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[tangolovers]

Hi,

I need to create a Portable Library of my music (and playlists) on an external/portable HD so I can easily play it from my 2 Windows-PC's or my MAC which all have MC26 installed (with my Master MC license).
 
My main MC library and music files are located on one of my PC's.  I have copied my Music folder/files and the MC library backup to external HD (Drive B) in order to connect it to my other machines and play it from there.  I am trying to use the Portable Library feature, but cannot figure out how and I can't find instructions anywhere.  I tried experimenting with the Portable Library Rule but cannot get it to work property.       

What I have tried so far on both my MAC and a 2nd PC (but nothing worked):

1) I performed a Library Restore from HD B, then

2) I selected File > Library > Portable Library and tried multiple times to set up a rule (but can't find an instructions).  I tried every which which way...  for example:
     oOn my MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie\Music\My Music|/Volumes/B/Music/My Music
     on my other PC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie\Music\My Music|E:\Music\My Music

3) Ran File Import

In both cases (PC & MAC) Everything appears to play and the paths look like they got converted correctly which is encouraging...  However, none of my playlists transferred at all.     I feel like I'm close, but obviously doing something very wrong. 

Any help in setting up with portable library would be very much appreciated!!

Thank you,
Susie

[RoderickGI]

I'm sure you have already searched the forum for "Portable Library". There are a few threads that may shed some light. But the closest thing to instructions are in the announcement thread:

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,122099.0.html

I haven't done anything with it except for a cursory look, as I don't have the need. So I am guessing a bit here.

If you ran step 3), the import process, you probably broke your testing. Or more correctly, bypassed the intended functionality simply by importing the media files from you external hard drive into the Library on your Mac, rather than successfully used the functionality. I think yesterday it hadn't worked for you, but today you have added the import step to your post. The fact that the Playlists haven't appeared supports that. Note that Playlists won't show up for freshly imported files, or have content if MC can't find the files referred to in the Playlist.

It is supposed to work. Check some other people's threads if you haven't already. I think it is a very simple solution to the issue, and may not be fully complete.


I'll try to make some time later to do a simple test of it. No promises though.

[tangolovers]

Hello again Roderick,

Thank you for taking time to respond.  You are most dedicated!! 

I'm sure you have already searched the forum for "Portable Library". There are a few threads that may shed some light. But the closest thing to instructions are in the announcement thread:

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,122099.0.html

I did search everything I could think of, including this site & the link.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anything enlightening. 

If you ran step 3), the import process, you probably broke your testing. Or more correctly, bypassed the intended functionality simply by importing the media files from you external hard drive into the Library on your Mac, rather than successfully used the functionality. I think yesterday it hadn't worked for you, but today you have added the import step to your post. The fact that the Playlists haven't appeared supports that. Note that Playlists won't show up for freshly imported files, or have content if MC can't find the files referred to in the Playlist.

It is supposed to work. Check some other people's threads if you haven't already. I think it is a very simple solution to the issue, and may not be fully complete.

I did in-fact run import because nothing was showing in Audio (other than approx 100 random audio files).  Then my music was visible & playable with correct paths, but no playlists.  I have searched both User Manual/Wiki & the forum to no avail.  Strangely, I have rarely found answers in the User Manual on Wiki.  Can you tell me what is the best source for getting detailed step by step instructions for things like "Portable Library" and the likes??  How would anyone figure these things out if not for a detailed user guide? 

I am praying that you have a few minutes to experiment with this.   

P.s. While I think it's tabu, I confess to posting my issue in 2 places...  MC26 Windows & Mac, because I didn't know how to make it visible for both platforms.

Thanks you,
Susie

[RoderickGI]

TL;DR
Change your rules to;

On my MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|/Volumes/B
On my other PC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|E:


====================================================================================

Unfortunately, there is a lot of detailed functionality in MC that has no detailed instructions. Users just have to get in there and try stuff.

To that end, I had a go and got it working. Don't celebrate yet though, as I don't have a Mac or Linux computer any more, so I just tested between two Windows PCs, and that is a little easier.

So, some background:
The music on my HTPC resides at "G:\Music", which is also shared via Windows sharing as "\\WILMA\Music"
I planned to do a Library Backup on my HTPC and Restore it on my Workstation, so that I can play the music from my HTPC on my Workstation using a local Library.

What I did:
First I did the Library Backup on my HTPC and copied to a location visible to my Workstation.
I then turned off Auto Import in my Workstation settings.
I then created a new blank Library on my Workstation, and made sure it didn't start importing everything it found. I have that setting turned off, but wanted to be sure.
I then Restored the Library Backup from my HTPC to the new Library on my Workstation. I did not Restore settings, just the Library and Playlists.
I then added the Portable Library rule "\\WILMA\Music|G:\Music" and tried to play back some music. That didn't work.

As an interlude, when I tried to play tracks MC told me it was having trouble tagging files. I thought to myself; "Why is it trying to tag files?" I checked if Auto Import was on, and sure enough, it was. The settings was off in the new Library, and I didn't Restore settings.  I turned Auto Import off again.

I then set up a new Portable Library rule "G:\Music|\\WILMA\Music" and tried to play back some music. That worked just fine.
I checked a few Playlists, which played fine.
I noted that all files were showing the "Missing File" icon, so I rebuilt thumbnails to correct that. It required three runs before MC said all thumbnails had been built. It didn't fix all thumbnails.
I had a look at the Missing Cover Art Smartlist, which showed 2223 files still didn't have Cover Art. Okay, that Library is still a bit of a mess. But some files showed the "Missing File" icon instead of the default thumbnail, and those files played fine. That shouldn't happen. I didn't investigate that further though. Okay, I did look around a bit more. Most of the problem was that the Library was pointing to locations other than "G:\Music", so there was no Portable Library rule and no share. The only files that have a "Missing File" icon now are those that can't be accessed by MC, because there is no share available.

So, when setting up the Portable Library rules, the first part of the rule is where the Library thinks the files are, and the second part if where the files can actually be found. Therefore your two Portable Library rules;
On my MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie\Music\My Music|/Volumes/B/Music/My Music
On my other PC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie\Music\My Music|E:\Music\My Music

Should have worked... as long as the music can actually be found at "/Volumes/B/Music/My Music" on the Mac, and "E:\Music\My Music" on the other PC. As you aren't using files on a remote share, you shouldn't need to do any sharing, because you are pointing to "local" files.


I'm thinking that the problem could be the space in "My Music", which appears in both the Source and Destination parts of your rules. Maybe try quoting those... or maybe not. I just tried using a rule "G:\Music"|"\\WILMA\Music" (with quotes) and nothing worked. Files wouldn't play.

Maybe the functionality can't handle spaces in the path. The configuration of the rules is pretty basic, so a simple thing like that may have been missed.
Maybe the functionality was intended to be used with remote files, such as in my test, rather than having files available on the Mac and the other PC via an external drive.
Maybe there is something else going on.

You definitely need to Restore the Library Backup again, and not run Auto Import to make the files visible in MC on the Mac and other PC.

Finally, I guess as no-one else has asked for help, maybe the functionality was thrown together quickly then launched, so see if anyone tried it. As far as I know, you are the first to ask for help with it. If people aren't using it, it isn't going to get much attention. I'm not sure the functionality was refined to even handle thumbnails properly, given my observations. It works, sort of, but not entirely.
.
.
.

Wait. I just noticed the files in "G:\Music Ripped Separately", which does have a Windows share setup on the HTPC, also play correctly. But there is no rule for that directory specifically. So MC is actually just doing a simple character search and replace of the [Filename] field.

i.e. My rule "G:\Music|\\WILMA\Music" is simply taking the path;
G:\Music Ripped Separately\Yello\Stella\11 - Angel No.flac

and substituting "\\WILMA\Music" for "G:\Music" to give the new path;
\\WILMA\Music Ripped Separately\Yello\Stella\11 - Angel No.flac

So what you should do is change your rules to;

On my MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|/Volumes/B
On my other PC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|E:


I just changed my rule from "G:\Music|\\WILMA\Music" to "G:|\\WILMA" and that worked. When I tried "G:\|\\WILMA" it didn't work, so there is no intelligence in this functionality, other than substituting forward slashes and backslashes, which I think was already there. It just does a character substitution.

[tangolovers]

Gee whiz, thank you for taking so much time to do all this Roderick!   Wow, that was a lot of information you provided, although I'm not sure I understood everything precisely - especially the Windows sharing bit.

I ran everything again from scratch, but excluding the MAC, only going from one PC to another PC.  But first, I renamed my external HD “B” to “E” to avoid confusion with my other HD’s.

My Steps (PC to PC):
1)   Music DB copied to external HD “E” along with Library Backup (from before).
2)   I turned off Auto-Import.
3)   I did not create a "new blank library", because I have no idea how.  Could you explain how to do this? 
        Is this really necessary if I’m restoring a backup?
4)   I restored the backup library from external HD “E”, and unchecked Restore Settings.   
5)   Verified Auto-Import is still off.
6)   Added Portable Library Rule:  File > Library > Portable Library > Add Rule > C:\users\susie|E:  (just like you said). 
        When that didn't work, I tried C:\users\susie\Music|E:\Music.   See attachment.
7)     Rebuilt thumbnails:  Tools > Cover Art > Rebuild Thumbnails.


My Results
All audio files appear under Audio (very encouraging), but have “Missing File” or “-“ icon and nothing plays.  They all give Error message “Something went wrong with playback, file could not be found”.   The good news is that my playlists “appear” completely in-tact the way they are supposed to be, so it must seeing the files on HD “E” but it's not changing the Filename(path) because I see it is still C:\users\susie, which I think is the main problem.  Rebuilding thumbnails had no effect.

I feel like I'm so close... but out of ideas.

[RoderickGI]

When you say you have renamed your B drive to E, was that on the Mac, in the mounted drive definition? i.e. /Volumes/B changed to /Volumes/E?

Did you also tell Windows to always use the E:\ drive for your external drive?

Select one of the files that doesn't play, then right-click it and select "Locate > On Disk (external)". Does MC try to open the directory in which the file resides. i.e. On the external drive, called E:? It should open Windows Explorer at the correct location, or MC will return an error. If you get the error, what does it say?


You appear to have done everything right in MC, but maybe Windows doesn't know that your external drive is E:.

[tangolovers]

Yes, I renamed the drive to "E" in both Windows & Mac.  So my Portable Library Rule was entered as follows:

   PC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|E:
   MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|/Volumes/E

On My PC
Okay, here's my latest update.  On the PC I could see all 8124 Audio files under "Audio", however nothing played.  I could also see all of my playlists and they looked just as they should and the Filename(path) was still pointing to C:\users\susie\....  (see attachment #1).  So, in my infinite wisdom (or ignorance), I decided to do the following (as best as I can recall):

1)   I ran restore library multiple times and same results w/nothing playing…. so...

2)   I ran Tools > Library Tools > RMC > Update database to join to new location > Find & Replace > C:\users\susie\ with E:\
If I recall correctly it sort of worked because I think all of the files played but many still had "-" next to them yet they played fine.  Very mysterious.  The Filenames(path) still C:\users\susie…

3)   I ran Tools > Library Tools > RMC > Rename… > Find & Replace > C:\users\susie with E:

4)   Still same results… I think.

5)   Then I attempted to Remove all files & send to Recycle Bin to start over again.  But then I realized it was deleting my music from external HD “E”, which I had to copy all over again…. 

6)   This morning I plugged in the external HD and now all music plays perfectly & playlists appear to be perfect and so far I don’t see any with “-“.   Why it all seems so suddenly perfect is a mystery.  But it seems that RMC had something to do with it, although I believe Portable Library was supposed to eliminate this step altogether. 

Anyhow, it’s now working on the PC and I can’t explain it.   My recollection is that before Portable Library function existed the issue with RMC was getting the playlists to translate correctly, but that’s just my recollection. 

7)   Last observation… when I go back to RMC > Rename, the display panel to the right under “Original” the path is E:\Music…  (see attachment #2). but back in Audio is shows C:\users\susie….  Seems very strange, but yet it all seems to work fine. 

Moving to my Mac
I haven’t done anything else other than Restore Library & set Portable Library Rule exactly as you stated above.  I see 8125 Audio files (not sure why the 1 extra file) under "Audio", however nothing plays – everything has “-“.   Playlists all seem to be as they should but Filename(path) was still pointing to C:\users\susie\...  HOWEVER, in RMC I discovered the path is goofy:   /Volume/E\Music\My Music…  (see attachment #3).  So, there’s obviously an issue with the slashes.

Select one of the files that doesn't play, then right-click it and select "Locate > On Disk (external)". Does MC try to open the directory in which the file resides. i.e. On the external drive, called E:? It should open Windows Explorer at the correct location, or MC will return an error. If you get the error, what does it say?

On my PC:    Locate > On Disk (external) yields:  It does take me to the exact file on drive "E:". 
On my Mac:  Locate > On Disk (external) yields:  Error, File Missing The file '/Volumes/E\Music..." does not exist.  Logically, because the slashes are goofy.

So, what do you think Roderick?  Should I do Portable Library and RMC combination on the Mac or do you think there’s an easier way?

[RoderickGI]

1) No use doing that.

2) If you did that correctly it should have worked, for that PC and copy of the Library only, but then you wouldn't be using the Portable Library functionality, and you would have to do it every time you ran MC connected to a different PC. The [Filename (path)] field should have updated. Maybe you didn't wait for a refresh of the View. The missing file icon is a bit of a mystery, but again, maybe due to thumbnails not having been built yet, or something else... but that isn't the solution.

3) & 4) Same same, as 2).

5) Oops. MC was just doing what you asked.

6) MC had time to refresh thumbnails. Also having shut down MC and disconnected the drive, MC had to check for the status of the files and refresh the View. I'm pretty sure that Playlists were correctly preserved if you used the RM&CF function to Update the Library to point to a new location. The RM&CF Find & Replace function may not preserve the Playlists. I haven't tried that. But in theory, it should have been okay.
Note also that the external drive needs to be spun up for MC to show the files as available, to rebuild thumbnails, and for a bunch of other functions. Make sure the external drive is running when testing, and hasn't gone to sleep.

7) Attachment #2 is normal after what you have done using RM&CF. You don't say whether you Restored a Library Backup between 2) and 3), but either would result in what you see in the attachment. You should be using Views to check where the files now are, not RM&CF.
I'm not sure what you were seeing when you say "but back in Audio is shows C:\users\susie….", if you had done the RM&CF functions. Maybe the View just hadn't been refreshed. If by "Audio" you just mean the Audio tab shown in attachment #1, then the View needed refreshing. However, on your originally Restored Library from the source PC, before doing RM&CF, it would be correct that MC should show the file location as in "C:\users\susie". MC just needs to do the translation when it wants to play the file, or otherwise access it. The Library stays as it was in the source PC, which means the [Filename] field still points to "C:\users\susie". That is correct.

Moving to my Mac)
What you have done here should have worked. Please don't use the RM&CF function to show the file location, because that substitutes into the path the values defined in the Portable Library rule. As above, [Filename] and [Filename (path)] will continue to point to "C:\users\susie".

For example, in my Portable Library the path to the file is defined as "G:", which is correct on the source HTPC. That isn't changed using this functionality, unlike when you use the RM&CF function to change the Library, as you have for your PC above. Now if I select some files using the RM&CF function, MC substitutes in the actual file locations using the Portable Library rules, so my RM&CF function shows the files in "\\WILMA". Also, if I run the "On Disk (external)" function on a file that says it is on the G: drive, Windows Explorer opens to the \\WILMA\Music\... etc. directory correctly.

Use a View that shows the [Filename (path)] field or [Filename] field. It should be as per the original Library.

However, using the RM&CF function is useful to show how MC is implementing the substitution on the Mac, with the forward and back slashes. But if this functionality was ever going to work, MC needs to handle the mixed "goofy" slashes, and work correctly anyway. I believe that it is supposed to.

That is why I wanted you to do the right-click test, before running the RM&CF function on the Library.
When you say the test worked on the PC, was that before or after you had run the RM&CF?

On the Mac, that error message indicates the functionality isn't working as intended. JRiver need to fix that. Or maybe it is a setup issue on your Mac?

So, what do you think Roderick?  Should I do Portable Library and RMC combination on the Mac or do you think there’s an easier way?

While running the RM&CF function to replace "C:\users\susie\" with "/Volumes/E" would work, though maybe not for Playlists, as above you would need to keep doing it all the time. The Portable Library functionality is supposed to make that unnecessary.

You should absolutely not use the Portable Library functionality and run the RM&CF function. You should just use one or the other. If you are willing to stick with the Portable Library functionality, perhaps we could get JRiver to comment on whether your scenario, going from a PC to a Mac, should be working, and if so, fix the issue or provide some direction.

It is possible that you need to do something on the Mac to make your "/Volumes/E" visible. I assume that if you enter that in Finder, OSX displays the mount point correctly?


Finally, I have just noticed in the example text in the Portable Library rules definition, a trailing forward slash is shown. See attached image. I think that is a typo, but maybe try, on the Mac, changing you rule to;

MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|/Volumes/E/

[tangolovers]

On my PC
2)  I wasn't even aware you could or needed to refresh the View.  How is this done??  I agree, I expected Portable Library function to take the place of having to use RM&CF.  Now that I mistakenly tried RM&CF is there a way to easily go back (undo RM&CF) an re-test just the Portable Library function?   

6)  In retrospect, I’m not sure I used RM&CF correctly because the first time I checked “Update database…” and the only other box checked was Find & Replace (I think), and frankly I don't have a clear understanding of how all this works.  I don't think there was any issue on PC or Mac with HD being spun up, but I'll keep that in mind. 

7)  I can’t recall whether I did a Restore between 2) & 3), but anyhow, I still think I may have used RM&CF incorrectly. 

By “Views”, do you mean the view like my attachment #1 (previous reply)?  If so, that View points to C:\users\susie, but the actual files are on “E:”, so how would I use that View to check where the files are now?

Yes, I was referring to attachment #1 where “Audio” is highlighted.  But how do I refresh that View?   I’m not sure where to go from here on the PC since it’s working at the moment, unless you think it’s worth clearing out my changes and running another test.  If so, I’m not sure how to go about this…


Moving to my Mac
Is attachment #1 the View you are referring to?  If so, the View on my Mac looks identical to the one on my PC, where Filename(path) points to C:\users\susie… If this is not the view you are referring to please tell me how to display it and how to refresh it.

I thought I had not used RM&CF on the Mac, but now I have doubts looking at attachment #2 (previous reply) -  it looks like I may have.  What do you suggest now?

Sorry if I got the right-click test out of order, I got tangled up in the instructions and I probably confused things by talking about the Mac at the same time.  My mistake.  Let me know if we should talk about these separately going forward.

[As for the test that worked on the PC:  after I ran Restore Library and set the Portable Library rule, nothing played, but I could see everything looked like it was there in the right place, playlists and all.  I tried multiple restores with different rules & syntax, but nothing worked.  So feeling hopeless I ran RM&CF.   Many files had "-", while other’s appeared perfectly normal, yet they all played just fine, even the one's with "-".  That's when I Rebuilt Thumbnails a couple of times, which had no visible affect.  I think it was after I rebooted that everything suddenly looked perfect and worked fine.]

As for the Mac, I wouldn’t know how to tell if it’s a setup issue or how to fix it.

I agree... I too had thought/hoped that Portable Library function would replace having to use RM&CF altogether!  I definitely prefer to use Portable Library alone if possible.  How would I get JRiver to comment on this if necessary?

In Mac Finder my drive appears as E (attachment#1).   

I did try to other syntax you suggested with the added slash (after removing the previous rule of course).  MAC Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|/Volumes/E/
That didn’t work either...   After that, I reset the rule back to C:\users\susie:/Volumes/E, ran Restore Library and looked at RM&CM only to see if it reset anything (attachment #2), right clicked on an audio file and got “File Missing” error (attachment #3). 

BTW, on a side note:   Should I be doing something different w/my attachments so they aren't so huge and cumbersome?  I thought they used be be small icons at the bottom that you had to click on and now they're full size.  Seems like it gets in the way of following the story.

[RoderickGI]

2) Refresh is F5 in Windows, or the circular arrow to the left of tabs in Standard View. See my first attached image. I don't know the function key for a Mac, but the Refresh button is visible in your images. Most Views refresh as changes occur. Sometimes they need a prompt. If something does look right, refresh the View.
My understanding is that you didn't actually move the files with the RM&CF function on the second PC or the Mac. (EDIT: I might have changed my mind on that now.) You just updated the Library. So all you need to do to reverse the process is to Restore the Library that you used earlier.

6) Okay. As above. If you did actually move files, I guess you will need to copy them from the source PC to the external drive again, in addition to Restoring the Library Backup again. I'm assuming from what you have told me that you have a full copy of all media files in "C:\users\susie\" on the first PC, and have copied all those files to the external drive which is now known as E:\ on the second PC, and "/Volumes/E" on the Mac.

7)       Yes, a View is what is shown in your first attachment, previous post.
You seem to be using the top level in the Audio structure with a defined Panes View in that image. Normally a user would use the Views underneath that top level, and leave the top level as just a navigation structure. So the Views under Audio are "Albums", "Artist", "Genres", "Panes", "Recent Albums", and "3D Albums".
You can check where the files actually are using the "Locate > On Disk (external)" function. That will show them on the E: drive.
I think you should get it working on the PC before the Mac, without the RM&CF function being run. Once you know that the Portable Library function works, and understand how it works, then move on to the Mac. Clear out your changes as above.

Moving to my Mac)
Perhaps we should only talk about the second PC implementation for now. It is confusing to switch back and forth. Also, if you can't be certain of the sequence you did things, then it is hard to diagnose any problem.

For example, the third image in your previous post does show in the RM&CF function on the Mac that you had already run the "Find & Replace" in there, as the Original path of the files are shown in "/Volumes/E\Music\My Music".

Also, turn off "Find & Replace" whenever you are displaying or using RM&CF. While it works, it confuses things, and is a bit brute force. It is good functionality when used at the appropriate time, but it isn't helping solve the Portable Library issue.

Reading back through all this I am mixing up Mac and PC images now.


JRiver will comment as priorities allow... or not. However, if we get the Portable Library working on the PC, and then do the same thing for the Mac and it doesn't work, JRiver will be more interested in assisting. At the moment we are a bit all over the place... and long winded, which is not unusual for me!

Note that your third image on your most recent post shows that the Portable Library rule has not been applied on the Mac, when you ran the "Locate > On Disk (external)" function. That is good information, but it is lost a bit in all the other information.

What I would like to see in future attempts on the Mac and PC is a similar image, but with the [Filename] field visible in the View as well as the error message, so that there is no doubt where the Library thinks the file is, and that it isn't applying the Portable Library rule. I would want you to check that rule immediately before doing the "Locate > On Disk (external)" test as well. But that is for later, and on the PC first.


Regarding attachments in the forum, I think JRiver changed the way images display a while back. Mine do it as well. I'm still undecided which way I prefer, but I used to display large images in some post previously to get the message across. I think just live with it.

[tangolovers]

2) Ok, finally found the Refresh button.  Pretty obvious now...
No, I did not move any files to my PC#2 or my Mac.  On one occasion I tried to start over by selecting all > Remove from media library > send to recycle bin until I realized it was deleting files from external HD.   That's when I recopied everything to the external HD a day ago.  No audio stored locally on PC or Mac!

So here’s what I did to reverse and redo on PC
2.a)  I reversed the process by removing all files from library.
2.b)  Deleted Portable Library rule.
2.c)  Ran Restore Library again. 
       (Now, RM&CF shows Original Path pointing to C:\users\susie, but I didn't run anything in RM&CF) 
2.d)  Set Portable Library Rule 1 = C:\users\susie|E:, checked in RM&CF and now Original path indicates E:\Music… 
        Note:  I don't know any other way to verify it's pointing to E: other than Locate>On Drive which is pretty tedious for 8124 files, so I can only spot check,
                  whereas RM&CF allows me to see all files at one time, which is why I keep looking there)
2.e)  Then, on several files I did Rt-click > Locate > On Disk (external).
        Most of them locate on E: as expected, but there are a number that just open to My Documents folder. 
        It seems pretty random, which drives my analytical brain crazy.  I can't find a pattern.

Results
All 8124 audio files are visible, all seem to play fine, playlists look perfect!  However, there are large handful of random files that still have “-“ , yet they play and R-click>Locate finds them on E:.  Refresh had no visible effect.  Initially a reboot fixed most, but not all, with "-".   A good night sleep seems to have fixed all of them and everything looks perfect again!    I guess there's just a long delay to update.

6)  No audio files were ever copied to PC#2 or Mac.  And “E” is fine since after I recopied everything from the source PC 2 days ago.

7) Ooops… I wasn’t aware of that.  I will consider what you said and try to use it properly going forward… thanks!  See my notes above regarding "Locate > On Disk".

Yes…. forgive me for bringing the Mac into this too soon, but I foolishly though it might make sense. 

What I would like to see in future attempts on the Mac and PC is a similar image, but with the [Filename] field visible in the View as well as the error message, so that there is no doubt where the Library thinks the file is, and that it isn't applying the Portable Library rule. I would want you to check that rule immediately before doing the "Locate > On Disk (external)" test as well. But that is for later, and on the PC first.

I don't quite understand what you're asking....   The PC “appears” to be working perfectly now,  so I'm not getting any error messages.  Locate seems to find most audio on E:, as mentioned above, although there are exceptions, yet "everything" still plays.  Are you telling me to verify the PL rule just before doing “Locate > On Disk” on multiple files (there are 8124 so I'm spot checking) or should I check the PL rule for each file that I attempt to locate? 

I did prefer the smaller attachment icons, made it easier to focus on the thread.  Oh well…

[RoderickGI]

G'Day Susie.

Yes, I did intend you to just spot check a number of files using the Locate > On Disk function, not check every file! Using the RM&CF function to do a mass check is fine.

It sounds like the second Windows PC is now working fine with the media files on the external drive. Leave that running like that for a few days worth of use, and see if any issues show up. Yes, checking that all the files exist on an external drive and building thumbnails the can take MC a while to complete, but it shouldn't be hours for only 8,124 files. MC doesn't exactly report what it is doing, but the number of thumbnails will be increasing in the top menu "Help > System Info" view.

I do hope that Auto Import was off when you were doing the above work, and hence the Auto Import "Fix broken links" function wasn't being used to repoint MC to the E:\ drive. Your Library should still point to "C:\users\susie" in the [Filename] field.



I mocked up a few images to show what I was talking about.

The first shows the Portable Library rule being applied correctly, but the file still not being found. That is because in this case, my HTPC (which is called WILMA) was asleep, so the drive with the media files on it wasn't available. That would happen for you if you forgot to connect the external drive.

The second image shows the Portable Library rule has not been applied, and of course the file is not found.

The third image shows the Portable Library rule has been applied, but the rule is wrong. In this case I used a rule of "G:\|\\WILMA", which removed a slash between WILMA and Music, as show by the red mark, and so the file isn't found.

Having visibility of the [Filename] field as a column in a View, and the error message showing what MC was looking for when it couldn't find a file, clarifies both the status of the [Filename] field in the MC Library, and what the Portable Library rule is doing to find the file. That will be very useful when we look at using the Portable Library with the Mac.

[RoderickGI]

On your Mac, change the Portable Library rule to:

MAC Rule 1 = C:\Users\susie|/Volumes/E

Does that work now?

[tangolovers]

First of all, I think Matt may have discovered a bug or anomaly because he says he's going to send me a new build to try.  Hopefully it will come soon.

I knew you didn't want to me run Locate on all 8124 files, but being that I found a number that seemed to point to My Docs (they still play), I wasn't sure how to proceed.  At least RM&FC gives me a more comprehensive view of everything.

I check System Info and it indicated that only 500+ files had Thumbnails Built and it's already been about 2 days...  Running Rebuild Thumbnails now and it currently shows 48% (3866). 

Auto Import was still turned off, but I don't know how to check Auto Import "Fix broken links".... I don't find this anywhere.  Looked in Wiki but couldn't make enough sense of it. 

Thank you for the screenshots....  took me a little while to digest but now I understand how you're using it...  I've attached mine and you can see how the PL Rule is clearly not translating correctly (slashes going in both directions).  Maybe that has something to do with what Matt discovered... fingers crossed.  See my attachment...

Funny you should ask me to try MAC Rule 1 = C:\Users\susie|/Volumes/E.  It occurred to me, but them I dismissed it thinking... nah... that wouldn't make sense.   Anyhow, I tried it and still didn't work. 

[RoderickGI]

Thanks for trying. That image tells the story.

Matt found that the PL rule was being applied case sensitively, so C:\users\susie didn't match C:\Users\susie. I have the new version and tested it using a rule that didn't match the case of my drives. It worked.

The slashes may still be an issue, but I thought that was already taken care of. I guess we shall see when you install and test the new version.

PS: Note that the substitution did work with the PL rule set to C:\Users\susie. So that is progress over the earlier attempts.

[tangolovers]

Just to make sure we're on the same page...

My my previous replay about Rebuilding Thumbnails & Auto Import were all having to do with the PC, since that's what we've been working on.  It's almost done fixing thumbnails.  Is there still something I should check regarding Auto Import "Fix broken links"?   Was the case sensitivity issue on PC as well?  It just so happens that I entered it as C:\Users\susie|E:, so I wouldn't have known. 

Then, I think we switched gears to Mac because you told me to try a new rule.

[RoderickGI]

My my previous replay about Rebuilding Thumbnails & Auto Import were all having to do with the PC, since that's what we've been working on.

Yep. I understood that.

Is there still something I should check regarding Auto Import "Fix broken links"?   

Nothing special. It is a setting in Auto Import configuration. I just didn't want Auto Import running, and fixing broken links, because that would have mucked up testing of the PL functionality, and made understanding what was going on very difficult.

Was the case sensitivity issue on PC as well?  It just so happens that I entered it as C:\Users\susie|E:, so I wouldn't have known.

Yes, it was on the PC. That is where I tested it.

Did you use C:\Users\susie? Because in all the above you wrote or it appears to be lower case, except in the Library, which is why it wouldn't match. In Reply #4 the image of the rule is in lower case. It doesn't matter now though.

Then, I think we switched gears to Mac because you told me to try a new rule.

I didn't realise you were talking to Matt on the other thread until today. As you have, I think discuss the Mac issues over there from now on.


Getting close to fixing it though.

[tangolovers]

I sure appreciate all your assistance again Roderick!  You're insight and willingness to help is always amazing!   

On the PC, the only thing that is still weird and unexplainable is why Locate > On Disk (external) still points to My Documents.  But since everything seems to play so far, I'm not too concerned about it unless you think there's still an underlying issue.

See you around soon! 

Thank you,
Susie

[RoderickGI]

It doesn't point to My Documents for all files though... No, you said it doesn't.

        Most of them locate on E: as expected, but there are a number that just open to My Documents folder. 
        It seems pretty random, which drives my analytical brain crazy.  I can't find a pattern.

So Windows must be defaulting to the My Documents folder for some reason. Perhaps when it can't find a file exactly. There could be other reasons, but I think they would all be Windows reasons.

Why don't you try to install the Windows version Matt sent you onto your second PC, and see if that issue goes away. If it doesn't then provide some examples of the [Filename] field for some files that do this. I'm thinking maybe Windows has some File Association set for the file types, and defaults to trying to open those files with either Windows Explorer or some other application. Or it could be the MC settings in "Options > File Types".

Also confirm that Windows Explorer does open, just in the My Documents folder instead of where the file is located, or not. Also if any file is highlighted (selected) in Windows Explorer when it happens.


I'm happy to help on interesting problems, and also, in this case, I think the Portable Library functionality is a great idea. So I wanted to see it work. I've not seen anyone else report actually using it, so it is good of you to work through the issues and help fix the existing functionality. Who knows, one day I might want to share a Library with a Linux machine, and would need this. 

[tangolovers]

I ran the latest version of MC and same results.  Locate still points to My Docs for some files, although its a small percentage of the little spot checking I did. 

I think I've isolated the problem.  From what I can see so far, it's related to special characters, which look just fine in View mode, but as soon as you attempt to Rename, suddenly there's an extra space where the special character belongs...  I recall going through an arduous process with you previously to repair all of the special characters because they were causing files not to play.  Now, there doesn't seem to be any problem with playing files on the PC, but the problem still seems to exist.  So either they call came back, or only some of them couldn't play before.   In either case, the only problem it seems to pose is using Locate.  Other than that they play.  I also confirmed the extra space is there on the Mac too.   Ugggh!!

I can't be the only one with special characters.  I wonder why MC is inserting an extra space...  Surely I won't have to locate every file in 8124 with special characters and manually edit them?

[RoderickGI]

While I was hopeful the new version would fix the Case issue, if Matt saw something else while he was working on it and fixed it, but I wasn't very confident.

I see from the image that Windows Explorer has actually opened the C:\Users\Susie directory, and has highlighted the "My Documents" directory, rather than opening the "C:\Users\Susie\My Documents" directory. That is a minor issue but it does make a difference, as Windows Explorer will often open the User's Home Directory if it is opened and can't complete the task, as in this case.

I also note that the directory "Susie" has a capital "S" rather than a lower case "s". That could have been an issue before, but not with the new version MC26.0.102.

The Special Characters issue needs to be addressed by JRiver. Other people have certainly reported the problem, typically when moving Libraries or files from Mac to Windows. The problem is to do with how Special Characters are stored and displayed for certain Code Pages, I believe. But I can't test and prove that. We tried everything last time, and the result wasn't really a permanent fix.

I'm not surprised the Special Characters issue has shown up again, now that you are using the Portable Library functionality. But I was hoping it wouldn't appear again, as you are starting from a Windows Library that has been "fixed" and sharing it to a Mac, rather than the other way around.

Anyway, we shall have to wait to see what feedback we get.

[tangolovers]

Why would MC even look in the C:\drive if I've set a Portable Library Rule to E:?

What's more weird is that my profile folder is not capitalized...  For starters, I accidentally mis-spelled my own name (yes, really) when I reformatted so it looks like... C:\Users\susoe.  Later I created a second folder hoping to fix the problem (obviously didn't work) and it's C:\Users\susie (empty), with lower case.  So where it's getting the capitalized version is beyond me.  And... the only place My Documents folder appears is in C:\Users\susoe.  See attachment.

I'm not surprised the Special Characters issue has shown up again, now that you are using the Portable Library functionality. But I was hoping it wouldn't appear again, as you are starting from a Windows Library that has been "fixed" and sharing it to a Mac, rather than the other way around.

Anyway, we shall have to wait to see what feedback we get.

Is there a possibility this character glitch could originate during import?  FWIW, the majority of my music was originally ripped in Windows then ported to Mac.  What's strange is that after we fixed all the special character issues (on my PC#2) I purchased PC#1 and made that my primary.  So I don't recall moving anything from Mac to PC after we fixed the character glitches. 

When we fixed the character issue before, it was easy to isolate them, I think because they didn't play or something like that.  I don't know if they reverted back or if there were other files with special characters that appeared to function normally, making it impossible to isolate & repair them.

[RoderickGI]

MC uses Windows file calls, and when Windows Explorer can't get to a directory, or fails to do some tasks for any reason, Windows Explorer defaults back to displaying the User's directory.

The answer to the capitalisation is in your attachment. At the top it shows "Susie > My Documents". So it looks like you created an account called "Susoe", which created the permanent folder used by the account, then you changed the name used for the account to "Susie" some time later. It used to be easy to do that, but isn't in Windows 10 these days. (Annoying!) So Windows Explorer is showing the User name rather than the directory name. If you click in the header where it says "Susie > My Documents", it will probably change to "C:\Users\susoe\Documents". (My Documents isn't used by Windows 10 anymore. It just uses "Documents".)  Check that directory name.

HINT: If Windows Explorer just shows "Documents" when you click on "Susie > My Documents", double click on the "JRiver" directory, and then click in the header. It should then show as "C:\Users\susoe\Documents\JRiver

But that begs the question: Where are your music files actually stored? I know that they are on the E:\ drive, but on your first PC, are they still in the C:\Users\Susie directory, and if so, is that really a valid directory or not, and if so, are you using the files in that directory?

I think you need to confirm all that.




The special character issue: I think get the Platform.jmd file sorted out first, and see if that fixes it. But if most of your files were ripped on Windows, could all of the current problem files have been ripped on the Mac?

The files wouldn't have just reverted, but Auto Import may have fixed what seemed to have been broken links.

[tangolovers]

Thank you for pointing this out...  I was never going to figure that out!  What a mess.  At some point soon I will reformat PC#2 and fix the folder name so it's not such a mess.  Not much on that computer anymore and it's partitioned, so very easy to do.  Primary use is for music.

The previous attachment and the misspelled user folder is all on PC#2, which is my older backup PC.  Before I started with Portable Library I deleted all music files stored locally.  That's the one where we originally worked out all of the special character glitches.  Then I purchased a new one and moved everything (all music) there (PC#1).  My music files still reside on PC#1 in C:\Users\susie\Music\My Music\.  Just double checked.  In addition, I copied all music files from PC#1 to E:\Music\My Music\.  Thats why PC#2 Portable library rule = C:\Users\susie|E:.  I assume it's okay to keep the music local on that drive and use the portable drive for all other computers?

HINT: If Windows Explorer just shows "Documents" when you click on "Susie > My Documents", double click on the "JRiver" directory, and then click in the header. It should then show as "C:\Users\susoe\Documents\JRiver

Yes, you are correct on all counts!  Yuck!!   

As for the special character problem files:  It is possible that some were ripped on the Mac, but I'm pretty sure that most of the ones with special character glitches were ripped on Windows long before I had the Mac.  Unfortunately, it's it's just too long ago to be absolutely certain one way or the other.  But I sure hope there's a fix so I don't have to find each one and fix it manually...  it will be much harder this time to find them.