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[Dan69]

Hi all -
I'd like to know if it is possible to have mc18 split artists contained in the artist field of my files (semicolon delimited) and display them separately when browsing artists. I'm sure there must be a way to do it, I just can't figure it out.

Any help is appreciated!

[MrC]

Sure.  The simple answer is that you want to show Artist as a list:

   Artist&DataType=[List]

You can do this by using an expression field in the view.  Either replace the existing Artist category with an expression category (just change the data type to Expression), or add a new pane or category.  You can create your own custom view if you'd rather experiment that way.

If you're not sure how to do this for the particular view you're using, please indicate the view you're using (Standard, Theater, etc.) and the default view's name.

[Dan69]

Thanks for the prompt response.

I don't think that is what I am looking for (and the artist field is somehow read only anyway, so I can't change it).

Let me give an example:

I have an album (Beethoven: Symphony No. 5) with numerous tracks - each track has an artist field containing "Leonard Bernstein; New York Philharmonic". When I view by artist (in any view, though theater view is what I am most interested in changing), the thumbnail shows "Leonard Bernstein; New York Philharmonic". What I really want it to show are 2 different thumbnails, one for "Leonard Bernstein" and one for "New York Philharmonic". In other words, I want to split the delimited list into separate entities.

[MrC]

You wouldn't be changing the Artist field - you'll be modifying how the Artist field is displayed by a view.

In Theater View, customize the view to include Artist:

   Tools > Options > Theater View

and under Items to Show, select the Artist category under Audio.  You'll see two categories on the right side (Details): Album Artist (auto) and Album.  Album Artist (auto) will place a list of artists under (Multiple Artists).  If you want to see the individual artists separated out, use Artist instead.  Simple change replace Album Artist (auto) in the Details list with Artist.  (This will have other consequences - it will show all Artists, even those on compilation tracks).

In a pane column in Standard View, or in Theater View, Artists (which is a list type) will be shown as individual artists (one for each artist in the list).  Album Artist (auto) will show these same items as (Multiple Artists).  Album Artist (auto) is generally used by MC (and sometimes shown in a header as just Artist).

[Dan69]

*Tenting my fingers* Ex-cellent!

Thanks very much - this is just what I was looking for. I ended up just adding my own new Library Item for this - along with others (like composer).

Now I just need to figure out how to prevent an Artist from appearing if they only have 1 or 2 tracks, to eliminate some of the noise.

Thanks again

[MrC]

Another option - consider leaving Artist as Beethoven, and use the Orchestra and/or Conductor tags to create a more complex view for Classical music.

Some folks here have some nice ideas about how to tag Classical.

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=57477.msg390946#msg390946
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=45824.msg314107#msg314107
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/SW/Players/JRiver/Classical.htm

[Dan69]

Some folks here have some nice ideas about how to tag Classical.

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=57477.msg390946#msg390946
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=45824.msg314107#msg314107
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/SW/Players/JRiver/Classical.htm

Thanks. The first 2 links were particularly useful - it was good to see others having good success tagging in ways very similar to how I tag.

The third link references a classical tagging tool called Musichi. It has some useful feature, but is VERY buggy and will mess up your tags badly in certain cases. A word of warning: back up your files before using it!

[MrC]

You're welcome.

Keep in mind also, the articles were written prior to some important recent changes made to MC, such as changing Artist, etc. to list values, more powerful expressions, etc.  I've looked at a few of the techniques employed, and have provided some simplifications on various threads.  I know this doesn't directly help, but just wanted to give you a heads up.