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Author Topic: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?  (Read 3175 times)

HTPC4ME

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Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« on: November 25, 2008, 09:04:32 pm »

this may sound funny.. but can i open up the same library on multiple machines and have friends family help with tagging at the same time? being that all comps are networked and can access files!

I'm going through all artists, albums now and be nice if we can all get this done together at the same time.

then we can have a tagging party :)
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rick.ca

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #1 on: November 25, 2008, 11:36:38 pm »

It's not a multiuser application, but I think you would be much better off having different people/machines tagging different parts of your collection in their own libraries. Each can then Update Tags (from library), and then that information will be available to other libraries by using Update Library (from tags). Be sure you understand what meta data can be saved in media files. I believe most standard fields meant for audio will be saved in the more common audio file types. Image files are somewhat more limited. No information is saved in video files.
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2008, 12:08:08 am »

ok sounds good Rick TY :)

Tagging is Going slow but steady  :)

I do have another question for ya. wondering if its ajriver error? or a user error

I noticed tonight while starting tagging the Artist field under Audio media mode.. that There ARE PICTURES UNDER AUDIO and they are From a Diffrent Drive?

so i tested in audio media mode by deleting the pic from audio and IT DELETED IT FROM IMAGES MEDI AMODE TOO!

i chose delete remove from media libray, Not delete form disk ;)

I then looked at the tags for these pic files and i FINALLY noticed that the Artist field was filled in for those Jpg's.  so i removed the Artist info and then hit refresh and then FINALLY those jpg's removed themselves from the audio media mode

1. why were those pics in the Audio section? shouldnt all .JPG's Be under Images and NOT audio? and these .jpg's were not cover arts either they were personal pics And from a diffrent drive... my picture drive!

2. Is that how jriver is suppose to handle artists under audio mode?

3. Under image mode when i click the little arrow to ee the drop down... I only see Calenders, and shortcuts, keywords, and Ratings.. umm Shouldnt there DEFINATELLY be an Artists under Images? Vincent Van Gogh, Sorayama, Olivia, etc??
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rick.ca

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2008, 04:25:02 am »

What appears in any particular view depends on Media Type. It should not be affected by Artist or any other field, unless a rule has been included in the definition of the view to make it so.

Right-click on Audio, and select Customize View. Under Options, selected Advanced - Set rules for file display... Click Add Stock Rule and select Audio Only. That will add the rule "Media Type is Audio." Check the corresponding rules in Images and Video. If you like, you can further restrict what appears in each group with additional rules (e.g., exclude a particular directory path).

When you click on the arrows on and Audio/Images/Video buttons, what appears underneath are additional views—not fields (like Artist). You can create any number of different views by right-clicking on a mode button and selecting Add Library View. I suggest you leave that alone until you've got the parent views the way you want them. Do keep in mind this feature exists. Make the parent views as simple and "multi purpose" as possible, then use the additional views for more specialized purposes.
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2008, 08:56:32 pm »

Ok I'm On D's and Gf is on U's

I noticed today and am VERY SCARED after ALL THESE DAYS of tagging. that her library doesnt show the changes ive made on the desktop.. and my library isnt showing the changes she's made on the laptop?!?!

I guess im at  a stand still until i figure out whats going on (wont be taggin until hear back)

I went to her laptop chose a file... 5 starred it, and renamed it, then went to desktop REimported library, went to artist mode and artist\album song etc for that SAME title and that same file tag and the rating hadnt changed!  so i right clicked the file in jriver chose locate on external disc then right clicked file chose properties then details.. and all the info was in the file tagged properlly. but on my desktop jriver it hadnt changed? and visa versa.. we literally tagged about on average of 6-9 hours last 5 days would hate for us to loose all we did!?

is there something im missing on both machines so we can see each others changes?  auto import doesnt seem to change anything in our jrivers.. and im leary of messing with any settings, shutting down jriver or rebooting computer or saving libraries until i know all the tagging we have done is saved and going to import properlly.

is this what i need to do (last paragraph)
and if so if i update from library on both machines wont that cancel out each others work? Or WORSE YET Tag Everythiing back the way it was before we started tagging!  meaning if i started @ A's and she starts @ Z's then when we update library it would remove what the other has done?

Just making sure i do this right.. if this is what i need to do!?

From you...
It's not a multiuser application, but I think you would be much better off having different people/machines tagging different parts of your collection in their own libraries. Each can then Update Tags (from library), and then that information will be available to other libraries by using Update Library (from tags). Be sure you understand what meta data can be saved in media files. I believe most standard fields meant for audio will be saved in the more common audio file types. Image files are somewhat more limited. No information is saved in video files.
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rick.ca

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2008, 01:43:18 am »

I presume MC will update library to tags or tags to library only according to which one has changed. Hopefully, someone who actually does this sort of thing will confirm this for you.

Regardless of how it works, it would be a good idea to turn off automatic updating until your two-machine tagging exercise is complete. What I would do is tag a group of files, then select them and Update tags (from library). Then select the same group of files on the other machine, and Update library (from tags). If the information you see on both machines is not then exactly the same for those files, then something is very wrong. In other words, you're wise to stop. You should not proceed with tagging until you understand what's happening, you're sure this works, and you have confidence in what you are doing. Afterall, there's a gf at stake. ;)

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I went to her laptop chose a file... 5 starred it, and renamed it, then went to desktop REimported library, went to artist mode and artist\album song etc for that SAME title and that same file tag and the rating hadnt changed!

I'm puzzled. Why would you want to rename the file and re-import it? Isn't MC (on the desktop) just going to see that as a new file and import it accordingly? That doesn't prove anything. If you looked at the old entry for that file, it would not have the new rating—because the old file didn't change. If you updated that entry, it would tell you the file no longer exists. If you looked at the new entry, then you should have seen the new rating, unless you did not update the tags after making the change.

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if i update from library on both machines wont that cancel out each others work?

You are using MC on two machines to update the information saved in the media files themselves. If you Update tags (from library) for all the files, then, yes, you would overwrite whatever updates were made on the other machine. So don't do that! Just update the files you changed. And don't change any file names while you're doing this tagging! You're counting on being able to exchange information between the two machines/libraries based on those file names. MC might be able to recover from such nasty tricks, but you're asking for trouble. :o

Once you're finished the tagging, both machines/libraries will be able to read the same information from the same files. You can then rename all the files (to reorganize them on disk) using the desktop/library. I'm not sure on this point: MC might be able to update the new file locations in the laptop/library, but I would be inclined to rebuild a new library by importing the files again after they've been renamed.
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2008, 09:40:50 am »

can anyone confirm this please? 
Quote
I presume MC will update library to tags or tags to library only according to which one has changed

Quote
I'm puzzled. Why would you want to rename the file and re-import it? Isn't MC (on the desktop) just going to see that as a new file and import it accordingly? That doesn't prove anything. If you looked at the old entry for that file, it would not have the new rating—because the old file didn't change. If you updated that entry, it would tell you the file no longer exists. If you looked at the new entry, then you should have seen the new rating, unless you did not update the tags after making the change.
  i meant rename tag (artist, album,. year)not filename sorry...
ok that answers my questions, no i\we havent updated tags after changes. i was to worried about screwing everything up and now that im on D's and she's working backwords, files have moved all over the place so updating tags then finding them on other persons machine is down right impossible. :(


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If you Update tags (from library) for all the files, then, yes, you would overwrite whatever updates were made on the other machine. So don't do that! Just update the files you changed. And don't change any file names while you're doing this tagging! You're counting on being able to exchange information between the two machines/libraries based on those file names. MC might be able to recover from such nasty tricks, but you're asking for trouble.

Once you're finished the tagging, both machines/libraries will be able to read the same information from the same files. You can then rename all the files (to reorganize them on disk) using the desktop/library. I'm not sure on this point: MC might be able to update the new file locations in the laptop/library, but I would be inclined to rebuild a new library by importing the files again after they've been renamed


So basically we are stuck... being that there are so many files and once we rename them (rename meaning the tag info artist, album year)or hit refresh those files have went to diffrent spots(multiple Artists, Various Artists, Unknown Etc... IN JRiver)  making it almost impossible to remmeber what we've done. so basically just do our best to tag the rest and meet in the middle then update library from tags on desktop, and laptop, then go back and double check artist mode( to make sure there arent double artists due to ones tagged in other sections) Then update library from tags and then continue to tag all files in artist mode?


Another thing i'd like to know is.. if we chose update library from tags on ONLY SELECTED FILES will it only update library from those SELECTED\Highlighted files?  if so then we can contiue tagging and each row we do we could select those files before refreshing and then update those tags.. to make it easier for both of us.  but if it updates ALL tags then that would be a HUGE NO NO

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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2008, 11:42:12 am »

being there was no reply. i decided to test and have my finger on the trigger to cancel if it tried updating more then 1 tag.. and it only does one tagthat you select.... but after thinking about it.. on both machines cant i just do update library form tags at any time? that shouldnt over write any work we have doen correct? because its actually grabbing tag info from the files we have already tagged meaning the tag info is saved within the file correct?  so basically on both machines at any time we can chose update library from tags!?

i think.lol  can someone confirm this for me please?!  that way we can continue tagging and dont have to worry about losing each others work.

Ty
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JimH

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #8 on: December 04, 2008, 11:54:29 am »

You are playing with fire.
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2008, 11:58:54 am »

umm ok... which part? and how do i avoid that Please? I do have a kid myself whos young, and i ALWAYS follow up with why it's bad to play with fire :)
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2008, 12:09:43 pm »

and know that ya got me really scared with that comment.. im sure glad i imaged that drive before i started tagging!
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rick.ca

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #11 on: December 04, 2008, 05:25:43 pm »

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You are playing with fire.

If we never played with fire, we wouldn't be playing with computers. ;)

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so basically on both machines at any time we can chose update library from tags!?

Yes, but only if the tagging changes done on both machines have been saved to the files.

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files have moved all over the place so updating tags then finding them on other persons machine is down right impossible.

This is the root of your troubles. Sorry, it didn't occur to me before—I suppose because my files are already organized the same way I view them in MC (by genre-artist-album). For purposes of the tagging effort, I think you should divide the files into two groups—one to be tagged on the desktop, the other on the laptop—and keep them separate until the tagging is complete. The most obvious way to do this is to add Location as the first pane in your view: Select Customize view, click Add (category), select Type File path, and set the path to the group of files you want to tag on that machine. If you can't easily divide the files into two groups by path, then use the same path on both machines, but agree that folders A to M will be tagged on one machine, and folders Z - N on the other (or however you want to divide them—by folder, alphabetically). As long as you use the location pane to restrict the files to the correct group, you won't have any problem with the files getting mixed up.
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #12 on: December 04, 2008, 05:36:53 pm »

Hi Rick thanks for your in depth responce again :)

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Yes, but only if the tagging changes done on both machines have been saved to the files.

pardon my ignorance..being i have it setup on both machines to save tags while we tag we should be all set? just being EXTRA cautious.
ty again..will await your reply. before updating tags that we have already done
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #13 on: December 06, 2008, 10:56:23 am »

well ive manged to make it to K's

yesterday i have like 10 cd's that the artist and track name wasnt filled in, so i filled them in and looked at filenmae and chose whoch cd's the tracks went on, after doing so these cd's all had mixed artists on them meaning every single track on all 10 cd's was from diffrent artist, i noticed after hitting refresh 8 of those 10 cd's went into the multiple artist category under artist. and 2 of those cd's i did all the artists split up and were scattered in my artists... i did a search for those 2 cd's by typing euphoria judgement and then viewed all those tracks and noticed under album artist auto the artist name was there and not multiple artists like the other cd's i had done, so i did some research here on forum, and it mentions all track have to be there in order for media center to put those cd's into multiple artist,  but while looking through multiple artists there are many cd's where it starts on track number 2,3 or even 4, and jriver put the cd's into multiple artist...with these 2 judgement cd's i tried selecting them all and under album artist putting in (multiple Artists) and the second i click outside that box Jirver removes multiple artist from the box and puts each tracks artist back , and i cant get those 2 cd's to show up under multiple artists, the artist names are scatter all over in the artist view mode.

Any ideas please before we continue tagging and and then realize we have to redo over 1\2 my collection do to this multiple artist\unassigned issue.

TY
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rick.ca

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #14 on: December 06, 2008, 04:18:33 pm »

Read Auto-Tag Multiple Artist Albums in the Help file.

Your organization scheme—in your mind, on your hard drive, and in your MC library—is probably Genre - Artist - Album - Track. That makes sense (and I recommend it), but there's an obvious complication when there is more than one artist on an album. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your organization scheme, or that your tagging has to be redone. You just need to add some information so multiple artist albums will display how you want them to.

Your view scheme is probably Artist - Album, grouped by Album. So your multiple artist albums are "all over the place"—because they are being displayed by Artist. MC would happily display them by Album, if that's how you configured your view scheme. You haven't because that won't work for a collection where most albums are by a single artist. So MC has a clever way of helping out—the Album Artist (auto) field. If it is able to detect that an album is a multiple artist album, this field will be "Multiple Artists" for all tracks—so they won't be "all over the place" when viewed by Artist - Album.

This feature may not "work" for two reasons—it's unable to detect the album is a multiple artist album, or it just doesn't give you the result you want. In either case, the solution is to use the Album Artist field to "force" it to a value of your choosing. Depending on your preferred view scheme and the nature of the album, you may want to put the name of the collection or of the performer (who is performing the works of multiple artists) in that field.

To find those "lost" tracks and make these changes, I suggest you modify your view scheme to set grouping off. You can sort by album to "group" tracks for tagging purposes. Display the Artist, Album Artist and Album Artist (auto) fields together so you can see and understand what's happening when you make changes.
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ThoBar

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #15 on: January 22, 2009, 11:56:28 pm »

Just found this thread in the search for the ability to do pretty much the same as X wants to do.

Is there any hope that MC will intoduce tag editing/file manipulation via the Library Server?

I would really like to be able to have the wife editing tags etc on the server without having to have direct file access.

If someone has a better way, let me know...
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HTPC4ME

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Re: Can i edit my library tags from multiple computers?
« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2009, 07:50:51 pm »

ok we are at the final stages of the tagging process...

i ran across something that many be a problem.  i have the Tera media drive that says i only have 29 gigs left. now after everything is tagged and i use jriver to rename filenames, move to diffrent folders make folders etc....  will 29 gigs be enough room for moving, renaming, and sorting all those files that we have just tagged?

TY
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