-Brading Software Message Board
+--Forum: Mp3/Tag Studio Suggestions
+---Topic: "Don't Rename if Duplicate" started by gwiner
Posted by: gwiner on Jan. 30 2003,02:24
Hey there - Sorry for the multiple posts, but I guess I'm on a roll tonight...
You handle duplicate filenames very nicely, by appending a "#n" for each duplicate filename. Problem is, I sometimes accidentally d/l duplicates, and it's time-consuming to check to see if I have every file, so I would rather not import them in the first place. It would be nice to have an option to fail when renaming a file to one that already exists. I suppose any other "duplicate prevention" or even locating tips/enhancements would be appreciated...Thanks!!
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Feb. 03 2003,18:02
Well, please consider that the "first" file might be of worse quality than the other (or even cut off or whatever), and therefore it might not be a good idea just to skip the other ones automatically. Also, what would be done with the failed files? The default with failed files is to leave them as is, and this would only make it even harder to find the duplicates, wouldn't it?
Posted by: gwiner on Feb. 04 2003,17:53
---------------------QUOTE BEGIN-------------------
Well, please consider that the "first" file might be of worse quality than the other (or even cut off or whatever), and therefore it might not be a good idea just to skip the other ones automatically. Also, what would be done with the failed files? The default with failed files is to leave them as is, and this would only make it even harder to find the duplicates, wouldn't it?
---------------------QUOTE-------------------
All excellent points, Magnus...
Here's an idea:
I would leave the duplicate in place in the source path, and allow the user to manually act on it. As far as confusion as to why a file was not renamed, you could post a status in the "Warnings" dialog like: "File n.n was not renamed - a file of this name already exists" and Point users at an option to disable the feature in Prefs. I would assume that it would not be "on" by default anyway though...I think this would be easier to identify duplicates, as the status window would clearly say.
I agree though, for points you mention, there may be reasons to want to get duplicates. Which gets me thinking...Perhaps this is less of a file-renaming function than a list-generation function.
Basically, the issue I'm having now is that there is little I can do to remove duplicates from my library. I have tried "renaming" all files with "#" in them to a new directory for analysis, but then I can't also compare them to the "originals" w/o manually searching. This method also pulls out songs like "Love Potion #9", which kind of stinks. Anyway, my optimal solution would allow me some comparison criterea (tag contents) between files of duplicate names, and perform some operation on the results.
I know it's asking a lot, but I think it could be very helpful. Perhaps it could work as part of the "Create Custom Lists" function?
Anyway, I still love the program - Looking forward to that command-line stuff!
Regards,
gwiner
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Feb. 04 2003,20:26
Just as you say, this feature does not really fit nicely into the rename tool. I can't really think of a nice and smooth way to integrate it into the listmaker tool either, but maybe I'll implement a separate "duplicate detector" tool in a future version instead. I have noted it down on the "possible todo list". Always nice to hear about people's thoughts and ideas anyway, thanks.
Posted by: max on April 03 2003,12:53
I think having a "duplicate detector" would be very useful. It would be great if you could implement a comparison based on the contents of the MP3, excluding tags, for all files in a specified location.
Posted by: Magnus Brading on April 03 2003,13:35
I have thought of this before too. It's already on the possible-in-a-future-version list.
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