More > JRiver Media Center 26 for Mac
Need help setting up Portable Library for an external HD
tangolovers:
--- Quote from: RoderickGI on July 30, 2020, 12:50:01 am ---That is a lot less work, and much more reliable, than the process you were using before.
":" isn't a valid character for a file name or path on a Mac, so MC will convert it to an underscore if you are doing something that tried to change the filename.
If you still don't understand, tell me what edits exactly were you doing when you saw the "/E_/"? What function were you using? Shows a screenshot.
--- End quote ---
Thank you for the details! I do agree PL is a lot less work than before. It's really wonderful. No complaints! I can live with the 2 step process for now. ;D As a side note, it would be sure nice if they would allow edits to the Portable Library Rule, since it often takes several tries to get it right.
As for the "E_".... since the base path is E:\, I guess it's always going to add an underscore whenever I make an edit because it has to convert the path to Mac. I guess it'll just get handled in step 2 - RM&CF! 8)
So, I'm down to my last issue which is the Special Characters, but no replies to my separate post yet... maybe the subject needs to be tweaked. :-\
--- Quote from: HaWi on July 30, 2020, 10:00:57 am ---I can confirm that editing from different platforms works, at least between MacOS and Linux. I have my library on the NAS which runs the Linux version of MC26 in Docker. I edit this library from my Mac. It's a little slower but works perfectly. My media are on the NAS as well so I point to them on the Mac directly (no portable rule). On the NAS MC installation I use a portable rule to access the same media files.
--- End quote ---
HaWi -- are you saying you can rename or change Filename and it doesn't update the base path the the current platform? I can't imagine the base path for MacOS & Linux are the same. Curious how this works for you. Anyhow, congratulations!
tangolovers:
--- Quote from: RoderickGI on July 30, 2020, 12:50:01 am ---I did some more testing of the RM&CF function in my Test Portable Library, and I conclude that a file rename, move, or copy done on the Mac needs to be done in two steps. First rename, move, or copy the file using the "Rename (moves files if directory changes)" function, then fix the "broken" [Filename] field using the "Update database to point to new location (no file rename, move, or copy)" function. As those are two different functions, the two steps can't be done together. I tried.
MC needs to rename, move, copy, and tag the files using the real path to that file, which on your Mac is /Volumes/E. But if you transfer that Library back to a PC, the Library needs to point to E:. The only way that can be done is in two steps at the moment. It wouldn't be hard to do. Just make all the changes you wish to on the Mac, then before backing up the Library to move back to a PC, filter a View to only show files that start with "/Volumes/E", then run RM&CF using the "Update database to point to new location (no file rename, move, or copy)" function with "Find & Replace" only to replace "/Volumes/E" with "E:".
--- End quote ---
Roderick -- It all seems so logical, but I just tried this and couldn't get it to work. After changing a Filename I went back to RM&CF > Update > Find & Replace and entered "/Volumes/E" with "E:" (everything else unchecked), but it didn't reflect those changes in New column. It seems MC knows I'm on a Mac and it doesn't want to accept a PC path. Help!
RoderickGI:
Hmmm. Well, I couldn't test on a Mac, so I couldn't see that issue.
I expected the Find & Replace to just replace what was in the Library. I guess the PL rule is being used on the New column and reverting the "E:" to "/Volumes/E". Is that what is happening, the New column just begins with "/Volumes/E" as it is in the Original column? Or the New column just says <no change>?
I think this is one for Matt. How was this issue expected to work, if it was, or can it be made to work?
HaWi:
--- Quote from: tangolovers on July 30, 2020, 08:19:47 pm ---HaWi -- are you saying you can rename or change Filename and it doesn't update the base path the the current platform? I can't imagine the base path for MacOS & Linux are the same. Curious how this works for you. Anyhow, congratulations!
--- End quote ---
I am sorry, I don't think I have explained what I did very well. Let me try again.
I have only one MC library that is located on the NAS (Linux/Docker Container). My media are also on the NAS in a folder called music. From my iMac, the path to the media is /Volumes/music.
From the MC26 in Docker, the path is data/music.
On the Mac, from where I mostly modify the library, the Base Path is /Volumes/music. On the Mac, no portable rule is set. On the Mac, the [filename (Path)] is /Volumes/music.
On the MC26 in Docker, I set the Portable Rule to /Volumes|/data. The MC26 server in Docker is running 24/7 and I can also open the MC26 (in Docker) app on my browser. In MC26 in Docker, the Base Path is /data/music, the [file name (path)] is /Volumes/data, as on the Mac. Because of the portable rule, music can be served from MC26 in Docker because the [filename (Path)] is translated from /Volumes/music to /data/music.
However, if I were to change media files (updating tags, rename files, move folders) using the MC26 in Docker app, the Base Path has to be /data/music, i.e. pointing from the MC26 in Docker to the media.
It looks like Portable Rules and the Base Path are not library specific but MC installation specific. Hence, you can have multiple Base Paths for a single library, depending on which MC installation you use to load the library. The Portable Rule is used to translate a [filename (Path)], which is library specific, to a path that leads to the media from a different installation than the one that uses identical Base Path and [filename (Path)].
So I believe that what you need is one MC installation that is the "home base", where the Base Path and the [filename (Path)] are identical and where no portable rule is set. In my case the Mac.
On all other installations of MC, a Portable Rule is needed to translate the path to the media from the "home base" path (as exists in the library) to the correct path for that particular installation (in my case from /Volumes to /data). If you want to change media files from any other MC installation than the "home base" then there, the Base Path has to be set to point from that installation to the actual media. In my case, the MC Docker installation which can only access media in /data/music.
I hope this is clearer. Please don't hesitate to ask further questions if needed.
cheers,
Hans
tangolovers:
Hello Hans -- thank you for the long and detailed explanation. But I have to admit, I had a hard time following some of it. :P
When you refer to Base Path in this context, do you mean the path displayed when you do "Locate" or RM&CF? That was my understanding.
I created my source Library on an external HD "E" from a PC, so on my PC's I don't need a Portable Library. On the Mac I use portable library rule E:|/Volumes/E which all seems to work fine until I try to edit a file on the Mac.
On the Mac, when I simply Rename Filename(name) here's what happens:
1) Filename(path) changed from from E:\Music\My Music... to /Volumes/E/Music/My Music...
2) Playback failed on that file
3) It deleted the original file on the HD "E" (yikes!) :o
4) Base Path (i.e. using Locate or Original path in RM&CF) was still /Volumes/E/Music/My Music...
What's really scary is that the deleted file can only be recovered if you have a backup of your music handy. Fortunately, I was able to restore it from a backup, but very concerning that simply changing Filename(name) could make my files disappear from the HD!
As for the "Home Base" you are referring to, I believe that is when my "E" drive is plugged into either of my PCs. And it remains correct after performing the edits. What changes is the Filename(path).
I'm just not understanding how it's possible to edit these files on the Mac and have it continue to work on the Mac (and the PC - my main platform) as well as updating the HD "E" without deleting the files. It sounds like you had luck with this which is why I was curious... but I'm not comprehending how it doesn't change your Filename(path) and break everything.
I can certainly live with not being able to do edits on the Mac, although it would be a huge plus.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version