make music track number a column

[Kilmatead]

If you make changes to the file names like change the track order or alter the tracks name in a file manager it will not affect anything in the Meta Data which is why there will be a discrepancy in the Directory/File Managers listing versus the music players scan of the Meta data for the information.

Which is why (in my meagre opinion) handling everything via tags is the best approach, as long as you have some method (such as a manager) which directly reflects the tag-data to the file's physical location and name...



I set mine up to auto-organise folders/subfolders/filenames as tag-data changes in real-time. Of course, getting your car-stereo to recognise a complex folder structure is a whole other thing, and you also have to remember that you changed your cherished Ted Nugent albums' genre to "Classic Rock" instead of merely "Annoying Rock" in order to find them again.

That said, if organising by location instead of genre, your sanity would be better preserved listening to Bob Seger as a Detroit rocker rather than Nugent - but Cat Scratch Fever has its place in the historical pantheon, I guess, nevertheless.

D.R.E.A.D.

Detroit
Rockers
Engaged in the
Abolition of
Disco



Ah, the 80's - a simpler time when we were free to hate anything and everything without regard for the obviously irrelevant feelings of other pesky humans.

Disclaimer: A certain amount of sarcasm may be infused with the opinions expressed herein.

[nikos]

Even x2's mass-rename thingy can't do it properly

the forthcoming "printf" should be able to cover rename too!

[Kilmatead]

Preferably from WITHIN the rename template itself - knowing you, you'd settle for the half-arsed workaround where you tell the user to use a ready-made programmable column as ${my_half-arsed_workaround}. Go the extra mile, dude, else I'll never shut up about it.

Actually, can you use a programmable column like that? Never tried...

Edit: That would seem to be "no"... renaming doesn't appear to process ${my_half-arsed_programmable_column} template. Oh, the humanity of it all! I'm thinking your Manifesto needs an addendum to the "Expected Systemic Interoperability" clause...

[nikos]

why not? ${programmable} is a valid token for renames or whatever

[Kilmatead]

Ah, it seems to work if the p-column is actually added into the current column set first. I thought it would work like the [X] columns from plugins which work even if they aren't currently part of the active set.

So you only get half-points for effort, there.

[nikos]

for me it works whether the column is showing or not!?

[Kilmatead]

For those interested, and for the sake of circumnavigating this thread, in order to use x2's mass-rename to prefix the metadata's track number to an mp3's filename (and guarantee 3 digits for natural-number sorting) it requires a programmable column:

Code: Select all

if(${#}<=99,mid("00",1,3-len(str(${#}))),"")+str(${#})

Call it "TrackPad". Then, in the mass-rename dialog, use a template like:

Code: Select all

${TrackPad} ${Title}

So...

Song1.mp3 <Metadata Track # 4, Title: Drop Kick...>
Song2.mp3 <Metadata Track # 16, Title: What Need Have I...>
Song3.mp3 <Metadata Track # 121, Title: Several Species...>

Becomes...

Code: Select all

004 Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Post of Life.mp3
016 What Need Have I for This What Need Have I for That I'm Dancing at the Feet of My Lord All is Bliss All is Bliss.mp3
121 Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict.mp3

The p-column can be modified to guarantee only 2 digits, but that's not a good idea as you never know when you'll encounter a set of songs with possible mixed track numbers of over 100.

Again, this is just to show how it could be done - I would instead strongly recommend using a proper Mp3-Tagger which can rewrite filenames with track specs, as that will more easily allow you to add disc-numbers or bit-rates or whatever other stuff you might want in the filename proper.

This example assumes the track numbers are not already zero-padded within the metadata, as that would just mess with the fundamentals of the cosmos for no good reason, and if Richard Feynman taught us anything it's don't put O-Rings in ice-water, and never ever mess with the fundamentals of the cosmos for no good reason.

And yes, the song-titles are real, but the track numbers are fictional - to protect the innocent.

[nikos]

to throw this discussion into yet another random direction this is my favorite quote by Feynmann:

physics is like sex: sure it may have some concrete results occasionally, but that's not why we do it

(or something to that effect)

[Kilmatead]

I give you a John McLaughlin quote and a Pink Floyd quote and all you can think about is sex with a physicist! Greeks!

[dunno]

For those interested, and for the sake of circumnavigating this thread, in order to use x2's mass-rename to prefix the metadata's track number to an mp3's filename (and guarantee 3 digits for natural-number sorting) it requires a programmable column:

Well done Horatio, but what on earth are you listening too. Is that satire?.
If you're tired of the official version of Dark Side Of The Moon, Easy Star All-Stars - Dubber Side Of The Moon

To assist with circumnavigating the circle:
Using a "Mp3tag" application is the way to go and also use a dedicated music player, all that information in the tags can be put to good use especially with classical works.

Leading zero's in MetaData will incur the wrath of all the Gods.

[Kilmatead]

but what on earth are you listening too. Is that satire?.

Well, considering your contribution was "Honey Don't Mess With My Boobs", I decided to try and elevate the general tone a little without resorting to a pushup-bra. Just sayin'

[dunno]

No, I meant is that really wholesome music or a satire of wholesome music.

[Kilmatead]

Wholesome music all, though I can't speak to what the original artists' intents were...

The world's only Christian football waltz
All is Bliss
Grooving with a Pict