Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[7Bong13]

Hi all,

I just downloaded the trial version of JRiver and is playing around with it. There are some stuff that I don't get how it works, and I couldn't find the answers easy here. So since I heard this a very active forum I figured I'd give it a shot - here we go:

- When I first started up JRiver, it had chosen - on its own - 25 paths/directories to import music from. Why is that? It has therefore imported a lot of stuff that I don't want in my library - stuff that was lying on an old harddrive etcetra. What is the best way to go now - to delete the entire library and just choose the folder where I have all my (iTunes) MP3s?

- How do I add tracks/albums to JRiver? Mind me I'm used to iTunes, so I dragged and dropped one but since it doesn't work like iTunes the folder is still in its original place. I then copied the folder with the album to one of the directories listed under "auto import" (and "run auto-import in background" is selected) - but it doesn't show up in my library. So, I really don't get how to do this basic thing - add stuff.

- I don't get how the whole sorting thing works. I want to sort on album title, but regardless of if I click on album and get an arrow with a 1 after, it still sorts on year. How do I get it to sort on album title?

- Is there a way to have JRiver rename the files in a specific way like iTunes does, so the files are more logically named?

- I am a musician and have a lot of stuff as WAV files. These were just imported in a big bunch under miscellaneous or whatever it was called. Do I really have to go through them all and edit the tag to get these to sort properly? iTunes handled that neatly by basing it off of the folder names (or rather creating the folder names when changing the name in the program)

I think that's it for starters... Yeah, one more thing - I know JRiver can be customized a whole lot; is there a way of getting a row of the artists on the left side of where the tracks are instead of at the top as per default?

Many thanks in advance for your time!

Henrik

[Samson]

- When I first started up JRiver, it had chosen - on its own - 25 paths/directories to import music from.

After import install it scans widely looking for media files but there is an option to "stop it" if you see it in time.

What is the best way to go now - to delete the entire library and just choose the folder where I have all my (iTunes) MP3s?

you cannot "delete" the "Main Library" but rather Standard view >File > Library > Library manager > Clear library.

Then Tools > Import > Configure auto import to point to desired folder/s, set additional tasks [EDIT] make sure uncheck the "ignore previously removed files" [/EDIT]. Then select each folder > Edit > and select file types imported and any optional tags on import

- How do I add tracks/albums to JRiver?

    Tools > Import  > Run Auto Import.
   If  not on your Auto import list of folders
   Tools > Import > Import single folder
   
 <http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Import_Files>

Importing from Explorer
1. Select the file(s) you want to import using Windows Explorer.
2. Right click and select Media Center > Import.
Note: If you don't see this option, a) the file type may not be associated with the program (see File Association Settings for details) or b) Shell Integration is not enabled (go to Tools > Options > General > Shell Options - Enable shell integration).

[Samson]

- I don't get how the whole sorting thing works. I want to sort on album title, but regardless of if I click on album and get an arrow with a 1 after, it still sorts on year. How do I get it to sort on album title?

see images here re organising media http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=80832.msg550438#msg550438 and modify yours to suit
when you have more time read Marco's guide http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68960.msg464065#msg464065

Is there a way to have JRiver rename the files in a specific way like iTunes does, so the files are more logically named?

http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Library_Tools
MC gets its info from metadata and from the filename/directory structure

See
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Carnac

Explore Right click the file > Library tools > fill properties from the filename, The filename is parsed to fill in the tags. This can be automated or templated.

If fields are inconsistent, or other problems, then Library Tools > Rename, Move & Copy Files may be better.
choose directories,Filename, or find and replace as explained there.
eg If you want to keep your files named as they are, but want to move them into Artist\Album subfolders, uncheck the filename rule, and check the Directories rule only. Select your base path, then the rule.
See also http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68488.msg461345#msg461345

- I am a musician and have a lot of stuff as WAV files. These were just imported in a big bunch under miscellaneous or whatever it was called. Do I really have to go through them all and edit the tag to get these to sort properly? iTunes handled that neatly by basing it off of the folder names (or rather creating the folder names when changing the name in the program)

wav files - If you add data to Wav's in iTunes it is not stored within the files, but in the ITunes XML? I believe this is also the case for JRiver sidecar xmls

see above about tagging in batches based off file structure etc

[Samson]

Yeah, one more thing - I know JRiver can be customized a whole lot; is there a way of getting a row of the artists on the left side of where the tracks are instead of at the top as per default?

Many thanks in advance for your time!

Henrik

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=80832.msg550440#msg550440 the pic in that post shows a panes view with artists listed down left side


....or click the drop down menu on far left as in pic below.

Phew, covered most things a little bit. MC takes some time to learn but most things can be organised as you like them. David

[csimon]

See above for more thorough answers - here are my comments!

- When I first started up JRiver, it had chosen - on its own - 25 paths/directories to import music from. Why is that? It has therefore imported a lot of stuff that I don't want in my library - stuff that was lying on an old harddrive etcetra. What is the best way to go now - to delete the entire library and just choose the folder where I have all my (iTunes) MP3s?


- How do I add tracks/albums to JRiver? Mind me I'm used to iTunes, so I dragged and dropped one but since it doesn't work like iTunes the folder is still in its original place. I then copied the folder with the album to one of the directories listed under "auto import" (and "run auto-import in background" is selected) - but it doesn't show up in my library. So, I really don't get how to do this basic thing - add stuff.

It does an import automatically on first install - if you didn't stop it in time and it didn't do what you wanted, clear the library, set up the import rules to your liking, then do another import.

Is there a way to have JRiver rename the files in a specific way like iTunes does, so the files are more logically named?

As long as the files are properly tagged, you can use the File Move/Rename utility to rename the files based on templates and values of the tags, e.g. [Album Artist]/[Album]/[Track #] - [Title]

I am a musician and have a lot of stuff as WAV files. These were just imported in a big bunch under miscellaneous or whatever it was called. Do I really have to go through them all and edit the tag to get these to sort properly? iTunes handled that neatly by basing it off of the folder names (or rather creating the folder names when changing the name in the program)

If there is no metadata in the files to start with and basic metadata can be assumed from folder and file names, then you can use the import rules to automatically populate specified tags with expressions based on the folder and file names.



Also, if you don't like the way it is sorting and displaying your library by default, you can completely customise the views to filter and drill down by whatever fields and categories you want.

[7Bong13]

Many many thanks ever so much for the detailed answers, I have now played around a little more with the program and have fixed some of the stuff to the way I wanted it to be. The view is now how I prefer it to be - nuts, this program has just so many options to customize things it's both overwhelming at first but I'm guessing incredible when getting used to!

I cleared the library and imported it again with just the folder where I have all my audio files and now I have what I want in my library. I also customized the view and saved it.

There are however still some stuff that I have problems with, namely:

Then Tools > Import > Configure auto import to point to desired folder/s, set additional tasks [EDIT] make sure uncheck the "ignore previously removed files" [/EDIT]. Then select each folder > Edit > and select file types imported and any optional tags on import

    Tools > Import  > Run Auto Import.
   If  not on your Auto import list of folders
   Tools > Import > Import single folder
   
 <http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Import_Files>

Importing from Explorer
1. Select the file(s) you want to import using Windows Explorer.
2. Right click and select Media Center > Import.
Note: If you don't see this option, a) the file type may not be associated with the program (see File Association Settings for details) or b) Shell Integration is not enabled (go to Tools > Options > General > Shell Options - Enable shell integration).

...this is all fine and dandy, I get the option when right-clicking - but I have a friend who uses this program and he says he just move the file to the selected folder and then it imports it by default. How do you go about setting that up?

http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Library_Tools
MC gets its info from metadata and from the filename/directory structure

See
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Carnac

Explore Right click the file > Library tools > fill properties from the filename, The filename is parsed to fill in the tags. This can be automated or templated.

If fields are inconsistent, or other problems, then Library Tools > Rename, Move & Copy Files may be better.
choose directories,Filename, or find and replace as explained there.
eg If you want to keep your files named as they are, but want to move them into Artist\Album subfolders, uncheck the filename rule, and check the Directories rule only. Select your base path, then the rule.
See also http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68488.msg461345#msg461345

I can't find Library Tools > Rename, Move & Copy Files - it doesn't seem to be located there. I've browsed through the program without being able to find it.

As long as the files are properly tagged, you can use the File Move/Rename utility to rename the files based on templates and values of the tags, e.g. [Album Artist]/[Album]/[Track #] - [Title]

This is exactly what I would like the program to do - if possible (i know it might not work as iTunes) - I want to drag a folder to my audio files folder, then have the program rename it to just that - [Album Artist]/[Album]/[Track #] - [Title]. How do I go about setting that up?

Concerning how to get JRiver to sort on album title I'm lost.

see images here re organising media http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=80832.msg550438#msg550438 and modify yours to suit
when you have more time read Marco's guide http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68960.msg464065#msg464065

I read those posts and also read through the guide - but I still can't seem to find the answer. Why doesn't it work when clicking on the album title column and you get a little one with an arrow next to it - doesn't that mean that it should sort on album title? It is forever stuck in sorting on year...

Thanks!

Henrik

[csimon]

....I have a friend who uses this program and he says he just move the file to the selected folder and then it imports it by default. How do you go about setting that up?

This is Auto Import.  You configure Auto Import to watch one or more folders, each with their own set of rules for atomatically populating specified tags, and then enable Auto Import. I'm not at a MC PC right now to tell you what menus to go to, but it's all there somewhere!

I can't find Library Tools > Rename, Move & Copy Files - it doesn't seem to be located there. I've browsed through the program without being able to find it.

Strange.  Make sure you've got at least one file selected/highlighted then right-click on it. Maybe you don't get the option to rename and it if there's nothing selected.

This is exactly what I would like the program to do - if possible (i know it might not work as iTunes) - I want to drag a folder to my audio files folder, then have the program rename it to just that - [Album Artist]/[Album]/[Track #] - [Title]. How do I go about setting that up?

Hmm, not sure, this might be achievable by some sort of scripting but I'm not that familiar.  I think the nearest you could probably get is copy a file into a folder, have Auto Import pick it up and populate the Album etc tags based on the pathname (we can help with devising the expressions to use...), then manually right-click on the file(s) when they appear in the Recently Imported List and use Rename on them (using a saved preset template).

[7Bong13]

This is Auto Import.  You configure Auto Import to watch one or more folders, each with their own set of rules for atomatically populating specified tags, and then enable Auto Import. I'm not at a MC PC right now to tell you what menus to go to, but it's all there somewhere!

That's the thing - I added a folder to one of the folders listed under Auto Import - and nothing happened. After two hours I got an error message saying that it couldn't tag it properly or something, but that was because I had then removed the files since Auto Import didn't work. I just tried it again, and indeed it works. Don't know what was wrong before.

Strange.  Make sure you've got at least one file selected/highlighted then right-click on it. Maybe you don't get the option to rename and it if there's nothing selected.

Hmm, not sure, this might be achievable by some sort of scripting but I'm not that familiar.  I think the nearest you could probably get is copy a file into a folder, have Auto Import pick it up and populate the Album etc tags based on the pathname (we can help with devising the expressions to use...), then manually right-click on the file(s) when they appear in the Recently Imported List and use Rename on them (using a saved preset template).

Ah, you meant in the tracklisting. I was looking in the main menu... So, how do I go about changing the names there? I don't really understand what it does, and I don't want to apply something that might ** up my entire library... But, maybe it is easier to just rename the folders before adding it to my library directory... thing is I have 15.000 tracks that iTunes has renamed Artist\Album\[tracknumber] [trackname] - and I kind of like to have a little order on my harddrive, even if you don't really see it very often... I usually add an album at a time, so maybe I might as well just rename the folders and let the track titles be the way they are instead of fiddling with that in JRiver.

Guess it's just the sorting in Album Title instead of year left that needs to be resolved at this point... I'm sure a lot more will come up later with this complex program, but I am trying it out now to see wheter to buy it or not and I want to make sure it does what I want it to do before paying $50.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Henrik

[csimon]

Ah, you meant in the tracklisting. I was looking in the main menu... So, how do I go about changing the names there? I don't really understand what it does, and I don't want to apply something that might ** up my entire library... But, maybe it is easier to just rename the folders before adding it to my library directory... thing is I have 15.000 tracks that iTunes has renamed Artist\Album\[tracknumber] [trackname] - and I kind of like to have a little order on my harddrive, even if you don't really see it very often... I usually add an album at a time, so maybe I might as well just rename the folders and let the track titles be the way they are instead of fiddling with that in JRiver.

Well, this is what I do for music videos which obviously don't have embedded metadata.

I have pre-created my folder structure and name the video files accordingly when creating them and I put them in the relevant place.  I then run Auto Import manually (I don't set Auto Import running automatically because I've had problems in the past when copying large movies into the watched folders - MC soemtimes picks them up before they're fully there and it ends up marking them as Bad).

My folder/file structure is:

\\NAS\Media Files\Video\Music\Promo Videos\[A-Z]\[SortArtist]~[Artist]\[Track #]~[Name]~[Genre]~[Year].[ext]

I have rules in the Auto Import that populate the library tags according the folder and filename, for example:

Artist: Regex(FileFolder(),/#.*~(.*)#/,1)
SortArtist: Regex(FileFolder(),/#(.*)~.*#/,1)
Name: Regex(Filename(,0),/#.*~(.*)~.*~.*#/,1)
Date (year): Regex(Filename(,0),/#.*~.*~.*~(.*)#/,1)

Also a few literals such as:

Media Sub Type: Music Video
Grouping: Promo Videos

I'm afraid these regular expressions are scary but they are extremely powerful!

Anyway, provided I've named the files correctly AND have put them in the right folder then this is all I need to do to correctly tag them.

From what I understand, you have .wav files that are already named correctly but are not in the right place? So you basically have a general import directory into which everything goes and then you want to auto-move them to a folder structure?  I didn't quite know how to interpret your comment "iTunes handled that neatly by basing it off of the folder names (or rather creating the folder names when changing the name in the program)".

If they're already in the right place, under correct folders and with filenames where the metadata can be derived, then just set up auto-import rules as I've done.  Or, if they've already been imported, use Fill Properties From Filename as described in a post above.

If however they are correctly named (with all relevant metadata) but not in the right place, then use Rename/Move/Copy to move then to a folder based on the metadata. For example, if they're currently in D:\ImportDirectory then you need to find and replace "ImportDirectory" with "[AlbumArtist]/[Album]" in the directory, and name the files "[Track #] - [Name].wav", or something along those lines.

If the tags can not be derived from the folder and filenames then you've really got no optiuon but to tag them manually after importing - THEN you can use Rename/Move/Copy to move them to the right place.

Does any of that help?

[Samson]

just move the file to the selected folder and then it imports it by default. How do you go about setting that up?

You've listed your folders under Auto import,  (see pics import 1 through 3)

now look to see if auto import is set to run in background. (pic run auto import in background)

I have auto import turned OFF as I find it annoying or worse it can mess things up if currently working on files.

Manually run auto import by
1)Tools > Options > Import > Run auto import now
OR
2)Tools > Options > Import > configure autoimport > Click Finish > automatically RUNS auto import.


You can also configure to import when playing a file ( see pic import when playing file)

[Samson]

I can't find Library Tools > Rename, Move & Copy Files - it doesn't seem to be located there. I've browsed through the program without being able to find it.

see pics (what version of MC have you ?)

[Samson]

thing is I have 15.000 tracks that iTunes has renamed Artist\Album\[tracknumber] [trackname] - and I kind of like to have a little order on my harddrive, even if you don't really see it very often... I usually add an album at a time, so maybe I might as well just rename the folders and let the track titles be the way they are instead of fiddling with that in JRiver.
Guess it's just the sorting in Album Title instead of year left that needs to be resolved at this point... I'm sure a lot more will come up later with this complex program, but I am trying it out now to see wheter to buy it or not and I want to make sure it does what I want it to do before paying $50.
Henrik

Basically I am wondering why there is this problem and why a more complicated expression is needed, perhaps we are talking about different things.
Perhaps post some screen pics of your situation to clarify.

The problem is ( as I can understand it anyway) is that your wav file are not tagged (with embedded tags). MC will need to re-tag for its library with its own xml sidecars.

you already have a folder structure set up as "Artist\Album\[tracknumber [trackname]" ??Then Carnac should be able to work from that to create those tags.
Carnac currently understands the following naming schemes for audio files:
            [Artist] - [Album] - [Track #] - [Name]
            [Track #] - [Name]


So I suggest pick a few files only ie CTRL + Left click , or hift + L click, on the files in, as you said, the track list (see pic)


What happens if you try..
Right click files > Library Tools > Fill Properties From Filename ?
Or
r click selected files > Library Tools > Update Library from tags ?

Background Info:
Carnac is an extension of tag reading. It reads tags from a file
   • on a fresh import,
   • or when doing Update Library from tags (r click selected files > Library Tools > update….,
   • Or  by using Library Tools > Fill Properties From Filename
And if no tags carnac will be used to fill empty fields. It makes no changes to fields that are present in the tag. It only fills empty fields except when using Library Tools > Fill Properties From Filename and selecting 'Automatic' as the method, Carnac will overwrite existing fields (instead of only empty fields). A full preview of changes is available in the tool.

[Samson]

Guess it's just the sorting in Album Title instead of year left that needs to be resolved at this point..

You can sort by album if the tracks have been tagged with an album name. You do this in Customize view , in above screenshots. The album field needs obviously to be filled, which gets us back to square one i think.....tagging your wav files as per above discussions.

but I am trying it out now to see wheter to buy it or not and I want to make sure it does what I want it to do before paying $50.

MC is amazing.It cooks me bacon and eggs in the morning....a complicated regex expression but I did it 

OK just kidding. I have made some noises about MC being not the most intuitive or user friendly.For me it was a love/hate relationship in the beginning and I am still way off from being a power user.

Make noises to the admins about how it could be improved. they do listen. As they have said it is HARD to make a dead simple program that does all the complicated stuff people want.So share your ideas, after all  beginners have a unique perspective on this.

Worth $50? Absolutely NOT. more like $100 but shhh don't tell that to the admins.

[Samson]

Just a thought, is this checked (see pic) ?

[7Bong13]

Hi guys,

Many many thanks for taking such a vast amount of time to help me. I'm playing around with the program as much as time allows, and I have some new questions for you - easy ones though.

About the WAV files - thanks ever so much for giving me a lot of different options to play around with - I will do that this weekend when I've got a little bit more time.

To get back a little on the feedback you gave me:

Just a thought, is this checked (see pic) ?

This is not checked - what does it do?

see pics (what version of MC have you ?)

I have MC 18.0.189 - which is the latest version I guess?

You can sort by album if the tracks have been tagged with an album name. You do this in Customize view , in above screenshots. The album field needs obviously to be filled, which gets us back to square one i think.....tagging your wav files as per above discussions.

In customize view, "show categories in this order" has "album artist (auto)" listed only. The only way I can get the albums to be sorted alphabetically is if I left click on the name/artist/album/[whatever you have chosen to display] and choose "sort all files by name (removes grouping temporarily)" - but then the images disappear and I just get a list of everything - properly sorted though.

Not all tracks have "album artist" filled out though, this is a field that for me is very uncommon to be used - iTunes didn't use it at all I think. So I guess I have to go through every artist - mark every track from that artist and fill out the album artist field? Will it sort properly then? Or is it an easier way? Am I misunderstanding something?

Then I have a few things that's nagging me:

1. In every program, the space bar key pauses what you're playing. iTunes, Spotify, VLC, WMP, Cubase, Logic, Ableton... every music and video related program I've ever used (one of those might use the '0' key though, I don't remember - isn't there a key in JRiver to pause without having to grab your mouse and pause it that way? It's so easy to just go buy your computer and press the space key...

2. When I stop playing a track, and then maybe a couple of hours later or the next day I click play on a different track, it plays the crossfade part of the track I listened to before. I have set crossfade to that it should tone down the track for 2 seconds, and it seems like that's the part it is playing. This is very annoying. Is there a way to have this not happening?

Thanks again for all your help - it means ever so much to me!

Henrik

[7Bong13]

Oh, one more thing - I got an error yesterday - it said something that there was an error tagging a track. This was a track that I changed the name of in JRiver cause it had the wrong trackname. What did that error message mean? I should have taken a screenshot but I was ready for bed. Do you know what error message I mean?

[csimon]

Not all tracks have "album artist" filled out though, this is a field that for me is very uncommon to be used - iTunes didn't use it at all I think. So I guess I have to go through every artist - mark every track from that artist and fill out the album artist field? Will it sort properly then? Or is it an easier way? Am I misunderstanding something?

See http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Album_Artist_and_Album_Artist_%28Auto%29

[Samson]

Lets take things one step at a time

This is not checked - what does it do?

hmm...It is something to "help" new users to try MC without making changes to their files....but you WANT to make the changes (adding missing tags ) otherwise MC can not work properly, so tick it.....BUT first, Suggest you move all your files out of the "watched" folders,just leaving a copy of several albums to experiment with.

Now, Confirming your description of the folder structure is "have a folder structure set up as "Artist\Album\[tracknumber [trackname]", then proceed to....

Select all remaining several albums files within MC, then Right click  > Library Tools > Fill Properties From Filename

then look to see what tags ,if any , have been filled in....hopefully the [album] and [artist] fields (tags) will be populated....let us know.

 If yes, great, if no then fill them in manually (several albums so no big deal)

In customize view, "show categories in this order" has "album artist (auto)" listed only.The only way I can get the albums to be sorted alphabetically....

"album artist" is an artist- based view of what MC automatically thinks the artist should be. You are tryng to sort by "album" which MC interprets as the name of the album (or tille if you like).

So now, with some basic tags in place, In "show categories in this order"  click "Add" and select "Album". Now select "album" and click "Move up" to top of the list.For now "remove" "album artist"...so the only category left is "album" (at the top).

tell us what happens.

 

[7Bong13]

I will get back to you concerning everything WAV-file tagwise and everything else, now I just encountered another problem...

I ripped a CD but realized the way that JRiver processed the files in terms of folder structure was wrong. So, I deleted the files from my library, and was gonna re-rip it to make it the way I have all my files, which is [Artist]\[Album]\[track number] - [track name].

But, it is not possible to rip it again. I just end up on the "recently ripped" screen, which is empty, and nothing happens. I click "click here to restart ripping", but nothing happens. Why can't I just re-rip the CD so it gets in the folder structure that I want it to be? I've tried to find a setting that might be wrong, that it should ignore files previously ripped or something, but I can't find anything. I'm slowly beginning to wonder if this program simply is too complicated. It seems weird to have to hang on a support forum just to do basic stuff like ripping a CD. What is it that I'm doing wrong? I just want to rip the effing CD. :/

I even tried to change the encoding from FLAC (which is what I want) to MP3, thinking it would allow me to re-rip it, with the thought of then re-ripping it again in FLAC. Nope, didn't work either.

There are a lot of things I don't like about iTunes, but at least it was pretty straight forward. This one seems to be doing all sorts of stuff that takes hours to try to figure out what is wrong.

Anyone has any comments on number 1 here, or solution to numer 2?

1. In every program, the space bar key pauses what you're playing. iTunes, Spotify, VLC, WMP, Cubase, Logic, Ableton... every music and video related program I've ever used (one of those might use the '0' key though, I don't remember - isn't there a key in JRiver to pause without having to grab your mouse and pause it that way? It's so easy to just go buy your computer and press the space key...

2. When I stop playing a track, and then maybe a couple of hours later or the next day I click play on a different track, it plays the crossfade part of the track I listened to before. I have set crossfade to that it should tone down the track for 2 seconds, and it seems like that's the part it is playing. This is very annoying. Is there a way to have this not happening?

Henrik

[7Bong13]

Ok, the re-ripping is solved - I had to go to some menu in the recently ripped section, down in the bottom left corner, where I got a list of recently ripped tracks, hit them all and choose delete - it couldn't delete them though since I had already deleted them from my harddrive so the tracks were still there, but at least it seemed to clear what I had ripped and agreed on ripping them again... they list is still populated though, so it doesn't make sense, but at least I get to re-rip the discs.

[7Bong13]

So now, with some basic tags in place, In "show categories in this order"  click "Add" and select "Album". Now select "album" and click "Move up" to top of the list.For now "remove" "album artist"...so the only category left is "album" (at the top).

tell us what happens.

Only thing that happened is that in the left pane (I have left pane view) I got a list of the albums first, and then under that a list of the artists. Nothing changed in terms of having the albums sorted A-Z under each artist.

I tried populating the Album Artist field on one artist, but that did nothing to change the sorting of the albums A-Z under that artist either.

So, I have no idea what to do to get the program to sort my albums in alphabetical order - it seems to be completely stuck with year whatever I do.

Here's an image of how it looks like. As you can see, Some Great Reward by Depeche Mode from 1984 comes before Black Celebration released in 1986. You can see the little arrow in the title column, it has a 1 - isn't this how it's supposed to sort on album? I don't get it. Really.

[6233638]

Click the tab at the top where it says Panes, and choose Group By > More (sort groups A-Z) > Album
The standard Album group is actually a "Special" group that does not do a simple A-Z sort.

[7Bong13]

Click the tab at the top where it says Panes, and choose Group By > More (sort groups A-Z) > Album
The standard Album group is actually a "Special" group that does not do a simple A-Z sort.

THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH.

Why would they hide that in this way? It doesn't make sense to me. I think this program would actually, as opposed what the programmers say, be made much more simpler and easy to use.

Fixed - thanks again!

[Samson]

A picture tells a thousand words.

I understand now ( I think) that you wanted to sort by 1. Artist and 2. Album in alphabetical order.

The way you have achieved this (I think) is by having only ONE category of [Artist] in "customize" view, choosing "view as" pane  and then flipping it to "show pane on left".
Then on the TAB > list list style > displayed as "details"; group by > More > sort a-z album.

If above is correct then I suggest there is a better way ( at least an alternative).

Two problems presently 1)you have potentially duplicated the display of artists down the left side. ...By flipping the artist pane to the left side..... but you can easily achieve this by just clicking the little arrow on the left of the Library (things with blue musical note icon). More importantly, 2) you have restricted all your Libraries to ONE category (or pane), if you keep the same scheme. You only get a second display category by using the "group by" > More. The beauty of the panes views is to add multipe categories (panes) so that you can drill down through multiple categories eg all artists/genre/24 bit/192Hz/recorded in Venice/1953/on a rainy day/ while eating pizza etc. At present you can add more categories down the left hand side but it will break up that nice long list of artists you have.

Suggestion. Return your panes view back to "top" (you can drag that window to be smaller in height if you want). You lose the vertical list of artists. Drop down the arrow next to the library and your long artist list returns. Now "add" "Album" as a second category under "artist" in customize view. Albums will sort alphabetically under each artist. You can now also add as many more categories as you want or need. And this is on just one library. You can customize as many libraries like this as you like. Plus you can still open up more TABS across the top. You can still play with "list style" and "group by" by clicking on each tab. The combinations and customizations are endless.

It doesn't make sense to me. I think this program would actually, as opposed what the programmers say, be made much more simpler and easy to use.

If I am made ruler of the universe I would also change it but nobody has been knocking at my door  ? As the present ruler points out, its hard to make a simple program that does all the complex stuff and provide such choice

[edit, if pic doesnt open by clicking it, right click > open in new tab or window]

[7Bong13]

Samson, many thanks - I will have a look at this later!

However, while trying out things, I lost my prefered view. I need to get it back before I go crazy. I don't understand why this is changed all the time while fiddling around... I want sorting on Artist, then Album A-Z. It just returned to sort on Album Year, which was my original problem. I solved it then by following this:

Click the tab at the top where it says Panes, and choose Group By > More (sort groups A-Z) > Album
The standard Album group is actually a "Special" group that does not do a simple A-Z sort.

I now have these settings again but it still sorts on year, not Album A-Z. And I have spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why. Anyone? What is the fundamental logic I don't seem to grasp? Come to think of it, maybe there is a complex user guide I should read before asking more in the forum... cause I really don't get this program. :/ But, as long as I have it sorted the way I want it to, I can at least decide on to buy it, and figure things out later... cause I need a program that supports FLAC and I'm sure I'll appreciate all these options later on.

Just to be develop on my settings:

In my library view I have:

Group By - Album: this will sort in year, not A-Z

If I change to: More (Sort Groups A-Z): Album, as suggested by 6233638 and which I did before and it worked, all I get is a list of all the albums in alphabetical order - see image below.

[7Bong13]

Ok, I started from scratch and created the view I want, as described above. However, when I want to save this view, it changes. Anyone has any idea why? It starts sorting on year again.

[7Bong13]

And there it disappeared again... as soon as I try to name it, it vanishes. And everytime I try to recreate it it does different things...

[7Bong13]

Ok, I can't find any way to recreate it... I want:

- Left pane view
- Only artists displayed in the left pane
- Big icons for every album
- Sort on album A-Z

How do I go about to recreate this?

Once this is accomplished I won't touch it again... I promise... no more bothering in the forum... :/

[Samson]

basic answer here is that the TAB views are temporary, the library views are stable.The TABS are just views of different libraries which change as you change libraries in the tree view (try).I will try and explain more later but just spend 2 mins following previous guide quoted here,.I think you will get what you want..and more.

Suggestion. Return your panes view back to "top" (you can drag that window to be smaller in height if you want). You lose the vertical list of artists. Drop down the arrow next to the library and your long artist list returns. Now "add" "Album" as a second category under "artist" in customize view. Albums will sort alphabetically under each artist. You can now also add as many more categories as you want or need. And this is on just one library. You can customize as many libraries like this as you like. Plus you can still open up more TABS across the top. You can still play with "list style" and "group by" by clicking on each tab. The combinations and customizations are endless.

look at the pics in that post above.may need to r clcik and oprn in new window or tab

of course it can then be modified to suit your tastes/needs

[6233638]

I want:
- Left pane view
- Only artists displayed in the left pane
- Big icons for every album
- Sort on album A-Z

How do I go about to recreate this?

Starting from an empty Library View:


At the top of the tab, select:
List Style > Album Thumbnails
Sort By > Name

[Samson]

I suspect there have been a few difficulties with what things are called and what is being asked for....

So, if this pic is what you are trying to achieve

[Samson]

Then do this...

[7Bong13]

Then do this...

I managed to fix it yesterday or the day before, using the 3D view and changing that because that had the album sorted alphabetically. Then today I was adding a track that had no artist name tagged to it so I had to search for the song name, and when I then return to my full library, it all got back to my original problem - sorting on the year. What's up with this? I just don't get it. I didn't change anything!

The picture that you included of how I want it to look is correct, but when I follow those steps I get the result below.

How can achieve a view just as the picture below "So, if this pic is what you are trying to achieve", and it staying that way? I once managed to get that view, and when I saved it, it got back to how I don't want it to be.

Just to let you know exactly what I do:

1. Start with an empty view
2. Change Panes to left
3. Add "Album Artist (Auto)" in show categories in this order
4. Click Ok
5. Under Panes, "Album" is already selected
6. I change to "More (sort groups a-z)

And the below is what I get.

[Samson]

6. I change to "More (sort groups a-z)

I presume you mean you chose More (sort groups a-z) > Album

The pic shows what is expected I think as you have "all artists" selected on left Pane single category (now vertically oriented down the left side). It is then alphabetically sorting all albums with the "..." coming first. It is NOT sorting to year (which is what you didnt want)...so all good ?

so now if you click on an individual artist it should show all the albums for that artist, alphabetically bu album name,not year ? Again what you wanted ?

You are showing a single "Tab" open and it says "Panes". If the "tab view" changes it may be when you navigate to a different library (on far left). Tabs are not permanent, they change with the chosen library. However I think The tab view should remain the same as you left it when you return to that same library eg "Zolpadam default".

[Samson]

...or try More (sort groups a-z) > Album-Artist (Year)

[7Bong13]

I presume you mean you chose More (sort groups a-z) > Album

The pic shows what is expected I think as you have "all artists" selected on left Pane single category (now vertically oriented down the left side). It is then alphabetically sorting all albums with the "..." coming first. It is NOT sorting to year (which is what you didnt want)...so all good ?

so now if you click on an individual artist it should show all the albums for that artist, alphabetically bu album name,not year ? Again what you wanted ?

You are showing a single "Tab" open and it says "Panes". If the "tab view" changes it may be when you navigate to a different library (on far left). Tabs are not permanent, they change with the chosen library. However I think The tab view should remain the same as you left it when you return to that same library eg "Zolpadam default".

Oh nuts, it was that easy. Yes, you are right. Of course it would do it like that when I had to have "All Artists" selected. I think what made me think it was impossible to change was that when I checked an artist, it was sorted in the way I didn't want to. Then when I changed to "More (sort groups a-z) > Album" it went back to "All Artists", with me thinking that it didn't sort properly. I guess I was just playing around for too long of a time and in the end losing touch in what I was doing. Thanks! I now know the program has the basics I need and I can buy it, and continue to explore all the amazing options that you guys has told me about.

Thanks ever so much again for your time and dedication to helping me out. I realize I was kind of hard to deal with.

Is there any extensive material to read about JRiver and how everything works? Like you (or someone else) pointed out, there might be a little confusion with what all the different names are (panes, libraries, etc), I'm slowly getting the hang of it but if there's any material worth reading I'd gladly educate myself a little more before asking again in the forum.

Henrik

[Samson]

Thanks ever so much again for your time and dedication to helping me out.

just so long as you got 'sorted' er 'grouped' er organised ....well, you know what I mean 

Is there any extensive material to read about JRiver and how everything works? Like you (or someone else) pointed out, there might be a little confusion with what all the different names are (panes, libraries, etc), I'm slowly getting the hang of it but if there's any material worth reading I'd gladly educate myself a little more before asking again in the forum.

The main wiki is here http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Main_Page although gets out of date fairly quickly as MC changes.There is a getting started section and a user manual, again it gets dated quickly. Some of the interface GUI names are here http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Screen_Parts. There is no glossary.
I am in the process of  making my own notes on the interface and standard views (names, Tabs,categories, panes,sorting behaviour..... following on from Marco's  excellent work here http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68960.0, and may get around to posting my thoughts/summaries. I am still a relative newcomer so not sure if is appropriate

My main way of learning is Googling to find relevant posts in the forum....there is also a list of "notablel threads" kept http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=59513.msg402038#msg402038.

Good luck and enjoy the music !