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[Bob007]

Hi -- I'm new to Media Center 9 -- giving it a go as the software of choice for a new iPod.

A question -- is it possible to change the way MC sorts artists ? I'd like artists prefixed with 'The' to be sorted by the first letter of the word following 'The' i.e. 'The Beatles' to filed under 'B', 'The Clash' under 'C' etc etc much like the iPod does following its firmware update.

I can do it by renaming my artists to reverse order (i.e. 'Clash, The') but I'd prefer something more tidier.

Thanks...B.

[Doof]

No, there isn't. I wish there was, myself.

But there is a workaround...

Create a new database field called "ArtistSort" or something, and then copy all of your Artist names into there, either without the "The" or with it reversed. I think KingSparta wrote a plugin that can automatically reverse it for you in the Artist field. So if you used the Copy Fields tool to copy Artist to ArtistSort, then used KingSparta's plugin to move The to the end, then use the Copy Fields tool again to swap Artist and ArtistSort, you'd wind up with:

Artist : The Clash
ArtistSort : Clash, The

THEN, you can just specify in the View Scheme properties to sort by ArtistSort instead of Artist, but only actually display Artist.

I think that will work. Unfortunately, it's not automatic, since you'd have to do this for every new file you add to your library.

[jleerigby]

I just gave in with this problem in the end and removed the 'The' from all artist names.  Keeping this as a permanent 'rule' has made life a lot easier as there were several artists where some tracks were listed with the 'The' and others not.

Now I don't have that problem and when adding new tracks for an artist (e.g. the Rolling Stones) I no longer have to check the existing tracks to see if I've used 'the' or not.

There is however just one band in my library that is still prefixed with 'the'.  I wonder if anyone can guess who they are?

(18766 tracks in library).

[Matt]

There is however just one band in my library that is still prefixed with 'the'

The The

[Bob007]

Thanks for the tip, Doof. Works well although it would be nice to have a dedicated feature incorporated.

There is however just one band in my library that is still prefixed with 'the'.  I wonder if anyone can guess who they are?

Presumably. 'The The', JLee ? I'm not sure trimming them down to just 'The' would work would it ? Not as if the sort order is affected either...

[jleerigby]

Correct.  Too easy.

[Quisp]

KingSparta used to have a plugin called Gonkulator. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anymore. I'd really like to copy the artist names to a sort field (since this IS possible now) and then use that amazing plugin to swap Artist names around and deal with the (even The, The) issue. Any chance that this plugin could be resurrected? It's hard to believe that a program with a focus on cataloging features would make it difficult to impossible to sort your music the way it appears on every CD/record store shelf I've ever come across.

Another question. Does the current SDK allow for the access of user defined custom fields?