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[MrC]

Hi folks,

I'm midway a good portion through the process of rewriting the File Properties (tags) wiki page.  I generated a table of Media Center fields and their definitions using Matt's source code header file as a start, manually checked each one, and then created a program to output a wiki table.  Thus, it is easy to change the formatting, add new entries, etc.

I'd like your feedback / input / modifications:

- how to best format/present the information
- additional information to present
- descriptions or links you'd like to see

Keep in mind there's a lot of info to show, and the page is already long.  It probably isn't the place for a comprehensive list of links, but is perhaps better to provide a single meta-link to more comprehensive pages relevant to a field / tag.

My new version is located here (I created a working scratch page for now):
wiki.jriver.com/index.php/MrC-temp

The original is located here:
The original has now been replaced with the new version:
 http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/File_Properties_%28tags%29

I realize I'm opening a can of worms by asking feedback, but what is the point of a Wiki if not to benefit the most users?  And I'm curious to see where it leads.

I'm thinking since folks don't really like editing the wiki (I hate it), we can try this.  You post your feedback in this thread, I'll incorporate it where possible into the wiki.  I give myself license to wordsmith... just because.

[kensn]

Looks really nice. thanks for taking the time to do this. With the quick look I gave it I have just one critique, I think the flow would look nice if the Edit Type was not right Justified, but tabbed over... Hey you asked...

Data Type: String         Edit Type: Standard

Ken

[MrC]

I agree Ken.  I wasn't sure how to column align/float that entry without using an interior table per cell, and padding with non-breaking spaces doesn't work with vairable-spaced fonts.  So I just floated it right for the time-being.  There really is no "tab" concept in HTML/CSS, but I'll see what I can workout.

Thanks.

[rick.ca]

The table is a handful. What you need is a MediaWiki table filter extension. That would allow one table to answer questions like...

• What fields are provided for Audio?
• Which ones are saved in file tags?
• Which Audio fields are included in a search?
• What other list-type fields are available for Video?
• ...etc.

If that's not doable, you could provide the same thing in the form of an Excel worksheet (also automatically generated?). That would get less use, but would still be handy for doing things like deciding how to use Video fields, mapping data from meta data sources, etc.

Aren't you glad you asked?

[MrC]

Agreed.  ...or the Sortable extension, which provide sort columns via Javascript.  I don't believe it is enabled/installed.

I could also create one page / media type.  There would be duplicate information.  Its no problem on the generation side, but updating 5 pages instead of 1 each time.  Yuck.

Just before you posted, I thought it might be better to use full words for audio types, so they at least could be searched from the page.  I used letter-abbreviations simply to reduce clutter, but that was before rows become taller.  This wouldn't be an issue if the columns could be sortable.

I'd love to see this type of documentation automatically generated from the source code.

[ksvane]

Things seem to be thoroughly described, it's freakin' well done actually!

Perhaps each of the data types could do with a brief explanation (String, Integer, Decimal, Percentage, List, Date, Unknown) For all I know, a string is something on a guitar

[MrC]

Thanks.  I added some quick data type definitions.  I'll deal with formatting later.

[Vincent Kars]

What this forum needs is a MC Hall of Fame.
I know a candidate….

[JustinChase]

Very nice so far.  if you don't mind, I'll just post as I run across stuff.

so far you just have a couple of duplicates here...

Has rules about its editability

    Standard, Clear-only, Large, Not editable, File, 5 Star, Calculated, Editable, Calculated, Not editable

Calculated & Not editable are duplicated, and I suggest one directly follow the other in the corrected list, like so perhaps...

    Standard, Large, File, 5 Star, Calculated, Editable, Not editable, Clear-only

Also, I'm not sure what a 'Large' or 'File' field is/means.  perhaps it's covered later, this is as far as I've gotten so far.

double-thumbs-up on the initiative to get this far; thanks!!!

[MrC]

Very nice so far.  if you don't mind, I'll just post as I run across stuff.

Thanks, sounds good to me.

so far you just have a couple of duplicates here...

Calculated & Not editable are duplicated, and I suggest one directly follow the other in the corrected list, like so perhaps...

    Standard, Large, File, 5 Star, Calculated, Editable, Not editable, Clear-only

Just recently fixed.  Should have been "Calculated-Editable" and "Calculated-Not Editable".  See the Edit Types description I added.

Also, I'm not sure what a 'Large' or 'File' field is/means.  perhaps it's covered later, this is as far as I've gotten so far.

Description added in Edit Types.

double-thumbs-up on the initiative to get this far; thanks!!!

It's getting there... Thanks for the feedback.

I've updated more Descriptions, made some clarifications and added some more commentary.

On to the default search keywords...

[MrC]

What this forum needs is a MC Hall of Fame.
I know a candidate….

But I don't want to be in the MrC Hall of Shame!

Oh, how vain of me.

Thanks Vincent.

[JustinChase]

wow, you move fast

I like the changes, and have a couple of suggestions.  Feel free to ignore, I promise you won't hurt my feelings it they don't "work" for you

    Standard
        Standard text editing. *User can fully edit these fields.
    Clear-only
        Values can only be cleared, typically updated by Media Center. *MC automatically updates these fields, user can only clear all data.
    Large
        Lengthy values, used for lyrics, notes, descriptions, etc. *(over xxx characters??)  I'm not sure here
    Not editable
        Not user-editable. *User cannot edit these fields at all.
    File
        A path to a file.
    5 Star
        Provides a graphical view of 5 selectable stars, usually used for ratings.
    Calculated, Editable
        A calculated value, whose initial value may be edited. *A field which Media Center can auto-populate, but a user can change.
    Calculated, Not editable
        A calculated value, not user-editable. *A field which Media Center can auto-populate, and a user cannot change.

I didn't see anything else when I finished the first run thru, but I didn't look at the table too closely.  BTW, that's the first time I've seen which fields go with which file types.  I've wanted to change some of these in the past, might have to take a closer look and open a [request] post

I've subscribed to this thread, so I'll keep reviewing as you make changes, and chime in if I see anything.

thanks again.

[MrC]

Ok, Good feedback. I've made some updates.

I avoid using the third-person impersonal in user-documentation, which by definition, talks to "you", not him/her/the user.

There is a minor table flow problem of the Edit Types table into the next section.  I'll figure out how to manage that later.  It will probably solve itself as more text is added.

[MrC]

Updated: I've added the default Search Keyword(s).

[Jaguu]

MrC,

I like your wiki rewrite, thank you for your effort. At the same time I think the main table could be simplified by adding more columns. Why not split the "Description" column into separate columns, one for "Data type", one for "Edit type", one for "Description" and one for "See also". You would save plenty of space and add clarity by having the column header just once a the top. The first column could also be split into 2 columns, "Field name" and "Search keywords".

[MrC]

Thanks.  I've started by moving the Data/Edit types into a single column.  I'm hoping to keep the page from being too wide.

[vagskal]

Thank you so much for this and all your other efforts, MrC! That is about all the feedback I really have at this point, but to justify this purely appreciative post I feel compelled to just say that I am not entirely clear about what the "Stored" column stands for.

[BartMan01]

It would help to put the list of media types right above the table with their character designation (for the A I V D T column).  You can figure out what they are if you read the whole page, but for someone just jumping around to the sections they need it isn't really clear.

[MrC]

Sorry for the delay.  Got a bit busy around here.

More goodies added.

Thank you so much for this and all your other efforts, MrC! That is about all the feedback I really have at this point, but to justify this purely appreciative post I feel compelled to just say that I am not entirely clear about what the "Stored" column stands for.

Much appreciated, thanks.  The Stored (and Search) columns should be clearer now.  See if the changes work for you.

It would help to put the list of media types right above the table with their character designation (for the A I V D T column).  You can figure out what they are if you read the whole page, but for someone just jumping around to the sections they need it isn't really clear.

I've given up on the abbreviations; too confusing, and the table already takes up enough width at this point.  See if you like the changes; jump around now with fewer worries!

[Jaguu]

Hi MrC,

maybe you should make a special distinction of the 5 legacy Musicmatch fields: Mood, Tempo, Preference, Situation, Bios.

They are all user-defined fields and as I do not need them and were basically empty, I deleted them. So they are not really standard fields.

[MrC]

maybe you should make a special distinction of the 5 legacy Musicmatch fields: Mood, Tempo, Preference, Situation, Bios.

They are all user-defined fields and as I do not need them and were basically empty, I deleted them. So they are not really standard fields.

Done, thanks!  Search "Legacy".

[MrC]

I've gone ahead and published the recent update, which adds some clarifications, a trimmed screenshot, and some better formatting of a couple of tables.

[JimH]

I've gone ahead and published the recent update, which adds some clarifications, a trimmed screenshot, and some better formatting of a couple of tables.

Thanks a million!

[JustinChase]

I'm just reading thru again and noticed a TBD, and now that this is 'the' wiki, I wonder if J River can advise on the answer to this; from the Field Edit types

(TBD: recommended for data larger than XXX characters)

or this one

Date - A complex type that is either date-only, or date and time. (TBD: need refs)

another, under Predefined Fields

(TBD: in the source code, fields are grouped by certain categories (eg. statistics). are these useful to show?)

i really like the tables now, the layout is great, and the "Legacy" let me search for these, and delete them from my library

I thought Tempo was from 'Analyze Audio'

Nice Job!!  It's nice to have all that there, and when I have more time to work on expressions and layouts, it will be VERY helpful, so thanks much!!

[MrC]

Thank you for the nice feedback.

I have more to do, so the TBDs were some reminders for me (I have some other notes too here in my own notes).  Also unfilled description fields need to be filled.  Then I'll continue to refine descriptions, links, etc.

[vagskal]

I have more to do, so the TBDs were some reminders for me (I have some other notes too here in my own notes).  Also unfilled description fields need to be filled.  Then I'll continue to refine descriptions, links, etc.

A useful addition would be information about
which audio file tags get automatically imported in which MC stock fields
Which file tags will MC write from a stock MC field when updating the file tags from library

That would be a lot of work though with all the file/tag formats out there so perhaps it is a separate project.

Btw. Mood may be a MusicMatch legacy field but it has been changed to import also from Mood file tags and write such tags back, thus working like the non legacy fields if you do not have any MusicMatch file tags to begin with.

[Gl3nn]

I have more to do, so the TBDs were some reminders for me (I have some other notes too here in my own notes).  Also unfilled description fields need to be filled.  Then I'll continue to refine descriptions, links, etc.

I just found this and it's been immensely useful to me.  Thanks so very much!

[Jaguu]

Hi MrC,

I found out that information about the nesting of fields in the Wiki is absent. Maybe this is a topic to add to this excellent page.

[MrC]

I found out that information about the nesting of fields in the Wiki is absent. Maybe this is a topic to add to this excellent page.

Late response - I've been out of town for a while.

I'm wondering if there might be a more appropriate place for this.  It seems this is more a function of the Views and Expressions than of tags or properties.

It is already described in the Expression Language page.

[MrC]

Updated for MC17.

[MrC]

Updated for MC19.

[RaphRock]

Hello,

I'm writing a c# rest client for the MCWS api.
therefore I'm digging into the "details fo MC". 

For now I have one (simple question) : How, When are "store field: nnnnnn" used ?

thnx in advance,
Raf

[MrC]

The best I know, these are for JRiver's Performer Store (mp3 purchases).  You can ignore these most likely.