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calberga Ancient Board Spirit Group: Awaiting Authorisation Posts: 254 Joined: Oct. 2002 Posted: Dec. 11 2005,22:55 I've just (mostly) finished re-tagging and re-nameing two large collections of files which were very badly named and/or tagged. In one case, which I don't expect any ideas from anyone (save, perhaps, the Mighty Magnus) there was no consistency among the files, and there were NO tags. The other was at least constant, if not very helpful.  This was a complete set of Haydn's String Quartets.  The first movement of each quartet was named (and title-tagged) as for example: 0101 - Quartet in E-flat major, op.0 - I. Presto.mp3 Then the second movement (as subsiquent movements) were named and tagged as: 0102 - II. Menuetto.mp3 Note that the number of movements varies from three to five. (This set does not contain Op. 51, "The Seven Last Words of Christ", which has nine.) What I wound up doing was: 1) using a random V2 tag, <V2_TOFM> I captured the initall four digit number (CD number followed by track number). 2) I then did a tag-from-filename using <TRASH> - <Album> - <TRASH>.mp3 This "trashed" the Album field, but it didn't have anything I couldn't rebuild if I wanted to (which I didn't). 3) selecting the first movements in the Custom File Selection Mode I renamed them using the pattern: <V2_TOFN> - <Album><\><Title>.mp3 This gave me a sub-directory for each quartet, containing the first movement.  The addition of the CD#Track# was for navigation in a later step. 4) I created a new directory, on the same level as that containing the sub-directories from step 3 and moved all the other movements into it. 5) I retagged the files again, this time with sub-directories included using: <Title-1[| - ]> - <TRASH> - <Title-2[|]>.mp3   [I hope I have this correct, I'm not sure, the result for the example is to have a title of:    0101 - I. Presto ] 6) still working on the first movements only I did another rename of the files to the value of the title tag. 7) I then lined up the directory contianing all the non-first movements and dragged-and-dropped all the second, etc. movements into the appropriate sub-directory, using the four digit numbers as a guide. finally, I set the Album tag to the sub-directory names, reset the track numbers in each sub-directory to start at 01, and stript the four digit numbers off both the file names and the titles. Done, but so much hand work! The final result is that each Quartet (there are seventy (70) of them) is in its own directory, its movements are tagged as tracks 1, 2, etc., and names I Allegro, II Largo [I'm just making these up], which is how I like to keep my classical music.  I am still to set the composer and artist, etc. So -- is there any easier way?  If there is, will someone tell me? As an aside, the other collection was of all 107 Haydn symphonies, and the file names were a total mess -- don't ask! Back to top

Magnus Brading Almighty Author Group: Super Administrators Posts: 2751 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Dec. 12 2005,11:09 Hey calberga, I'd be happy to take a shot at helping you with this, but I have to say I'm a little confused about the exact goals you have, the explanation is a little messy if I may say so. Also, I'm not very familiar with terms like "movement" and such. Therefore, please give me an example with a real filename, where you explain exactly which parts of the filename you want to go into which tag fields, and how you then want the file to be organized into a subdirectory (still using the contents of the real example filename), and I will see what I can do from there. -------------- Software author and website owner Back to top

calberga Ancient Board Spirit Group: Awaiting Authorisation Posts: 254 Joined: Oct. 2002 Posted: Dec. 12 2005,21:56 <rant> Part of the problem is that I'm very unsatisfied by the existing tag scheme, at least for classical music.  I'm co-opting the "Album" tag for what I think of as "Work", that is, e.g., Beethoven's Symphony Number 2.  The thing is, the "Album" in this case, if it is thought of as designating a particular CD, will usually contain two or three works, say symphonies numbers 1 & 2.  But (partly for reasonable cataloging, partly because my mp3 player (Creative) doesn't allow more than 512 (511?) playlists, so I have use "Album" to group tracks which should be played together), I can't (or at least won't) use "Album" that way. </rant> So, reconstruting the mess described above (I'm simplifying this quite a bit, there were a lot of nits that had to be picked): four files: 0106 Quartet in B-flat major, Op 1, 1 - I Presto.mp3 0107 II Menuetto.mp3 0108 III Adagio ma non tanto.mp3 0109 IV Menuetto.mp3 0110 V Presto.mp3 Repeat about 70 times, with different names, but the same pattern. What I want is: Quartet in B-flat major, Op 1, 1\I Presto.mp3 Quartet in B-flat major, Op 1, 1\II Menuetto.mp3 Quartet in B-flat major, Op 1, 1\III Adagio ma non tanto.mp3 Quartet in B-flat major, Op 1, 1\IV Menuetto.mp3 Quartet in B-flat major, Op 1, 1\V Presto.mp3 Where the directory name is the "Album" tag, the filename is the "Title" tag, and the "Track" is the non-roman value of the prefix for the titles, that is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Simple enough?  I think that encapsulates the problem. I gather you are not that familiar with classical music -- which comment is NOT to be taken negatively -- you should meet my brother-in-law who in his youth played in a rock band and is still a metal-head.  He is now coping with a daughter majoring in music at university, reviewing opera and playing in chamber groups and the college orchestra.  But I digress. Most large-scale works, symphonies, concertos, string quartets, etc. are divided into sections, called movements.  They contrast in tempo and structure, but usually are related in some way.  Opera is divided into acts, which in turn are sub-divided into scenes, and then further into arias, ensembles, recietatives, etc.  Again, the file structure should (IMNSHO) reflect the structure of the work, which is not always easy, given the strictures of the mp3 tags, particularly since they are created with little or not thought to classical music.  But one must make do. Anyway, I got it done, and also Haydn's 107 symphonies, which was a much worse rat's nest, and am about to go to work on 32 Beethoven piano sonatas.  Aren't the alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.xxx groups fun? All spelling errors are caused by early childhood trauma, and my being too lazy to copy this over to something with a corrector. Cyril Back to top

Magnus Brading Almighty Author Group: Super Administrators Posts: 2751 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Dec. 12 2005,23:34 The key to operations like these are macros. Combining macros with smart filtering, I can reduce the operation to two mouseclicks and one manual step (if I understood you correctly anyway). The first macro can be created to do the following, and then executed by a single mouse click whenever you need it: Quote 1) using a random V2 tag, <V2_TOFM> I captured the initall four digit number (CD number followed by track number). 2) I then did a tag-from-filename using <TRASH> - <Album> - <TRASH>.mp3 This "trashed" the Album field, but it didn't have anything I couldn't rebuild if I wanted to (which I didn't). 3) selecting the first movements in the Custom File Selection Mode I renamed them using the pattern: <V2_TOFN> - <Album><\><Title>.mp3 This gave me a sub-directory for each quartet, containing the first movement.  The addition of the CD#Track# was for navigation in a later step. 4) I created a new directory, on the same level as that containing the sub-directories from step 3 and moved all the other movements into it. 5) I retagged the files again, this time with sub-directories included using: <Title-1[| - ]> - <TRASH> - <Title-2[|]>.mp3  [I hope I have this correct, I'm not sure, the result for the example is to have a title of:   0101 - I. Presto ] 6) still working on the first movements only I did another rename of the files to the value of the title tag. In addition to the general magic of Mp3/Tag Studio macros, the last bit is done with a clever filter (according to the filename format you specified in your second post in this thread), separating first-movement files from non-first-movement files automatically. Use the "Filter filename" feature of the filter utility with an advanced mode template like this: ("1 I " or "1 II " or "1 III " or "1 IV " or ...) or ("2 I " or "2 II " or "2 III " or "2 IV " or ...) or ... Sure, it's a very long filter string, but you only have to enter it once, and it will only take a minute or two with good usage of copy/paste. For the filenames in your last example, this will filter out all the first movement files. Negating this filter will filter out all the non-first-movement files. The next step still sadly has to be done by hand, since the information simply isn't there, neither in the filenames or in the tags: Quote 7) I then lined up the directory contianing all the non-first movements and dragged-and-dropped all the second, etc. movements into the appropriate sub-directory, using the four digit numbers as a guide. Then, the last part can be done in a macro, and hence with a single mouse click too: Quote finally, I set the Album tag to the sub-directory names, reset the track numbers in each sub-directory to start at 01, and stript the four digit numbers off both the file names and the titles. Please ask about the parts you don't understand, and also tell me if I misunderstood anything. -------------- Software author and website owner Back to top

calberga Ancient Board Spirit Group: Awaiting Authorisation Posts: 254 Joined: Oct. 2002 Posted: Dec. 13 2005,14:38 I'm going to have to save this and study it at leasure (and as black-on-white, not orange-on-black -- these old eyes need larger type and more contrast!. One thing, however, which I should have posted previously.  In "step 3" I tried using filtering on filenames, using the word Quartet, but it filtered out ALL the files.  I guess I should try again (except I don't have the files anymore) and take screen shots.  The next time I get such a set I'll be back. I must confess I haven't looked at the magic-macros.  Part of the problem of being a good and fast typist (if not a good speller) is a tendency to just pound out the commands.  When I was working one of my collegues accused me of using much too long names for the functions I was writing.  Obviously, he was not as good a typist!  (This was on a LISP project, where function and variable names can be as long as you want.) I'll try and force myself to take the time to read the macro documentation -- it is just that it always seems as if the learning takes longer than just doing it the hard way!  Wrong, I know, but it's a gut reaction. Thank you for your help (and for your wonderful program). Cyril Back to top

Magnus Brading Almighty Author Group: Super Administrators Posts: 2751 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Dec. 13 2005,21:57 Here is the short version of the macro course: 1. Select the "Macro controls" option from the "Macros" menu. 2. Press the "Record new macro" button. 3. Perform any number of operations inside Mp3/Tag Studio that you would like to have access to through the macro. 4. Press the stop button and enter the name you would like for the macro. 5. Done! You can now access all the recorded functionality by clicking the macro button that you created, at any time. Simple enough? -------------- Software author and website owner Back to top

Wansfell Board Newbie Group: Members Posts: 1 Joined: Dec. 2005 Posted: Dec. 26 2005,01:53 Hi Calberga! I have read your message threads with interest. I am an avid Classical mp3 tagger/renamer myself. Your "trouble" or, will I say, challenge with poorly or non-existing tags and scattered or inconsistent filenames are familiar for me too. This is not an answer to your post, but I hope to spread some inspiration with my reply   I have found it fruitful to combine Mp3-Tag Studio with a Mass Renaming Tool, "Rename Master" which is freeware, and comparable to Mp3-Tag Studio in many ways when it comes to flexibility and excellence!. Missing or crippled tags pose no problem when the files are consistently named, since Mp3Tag-Studio has powerful (dear I say, "the most powerful"?) features when it comes to tagging from filenames. I like to tag tracknumbers and Information that is common for a CD or album before I proceed to the more complicated steps. I also prefer the */* Tracknumbering, since it is later possible to tell how many tracks there are (or should be) on the CD (ex. 1/17 - 17/17) The string "01<TrackNr-1[|/17]> <TRASH>"  in "Auto tag (from filenames)" in advanced mode will give me the desired TrackNr tags from 1/17 to 17/17 if your first CD has the numbers 0101 Quartets.. - 0117 VI.." In your case the desired effect is separate folders for each Quartet, the roman numbers as TrackNr, and the tempo indication (Allegro, Adagio etc.) as Title I copied and renamed some mp3's just for fun after your scheme, to have a look at your problem. Here is a picture of the files, quite similar to yours: Now, I decided to rename the files with Rename Master, so it is easier to tag from filenames in Mp3-Tag Studio after the operation I did 3 steps in one, as shown below: Step 1. Use the "Remove" tab to take away the 5 first characters in the beginning of the filename ("0102 ") The left pane is the filename, and the right is a preview of what the new name will be. Step 2. Combined with: The "Replace" tab to get rid of the "Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 1,1 - " text-string (All the first files in every Quartet have the Q-letter, and the " - " string before the Roman "I" in common, so this can be used together with a wildcard ( * ) to match all your First Quartets files. So "Q* - " actually means: Replace everything between Q and " - "  - also note that the "|" sign in "Q* - |" is the cursor ) Step 3. Now the files match the desired filename criteria, next step is to add your Quartet's Folder and place the files in it: In the "Add To" tab, with "insert at 1" - we place the text "Quartet in G major, Op 1,1\" (The slash "\" will make the text a Folder, not a filename! Note also that the "active" tabs are underlined and now play together to create an accumulated effect..) I hit the "Rename" button.. and look what happened in our folder! and inside the new folder: From now on, the only thing you have to do manually, is to change the "Add To" tab text, from "Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 1,1\" to "Quartet in G major, Op. 1,2\" or whatever you desire Magnus Brading's filter suggestion now comes in handy, since you want to keep the Roman numbers, and tag from them. Quote ("1 I " or "1 II " or "1 III " or "1 IV " or ...) or ("2 I " or "2 II " or "2 III " or "2 IV " or ...) or ... These are just suggestions Have fun! Edited by Wansfell on Dec. 26 2005,02:10 Back to top

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