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[Sapagrino]

I just took a wrong turn with my stacks.  I EXPANDED my stacked files, selected all, and then ran an autostack so I could switch top file from ALAC to FLAC as I often do; but, I had forgotten to UNSTACK after I expanded and before I ran the autostack (Artist,Album,Track#,Name).  The result was that most of my files were missing.  I figured they were just somehow stacked into very few visible files.  So, I selected all and unstacked the whole library.....

...but, still, now most of the files are missing from the library.  No remaining files are stacked.

This old post seemed to have the same issue: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=45431.0;wap2

...but, I am hoping there is a less potentially destructive way to restore the library?  I may have had a few fields where the data had not yet been written by the library to the files themselves.  I also see the last backup of the library was three days ago, so I suppose I could go back to that, but I've done lots of tagging the last few days.  I really need the library to somehow find what it "disappeared."

Thanks for any help.

[JimH]

You can restore from a backup.  MC makes them automatically.

[marko]

Try this...

Press F9 to create a new smartlist.
Press the import/export button and paste the following in there....
[Media Type]=[Audio] -[Stack Top]=-1 ~d=a ~sort=[Stack Top]

OK your way out.
See your missing files now?

If you do, you should be able to correct them using the stack tools.
If not, you may need to bite the bullet and roll back a few days.

If you do see the missing files, and want more control, you can use the search string provided above to build a library view, which will allow you to add artist and album panes. Just remember to untick the "use parent scheme search rules" box when you set it up.

-marko

[Sapagrino]

marko,

Thank you so much!  Just what the doctor ordered.  Your post was perfect.

Notes to self:
1. Be 100% certain to unstack files before running autostack tools;
2. MC auto backups are a life saver as is, but if doing lots of tagging, run manual backups much more often;
3. If I turn off "write tag to file" temporarily, turn back on sooner because of risk of losing tags if library file runs into trouble--both global and by field;
3. I was right to create a clearly labeled manual backup before restoring a 3 day old backup so I could go back and apply marko's fix;
4. Keep the smartlist created to find the missing stack files in case I violate #1 above

Anything else worth noting?  or links worth pasting in for completeness?

Thanks again.

[marko]

Thanks for getting back to us. Glad that helped.

Anything else worth noting?  or links worth pasting in for completeness?

I don't use stacks for any of my audio files, but use them extensively in my image library. Way back, when stacking was first introduced, I was only going to commit to them if there was a way to manage them somehow. Now, while MC does not provide the means by way of a default view, it is possible to create one for yourself, but, before doing so, a basic understanding of what you're looking at in the file list and what that means for you is definitely required.

Have a read of this post (all of it), including the "more ramblings" link at the end, which should arm you with enough to create your own stack manager view. If you have any other questions though, or need anything clarified, just shout and we'll do our best to help.

One thing that springs to mind for audio is that you would most likely be in a 'details' list view rather than thumbnails, and the stack icon in a details list column is small and demands attention to learn the collapsed/expanded state of your stack, and to identify the 'top of stack' file. The thumbnail text expression I mention there could also be used to create an "Expression Column" which would, if you changed the word "image" to "Track" write "Top Track" into the column against the top of stack file.

Similarly, a second expression based column using: "if(isempty([stack view]),Expanded,Collapsed)" (without the quotes) would display in words the expanded/collapsed status of the stack, which as you will know or will learn, is extremely important when it comes to tagging or moving the files in the stack. In my image view scheme, I have that "Expanded / Collapsed" expression as the first category (pane).

-marko