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[hakuin]

I am confused about the various ways that tags are changed, and the library is updated to reflect changes.

In MC's Options, I have enabled "Update Tags When File Info Changes".   

(1) What triggers tags to be updated?   Does MC constantly check for file changes?  What is the difference between a 'tag' and 'file info' -- aren't tags stored in the file?

(2) What consitutes a file change? If I change something in the library (e.g. cover art, or ratings) on one of my computers (and use Update Tags (from Library) to reflect the change in the file), then would the library on another computer automatically be updated (per the option setting above) to reflect this file change, or do I need to use the "Update Library (from Tags)" command on the second computer to have these tag/file changes reflected in the library?

(3) When you use "Import Media" with the "update tags for external changes" and "fix broken links" options enabled, does this essentially do the same thing as the "Update Libary (from tags)"?


Maybe I'm just confused, but what I am trying to do seems cumbersome.  I have MC running on two computers (living room, home office), both accessing a mapped, shared network HD where my music and cover art are located.  When I'm in my living room and I`make some changes (e.g. rate a song, add cover art, or change a field like genre), I would like (1) these changes to be automatically reflected in the tags/files and (2) these changes to then be reflected in the MC libary on my computer in my home office.  What is the easiest way to do this?   

[olarte]

I too have the same question\issue can someone respond?

thanks

[Alex B]

In MC's Options, I have enabled "Update Tags When File Info Changes".   

This is just a global switch for disabling and enabling tag writing. By default MC writes the most common fields to the media files when it can (not all media formats can contain tags and not all tagging formats are supported). When tag writing is disabled MC keeps the changed information only in the database and does not change the file tags.

Besides this global switch each editable library field has an option for disabling and enabling tag writing individually. (Tools > Options > Library > Library Fields > Edit)

(1) What triggers tags to be updated?   Does MC constantly check for file changes?  What is the difference between a 'tag' and 'file info' -- aren't tags stored in the file?

(2) What consitutes a file change? If I change something in the library (e.g. cover art, or ratings) on one of my computers (and use Update Tags (from Library) to reflect the change in the file), then would the library on another computer automatically be updated (per the option setting above) to reflect this file change, or do I need to use the "Update Library (from Tags)" command on the second computer to have these tag/file changes reflected in the library?

In this case 'file Info' means information that is in the database and 'tag' means a physical file tag inside a media file. Only changes that are made inside MC trigger tag writing. You need to do "Update Library (from tags)" for getting the info imported on another PC. However, the file tags may not contain all changed information.

(3) When you use "Import Media" with the "update tags for external changes" and "fix broken links" options enabled, does this essentially do the same thing as the "Update Libary (from tags)"?

I suppose the "Import Media" function can be used for updating the changed info from the file tags. Personally, I never use the import dialog. I import new files directly from the file folders (right-click -> Media Center > Import).

Maybe I'm just confused, but what I am trying to do seems cumbersome.  I have MC running on two computers (living room, home office), both accessing a mapped, shared network HD where my music and cover art are located.  When I'm in my living room and I`make some changes (e.g. rate a song, add cover art, or change a field like genre), I would like (1) these changes to be automatically reflected in the tags/files and (2) these changes to then be reflected in the MC libary on my computer in my home office.  What is the easiest way to do this?

If you make all changes with the living room PC you could run Library Server on it and use the office PC in the client mode. The client would get an updated library each time it connects.

Though, the Library Server connection is limited to plain playback. In these posts I have explained what I do when Library Server is not enough:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=29585.msg204025#msg204025
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=32484.msg223210#msg223210