Is there a way to invoke the creation of the conversion cache (say, for an entire library) without using the handheld sync? I imagine it could work like "Build Missing Thumbnails," whereby any files without a stack partner are transcoded, added to the cache, and stacked based on some global conversion setting.
One alternative would be to mount some type of fake /dev/null device in Windows to "sync" to so that the cache is populated without having to temporarily double my storage space to accommodate both the cache and the temporary "sync'd" files.
I know this is semi-possible using Convert Format instead of Handheld Sync, but that requires an additional step of stacking the files once the transcodes have been made. For esoteric reasons I need something more automated and like using the built-in cache system as opposed to managing two file locations and stacks.