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[jeffspl311]

Hi All,
Here's the situation:
I have mp3s that I've used in a lot of playlists. I ripped these in a lower quality and with poor tagging (missing session dates, etc.). I re-ripped them and did a much better job tagging. The two sets are in different directories for now.

Here's the need:
I want slide the new files, with the better tags, into the library in a way that the old playlists will recognize the new files and reflect the better tags.

Here's what I tried (it didn't work):
I replaced the identically named old file with the new file, then did an "update library (from tags)" on the selected files. I expected MC would read in the new tags, except for the playlist, which should trump the blank playlist tag of the new copy of the file. What actually happened is that none of the tags were updated, although the new file was indeed played (I know because the bitrate is higher and I display this info)

Any advice how to accomplish what I want?

Thanks,
Jeff

[jack wallstreet]

Your idea was good; your execution was off (If I understand your issue).

I rerip all the time and maintain my playlists.  You just did it backwards.

You update tags from Library first and then update library from tags.  Your library information is in the library.  The tags are bare because you have a new file.  So you want to copy the library information back to the bare tags.  Then there is certain information such as the bitrate that you want to copy to the library. 

[jack wallstreet]

Oh, and...

I have found from experience, that this sequence: 1) update tags from library, and 2) update library from tags, does not always handle cover art well (it can disappear).  I always do a three step process 3) update tags from library (again).  This last step shouldn't be necessary, but it seems to be.  I haven't test MC 17 to see if the third step is still necessary, I just do it.

Also, it may also be desirable to rerun Analyze audio.  You uncheck the skip box to get it to run because it will think you have already analyzed the file.

[jeffspl311]

Thanks Jack,
I think I wasn't clear. The new file, with higher bitrate, also has the new tags I want to use. All these tags are stored in the file (along with the cover art) for maximum portability. The only tag that's bare is the playlist tag, and that's the only one I want MC to manage so that the old playlists point to the new file and show the new tags therein. I feel like if I update from the library to the tags, I'll wipe out all the new tags that I worked so hard to enter. Does that make sense?
Cheers,
Jeff

[rick.ca]

I replaced the identically named old file with the new file, then did an "update library (from tags)" on the selected files.

It seems to me this should have worked. I'm not sure how playlist data is handled in the library, but there is no Playlist field—it's a calculated value. Hopefully, playlists are maintained by reference to filenames only, and you're still correct in assuming they'll be unaffected by replacing the files.

[jeffspl311]

Hi Rick,
Thanks, yea, I thought it should have worked too. As I said, the playlists DID use the new file, but the othere tags did not update. Hey JRiver, is this perhaps some kind of bug with regards to the "Update library from tags" functionality?
Cheers,
Jeff

[jeffspl311]

So I've done this experiment a couple times. Even with "Update tags when file info changes" turned off, when I replace the old file with the new file (and its tags), MC stubbornly retains the old info from the library, even after I do an "Update library (from tags)".

I'm using the latest stable build 17.0.82

Any more ideas?

Thanks,
Jeff

[rick.ca]

You tagged the new files. I assume you did so by importing them and using MC to do so. How did you then replace the old files with the new? Regardless of how you did that, MC will Update for external changes, if that Auto-Import option is set. It will also Update tags when file info changes, if that option is set (Options > General > Importing and Tagging). I wonder if that combination is recognizing the replacement as an 'external change' and then updating the tags with the Library data for the old files. You can test that theory by examining the raw tags of files before attempting to Update Library (from tags). To do so, open the tag window and click on the heading/link at the top what shows [File Type] - [Duration] - [File Size].

Before you judge this possible behaviour insane, understand the "normal" way to upgrade files is to not to import or tag them, but replace the old with the new outside of MC with Auto-Import disabled. Then Update tags (from Library) followed by Update Library (from tags) (as Jack/John explained). Then fix up the meta data, if needed.

If my theory is correct, I would expect your way to work—if Auto-Import is disabled while the files are being replaced and updated.

[Alex B]

Jeff,

Have you verified that MC can actually read the tag format? If I understood correctly your new files are still MP3. MC should be able to read all ID3v2 tag format variants, but the less common APEv2 tag format is not supported in MP3 files.

The so called tag dump should be able to show if MC's tag reader can access the tags in your new files: The "tag dump" explained. You could also import a few files as new library entries (from a new location) to see if MC can read them correctly.

If the expanded format info window can indeed show your tags in the tag dump, I don't understand why the tags would not be imported when you do "Update Library (from tags)" ... unless you did not actually select the files before issuing the command. EDIT, I noticed the following in your first post:

then did an "update library (from tags)" on the selected files

[jeffspl311]

Thanks everyone, and sorry for the long delay in getting back to you. They day after your last posts I decided to just close everything, shutdown, reboot... and now I know why this is a standard part of most tech support scripts... it actually worked! When I rebooted everything was as I expected it to be... all the new tags were showing! I guess they had been updated all along but some kind of caching was still showing the old ones? Whatever, all is well now.

Cheers,
Jeff