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-Brading Software Message Board
+--Forum: Mp3/Tag Studio Support and Bug Reports
+---Topic: Mp3/Tag Studio 3.0 first impressions started by Magnus Brading


Posted by: Magnus Brading on Aug. 06 2002,15:23

So, does anybody like anything I've done in Mp3/Tag Studio 3.0?
(I sure hope so, because it was quite a lot of work I tell you :-))
Posted by: tecknark on Aug. 06 2002,17:04

Magnus,
Just wanted to thank you for the great program and the well thought out hard work!

The reg fee was easily made up in the amount of time saved organizing my mp3 collection (700+ CDs hand ripped over about a year). Anything cddb/fddb gets wrong is easily corrected with mp3ts.  No mp3 makes it into my collection without first going through your program.

Again, many, many thanks!
Posted by: Mark on Aug. 06 2002,18:55

Magnus,

I can't tell you how enormously your software has helped me in tagging around 20,000 MP3s since I purchased it.

Simply the best MP3 tool out there!

Thanks!

- Mark
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Aug. 06 2002,19:35

Thanks for the nice words, it is always nice to hear that one's work is appreciated and useful! :)

Please help spreading the word about the program if you like it, since this is very critical to if I should afford keeping to update it. I really wish that more than 0.001% of the users would be honest and register it when they like it, but apparently that is not quite the case.  :(
Posted by: Randy on Aug. 06 2002,22:44

I've been using Tag & Rename up until today when, for no reason I can properly explain, I decided to grab your program after seeing it listed in File Flash.  I've only been using it for a half hour or so but so far I'm really impressed.  It took a few minutes to get acclimated because you have a completely different (and, in my opinion, better) approach towards handling hundreds of MP3s.

The only concern I have is that there seems to be no way to grab a directory of mp3s and automatically apply track numbers to their tags (or filenames).  It'd be nice if I could order them and then tell mp3ts to auto-# them based on a selected number (e.g., auto-# starting at 16).  I sometimes come across mp3s that have no track numbers.  I also have this peculiar thing where I like track numbers not to reset to 01 in multiple disc releases.

Other than that small and very niche thing, I am happy so far with your program.  Later today, I'm going to see how well it handles tackling a mass tagging & renaming of nearly 8000 mp3s.

Oh, and your capitalization features just made my life so much easier.  I swear, only about 30% of people out there seem to understand proper capitalization for titles.

Thanks for a wonderful program and if I continue to like it, I will register it very soon!
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Aug. 07 2002,00:47

I'm glad you like the program Randy.

As you might know, my main philosophy for designing programs like this is to make them as generic, clean and powerful as possible. A consequence of this is that not every specific feature gets an own button in the interface (since this would make it too messy to be usable). Instead, for the most specific features you might have to click the mouse a few times more, but in exchange you get the potential to perform thousands of different more functions, the most common ones being very quick and easy.

This is why I haven't made your suggested feature, although a good one, into a specific function in the interface. This does not mean that it cannot be done, and here I will tell you how to do it:

First you make a small text file containing numbers, increasing by one for each row, like this:



---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------
1
2
3
4
...
---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------



Then you use the "Tag/rename from list" tool, load this list into it, and set it to tag with the following very simple template:



---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------
<TrackNr>
---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------



Now each file will be tagged the way you describe, sorted alphabetically. You can also choose to tag the files sorted by file date instead, by setting this up in the extended settings for the "Tag/rename from list" tool (this can be good if the files don't have names that will sort correctly alphabetically, but they were still encoded in the correct order).

If you want to begin from any other number than 1, you can either simply use the "parse trigger" option in the extended settings for the "Tag/rename from list" tool, or even remove the first lines in the list up to the number you want.

It might sound a bit messy when described like this, but it is actually very easy when you try it. And the above mentioned philosophy is what makes Mp3/Tag studio so clean and powerful in the end, so I hope you understand my point of view. I might include this feature in a more explicit way if I can just come up with a clean way of fitting it into the program interface of a suitable tool.

I include with this post a ready-made list file for you, ranging from 1 to 99, that can be used for this purpose, so you don't even have to put it together yourself. :-)

PS.
I just noticed that the alphabetical sorting for the "Tag/rename from list" tool in case-sensitive. This is a mistake, and I have now changed it to be case-insensitive, hence it will be like that from the next released update of Mp3/Tag Studio. Until then you can use the custom file selection mode to make it sorted alphabetically in a case-insensitive way, overriding the original sorting.

PS2.
If you want to sort the files completely manually before auto-tagging them with increasing track-numbers like this, you can use the custom file selection mode, and then sort the files any way you like by selecting them in the custom file selection box and move them up and down by pressing ctrl-up and ctrl-down (I just noticed that I forgot to mention this feature in the help file, it will be in the next update). Files will always be processed in the order they appear in the custom file selection box.
Posted by: Randy on Aug. 07 2002,01:05

First, I want to mention that I think it's kind of sad that you have to almost apologize for nothing going with the "button-for-everything" design philosophy.  I'm glad that you don't.  I wasn't as much asking for a button to do what I want but was really wanting to know how (or if) it could be done with the program as it is.  If I wasn't clear, my apologies.  What you described to me was exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for your instructions and I'll be putting them to use here very soon!
Posted by: Disposable Hero on Aug. 08 2002,04:02

If you want to get the word out to more folks, maybe post the version 3 release announcement to the < r3mix forum > and the < Hydrogen Audio > forum news and announcements sections. Lots of audio frea.. um, folks in those spots. Along with the usual shareware sites, of course. If any such sites have a review/rating system, put direct links on your site so that happy users can speak up. Just a few suggestions from another happy user  :)

Oh yes, my first impression: same as my version 2.x impression - it kicks ass.
Posted by: Elbow on Aug. 08 2002,05:50

I like the preview mode function.
I used to keep switching over to Browse Edit tab to check if all went right in my editing attempts.

Elbow

Still hasnt got a clue but trying hard.
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Aug. 08 2002,15:13

Thanks for the tips about those forums Disposable Hero, I have now posted in them.

Sadly, practically all the big "usual shareware sites" (like e.g. Download.com) have a waiting period of many weeks or even months for updating programs nowadays.  :( And instead they add the option "pay us a lot of money and we'll speed up the process for you". That really sucks, they are not working nearly as good as they used to anymore.  :(
Posted by: HeinerBusche on Aug. 12 2002,09:16

Hi Magnus,
I really like the new realease of mp3ts ! (Even after the painful weeks of beta testing....)  :D
I think the new "rename from list" option is really usefull and powerfull. With a bit of handwork you can get the title lists out of the pages from eg. amazon.com. copy and paste and here we go...
Also the preview possibility is really good and saved myself a lot of trouble. The new realease is a big step in the right direction !

Keep on and don't go mad with my feature requests !

/Heiner
Posted by: Rohan G  C on Nov. 23 2002,22:23

Hi,
  I have been using this MP3 Tag-Studio from version 2.xx days. I have ripped many CDs and have used MP3 Tag-Studio to process them. I simply never thought of using any other program. This progam allowed me to do everything that I ever dreamt of doing with my MP3s. Oh-The new version v3.01 simply Rocks!!!! Please keep up the good work!!
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Nov. 24 2002,05:23

:blush:
That's something you simply can't hear too often, thanks. :)
Posted by: thei on Nov. 25 2002,11:57

I must have used nearly every mp3 tagging/sorting program available, from the good to the very bad (I’ve had to delete all tag info from large amounts of songs just to make them playable more than once, and I won’t even mention the time I accidentally converted all my mp3’s to free space or the time I ended up with each song in its own directory, ever tried un-sorting several thousand mp3’s from amongst several thousand folders when a program nicely removed all the tags...? Oh and don’t remind me of the time I added lyrics3v2 to a large amount of my mp3’s only to find them unplayable...) your program was a life-saver (such a shame the earlier version didn’t have export to list then retag from list, what a great idea) :)

I have this silly thing where I like to find the “perfect software”. I keep looking until I found it. Slowly I find programs which I think are just “right”. Yours meets my criteria as a “perfect program”, easily the best mp3 tagging/sorting program I have ever seen. The interface is good, I really approve of the way you have been careful to provide the most needed and used controls without cluttering it, and without “XPerising” it (making it twice the size and bright green with heaps of wasted space in the interface, hehe :))

Well, I think I rambled on a bit there... all I meant to say was that I like everything about the new version, keep up the good work :)

I might even do the right thing and pay for it when I finally get a credit card :)
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Nov. 25 2002,14:18

Thanks thei, I'm glad to hear that.




---------------------QUOTE-------------------
ever tried un-sorting several thousand mp3's from amongst several thousand folders when a program nicely removed all the tags...?
---------------------QUOTE-------------------



Sure:

"Direct rename files" tool:

Expected template:


---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------
<Custom1>.mp3
---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------



Output template:


---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------
c:\unsorted<\><Custom1>.mp3
---------------------CODE SAMPLE-------------------



Use "include subdirs" option, press execute.

Bam, done. ;)
Posted by: thei on Nov. 25 2002,15:05

But the problem was... some were in Artist/Album/Track 01.mp3 and others were in Album/Track 01.mp3 depending on whether they were various artist titles or not... and they had no ID3 tags left...

Hehe.
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Nov. 25 2002,15:13

Ok, it would be quite easy to extract that info from the directories anyway (with the auto tag tool), but if the data is completely gone (i.e. neither in the tags, filenames or directory names) it is of course impossible to automate it. :(
Posted by: Guest on Jan. 06 2007,01:39



---------------------QUOTE BEGIN-------------------
...  I might include this feature in a more explicit way if I can just come up with a clean way of fitting it into the program interface of a suitable tool. ...
---------------------QUOTE-------------------


I'd like to see the auto numbering feature integrated into Mp3-Tag-Studio, too. So here comes my suggestion how to do it:

Add a counter field, e.g. <COUNTER> which can be used in the listmaker's template for the File row format.

The <COUNTER> field would start with the value 1 and increase on every row written. By using the syntax <COUNTER:x> with x being an integer value, one could set a start value different from 1.

This extension would ease creation of lists with custom track numbers. Using Tag/rename from list, one can write the track numbers into tag or filename.


You could also extend the Direct tag manipulation feature and add the above <COUNTER> field in the left (source) column. Mh, that's even nicer, I think.


Cheers
Danny
Posted by: Magnus Brading on Jan. 06 2007,11:24

Yes, that's a pretty good basic idea I think, thanks.
end


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