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Author Topic: Import process - please suggest improvements  (Read 1729 times)

Osho

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Import process - please suggest improvements
« on: July 26, 2008, 12:51:36 am »

Hi Everyone,

One great thing with MC12's organizational capability is that virtually everything is possible. This also motivates me to organize my music and associated meta-data (Cover art image files, scans of CD back & inside liner notes, information about artist in .txt or .html files etc.) properly. Currently, all this data is spread out widely between multiple directories in not so well-organized manner. My goal is to organize them in the following manner:

- Keep all music in H:\Sorted Music\Genre\Artist\Album\ hierarchy.
- Keep Covert Art for each track embedded inside the track.
- Keep all meta-data for an album in the same directory where the music files are.

In order to achieve this, I have to do the following for each unsorted album.

- Import all the meta-data files in the MC12 library. Usually this includes an image file that is to be used as the Cover Art for the album.
- Go to this directory in a special view scheme under Documents which shows all of the music + meta-data files.
- Select all the music files in the album. Right Click and select Cover Art -> Add From File. Now, select the right image file from the album directory so that the cover art is embedded inside each track.
- Import the newly created Cover Art file in MC12 (I don't know why this doesn't happen instantly).
- Manually change the tags for Genre, Artist and Album for all meta-data files to match the album (use Assorted as Artist tag for multiple artists album).
- Select all files. Right click and choose Library Tools -> Rename, Move & Copy Files. Choose both Directory and Filename and assign the appropriate values so that this album will move in the properly location under H:\Sorted Music\.


I have to do this for 100s of albums that are all over the place. This long process is driving me crazy. Why can't I choose a MC12 mode which automatically assigns the right Genre, Artist and Album tracks to all the meta-data in a album (found in the same directory as where album music track files are) and automatically move them whenever I move the entire album??

thanks,
Osho



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JimH

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Re: Import process - please suggest improvements
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2008, 07:36:58 am »

- Import all the meta-data files in the MC12 library. Usually this includes an image file that is to be used as the Cover Art for the album.
- Go to this directory in a special view scheme under Documents which shows all of the music + meta-data files.
Under playlists, there is a stock playlist called "Recently Imported".

Have you tried the new Cover Art option called "Get from Internet"?  It's a big improvement over the old system.

In the tag itself, click on the cover art thumbnail even if it's blank.  Then right click to get cover art options.  I believe you can then drag and drop from Explorer.
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Osho

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Re: Import process - please suggest improvements
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2008, 07:34:14 am »

Under playlists, there is a stock playlist called "Recently Imported".

Yes, I am aware of it but that doesn't help in my case because some of the unsorted albums have been there forever in my library. Primarily because it is so hard to properly tag and move files.

Have you tried the new Cover Art option called "Get from Internet"?  It's a big improvement over the old system.
Yes, I have tried the Cover Art option to get from Internet. It is indeed big improvement. I have also found that adding a special external program (Right Click -> Send To -> Send To (external) -> Google cover where Google cover opens google image search website with the artist and album tag) has helped a lot.

In the tag itself, click on the cover art thumbnail even if it's blank.  Then right click to get cover art options.  I believe you can then drag and drop from Explorer.

I will try this next.

My main gripe with the current way of tagging is that there is no mode where meta-data files are automatically associated with an album and hence tagged appropriately and moved appropriately with the music files. And, user has to take extensive pain to enable this to happen. If there was a Library management option saying "Treat all files in the album directory as having same Genre, Artist, Album tag as the album" that would be great. This should work even if these files are not part of Library.

Osho


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fitbrit

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Re: Import process - please suggest improvements
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2008, 08:54:50 am »

I think this is relevant. I've often wanted to be able to choose multiple columns in standard view and do a "fill down" or "fill up" command like in Excel, where the contents of the top (or bottom) row are filled in automatically with the same value or formula (expression) for the other selected cells.
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hit_ny

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Re: Import process - please suggest improvements
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2008, 10:15:19 am »

My main gripe with the current way of tagging is that there is no mode where meta-data files are automatically associated with an album and hence tagged appropriately and moved appropriately with the music files. And, user has to take extensive pain to enable this to happen.

i like the suggestion, the biggest drawback with the rename file from properties is everything needs to be imported & tagged or nothing.

If there was a Library management option saying "Treat all files in the album directory as having same Genre, Artist, Album tag as the album" that would be great. This should work even if these files are not part of Library.

I would love to have a tool that can move files in a folder regardless of whether they are imported but tell me this..

do you think MC should *automatically* move files it does not know about ?
would be helpful in experienced hands but possibly dangerous for the inexperienced, there is no undo possible

The alternative is to drag albums in the tree, but this is an explicit action and can only be done one folder at a time, i see this as limiting the damage one might inadvertantly do if not paying attention.
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Osho

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Re: Import process - please suggest improvements
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2008, 01:50:29 pm »

do you think MC should *automatically* move files it does not know about ?
would be helpful in experienced hands but possibly dangerous for the inexperienced, there is no undo possible

I think it should be an option (disabled by default) that way those who know what they are doing will benefit while the rest of the users will not be affected.

Osho
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