How I fixed 1000+ audio files that would not play due to an anomaly with special characters…
BACKGROUND:
For over 2 years I had been transferring my MC Library & Music Folders between MacOS & PC with no issues - using an external HD. It had been about 6-8mos since my last transfer and suddenly I had 1000's of audio files that wouldn’t play. The reason was how special characters were being represented (invisibly) on the PC (and possibly the HD). Everything looked perfect when comparing my Filename(name), Album & Path with Explorer. However, I discovered this when in Rename (F2 on PC) this was not the case. In Rename, I could see what looked like a strange space under the special character in Filename(name), Album or Filename(path)...
Normal Filename in MC & Explorer: \03 Sueña.flac
Corrupt Filename in MC Rename: \03 Suen~a.flac
See attached screenshots below. Paths were affected by special characters in Album names. Even w/amazing help from the forum we never found the cause. The only solution was to rewrite the filenames & album names, without having to remove any special characters. I tried to document this process as detailed as possible. I hope it helps someone!!
SOLUTION:
1) Do a Library Backup and give it a name you will recognized. That way, you can always undo whatever is done in the following steps.
2) Turned off Auto-Import Off & Fix Broken Links =NO
a. Isolate all the non-playing files by going to Audio > Panes and typing [=ismissing([filename])]=1 into the search bar. Once all the files are there, create a temporary playlist and copy them to that playlist. Then remove unnecessary columns. Having them in a playlist makes it easier to work with them so you don’t have to keep repeating this search.
b. Fix special characters in Filename only: Highlight all remaining files.
c. Using RM&CF*: Tools > Library Tools > Rename > Find > [Track #] - [Name]. Select Rename from the drop-down box. Uncheck everything except Filename. In the Filename box, create the structure you normally use for creating your Filename (name). This only works if Name is one of the fields used to create your Filename(name). This step should repair the special characters as it rewrites the Filename. Practice on a couple individual files before selecting a group. Backup your library after you have done several Albums and continue.
d. Once the Filenames are fixed, you need to do the same for Albums (which will repair the Paths). Repeat above to Isolate all the non-playing files by going to Audio > Panes and typing [=ismissing([filename])]=1 into the search bar. Once all the files are there, create another new playlist and copy them to that playlist. Then remove unnecessary columns.
e. Doing this file by file is very slow, but I found it much faster to select/highlight all files in an Album (Paths in MC must all be exactly the same if selecting multiple). Then, Go to File Explorer. Locate & open that album so you’re looking at a list of the audio files. Go up to the menu bar at the top of the screen and right click. Select “Copy Address as Text”. Go back to MC and F2 (or right click > Rename) on the file(s) and copy the contents of the pathname from Explorer. That will update all the files in that album simultaneously. It was painful at first, but it was done in less than a couple hours – hopefully to never happen again!
TIP: Use F6 to get into RM&CF faster - for any moving/renaming of folders. DO NOT rename/move folders outside of RM&CF… if so, verify results in Explorer/Finder.
NOTE: Although my screenshot of R&CF is slightly different than what I explain above... I had checked Directories to cleanup any non-conforming paths, but you shouldn't have to check this to rewrite only the Filename(name).
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Topic: My Fix for Special Characters that prevented audio files from playing (Read 3020 times)