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[Day Radebaugh]

I'm in a fix here, probably my own fault. 

Running MC on a MacBook, source file is on a server that died.  When I used File/Open Media File to open a backup of my source file, MC would not let me select the top level Folder or any collection of the subfolders to open.  So that didn't work. 

Problem 1: How do I point to a new source library?

Problem 2: Apparently I should have a Library that goes along with my source file; I've certainly spent enough time to re-tag and rearrange my music recently, and the arrangement of MC when I open it reflect these results.  I do not have a file in /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/J River/Media Center <version>/Library/ as specified in the Wiki because I don't have the Library subdirectory under my own User account.. I DO have a bunch of stuff under /Users/<user name>/Documents/JRiver/Media Center 30/Library Backups. So the question is where does all this information live that reflects all my tagging efforts?

How can I get this straightened out and back on the air?

Thanks

[JimH]

What do you mean by "source file"?  A single media file?  Or a library backup?

You probably want to restore a backup from your previous version, and then edit the locations by using Find and Replace. 

Read the two wiki topics on Backup and on Moving Files.  It's essential that you understand them. 

[Day Radebaugh]

 As I read the wiki, the topic on Backup refers to the Library zip file which contains the library and the settings portion.  But the Library file is not where the music lives.  The topic on Moving Files (Rename, Move and Copy and Find and Replace) refers to what I call the source file, which in my case is all the music I've collected, organized into various folders.  Would this be correct?

If so, then when I migrate my music to my new server, I should use MC's Rename, Move & Copy function to move the music source folders in the music database to the new location.  Doing it this way, rather than using some external file management program (such as Mac OS Finder), updates MC's Library file as well. is this correct?

I assume that the Rule instruction in the Wiki refers to the Filename Rule and Folder Rule found in Tools/Options/File Location. 

Thanks for the help.

[JimH]

...  when I migrate my music to my new server, I should use MC's Rename, Move & Copy function to move the music source folders in the music database to the new location.  Doing it this way, rather than using some external file management program (such as Mac OS Finder), updates MC's Library file as well. is this correct?

Yes.  Try a few and check your work.

[Day Radebaugh]

Thanks very much.

[blgentry]

Some information and terminology that might help a little:

* MC has a "Library".  In MC terms the "library" is the database.  The database is a directory with a bunch of files in it.  MC will not work without a library.  Yours should be in the default location unless you have created a new one in a different spot.
* The location of the library is normally not relevant to anything.  It should not be something you mess with even when restoring a backup, etc.
*  MC does backups of the library.  These backups happen automatically every few days.  You can also run manual backups.  The backups are stored as a ZIP file.  The location of these backups is specified in Tools > Options > File Location > Program Files > Library Backups .
*  What you are calling "source files" don't have an official name in MC terminology.  I generally call them "the media files".

If you move your media files somewhere else and you want to "reconnect" the database pointers to the new location of your media files, the Rename, Move, and Copy Files tool (RMCF) is the right tool.  Use it in "update database only" mode.

Usually the easiest part of RMCF to use for this is Find & Replace.  This makes it easy to substitute part of the path name for the new path.  The PREVIEW area is very useful and can help you to get the find and replace correct before you press OK. 

I hope some of this is helpful.  Good luck to you.

Brian.

[JimH]

*  What you are calling "source files" don't have an official name in MC terminology.  I generally call them "the media files".

Not quite.  It is also a library, a library of files, and I agree that this can be confusing.

You could think of the two as:

Your library of files
and
MC's database library