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Author Topic: Remove ALL Ratings  (Read 4710 times)

pcstockton

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Remove ALL Ratings
« on: December 08, 2011, 04:12:11 pm »

MC Kingdom,

Over the years I have added ratings to some of my music, always with a different method in mind on what each will represent.  For a while 1 star meant my lady would like it.  5 stars was for my most cherished works regardless of genre.  3 stars was music ONLY I appreciated etc...  But I never stuck with any of the systems.

I want to start over...... 

2 questions:

1) How do I safely delete ALL ratings (set to zero stars) in ALL files?
2) Does anyone have a suggestion on how to effectively use the ratings?  I dont really want to use them as I think they are intended, i.e as a ranking system.  Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone!
Patrick
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Matt

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2011, 04:16:55 pm »

I dont really want to use them as I think they are intended, i.e as a ranking system.

You should create a custom field for custom data.

The 5-star rating is interpreted as follows:
1: bad
2: below average
3: average
4: above average
5: great

If you don't follow this model, things like Play Doctor will not work as designed.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

MrC

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2011, 04:17:32 pm »

Select all your tracks in a track list.  Have a ratings column available in the view, and click the Clear X to the right of the ratings (hover to see it).  Or, use the Tag Action Window > Rating field and clear it.

Some use Stars as a means to drive smartlists, or exclude certain songs during playback (eg. 1 star), or to indicate some action should be taken (eg. Update CD to newer version).  There are many ways to use the field - depends on what you want.

Personally, I'm not a Best/Worst or rating kind of person, so I tend to just remove the Rating column and forget about it.
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pcstockton

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2011, 04:35:28 pm »

You should create a custom field for custom data.

The 5-star rating is interpreted as follows:
1: bad
2: below average
3: average
4: above average
5: great

If you don't follow this model, things like Play Doctor will not work as designed.


That is VERY nice to know as I do use play doctor often.  I am assuming having No Stars on everything won't foul things up in that department?

How would I use custom fields as I mention above?  Could I create another "star"-like system?  Or create a Tag called "Ratings" and enter a variable of some kind that will correlate to why grouping method?

As an aside, it seems a little strange that people would keep things in their library that they thought were "bad" or "below average".....

Thanks for the heads up on how the Star Ratings are used in MC.

Have a great one!
Patrick
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pcstockton

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2011, 04:36:38 pm »

Thanks Mr. C!
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Matt

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2011, 04:39:29 pm »

That is VERY nice to know as I do use play doctor often.  I am assuming having No Stars on everything won't foul things up in that department?

Rating songs helps Play Doctor, but is not necessary.

Basically you're more likely to hear things you like and less likely to hear things you don't like.


Quote
As an aside, it seems a little strange that people would keep things in their library that they thought were "bad" or "below average".....

I rip whole albums.  And some albums have songs I hate.  I'm too anal-retentive to delete the tracks, but I never really want to hear them.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

MrC

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2011, 04:45:21 pm »

How would I use custom fields as I mention above?  Could I create another "star"-like system?  Or create a Tag called "Ratings" and enter a variable of some kind that will correlate to why grouping method?

Add a new library field via Options > Library & Folder > Manage Library Fields...  If you want a star rating like the current Rating, set the Data Type to Integer and set the Edit Type to Five Stars.  Set the Acceptable values to "1;2;3;4;5".  You can examine the existing Rating field to see how the values are setup by default.

See: File Properties (tags) for more info.

As an aside, it seems a little strange that people would keep things in their library that they thought were "bad" or "below average".....

Some of us are just lazy.  Or we like Complete albums.
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pcstockton

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2011, 06:29:37 pm »

thanks fellas, I will play with the custom fields.

I only have complete albums as well, and wouldn't delete any songs.  I guess I just dont have any albums with songs I hate... or cant think of one.

Cheers!
Patrick
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rick.ca

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2011, 08:46:21 pm »

This illustrates the importance of considering carefully what it is you want before implementing it for a large collection. If you can be clear about what you want, there's usually a way to do it in MC. I don't know what your preferences might be, so consider this just an illustration of the potential...

You like all the music in your collection, so you don't really need a 5-point rating scale. There are tracks you appreciate somewhat more and somewhat less than average, but, beyond that, any distinction is rather fuzzy. So you're happy to use a 3-point scale: 2-3-4. That leaves 1 and 5 for other meanings. As suggested, 1 might be for tracks that only exist in your collection because they're part of an album you like. (Tip: Use [Rating]=[1] as an Access Control rule to hide those.) As you suggested, 5 might be reserved for tracks you really really like.

So that's a simple, easy-to-maintain rating system for you, but what about your lady? You need to find some way to demonstrate your respect for her preferences, but attempting to do so in the same manner will likely backfire. But maybe you do well know where her preferences differ from yours—in terms of artist, style or genre. So record that difference as an artist- or album-related value (i.e., [WAF]= -1, 0, or 1). Then create a expression field (5-star format) that calculates her adjusted rating (i.e., [Rating] + [WAF]). Assuming she agrees more or less with your relative assessment in the context of any one album or artist, this should provide her with a meaningful 5-point rating.

This has the splendid advantage of rating her preferences higher than yours, yet Play Doctor would continue to use your [Rating]. You get to listen to what you like, while blaming Play Doctor if she's unhappy. Now if we could only figure out a way to toggle [WAF] with a remote, we could even compensate for mood swings... ;D
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pcstockton

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2011, 10:51:25 pm »

Hilarious.....

I knew I could count on you Rick for a creative idea for ratings.  Good point on considering carefully what I would like to achieve.  Good advice.  I will sleep on it.

-Patrick
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rick.ca

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #10 on: December 08, 2011, 11:25:20 pm »

Quote
I knew I could count on you Rick for a creative idea for ratings.

Ratings?!

For a while 1 star meant my lady would like it.

That's not going to convince her you love her more than MC. My advice was intended as a geeky Hail Mary to save your relationship. ;)
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pcstockton

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Re: Remove ALL Ratings
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2011, 09:23:40 am »

 ;D
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