrate, along with a URL for a (public) list displaying the problem and we will take a look. 

@Col_Needham​ 
It does not appear to be fixed to me.
Is it possible that the fix has not rolled out to everyone yet?

I just edited one of my lists and added 80 character lines to a notes box.
After hitting enter I only see the first 60 characters.

(I see all 80 characters when I get out of edit mode.)

@MSebring​ It should be live everywhere.  Here's one of mine:

Please can you try a different browser? If it is still not working we will need the URL of a a public list with a note which is behaving like this, thanks. 

@Col_Needham​ 

It is not just multiple sentences that are the problem. It is the length of each line.
My example also has multiple sentences and they are both displayed,
but only the first 60 characters of 80 are displayed while in edit mode.

I entered:
00000000011111111112222222222333333333344444444445555555555666666666677777777778
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
and only columns 01 through 60 were displayed while in edit mode.

Ah... I see what you mean now.
If your line contains blanks (my test example didn't) the editor inserts line breaks after a certain number of columns in both edit and view mode. However, after the line breaks are inserted, the lines are longer in view mode than in edit mode.

As I mentioned before, I'm not sure now how important this particular problem is. I was originally concerned with Find commands not being able to find text that had been truncated, but in a real notes box I don't think anyone would insert a line with more than 60 characters without blanks, and I just tested a Find command to see if it would find text that wrapped around the inserted line break, and it did in both view and edit mode.

Basically, the test I came up with did not resemble a real life situation.
(I happened to choose that particular test because I was curious to see

 how many columns would be displayed in edit mode.)

@MSebring​ Yes, there need to be spaces in the text for it to wrap. 

@Camita​ Thanks for the feedback.  We are still investigating options to support both kinds of pagination as both have different advantages (and disadvantages). 

@Col_Needham​ 

I can't understand, why it's such a big problem to bring back the option to press ENTER for a new line.

@bderoes​ Thanks, that’s a good catch and we will pass it along to the lists team. 

@bderoes​ Thanks for the feedback; we will pass this along to the lists team. 

In the meantime, if you are on a Windows system then double-click on just the ID part of the URL and it will quickly select the ID for convenient cut-and-pasting. 

@Col_Needham​ I certainly know that I can double click on a url to extract a "word" within it. But I'm not ON the page for the title, I'm on a search results page LISTING the title. I don't need to open the title's page. I can right-click to Copy Link. There's no way to copy some part of the link in that scenario. Hence the support for the entire URL in the prior version of Edit List.

This is a new problem that definitely needs to be fixed.
When editing the Description field or one of the Notes boxes in your list,
not only does the Enter key save your changes and end your edit.
Selecting another window or tab does it as well.

(I easily recreated this problem using both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.)

@MSebring​ Thanks for the feedback; this is by design such that any changes are always saved.  This behaviour is specifically based upon previous customer feedback and was one of the many issues with the old lists interface — people would not understand that their changes were not saved, leading to lost work and confusion.

As we recently wrote on another redesign thread:

From our annual letter to contributors last year at: https://contribute.imdb.com/czone/top_msg#2023

We have a responsibility to ensure the fruits of previous hard work and data contributions are accessible to a worldwide audience for the next 33 (and more) years. This does require the acceptance of change and an appreciation that the presentation of information online is always evolving. What once worked fine when technology was simpler, when expectations were lower, and when the content types IMDb covered were smaller, will not always work as well today. We are heading into the final stages of a multi-year rebuild of IMDb which will see us long into a future where: we grow data types to match the changing entertainment landscape; we cover more languages as entertainment becomes more globally accessible; we support more ways to discover then watch/listen/consume entertainment; and we are more consistent/accessible across a growing range of devices. It is an exciting challenge for us.

We now serve over 90% of web page views on our new modern, scalable technology service with our new responsive, localizable, and more accessible design (see last year’s letter for more on this). Across the year for the redesign we launched: the first batch of title subpages in January; news pages in March; ratings pages also in March, with additional country breakdowns and episode ratings-at-a-glance for TV shows; name subpages in April; additional title subpages in May; charts pages in June (along with more powerful filtering options on the same pages in October); the events page and many of the special sections pages in June; FAQ and episodes pages in July; Watchbar logos in October; and finally, advanced title search in November. Outside of the redesign we launched: name and title FAQ pages powered by Alexa; video playback improvements, including closed-caption support; Six Degrees game (in beta testing); and a data visualization challenge.

 As you can see from the history of these letters at https://contribute.imdb.com/czone/top_msg IMDb is constantly evolving and you can compare the size of the database 10 years ago via https://contribute.imdb.com/czone/top_msg#2014 with it today to hopefully appreciate how many of the old pages and old software simply do not scale to today’s numbers at https://www.imdb.com/pressroom/stats/

Hope this helps. 

@Col_Needham​ 

It actually makes sense to you to save and end an edit session within your window
when a user temporarily switches to a different window or tab? I am flabbergasted!
This is totally contrary to the way Windows applications normally work.
And there is nothing in the document you provided that justifies such an idea.

@MSebring​ Sorry I think you may have misunderstood — the changes are now saved when you click away, even if you do not press ENTER;  are you really saying that you preferred it when the changes were not saved in the old version of the lists software?  

@Col_Needham​ 
Yes, I prefer having it follow the conventions of other Windows applications.
When you minimize a window, or select a different window or a different tab within
your browser, changes are not normally saved and edit sessions are not normally
ended within the window/tab that you temporarily left.
Windows and Internet Browsers are designed to allow you to do more than one thing
at the same time, and to copy data from one window or tab into another.

How would you like it if this forum was designed the way you have designed the Description
fields and Notes boxes? You have more than one window open and you try to copy information

from another window into your post (something that people do all the time), but when you
come back you find that your unfinished post has already been saved. (This is exactly the same
problem as what bderoes experienced when he attempted to copy data from another tab into
the notes boxes in his list.)

I also prefer having Enter create a new line in the Description fields and Notes boxes, just as it
does in word processors and forum posts, and that you had to do something other than that
to save what you entered, just as you do in word processors and forum posts.
As I explained in a previous post, the Description field and Notes boxes are text fields (data
intended to be saved, unlike the temporary single-line data entered for Search commands),
and text fields generally follow the same conventions as word processors and forum posts.

@Col_Needham​ 

Regarding the closure of an Edit description/comment box when switching tabs in a desktop browser:

Does Saving the content of that box need to Close that box?

Leaving it open and with the cursor remaining where it was would be a great time (and frustration) saver. 

And why choose Enter to close the box? Are comments with line breaks so rare? The frustration is monumental when you're just trying to start a new line, and instead the box closes, especially if editing something in the middle of an existing comment. 

If instead you save at quick time intervals, as Google Docs/Sheets does, and provide Undo ability (ctrl Z and Esc), you don't need to close the box on the user.

I'm telling you, it was a massive relief when the old editor showed up on day 2 of creating that recent list, and I could again move freely between tabs and not loose my place in the editing. 

@bderoes​ 😀

https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdbcom/animals/664c5f5e6dc852698ebe31bf?commentId=664e45706d53fe1f4fe46461&replyId=664f65ab1b497d5d0704677d

My comments:

Create Text in 'Notepad' editor with line breaks etc.
then Copy&Paste to the List

IMDb:  Add [Save] button !! 

.

@screenfan​ It sounds like you have selected “Compact” view as your viewing preference for lists instead of the default of “Detailed” view — everyone else with the default view still sees your notes.  If you would like to switch back to “Detailed” yourself, click the icon at the top of the list highlighted in red here:

Your viewing preference is sticky across all lists so once selected, all lists will show notes (and more) for you again.

For more details on the list redesign, please see the FAQ at https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/new-features-updates/list-pages-redesign/GLF7EF3VJPXM34XG

Hope this helps. 

Thanks, that DID help.

@FrenchEddieFelson​  Thanks for the feedback.  To answer your questions:

Question #1 — The new method is actually more reliable than the previous one; the previous version would frequently fail with lists above a certain size, whereas this is no longer a problem.  The export should still be fast … the page does not automatically refresh on list export so perhaps try a reload of https://www.imdb.com/exports/ and you may find the export is ready earlier than you think?

Question #2 — We are actively working on the export at the moment and there’s a temporary difference between the formats of ratings vs. all other lists. These differences will be eliminated in the coming week or so. 

Question #3 — Please provide examples of titles whose directors are missing (or if you have a public list with this problem, please provide the URL of the list with some sample titles from it).

Question #4 — Yes, the title, release date, and running time are localised according to your settings on https://www.imdb.com/preferences/general or your browser preferences/location if not logged in.  If there is no localised data for your region, we fall-back to original title, earliest release date, and original running time. 

Hope this helps. 

Hi Col

Hi all

Answer 1: with the old method, the export of my 12,000 ratings was produced in approximately 10 seconds. Indeed, sometimes the export failed but it was still quite rare. With the new method, one would be around the minute, despite the refresh / reload of https://www.imdb.com/exports/. It's slower but still reasonable especially if the method is more reliable.

Answer 2: I eagerly look forward to these improvements!

Answer 3: Here are 2 examples of lists that produce exports with empty cells within the column “directors”

1. https://www.imdb.com/user/ur3257585/ratings/
2. https://www.imdb.com/user/ur3257585/watchlist/

Answer 4. Very clear. Thank you for the info

Best regards,

Stéphane

@FrenchEddieFelson​ Your watchlist is private and it is not possible to export someone else’s ratings list so we could not check the results.  Instead, please can you provide 3-5 titles in these lists which are producing an empty directors field on export?  

Hi Col

Hi everyone.

I just checked: my watchlist was indeed private; it’s now public. From now on, these 2 lists (e.g. ratings and watchlist) are both public.

Anyway, I created a test list reduced to 4 films, with the Matrix saga.

On my computer, with my settings (windows & IMDb), the column “Directors” is empty in the ad hoc extraction.

This list is accessible here: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls547019186/

Note: with the previous modus operandi for the export, this column was 100% fine

Best regards,

Stéphane

@FrenchEddieFelson​ Thanks for the test list.  We just exported it here multiple times and the directors field was fine in all cases:

What software are you using to open the exported file after downloading? 

Can you try it on a different machine? 

@FrenchEddieFelson​ Hmmm, that was not too visible so here is a large view:

It's incomprehensible.

I traditionally use the latest version of Microsoft Excel, via Office 365 with an up-to-date windows 11. But, for this test, I exceptionally and additinoaly used the Windows application named "Notepad". When I open the export file produced by IMDb and named 5ff37acd-980c-4b48-948e-6a69b5868ca3.csv within Notepad, the word "Wachowski" is missing from the file.

@FrenchEddieFelson​ Here's the exported data copied from Notepad here:

Position,Const,Created,Modified,Description,Title,Original Title,URL,Title Type,IMDb Rating,Runtime (mins),Year,Genres,Num Votes,Release Date,Directors,Your Rating,Date Rated
1,tt0234215,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"The Matrix Reloaded","The Matrix Reloaded",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/,Movie,7.2,138,2003,"Action, Sci-Fi",632248,2003-05-21,"Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski",9,2003-05-24
2,tt0133093,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"The Matrix","The Matrix",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/,Movie,8.7,136,1999,"Action, Sci-Fi",2060039,1999-06-11,"Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski",10,2003-06-28
3,tt10838180,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"The Matrix Resurrections","The Matrix Resurrections",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10838180/,Movie,5.7,148,2021,"Action, Sci-Fi",280873,2021-12-22,"Lana Wachowski",7,2021-12-22
4,tt0242653,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"The Matrix Revolutions","The Matrix Revolutions",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242653/,Movie,6.7,129,2003,"Action, Sci-Fi",544787,2003-11-05,"Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski",9,2003-11-05

Please can you post your copy here? 

I have a lead!!!

I modified these 2 IMDb settings https://www.imdb.com/preferences/general

1. Title display country/region:
   1. Before: France
   2. Temporarily: United Stated
2. Title display language
   1. Before: French
   2. Temporarily: English

And I exported again my 12,000 ratings

Guess what! The "Directors" column now contains the directors. Hurra!

So... the new version of the export obviously dislikes the French... ;-) 

@Col_Needham​ 

Position,Const,Created,Modified,Description,Title,Original Title,URL,Title Type,IMDb Rating,Runtime (mins),Year,Genres,Num Votes,Release Date,Directors,Your Rating,Date Rated
1,tt0234215,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"Matrix Reloaded","The Matrix Reloaded",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/,Film,7.2,138,2003,"Action, Science-fiction",632248,2003-05-16,,6,2024-05-25
2,tt0133093,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"Matrix","The Matrix",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/,Film,8.7,136,1999,"Action, Science-fiction",2060039,1999-06-23,,9,2017-09-22
3,tt10838180,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"Matrix Resurrections","The Matrix Resurrections",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10838180/,Film,5.7,148,2021,"Action, Science-fiction",280873,2021-12-22,,5,2024-05-25
4,tt0242653,2024-05-26,2024-05-26,,"Matrix Revolutions","The Matrix Revolutions",https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242653/,Film,6.7,129,2003,"Action, Science-fiction",544787,2003-11-05,,6,2024-05-25

@FrenchEddieFelson​ Thanks, and what an interesting bug.  This should be easy to locate and fix at least!

You're welcome

Many thanks you for your listening.

How soon will this bug be fixed?

Hi @FrenchEddieFelson​ -

I can confirm that this issue is now fixed.  Thanks again for reporting!

@Michelle​ 

Hello Michelle

Hello IMDb team

Thank you for this bug fix.
Thank you very much for this mark of attention and for taking the time to inform me.

Best regards,

Stéphane

@bderoes​ No, editing should not cause a reset.  It could be a temporary glitch so let’s see how it looks tomorrow. 

@bderoes​ Still no updates to the view count, sorry, so we have just opened a ticket with the lists team; ticket reference is #P131754421

@bderoes​ We have found and fixed the issue with list views.  We are running a backfill for the missing days, so although your list is still showing 0 views, it should soon catch-up.  I have now have views on this list which was only created on Monday.  

@bderoes​ I see your list now at least has this weeks views!