merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

the "$num" part is just typed into the box when you're doing the "tag to filename" conversion.

I'm pleased you're enjoying your squeezebox. And yes, there is no single way to do this and everyone has their own preferences. I like to have a directory for an ARTIST, then a separate subdirectory for *each* album of that artist, and then within each of these separate ALBUM subdirectories I have all the tracks for this album.** I wouldn't want to have tracks from different albums mixed up in the same ARTIST subdirectory/folder. I might have some artists with 40 or 50 (or even 100s) of different albums. So I want these albums to all be contained in their own specific folder.

**And if a multidisk, I like to have subdirectories under ALBUM for "Disc 1", "Disc 2", etc.

p.s. cleaning up one's tagging, filenaming, and file organization is likely a lifetime job. I'll probably be tinkering with mine until they throw the dirt in on top of my casket. And I'm taking the digital files with me, just in case I can use them wherever I might end up!

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

Thanks for that info, Good to see Iam not too far off the Mark !.So in theory I dont have to rename Filename (but I will) I Guess how you organise is personal to each person. From Dummys Thread he's/She's putting in Year in the naming string. For me Iam just Going:[track] [artist] - [title]....But then maybe change to your (garym) Naming String for Comps/Multi -boxs set/Other artists On disc.

Iam not sure if theres a "right" way of doing it.But IMHO to create a Folder with Artist>Then have his/her album/s names in another folder>Then the tracks for that album seems a bit long haul.(unless a Mutibox set)
There again my way, you could argue why have the artist named again in Album track list, when you already know that (Via finding and opening/playing)?....So all you need is the track titles.

Either way my Sq. Box seems to be working it out perfectly.Thank god (and garym).
Ive downloaded the OP. System on my Squeeze and like the New Compilation folder. Ironically this was one reason i wanted to go back to my folders. Although I think they are under "V" for Various Albums in "Albums."
One thing I Could not find On MP3 tag in Convert>Filename-tag was how to generate track no.It didnt matter I just copied the String garym gave me. Wheres the "$num" part...? I tried seeking it but could not find it at the side of window menus.

Another thing I've corrected is where you get a Multi disc and add Convert In DBPA to get the same Album gain over multi box set. Before This wasn't always working.I now realise this was due to those Split CDs with wrong Album Tagging (Now corrected).The Converter recognised it was 2 different CDS Still- So wouldn't play ball.This may be obvious To garym and the Gurus....But it was'nt for me.(or though it is now...)

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

the way things look if I go to "music folder" in Squeezebox is:



but keep in mind that my folder organization is:

ARTIST/ALBUM/tracks....

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

Ah..So Its the Server/squeeze thats worked out Correct Numbering Artist/ track.The Thing is (and dont really want to go off on a tangent about LMS/sq.Box On this site..) But Iam unsure whats Right/Wrong in Layout On my SBT...or is just Personal on how you Order things. Even in DBPA with Different Naming Strings You have a choice on How things look /Ordered. Heres a few examples what Iam seeing/getting....

From Menu > Artist/Album/ New music all follow this:

Iam more than happy with the above..But..

From the Same Menu If I go to "My Folders" I get:
Of Course I can now tweak this (via MP3TAG), So numbers/ tracks flow normal not alphabetically.Sorry this is not shown...but sure you get the idea..i.e: Soul-Male 70s>Artist-album(s)>Artist-Album tracks= play.

The Question is In "My Folders"
Do I Use : number - Artist Name- Track title........Or Put Track Title First (or without Artist Name).?

The Thing is, I personally would not Put in my Folder section : Artist Name Only then have another folder with his/her albums together(But thats just me.)I prefer different headers i.e...Jazz-Male >Mile Davis-Kind of Blue,Miles Davis-Tutu...In Different Folders for each album(of Course) But all under "Jazz-Male"

Theres Light at the end of the ripping / Streamer Tunnel now...just need to work out how I want the end result.

Perhaps you can Send Some Piccy's garym to see how you Organise Naming your naming/Folders...this might help to see where Iam going Right (and wrong)

Main answer is that I never use "my folders" menu item in the Squeezebox. This is for people that don't have good tags in their files so they have to look at things based on folder organization. With complete tags, you should never need to look at "my folders". Instead look at the menu items such as ARTIST, ALBUM ARTIST, ALBUM, GENRE, etc. (LMS 7.9 has ALBUM ARTISTS and ALL ARTISTS, 7.8 and earlier just has ARTISTS...don't worry about this difference)

Here's some screen shots using regular menus based on metadata tags are in pictures 1-4 below (ignore the pic 5, as I can't seem to delete it):

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

the name you're getting in the mp3tag string is for the FILE NAME. What you're seeing in Squeezebox is from the file metadata tags. These are two different things. But clarify what you're looking at in squeezebox menu. in the webGUI for LMS? on the TOUCH screen? or ???? There are options within LMS as to what to show in LMS/Squeezebox. Maybe something you've set there. But again, don't confuse file names with metadata.

Ah..So Its the Server/squeeze thats worked out Correct Numbering Artist/ track.The Thing is (and dont really want to go off on a tangent about LMS/sq.Box On this site..) But Iam unsure whats Right/Wrong in Layout On my SBT...or is just Personal on how you Order things. Even in DBPA with Different Naming Strings You have a choice on How things look /Ordered. Heres a few examples what Iam seeing/getting....

From Menu > Artist/Album/ New music all follow this:

Please note This is Exactly what things look like on SBT. GUI. track title top, Artist then Album Name last (Sorry to use same titles in Example !)
Iam more than happy with the above..But..

From the Same Menu If I go to "My Folders" I get:
Of Course I can now tweak this (via MP3TAG), So numbers/ tracks flow normal not alphabetically.Sorry this is not shown...but sure you get the idea..i.e: Soul-Male 70s>Artist-album(s)>Artist-Album tracks= play.

The Question is In "My Folders"
Do I Use : number - Artist Name- Track title........Or Put Track Title First (or without Artist Name).?

The Thing is, I personally would not Put in my Folder section : Artist Name Only then have another folder with his/her albums together(But thats just me.)I prefer different headers i.e...Jazz-Male >Mile Davis-Kind of Blue,Miles Davis-Tutu...In Different Folders for each album(of Course) But all under "Jazz-Male"

Theres Light at the end of the ripping / Streamer Tunnel now...just need to work out how I want the end result.

Perhaps you can Send Some Piccy's garym to see how you Organise Naming your naming/Folders...this might help to see where Iam going Right (and wrong)

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

My Apologies garym, but re-reading my own thread, think We've got our wires (strings) Crossed!.
When I referred to to string , I meant CONVERT>TAG-FILENAME (Format string in MP3 tAG)

"$num(%track%,2) - %title% - %artist%" NOT the naming string IN DBPA.. (not tried adding the Genre "Jazz Male" Idea yet..)

I was just saying that the above Format string in mp3 tag gives :Number-track title-artist.
But in Album, New Music, Artist in my squeeze box Menu its. Number-Artist- Track title.

Maybe due to me using just [Artist] [Track] In DBPA naming string,Before realising that wasnt covering it all after buying streamer and *seeing* what was there and why i needed it!

the name you're getting in the mp3tag string is for the FILE NAME. What you're seeing in Squeezebox is from the file metadata tags. These are two different things. But clarify what you're looking at in squeezebox menu. in the webGUI for LMS? on the TOUCH screen? or ???? There are options within LMS as to what to show in LMS/Squeezebox. Maybe something you've set there. But again, don't confuse file names with metadata.

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

i'm confused as to how your files are organized/showing now that you've added track numbers. Your example above doesn't make sense to me. Give me an example with actual real info as that might be easier to follow.

edit: give me an example of what it looks like now and then what you want it to look like. The above organization you show is NOT what I would have expected the outcome to be from the commands I gave you. nothing I gave you created subdirectories for track number.

My Apologies garym, but re-reading my own thread, think We've got our wires (strings) Crossed!.
When I referred to to string , I meant CONVERT>TAG-FILENAME (Format string in MP3 tAG)

"$num(%track%,2) - %title% - %artist%" NOT the naming string IN DBPA.. (not tried adding the Genre "Jazz Male" Idea yet..)

I was just saying that the above Format string in mp3 tag gives :Number-track title-artist.
But in Album, New Music, Artist in my squeeze box Menu its. Number-Artist- Track title.

Maybe due to me using just [Artist] [Track] In DBPA naming string,Before realising that wasnt covering it all after buying streamer and *seeing* what was there and why i needed it!

[Oggy]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

Hi daleyb,

Thanks to this thread, I have revisited my naming scheme, where I had been manually using number offset, to order my compilations from 101, 201 etc. in a single folder. Having ignored the advice of Spoon, mville and garym (amongst others!), I've changed my naming scheme, and based it on what garym suggested a year ago!

Apart from saving a lot of time, but not learning as much in the process, I would suggest that for the majority of folks, excepting Classical, on which you can write a book on potential naming schemes, minor tweaks to a scheme like garym's, will work (yes, it works) for the vast majority of people, on the vast majority of (all?) devices.

What I have belatedly realised in recent months, is as long as you fill the appropriate tags in, year, genre (Male Jazz, if you want) apart from personal preference on how you want the folders / sub folders to show on your storage device, NOT your player, then the variations are mostly irrelevant!

I guess the clues were there when garym said, "I use ...", or "here is my naming scheme!" What I didn't have the experience to understand, is how deceptively clever his naming is, keeping typing and changes (potential errors!) down to a minimum, and working for single artists, multiple artists and compilations, with single and multiple discs.

As for merging doubles and multis into a single folder, it does! Just with Disc sub folders.

I am now even using sub folders of Disc 1, Disc 2 etc. because it makes perfect sense, keeps the same structure as single discs, AND, (as I was told a year ago!) as long as you populate, or check the 1/2, 2/2, which is often correct, and keep the album / artist name consistent (cut and paste works well here on complex titles), garym's (and others) naming scheme, does all the work for you, and will work on Logitech, Sonos, Linn, Naim, Mission etc. and I guess make life easier for PerfectTunes.

Spoon, mville, garym and others who have helped along the way, once again a big thank you for your patience and advice - it only took me a year to heed it!

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

Pheeww ! Thanks for that garym your a life saver. Tried it and now folders have number listing.The Only thing Iam unsure about is your string . at present its: track number/track title /artist...
However, in my menu on Squeezebox/controller... the "NEW MUSIC"/ ARTISTS./ALBUMS Options always open has :

Number/Artist/track title...

Iam Sure you can change the string to have this (What would you recommend.?) I am sure its personnel to each and all.In some ways its nice to see tracks first esp. on a small device like a Phone...You've got the Artist sorted when you select album, So maybe its best to see the tracks first...

i'm confused as to how your files are organized/showing now that you've added track numbers. Your example above doesn't make sense to me. Give me an example with actual real info as that might be easier to follow.

edit: give me an example of what it looks like now and then what you want it to look like. The above organization you show is NOT what I would have expected the outcome to be from the commands I gave you. nothing I gave you created subdirectories for track number.

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

yes, easy to fix this naming in either ID TAG in dbpa or mp3tag. For example in mp3tag, you'd: CONVERT > tag to filename, and use the format string of:

$num(%track%,2) - %title%
(if you want it to be: 01 - title of track.flac)

or
$num(%track%,2) - %title% - %artist%
(if you want it to be: 01 - title of track - name of artist.flac)

etc. You can then fix all the names in 1000s of files with a couple of mouse clicks in a singe batch. Obviously, test it on a few albums first.

Pheeww ! Thanks for that garym your a life saver. Tried it and now folders have number listing.The Only thing Iam unsure about is your string . at present its: track number/track title /artist...
However, in my menu on Squeezebox/controller... the "NEW MUSIC"/ ARTISTS./ALBUMS Options always open has :

Number/Artist/track title...

Iam Sure you can change the string to have this (What would you recommend.?) I am sure its personnel to each and all.In some ways its nice to see tracks first esp. on a small device like a Phone...You've got the Artist sorted when you select album, So maybe its best to see the tracks first...

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

UPDATE.pt.3.:

CORRECTION: I do (Well did) Have a problem with Numbering....Before the purchase of a Streamer my Naming String was Just [Artist] [Title].....This has resulted in No Numbers in Certain views in Streamer/ Squeeze Controller.Instead I get the album tracks in Alphabetical naming order.I doubt theres an easy way to correct this in ID TAG/ OR mp3 tag (If there is let me know)

Theres no way Iam ripping over a 1000 CDS AGAIN. !!!

the good news is my next 600 Cds and anymore will/should be Fine..

yes, easy to fix this naming in either ID TAG in dbpa or mp3tag. For example in mp3tag, you'd: CONVERT > tag to filename, and use the format string of:

$num(%track%,2) - %title%
(if you want it to be: 01 - title of track.flac)

or
$num(%track%,2) - %title% - %artist%
(if you want it to be: 01 - title of track - name of artist.flac)

etc. You can then fix all the names in 1000s of files with a couple of mouse clicks in a singe batch. Obviously, test it on a few albums first.

[garym]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

The Disc1. Disc2, I may use for a Multi box set And can understand why that may be useful. But Iam just talking of Simply One CD here. Heres piccy of what I currently get...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]995[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]996[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]997[/ATTACH]

If I have many (different) CDS by one artist I get that putting them all in one folder is what some folk do. (I guess each of us organises folders/music in different ways..) but For example I dont have One Folder for Miles Davis Then put all his CDS in it. I have " Jazz - Male" Folder and put his albums in that and anyone else who does Jazz and you guessed it, whos Male..

Jazz-Male > Miles Davis-Kind of Blue...Then all other jazz male artists in "Jazz Male" Folder.

In that case, try this. (and this assumes "Jazz-Male" is what you've used as the GENRE tag value:

[IFCOMP]Compilations\[album] [IFMULTI] \Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title] - [artist][][IF!COMP][genre]\[IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],[artist][]-[album][IFMULTI] \Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][]

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

Please note: its only "music folder" (my folders on my computer..) that theres no Numbers.Viewing Artist/album/new music on Squeezebox/controller the numbers run perfect...This will now be corrected.

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

P.S... I Don't really have any issues with numbering.. I have 01, 02 etc.. set in pad/track options, I then use number wizard in MP3 tAG And change to 1/1, 1/2, Etc.. I Dont know why really, its just a habit Ive got into.I think my Squeezebox sorts that that out either way..(But unsure how another streamer would read things...)

Although the idea of putting a Multi-disc into 2 folders appeals to me.i.e:

Artist - 5 Original Albums> Then 5 Albums Showing after opening...(with correct Artwork for each album)...into ONE folder /Or then putting them into 5 Individual folders (Making 6 folders)

UPDATE.pt.3.:

CORRECTION: I do (Well did) Have a problem with Numbering....Before the purchase of a Streamer my Naming String was Just [Artist] [Title].....This has resulted in No Numbers in Certain views in Streamer/ Squeeze Controller.Instead I get the album tracks in Alphabetical naming order.I doubt theres an easy way to correct this in ID TAG/ OR mp3 tag (If there is let me know)

Theres no way Iam ripping over a 1000 CDS AGAIN. !!!

the good news is my next 600 Cds and anymore will/should be Fine..

[daleyb]

Re: merging double/boxsets into 1 folder

P.S... I Don't really have any issues with numbering.. I have 01, 02 etc.. set in pad/track options, I then use number wizard in MP3 tAG And change to 1/1, 1/2, Etc.. I Dont know why really, its just a habit Ive got into.I think my Squeezebox sorts that that out either way..(But unsure how another streamer would read things...)

Although the idea of putting a Multi-disc into 2 folders appeals to me.i.e:

Artist - 5 Original Albums> Then 5 Albums Showing after opening...(with correct Artwork for each album)...into ONE folder /Or then putting them into 5 Individual folders (Making 6 folders)