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[maid]

Hi,

Can someone please explain how I can change a number of filenames at once.

I have tried but finish up with a big mess.

For instance the following name how do I change to remove The and the dots The. Gold. Club

I think I need and explanation as to which rule belongs to which name.

e.g Y\TV Series\United\Season1\United


I hope I havent made this too complicated

Cheers

[marko]

The easiest way to take the dots out would be to select all the dot affected files, then, in the tag window, click to edit the filename (name) field. If it's not there, add it by right click > also show.
Note: The leading "=" sign is extremely important. Ctrl+Z (Undo) will be your friend if things are not right.

While in edit mode, replace "Varies" with: =replace([filename (name)],.,) and press enter.

The dots will be removed.

If you want to replace the dots with spaces, then use: =replace([filename (name)],.,/ )

If you want to trim characters from the start or end, to remove the "The " for example, use: =removeleft([filename (name)],4)

If you used "removeright", then the word "Club" would be removed, leaving a trailing space at the end.

How useful this stuff is depends on how big the job is, and how many files fit the given rule. If you have one hundred files you wish to remove dots from, this will do it in the blink of an eye. If those same hundred files all have different numbers of characters to strip from the front, then it would be a tedious job to go through them applying this logic to each file individually. If the above tips are enough, super, if not, we'll need more info regarding the current state of things, your desired goal, and the number of files involved.

-marko.

[maid]

Thanks for that,

But can you tell me which name relates to which value e.g Y\TV Series\United\Season1\United  =replace([filename (name)],.,/ )

Which one is the filename and which one is the name?

Cheers

[Peter_T]

filename is the actual filename that you see in windows explorer, whereas name is a database field in MC.  At first name is the same as filename, but you can change name to something else (say, the episode title) and leave the filename the same (say, S01E03.avi).

[maid]

Hi,

Sorry I am still confused.

I have this The.Listener.S01E06 with E07 E08 etc

I want it to say Listener S01E06 E07 E08 etc


How do I do this?

Cheers

[ThoBar]

To rename the Name as displayed in MC:
    In the Name field, use:       =replace([filename (name)],.,/ )


To rename the file as STORED on your computer (i.e. as seen by windows explorer):
    Show the Filename (name)
    In the Filename (name) field, use :        =replace([filename (name)],.,/ )

[maid]

Hi,

I feel like such a noob I still cant get this right.

If I try in tagging I loose all the episode names.

If I try from rename move and copy section It seems to change on the right side but when I go back into the library they are still listed the same???

Cheers

[marko]

WARNING: the advice offered by myself and confishy here is badly flawed. We have both overlooked the fact that using a rule as shown below to remove dots from the [filename (name)] field will actually remove the dot that precedes the file extension. Effectively, using this rule will turn "file.avi" into an extentionless file called "fileavi". Maid please accept our apologies.

To rename the file as STORED on your computer (i.e. as seen by windows explorer):
    Show the Filename (name)
    In the Filename (name) field, use :        =replace([filename (name)],.,/ )

Bearing the poor advice given so far in mind, let's try to ascertain what the state of affairs is at the moment, and then see if we can't get you up and running again.

If I try in tagging I loose all the episode names.

This suggests to me that you have the Name field set the way you want it. If so, you should not perform any edits in this field.

If I try from rename move and copy section It seems to change on the right side but when I go back into the library they are still listed the same???

Listed the same, where, exactly?

If you've successfully used the rename move and copy tool to alter the filenames, then none of the strings given above will work as the filenames will no longer match the templates.
In your original post, you asked for tips on mainpulating the filename of several files in a batch operation. Just so we're all singing from the same page, does the following help:

Let's take a file that has been saved in C:\Video\Televison\Series\The.Listener.S01E06.avi, MC has several filename related fields that look like so:

• [Filename]: C:\Video\Televison\Series\The.Listener.S01E06.avi
  
• [Filename (name)]: The.Listener.S01E06.avi
  
• [Filename (path)]: C:\Video\Televison\Series\
  
  The [Name] field in MC is seperate entity altogether, though, upon initial import, if MC does not find a saved name tag, it auto populates this field with the [filename (name)] value minus the file extension.
  
  
  Could you possibly state, clearly...
  
  
• The current filenames you have.
• The filenames you actually desire.
• Which library field you wish to alter.
• The current status of that fields content.
• Your desired content for that field.

If you can provide this information, then we should be fully equipped to help you restore some sanity and order to your MC world.
Again, apologies for the poor advice given earlier.

-marko.

[ThoBar]

Uhhh. yeah. Very very sorry about that.   

Nice catch on the whole oversight thing Marko.

This is why these sorts of rules should ALWAYS be tested before performing on a mass set of files. Even experienced users, with great intentions can make a mistake!

I'd also like to reiterate my apologies.

[maid]

Good day to you all,


# The current filenames you have.  I have this The.Listener.S01E06 with E07 E08 etc
# The filenames you actually desire. I want it to say Listener S01E06 E07 E08 etc
# Which library field you wish to alter. I want to change the name in MC library
# The current status of that fields content. The.Listener.S01E06
# Your desired content for that field. Listener S01E06

I also would like a description of which fiels relates to the names in MC.

Cheers

[marko]

Hi Maid, I think that before offering any further tips on performing batch file operations using MC, we need to be certain that you understand what it is you will actually be asking MC to do, and why. You have provided the information requested, and I'm pretty sure I can give you steps to achieve your goals, but, some things make me nervous...

In an earlier post, you seemed to suggest that you'd changed both the filename and the name of the files:

If I try in tagging I loose all the episode names.

If I try from rename move and copy section It seems to change on the right side but when I go back into the library they are still listed the same???

and so, I was not expecting you to provide the same field and filename information as you did in your original post. Did you use the undo command to revert any changes you'd made?

I see that once again, you have asked the following:

I also would like a description of which fiels relates to the names in MC.

Earlier, I wrote:

Let's take a file that has been saved in C:\Video\Televison\Series\The.Listener.S01E06.avi, MC has several filename related fields that look like so:

• [Filename]: C:\Video\Televison\Series\The.Listener.S01E06.avi
  
• [Filename (name)]: The.Listener.S01E06.avi
  
• [Filename (path)]: C:\Video\Televison\Series\
  
  The [Name] field in MC is seperate entity altogether, though, upon initial import, if MC does not find a saved name tag, it auto populates this field with the [filename (name)] value minus the file extension.
  

Any changes you make to any of the "[Filename" fields listed above will physically move the file or change its physical name depending upon which of the three fields you edit.
I presume that this did not help your understanding, so, perhaps I am misunderstanding the question or not answering clearly enough? (I was never much of a wordsmith)

Nothing relates to the names in MC, the [Name] field in MC is a completely independent field, apart from initial import, when, if no actual [name] tag is saved in the imported file, MC defaults the [Name] field to match the actual filename of the imported file.

If this is still not clear, or if I missed the question, could you ask your question again, using a few more words

Cheers,
-marko.

[Daydream]

May I interfere for a second? You guys are going at it for 3 days. I guess that can be called "lost in the beauty of it". The topic is very instructive and it's always been most useful to see Marko describing a solution, but I have to ask about a reality check. As in maybe MC is not the best tool (yet) to do this!?

I don't see any concern expressed over additional metadata or other things attached with the said "many files" that would justify going at these great lengths inside MC. Any good file renamer - like this - would solve the problem in 15 minutes; taking out the dots, the "the"s and so on. Then you import the files, now having proper names into MC and further play with them if necessary, in a structured way. Without chasing dots that may be extensions or not.

[marko]

Agreed, horses for courses.
MC can do the job at hand, but may not be the most intuitive. I used to use a tool called "Mass File Renamer" for these kind of things, but personally, I now find it easier to use auto import in MC and perform such tasks from within MC itself using the available renaming expressions.
It's obvious that there is no "Name" associated metadata with these files as the [Name] matches the [Filename (name)], any other metadata that may exist will not be affected.

I think that before Maid can move along, a basic understanding of the relationship between MC, file metadata, database fields and actual filenames needs to be realised, and that was the aim of my last post. I have a strong feeling that once Maid has all those boxes ticked, the job in hand will most likely just fall into place by itself.

-marko.