Converting Multiple Folders

[symphxman]

I am trying to help my daughter solve a problem with her MP3 player and have determined that she moved all her files from her laptop to her player in .wav format. No wonder she is out of disk space at 1200 songs! Anyway, her player supports ogg and I downloaded dBpowerAMP today. The only problem is I don't want to convert one folder at a time, nor does she want to lose her directory structure. Is there anyway to select all of the folders on her player and convert all of them at once? Each folder represents a cd, with the contents being the songs.

Thanks.

[xoas]

Re: Converting Multiple Folders

I am afraid there is a little more involved than that.
First off, you will want the File Selector module if you have not already fownloaded and installed it (assuming you are not working with the current beta version of Music Converter which comes with this module already included). You can download this from the Quick Link to Music Converter at the top of this page. This module allows you to more easily do large batch conversions of folders and sub-folders.
You also, I believe, need to download and install the Ogg codec from Codec Central (unless you downloaded the current beta version which, I believe, includes the Ogg codec). (Quick test to see if you have the Ogg codec-right click on a music file, select Convert To and see if Ogg is an option as the type of file you want to convert to; if it does not show you either don't have it or you installed it in the wrong location).
With that out of the way, open File Selector (Start>All Programs>dBpowerAMP Music Converter>File Selector). Use the menu on the left to locate the folders you wish to convert. Make sure that the box that says Keep Path When Convert is UNchecked. Then click on the Convert To button. Select Ogg as being the format you wish to convert to. Select the bitrate settings for your conversion.
Here is where you have a choice of strategies, each with its own advantages. You can
either select to write the converted files to the same folder as the original (which will maintain the file structure but you will end up with a set of wav files and a set of Ogg files in each folder). Now you could avoid the duplicate files by checking the Delete Source Files after Conversion button in the window where you chose your file type and settings. I DO NOT ADVISE YOU DO THIS. Reason? If something should go wrong with your conversions you want to retain your source files.
Your other option is to check the option to convert your files to a folder of your choosing. In this case, your folders will all convert to this location and they should convert in order but you will have to restore the folder structure.
I hope this isn't too much detail all at once. Since you are new to the program I would advise you to start out converting maybe a few folders at a time until you are suer you have things working the way you want them to. If you run into any problems, please let us know.
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[Symphxman]

Re: Converting Multiple Folders

Bill - Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

I had already downloaded version 10.1 and the Ogg codec. Earlier today I converted about 10 folders (~100 songs) that she had on her laptop ready to move to her player. It worked very well - less than 10% of the original file size. The problem was converting one folder at a time. She has 168 folders and 1256 songs on her player which need to be converted from wav to Ogg. I knew there must be a better way and I hope File Selector is the answer. On her laptop files, I used the "Write converted files to the same folder" and "Delete source files after conversion" options. I would rather delete them than have to erase 1256 duplicates, on the assumption that if she were to have a problem with any of the resulting Ogg files, she can always rip the song again from her cd. She is basically putting her rather large cd collection on her player.

One question though - Why do you say uncheck "Keep path when convert" and how does this work with the "Write converted files to the same folder" option? I envision selecting all her folders on her player (it is a hard drive in Windows Explorer) or the uppermost level folder, then converting to Ogg with the two options I used previously - "Write converted files to the same folder" and "Delete source files after conversion". What does "Keep path when convert" do?

Thanks again,

Glenn

[Wayne]

Re: Converting Multiple Folders

If you have a folder structure like this

C:\Documents and Settings\My Music\Artist\Album\<trackname>.wav

using both the "Keep path when convert" and "Write converted files to the same folder" options will result in

C:\Documents and Settings\My Music\Artist\Album\Documents and Settings\My Music\Artist\Album\<trackname>.ogg.

The "Keep path when convert" option is only of use when you have a simple folder structure (i.e. C:\My Music\Artist\Album\...) and you are converting files to a different location.

I would prefer that it was disabled by default or at least remember the last setting used. Does any one ever use this option?

Wayne

[xoas]

Re: Converting Multiple Folders

I envision selecting all her folders on her player (it is a hard drive in Windows Explorer) or the uppermost level folder, then converting to Ogg with the two options I used previously - "Write converted files to the same folder" and "Delete source files after conversion". What does "Keep path when convert" do?

Wayne is correct about the last question.
Your plan should work great. If you need further guidance you might want to refer to the File Selector Help file (Start>All Programs>dBpowerAMP Music Converter>Help>File Selector Help). Note that you have the 2 choices: Convert the entire master music folder or check and convert the individual subfolders (which are the separate albums).
If you choose the first method let me point out 2 tips:
1. Make sure you select Convert Subfolders;
2. Click on the button that says Converting and unclick the box for Ogg (this will keep File Selector and Music Converter from trying to reconvert the Ogg files you previously created).
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[Symphxman]

Re: Converting Multiple Folders

Thanks very much. It seemed to do the trick. However, I noticed a bug(?). Some of the resulting folders kept the original file and some deleted it. I used the option "Delete source files after conversion" for all folders.

Thanks again, Glenn