getmusicbee.com
Support => Questions => Topic started by: djscottallen on March 20, 2014, 07:28:22 AM
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I am moving to a new laptop. I followed the instructions here: (musicbee.wikia dot com /wiki/Backup & Restore)
Here's my problem:
My old musicbee install on my old laptop shows where the library location is.
Edit/prefs/library and there it is "library location= c: users/etc..."
The new install on my Windows 8 just says Move Library....
I've tried everything. As soon as I re install MB and copy over the old library files and copy over the actual music files
It transfers my entire music collection to the external drive.
And of course since MB tells us that we can't keep our music files on a different drive letter, which is RIDICULOUS btw.....
I'm screwed, because MB will NOT keep my files organized if it's not on the C drive.
I've tried to remap the music files back to C: Useres/Music etc... It doesn't work.
Where is my library location!?!?!?! This is sooo much harder than it should be.
Can someone please help me?
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Where is my library location!?!?!?! This is sooo much harder than it should be.
Everything is hard if you don't know how to do it.
To see the path of the current library, right-click the Music node at the top of the left-hand navigation panel and select Choose Library.
As for why your music is being moved to the wrong drive, it sounds like your Auto-organise settings are incorrect.
Check Edit > Preferences > Library > Organisation and make sure the drive letter and path are correct.
Posting a screenshot of said settings may help too.
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Sorry for the late reply, I've been very busy.
First off, let me say that I do know how to find my library location, but in a previous version, the library location path is visible under prefs/library. This is very logical, but they took it out in the new version. A poor choice. That's what I was getting at.
New Update (4th time transferring my entire music collection and entire days of ripping my hair out):
I decided that moving library's and settings AND actual music files from one computer to another is much too difficult, even for someone as techy and nerdy as me, so I updated my files to make it easy to re-add my playlists. The settings of MB is easy to just redo from scratch. To alleviate all problems, I uninstalled MB and then did a completely FRESH install. I didn't even copy any settings or other files over. I made sure there were no left over files or folders or libraries or anything else.
I have never ONCE seen the D: drive come up in organization, remap music, or library location.
(Screenshot shows my files being on the D: drive because MusicBee did it as soon as it recognized the files in the monitored folder)
I started a brand new library on first install. I opened up MB, no files exist at all. No dead links, nothing in the inbox.....
I made sure the auto organize settings were set to auto organize to my C: Drive location
All library settings are correct....
Now, I transferred over my music files to my new computer again.
I then told MB to monitor that folder and auto organize music
I was very careful to check the auto organize location to make sure it always says C: drive / whatever.
It did it again. It move my entire music collection to my external drive ..... I'm in awe.
Now I have to say this. I've read forums, I've done countless hours of research, I'm somewhat knowledgeable about sound theory and djing and producing, and I'm telling you right now..... MusicBee does a horrible job at organization. Absolutley horrible and very difficult to understand. Don't get me wrong, I love musicbee, but I have like hundreds of suggestions to make it easier to navigate. There's seemingly endless options which is really great, but the main functions of a media organizer are not what they should be. MB devs need to devote some serious attention into making backup and restore more seemless and user friendly. A quite a few more of the essential or very interesting functions could use some serious work. Just a friendly observation and some constructive criticism.
http://www.mediafire.com/view/1dlyrye9ur2fd2s/Auto+Organize+settings.PNG
http://www.mediafire.com/view/dp0zhud2tckfmhs/library+prefs.PNG
http://www.mediafire.com/view/tlp22tz2jq12lxy/Library+Location.PNG
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Look at the bottom of your first screenshot. MB dialog tells you what the reason is.
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When it says "Move Library", that has nothing to do with your music files. It only means your database and playlist files.
(I suggested a while ago the term "library" be changed to "database" to prevent users' confusion, but it's still used.)
If you want your music files auto-organized, then they should be on the same drive as the one your library database files are stored. So you first have to copy all your music files to C drive. And then add those files to MB.
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I think you helped me before Redwing :) Thanks for trying to help
Music Library = List of songs and the path to those songs.
Location of Media is not the Music Library, I do know this yes
You're misunderstanding sorry.
Every single time I've moved my music from my old laptop to my new laptop using my external drive,
I wait until MB is all ready to go with settings and the music library and everything else.
My library is blank right now, no files. Brand new fresh install with no copied over settings.
Then, I tell MB to monitor this folder: [ C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\Music]
Then, I close down musicbee and copy my media files to [ C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\Music]
Then I open MB and it slowing starts putting the files into my library AND MOVING THEM TO THE D: DRIVE!!!!
Once MB puts the files over onto the D Drive, you can't reorganize them back to the C driver, I know this, because I did extensive research on it and found out MB can't organize music on external drives, which is hugely disappointing btw.
It's maddening.
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You also have 'automatically sweep and organise new files' checked in your second screenshot.
What organisation template are you using there?
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You also have 'automatically sweep and organise new files' checked in your second screenshot.
What organisation template are you using there?
Somehow I knew that by the end of this discussion I was going to feel like a tool lol
Yes, that was it. I was remapping the files from C: users/(username1)/music/itunes/music
TO: C: users/(username2)/music/itunes/music and I thought that was the problem.
After remapping the file location to username 2, they showed up but they were immediately thrown to D drive.
The regular organize function didn't work, because after they were thrown to D: drive, you can't organize back lol.
One little tick mark and so much trouble. I can't believe I missed that :P
While this was my fault admittedly, I still believe that MB needs to revamp it's backup and restore functions.
Thank you all for your help!!
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...and found out MB can't organize music on external drives...
and that one:
If you put all the drives/folders you want to use into monitored folders, MB can move them around.
e.g. my own set-up is an internal drive W: (my Work drive) that has 3 sub-folders (ie; New Music, Waiting and Tagged) in my 'InTray-Music' folder.
I also have an external drive S: (my Sounds drive) that is in my monitored folders along with W:\InTray-Music\Tagged.
After I listen to 'New Music' and decide I going to keep it, it's 'Waiting' for tagging and then is moved to 'Tagged'. MB then brings it into the Inbox where I do a final tag check and add replaygain values. Then it's 'Send To>Music Library' where library 'auto-organise' takes over and moves it to the external S: drive.
I even have music videos and audiobooks auto-organised on another external drive T:, all done by MusicBee.
So yes, you can have them auto-organised on external drives.
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I rarely used "auto sweep and organize new files" feature. I simply thought the feature was intended to help organize inbox files.
But with the OP's trouble and Bee-liever's setup, now the setting seems to have a potential to create a conflict with auto-organized library.
For one, it allows to move files between drives, which is disabled with the main auto-organization setting. For another, if you tick "add to library" for new file action but choose a different folder from your auto-organized music files folder on auto-sweep setting, then new files are not sent to library, just staying in inbox. This is a bug.
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...it allows to move files between drives, which is disabled with the main auto-organization setting.
But it's not disabled.
That's what I use all the time.
(http://i.cubeupload.com/sltlvG.jpg)
(http://i.cubeupload.com/hQu1NR.jpg)
(http://i.cubeupload.com/EUhTRF.jpg)
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I did some more tests with those settings and noticed some interesting behavior.
First, this what I said, but it's wrong.
If you want your music files auto-organized, then they should be on the same drive as the one your library database files are stored.
The location of auto-organized music files folder has nothing to do with the location of library files folder. They may be same or different: it doesn't matter.
Regarding this:
found out MB can't organize music on external drives, which is hugely disappointing btw.
It depends on what kind of drive it is. For USB flash drives, it's true because they are only recognized as a device and MB refuses to auto-organize music files on any removable drives. For external HDDs, it's possible. But if you set them as a virtual device, then again MB doesn't allow use it as the location of auto-organized music files.
Now, about the tricky "automatically sweep and organise new files" setting:
What Bee-liever said was all true. Also noticed some interesting results.
- I installed a portable MB on Z usb drive with its library folder on the same Z dirve.
- Set the auto-organized music files folder on C main drive. As mentioned above, no problem auto-organizing them on a different drive.
- Now changed auto-organized music files folder to E external hard disc drive. MB warned those files on C won't be moved to E.
- Went ahead despite the warning. Now what happens? Those files on C drive still remain there and remain in library as well. This library is auto-organized. But the path of those files are no longer affected by any changes on their tags. This should constitute a bug because some files in library are not auto-organized despite the setting.
- Let's move on. I ticked "add to inbox" option for new files action and selected the same auto-organized folder for the auto-sweep setting. Then what happens? When new files appear in a monitored folder, they are moved to the specified folder following the file naming template. But for some reason there are duplicates of them in the inbox. So if new files are two, you have four in inbox. Send them to library. Only two can be sent, and two remain in inbox. Now right-click on those files. Send to library and inbox options are grayed out, which means they live both in library and in inbox. If you change the auto-sweep setting to a different folder, then this bizarre behavior goes away.
- Now choose "add to library" option for new files and select a different folder for the auto-sweep setting. As I reported in a previous post, new files are never sent to library, staying in inbox forever.
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...and found out MB can't organize music on external drives...
and that one:
...
So yes, you can have them auto-organised on external drives.
I'm going to come back and read this over when I have time. I've very interested in this!!
1. The last time I did my research, I read an wiki article from a MB rep that said very clearly that organization of media on external drives is NOT supported by MB. Could have been an older article though?
2. When I tick the box "automatically sweep and organize new files" to my external drive, it tells me "files not on the C: drive will NOT be organized"
Your success with external drive auto organize gives me hope that it's actually possible. I'm a dj, and you can imagine how important it is to keep a clean, organized library on an external drive. I don't have time to manually organize all my files.
I have a brand new ASUS G750JX-DB71 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) with an SSD main drive. I use it for PC gaming while truck driving as well as djing. I also use it for graphic design and whatever else. But the SSD is only 256gb. I have to use my space wisely. Throwing my entire media collection of music and HD video mixes leaves me with like 30gb lol.
iTunes (bad word here i'm guessing lol) is a proprietary monster with very limited options, however, they have a very simple and extremely effective method of auto organizing your music files. Never a conflict in the whole time I used it. But agian, external drives just can't be used. Another reason why I moved over to MB. That why I was so bummed when I thought it couldn't do that.
I would really like to hear this answer from a MB rep or dev to know for sure (officially) if external drives are supported to be auto organized.
That's awesome that you can do it :o
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1. The last time I did my research, I read an wiki article from a MB rep that said very clearly that organization of media on external drives is NOT supported by MB. Could have been an older article though?
I think you mean this: "the file must reside on the same drive as the music library root folder. If it doesn't, it will be excluded from the re-organisation. "
I'm pretty sure I copied that directly from MB's old documentation, so Steven will have to give us his take on it for more info.
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The auto-organiser only moves files on the same drive as the library music folder ie. wont move a file across discs.
The auto-sweep function can move files across drives
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The auto-organiser only moves files on the same drive as the library music folder ie. wont move a file across discs.
The auto-sweep function can move files across drives
By "library music folder" do you mean MusicBee's Library folder, or only the source folder for the music?
Added: Oh, I think I get it! "Music library root folder" is the folder given in the auto-organize screen, right? So it can be on any drive.
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found out MB can't organize music on external drives, which is hugely disappointing btw.
It depends on what kind of drive it is. For USB flash drives, it's true because they are only recognized as a device and MB refuses to auto-organize music files on any removable drives. For external HDDs, it's possible. But if you set them as a virtual device, then again MB doesn't allow use it as the location of auto-organized music files.
[/quote]
I bought this external drive off Amazon:
U32 Shadow™ 1TB External 2.5-in USB 3.0 Mini Portable Hard Drive (Silver)
I don't believe it's setup as a virtual device? I got the message you spoke of saying that it won't be organized.
I think I'm going to re-read all of your guys notes and install a tester MB on my old laptop and test it.
Thanks again for all your help!
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The auto-organiser only moves files on the same drive as the library music folder ie. wont move a file across discs.
posting this with the risk the function might be removed
the screenshots I posted earlier are from my auto-organise settings.
My MB library is on my W: drive
With my work-flow, auto-organise regularly moves the physical files to my S: or T: drive (not the library files)
auto-organise also kicks in if I make any tag changes for files already on those S: or T: drives
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By "library music folder" do you mean MusicBee's Library folder, or only the source folder for the music?
I am not sure what the distinction you are making is - its the root music folder for auto-organised music files labeled as "move files to folder" in the auto-organiser dialog
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I am not sure what the distinction you are making is - its the root music folder for auto-organised music files labeled as "move files to folder" in the auto-organiser dialog
Yeah, that's what I figured out. I think the way it's currently worded, it sounds like auto-organize can only be on the drive where MusicBee's Library files are stored (the one set if you click "Move Library", where the database and such are).
Edit: I've tried to clarify this on the wiki.
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The auto-organiser only moves files on the same drive as the library music folder ie. wont move a file across discs.
The auto-sweep function can move files across drives
Thanks Steven.
Here's my question: Does "auto organizer" organize files already on the other disc?
For instance, I just added my mixtape "djscottallen - what is life, if not fun?" album and sweeped the files over to the D: drive.
I used the "sweep and organize" to organize ALL my files to the D: drive.
Now, the files are missing the Album tag, which means they're under "djscottallen - unkown album"
Now does the "AUTO ORGANIZER" keep your files organized on the D: drive and move the files after updating the tags?
From "D:/Music/djscottallen/unknown" TO "D:/Music/djscottallen/correct album name"
Same drive, you're not moving files across discs, just organizing files on it.
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Here's my question: Does "auto organizer" organize files already on the other disc?
No, it can't. That's what I reported as a "bug" because files that can't be auto-organized (for being on a different drive) are still allowed to remain in an auto-organized library.
If you want to auto-organize files on D drive, then you need to set D drive for the "Move files to folder" setting of the auto-organization dialog.
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I bought this external drive off Amazon:
U32 Shadow™ 1TB External 2.5-in USB 3.0 Mini Portable Hard Drive (Silver)
I don't believe it's setup as a virtual device? I got the message you spoke of saying that it won't be organized.
If you have the drive connected to your laptop, does it display as a fixed drive or a device on left navigator?
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I bought this external drive off Amazon:
U32 Shadow™ 1TB External 2.5-in USB 3.0 Mini Portable Hard Drive (Silver)
I don't believe it's setup as a virtual device? I got the message you spoke of saying that it won't be organized.
If you have the drive connected to your laptop, does it display as a fixed drive or a device on left navigator?
https://www.mediafire.com/?py8rij1rr2ouwkc
Looks like it's a regular drive. Removable media is down below. My external 1 TB drives are the ones labeled "Shadow"
I just looked at my devices and it shows the shadow drive there:
https://www.mediafire.com/?w41wpfidnepbisf
Is that bad?
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OK. from what I have tested, this is how it works:
Auto-sweep
add to library on;
- files can be moved to any drive.
- if location matches drive defined in auto-organise 'move files to folder:' then auto-organise starts after files are found on (ie. moved to) that drive only.
- if location is not on drive defined in auto-organise 'move files to folder:' then files are moved to new location and linked to library from that location. Auto-organise can't make changes to the files in this location when tags are updated.
- But... if those files are sent to the Inbox, then to the Library, auto-organise will re-organise them and can move them to another drive as per 'auto-organise' settings (q.v.).
add to inbox on;
- files can be moved to any drive.
- files are only added to inbox, no link to library created.
- when sent to the Library, auto-organise will re-organise them and can move them to another drive.
Auto-organise
- files can be moved anywhere on drive defined in 'move files to folder:'.
- Music Files, Audiobooks and Video tabs can define different drives.
- Exception rules cannot send files to another drive.
hope that clears things up a bit
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If you have the drive connected to your laptop, does it display as a fixed drive or a device on left navigator?
@ djscottallen
redwing was asking about how it appears in the LH navigation panel in MusicBee, not in Windows Explorer.
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@Bee-liever:
Auto-sweep
add to library on;
- But... if those files are sent to the Inbox, then to the Library, auto-organise will re-organise them and can move them to another drive as per 'auto-organise' settings (q.v.).
What do you mean by that? I saw your screenshots earlier but you're moving audiobooks and video files to different drives, but it's not possible for music files. Of course, you can move music files to another drive via auto-sweep, but it's only one-time move and it's not possible to keep them auto-organized after they moved to another drive.
@djscottallen:
Probably this way would be easier. Install a portable version of MB on D drive and have music files auto-organized on the same D drive.
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@djscottallen:
Probably this way would be easier. Install a portable version of MB on D drive and have music files auto-organized on the same D drive.
Ahhhaaaa! I was wondering when someone would mention this idea.
This would be an excellent way to acheive this...... however, because I just did a complete transition from being a vinyl record dj to an all digital dj, I have to use digital dj software, which also means, if I want to sync my playlists of my media manager, I have to use iTunes..... another punch in the face from Apple. DJ software only syncs your iTunes library which must be in the DEFAULT location C:/users/username/music/iTunes.
Hence, why you saw my library being in the iTunes folder. I don't even have iTunes installed.
That's why this project is so important to me. Unless I want to buy a 1TB SSD... but I just dropped 1700 on this laptop, F that. hahah
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If you have the drive connected to your laptop, does it display as a fixed drive or a device on left navigator?
@ djscottallen
redwing was asking about how it appears in the LH navigation panel in MusicBee, not in Windows Explorer.
Sorry, I think this is it:
http://www.mediafire.com/view/myfiles/#mcd7gm3pq7e584d
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@Bee-liever:
I saw your screenshots earlier but you're moving audiobooks and video files to different drives, but it's not possible for music files. Of course, you can move music files to another drive via auto-sweep, but it's only one-time move and it's not possible to keep them auto-organized after they moved to another drive.
I don't use auto-sweep. I'm only using auto-organise.
All my new pre-tagged and checked Music files are on my W: drive. When they get put into the Inbox, I add them to the Library (right-click> Send To> Music Library) and then auto-organise moves them to my S: drive.
@Bee-liever:
Auto-sweep
add to library on;
- But... if those files are sent to the Inbox, then to the Library, auto-organise will re-organise them and can move them to another drive as per 'auto-organise' settings (q.v.).
What do you mean by that?
If you are using auto-sweep to send new files to a location while you work on them, but still want them in the Library, auto-organise can't move them to another drive (as set up in 'move files to folder:') once you have finished working on them you.
If you right-click> Send To, Music Library is disabled, but you can send them to the Inbox via right-click and then from there, back into the Library where auto-organise will pick them up.
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@djscottallen:
Probably this way would be easier. Install a portable version of MB on D drive and have music files auto-organized on the same D drive.
Ahhhaaaa! I was wondering when someone would mention this idea.
This would be an excellent way to acheive this...... however, because I just did a complete transition from being a vinyl record dj to an all digital dj, I have to use digital dj software, which also means, if I want to sync my playlists of my media manager, I have to use iTunes..... another punch in the face from Apple. DJ software only syncs your iTunes library which must be in the DEFAULT location C:/users/username/music/iTunes.
Hence, why you saw my library being in the iTunes folder. I don't even have iTunes installed.
That's why this project is so important to me. Unless I want to buy a 1TB SSD... but I just dropped 1700 on this laptop, F that. hahah
I know the laptop. It's one of the best models currently available. Definitely a good buy!
I just saw your uploaded image. It's a fixed drive and you can have your music files auto-organized there. If MB won't allow it, try installing a portable MB on C drive.
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I don't use auto-sweep. I'm only using auto-organise.
All my new pre-tagged and checked Music files are on my W: drive. When they get put into the Inbox, I add them to the Library (right-click> Send To> Music Library) and then auto-organise moves them to my S: drive.
That's what I figured.
(http://i.cubeupload.com/sltlvG.jpg)
What I was trying to say was that you set S drive for the auto-organization setting. So you can auto-organize your music files only on S drive, not on any other drives.
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What I was trying to say was that you set S drive for the auto-organization setting. So you can auto-organize your music files only on S drive, not on any other drives.
Yeah, you can move them around in different folders, but once moved, you are stuck on the root drive defined first up.
I wonder, would setting up the sections of your collections on different drives, into different library sub-sections allow different auto-organise settings for each drive?
Might just check that out. I could have Classical and Christmas on separate drives, all auto-organised, not just as filtered sets.
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@djscottallen:
So what files do you need to keep in C:\users\~ folder to use your DJ software? You mean just "iTunes Music Library.xml" file that MB creates?
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I wonder, would setting up the sections of your collections on different drives, into different library sub-sections allow different auto-organise settings for each drive?
Might just check that out. I could have Classical and Christmas on separate drives, all auto-organised, not just as filtered sets.
You mean multiple libraries, or subsets like divided by genre? I don't know about the former, but I doubt it's possible with the latter.
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@Steven:
Here are my proposal for improving this feature regarding those "bugs" I reported. All cases under assume auto-organization is enabled.
1. When the user is trying to move the location for auto-organization to another drive, currently MB shows a warning that those files on the old location won't move to the new drive. If the user forces it, then those files remain in the old drive but still remain in library too without being auto-organized any more.
Offer following options for those files: (1) Send to inbox (default), (2) Move files, (3) Copy files.
2. When "add to inbox" is ticked for new files action, do not allow to use the same location as the one for auto-organization. Currently this results to files co-residing both in library and in inbox.
3. When "add to library" is ticked for new files action, disable auto-sweep option. For auto-organized library, this setting is bound to cause a conflict.
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I will do something for v2.4 but not now. At minimum i will enhance the organisation rules to allow a mapping for each drive in use where you could set a different root folder for each drive.
@redwing, not rejecting what you are saying - i havent digested it and wont look at it in detail just yet. The above has been on the back of my mind for a while
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I will do something for v2.4 but not now. At minimum i will enhance the organisation rules to allow a mapping for each drive in use where you could set a different root folder for each drive.
@redwing, not rejecting what you are saying - i havent digested it and wont look at it in detail just yet. The above has been on the back of my mind for a while
My proposal was only for fixing "bug"s under the current scheme, but what you said would change everything. I'd welcome any enhancement for auto-organization feature like allowing moving files across drives. Take your time!
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I will do something for v2.4 but not now. At minimum i will enhance the organisation rules to allow a mapping for each drive in use where you could set a different root folder for each drive.
@redwing, not rejecting what you are saying - i havent digested it and wont look at it in detail just yet. The above has been on the back of my mind for a while
My proposal was only for fixing "bug"s under the current scheme, but what you said would change everything. I'd welcome any enhancement for auto-organization feature like allowing moving files across drives. Take your time!
My MB is organizing my files and updating tags using both organize features on my external drive just fine. I just reclaimed 75% of my free space on my SSD in my new laptop. So happy right now. I think the only problem I would have is trying to move my library BACK to the C: Drive across discs, but I would never do that.
Haven't read all of these posts, but my initial suggestion is full auto organizing and syncing of media files across discs, no matter what the location.
Thanks again for taking this issue to another level guys lol Thank you Steven for your consideration on this issue. My issue is finally fixed with everyone's help. So relieved :D
NOTE: Please don't ever get rid of the awesome feature of exporting an iTunes formatted library file, my dj software syncs perfectly and instantaneously with MB. Because of this feature, I highly recommend dj's to move over to MusicBee immediately. haha
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@djscottallen:
So what files do you need to keep in C:\users\~ folder to use your DJ software? You mean just "iTunes Music Library.xml" file that MB creates?
Yup that's it. Not sure if I also need the .itl file, I don't think so but anyways, it works great with the XML file in the default location. Just one XML file and i'm groovy. The music library (.xml) can point to 6 different locations, it doesn't matter. As long as the XML library file knows where the media is, so does my dj software. It's like having a mini music manager within my dj software. It has all the tags including the BPM (beats per minute) and quality (320 kbps).
I'm now adding video files now to finally be able to do video mixing for live gigs using my HD video projector. I don't even need audio anymore, I can do all video mixing. It's a really interesting project. Video files get BIG so auto organize on external is really going to save my life on that. That's my next MB project. We'll see how that goes working with my dj program. I might be back here again hahahahhahah
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The auto-organiser only moves files on the same drive as the library music folder ie. wont move a file across discs.
posting this with the risk the function might be removed
the screenshots I posted earlier are from my auto-organise settings.
My MB library is on my W: drive
With my work-flow, auto-organise regularly moves the physical files to my S: or T: drive (not the library files)
auto-organise also kicks in if I make any tag changes for files already on those S: or T: drives
Yes, I see that it's changed again and auto-organise no longer moves files across drives on import to Library from Inbox
Have to re-organise my work-flow once more :(
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this should fix the issue:
http://musicbee.niblseed.com/V2_4/MusicBee_Exe_Patched.zip
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Thanks Steven
Didn't even get a chance to post to your original request :o
checked that it was working on 2.4.5191 and have re-checked with patch (2.4.5243) and working as before. Yippee! ;D
Thanks again :)
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i have made the following changes:
- the auto-organiser can now have separate rules defined for each fixed drive
- separate rules can be defined for music, audiobooks and video
- you can define the mapping so files are moved across discs eg. define a rule for music files on Z: and have then organised to C:\music\
- you can define the mapping so files on a drive are not organised by leaving to the "to folder" and "naming template" blank
- when sending or moving files into an organised library, previously files from a different drive were moved and organised to the drive the music library resided on. Now you need to define a rule first (MB will report an error if no mapping rule is defined)
http://musicbee.niblseed.com/V2_4/MusicBee_Exe_Patched.zip
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How do I define a mapping rule for a new drive without using auto-organise (i.e. I just want to use the Send To>Organised Folder command)? I suspect I'm being dumb, but I just can't figure it out.
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Thanks for the update!
- How to delete existing rules from the dialog?
- If I try to move files to a new sub-folder of existing music files folder, MB doesn't allow it saying "that folder is used to store library files". But I can force it by typing the path, and it works flawlessly. Why does it not allow that?
- It doesn't seem that you addressed the issues I reported before:
2. When "add to inbox" is ticked for new files action, do not allow to use the same location as the one for auto-organization. Currently this results to files co-residing both in library and in inbox.
3. When "add to library" is ticked for new files action, disable auto-sweep option. For auto-organized library, this setting is bound to cause a conflict.
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How do I define a mapping rule for a new drive without using auto-organise (i.e. I just want to use the Send To>Organised Folder command)? I suspect I'm being dumb, but I just can't figure it out.
i am not sure i understand the reason behind your question - just use that command and it will send the file to the folder you specify using the naming template you specify (as before, nothing should be different with this)
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- How to delete existing rules from the dialog?
- If I try to move files to a new sub-folder of existing music files folder, MB doesn't allow it saying "that folder is used to store library files". But I can force it by typing the path, and it works flawlessly. Why does it not allow that?
- untick the checkbox on the left side of the rule. However there must exist one rule for each type of file
- can you provide an example of what you did
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My music files are stored in here: D:\Music Files
I wanted to store audiobook files in D:\Music Files\Audiobooks but the message popped up if I use the folder selector (...). Typing the same path works though.
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2. When "add to inbox" is ticked for new files action, do not allow to use the same location as the one for auto-organization. Currently this results to files co-residing both in library and in inbox.
although i can a slight flaw with files detected as being audiobooks or videos, when importing files MB either adds the file to the Inbox without re-organising the file even when auto-organise is enabled. So i'm not quite sure what you mean by co-residing - perhaps you could give a specific example?
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Never mind. I was referring to my previous report as follows, but I can't replicate those issues any more with the new version:
- I ticked "add to inbox" option for new files action and selected the same auto-organized folder for the auto-sweep setting. Then what happens? When new files appear in a monitored folder, they are moved to the specified folder following the file naming template. But for some reason there are duplicates of them in the inbox. So if new files are two, you have four in inbox. Send them to library. Only two can be sent, and two remain in inbox. Now right-click on those files. Send to library and inbox options are grayed out, which means they live both in library and in inbox. If you change the auto-sweep setting to a different folder, then this bizarre behavior goes away.
- Now choose "add to library" option for new files and select a different folder for the auto-sweep setting. As I reported in a previous post, new files are never sent to library, staying in inbox forever.
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How do I define a mapping rule for a new drive without using auto-organise (i.e. I just want to use the Send To>Organised Folder command)? I suspect I'm being dumb, but I just can't figure it out.
i am not sure i understand the reason behind your question - just use that command and it will send the file to the folder you specify using the naming template you specify (as before, nothing should be different with this)
Yeah, I didn't explain it very well. Here's the situation:
I have two libraries, one on C drive and one on D drive. My C drive is my main one, my D drive is my kind of proto-Inbox library where tracks go before they're even partially tagged enough to go into my main library. (That's kind of un-related, but it'll help understand why I use two libraries and two drives with no cross-over). What I want to do is send a file from D:Music/Clean Files/Mp3 Files to C:Music/Music when I've given it basic tags while I'm in my D drive library. However, I now get the "No music rule for D:" under status when trying to do this using the Send To>Organised Folder dialogue. How do I stop that message appearing and thus get my files to move?
Hopefully that's clearer!
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i understand now and will need to improve the validation rules
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this should work:
http://musicbee.niblseed.com/V2_4/MusicBee_Exe_Patched.zip
however, if your library is auto-organised (i guess not but just in case), then the auto-organise rules will take precedence
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Yep, that's got it. Thanks very much Steven! And no my library isn't auto-organised (yet), but I'm sure it will be in the nearish future. Just need to get everything sorted to my liking.
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this fixes a bug if you edit tags for files that are not in the library when auto-organise is enabled:
http://musicbee.niblseed.com/V2_4/MusicBee_Exe_Patched.zip
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the screenshots I posted earlier are from my auto-organise settings.
My MB library is on my W: drive
With my work-flow, auto-organise regularly moves the physical files to my S: or T: drive (not the library files)
auto-organise also kicks in if I make any tag changes for files already on those S: or T: drives
i have made the following changes:
- when sending or moving files into an organised library, previously files from a different drive were moved and organised to the drive the music library resided on. Now you need to define a rule first (MB will report an error if no mapping rule is defined)
OK. I've worked out that with the new auto-organise, MB will no longer automatically move files residing on my W: drive to my S: drive when I send them to the Music Library from the Inbox.
So, I added drive mapping for my W: drive to move them into the base folder of the library (S:\My Music\My Music Library\) thinking that the rules I already have in place for S: drive would kick in and sort them. No such luck.
Using Ctrl+R, I think that I'll manually be able to move them but, even though they are no longer on the W: drive, I can't override the mapping.
If I untick the W: drive mapping, the S: drive naming template takes over and shows the correct file re-structuring will occur.
Proceed works fine and files are all nicely sorted and stored on my S: drive :)
But, when I go to do my next album, I have to reload all the paths for the W: drive mapping again as, by unticking it before, it has been deleted.
Am I using a wrong work-flow for the new auto-organise or is it a bug?
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can you post a screenshot of your auto-organise panel
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here is the panel
(http://i.cubeupload.com/w7D5Ay.jpg)
strange thing I found is that if I use File Organiser to move tracks to exactly the same folder
(without having the W:\ or Y:\ mapped)
(http://i.cubeupload.com/tcRPmX.jpg)
auto-organise will kick in and move the files correctly.
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the above is certainly one of the scenarios i tested so it should work.
First off, the way it is coded to work is it will use the rule for W: so according to your rules it should have sent the file to: S:\...\Incoming\...
and added the file to the library. Is there any particular reason you defined the path and template differently between the S: and W: rules?
If thats not what it did, can you confirm auto-organise is enabled and secondly how are you sending the files from the Inbox to the Library eg. right click/ Send To/ Library or some other way - and what did MB actually do with the filename?
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the above is certainly one of the scenarios i tested so it should work.
got it to work! :)
originally, when MB wouldn't completely auto-organise the tracks moved, my W:\ folder path was S:\My Music\Incoming and template was <Disc-Track#>-<Artist>-<Album>.
By changing the path and template to what's in the screenshot, it does work as expected ::)
Is there any particular reason you defined the path and template differently between the S: and W: rules?
Only that I didn't think the template would need to be duplicated. I thought that once I had them on the S: drive, the naming template for there would take over.
I see now, that I need to match the folder path completely for this to happen.
Thanks for checking on this and sorry if I wasted your time
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i will probably make a change because as you say it should have just used the S: rule
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@bee-liever, i tried using very similar settings where the source drive mapped to the same root folder as the target drive mapping but had a different naming template. MB is already checking if the root folders are the same and should be applying the mapping rule for the target drive/ disregardng the source drive rule ie. it should have already been working as you expected. I was wondering how you actually send the files to the library eg. right click/ Send To, drag/ drop or some other way?
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I was wondering how you actually send the files to the library eg. right click/ Send To, drag/ drop or some other way?
right-click/ Send To/ Music Library
with reference to the post here (http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=12933.msg77991#msg77991), I found everything works fine as long as the two red highlighted fields contained the exact same path. If I truncate that path, or create an entirely different one on the same drive, MB will move the files correctly but the original naming template won't take over and rename them.
I understand now, for that to happen, the files have to be in the same 'to folder:' that the naming template references.
I think it was my understanding of how the naming templates were applied that was at fault, more than anything MB is doing.