One useful feature MusicBee offers in that regard is the configurable "genre category" that you can use to group genes
compilations and soundtracks which get their own folders based on their unique album artist value (set automatically by Picard).ok this answer my 1 point, i will put them too aside artists main folders.
Single tracks go in the root album artist folder (an exception based on Track Count = 1). If you're using the album-per-folder option, you could just as easily put them in a "Singles" folder or something like that. MusicBee would then treat them as one group.this answers my 3 point, i think i will leave them in the main artist folder because i have already other folders called singles with other folders in it, so it's fine like this.
If it's really important to you to use genre in the file structure, think about how you organize them as physical media. Maybe you could use a custom tag like "album genre" to make multi-genre albums easier to handle.i guess the standard genre tag is ok, what's different with an album genre tag? think i don't have many multi-genre albums or i can just put my own in the genre tag already by modifying it with right click.
(You might also be able to do this with a virtual tag, setting a differenthow is album artist tag retrieved or managed in picard and mbee?
value based on album artist for compilations.)
i guess the standard genre tag is ok, what's different with an album genre tag? think i don't have many multi-genre albums or i can just put my own in the genre tag already by modifying it with right click.
how is album artist tag retrieved or managed in picard and mbee?
the point eventually is how do i retag all this library if i have many possible variations like artist/singles & ep/blabla single/track x or artist/x collection/cd1/symphonies, etc etc. i can't move everything! :-X :-X
how is album artist tag retrieved or managed in picard and mbee?
I'm not sure what you mean. Either Picard or MusicBee's auto tag by album feature will set a single album artist for the whole album (unless you've messed with the configuration so that they don't).
Exactly why I recommend staying away from genre for file organization, it gets too complicated very quickly. What do you do when one artist performs in multiple genres, let alone when you have compilations and such? If I wanted to find my files by k.d. lang, I wouldn't know whether to look under Country or Pop or Jazz, and that still wouldn't find the compilations. Whereas within MusicBee I can easily find them all in seconds without caring how they're organized.
If you set up a basic template you're happy with, then add exceptions for singles, eps, multiple discs, or whatever you want done a little differently, once you're happy with the results you can walk away and let MusicBee handle the details. (Although I am assuming you're not often changing the album or artist tags on a track.)
Personally I just use Disc-Track# for multiple discs, which gives you 1-xx and 2-xx, etc, in the same folder - no need for exceptions. I know some people like to have separate folders for albums, eps, etc which I don't worry about but seems logical enough if you know what you're looking for. For me it's all about how quickly I can find the files I'm looking for, if I honestly have to find them the hard way rather than with MusicBee (which rarely happens).
wait a second! i can't even think of moving/copying folders because i have in many cases some files which are not actually managed by mb such as artworks, pdfs, etc. so i'm really fine with actual folder structure and won't mind about names of the folders.
oh right.wait a second! i can't even think of moving/copying folders because i have in many cases some files which are not actually managed by mb such as artworks, pdfs, etc. so i'm really fine with actual folder structure and won't mind about names of the folders.
Just use the "also move remaining non-media files" option and those files should move with the rest of the album
A lot of this you'll have to figure out based on your own preferences. I'll just recommend that you not over think file organization. MusicBee can handle things like genre "folders" internally, with a column browser or filters or whatever makes sense to you.
For files, do something that's easy to maintain, easy to navigate, and doesn't take a lot of manual input. The default album artist/album/track is a good start. I add first letter folders to keep things from getting too cluttered, except for compilations and soundtracks which get their own folders based on their unique album artist value (set automatically by Picard). Single tracks go in the root album artist folder (an exception based on Track Count = 1). If you're using the album-per-folder option, you could just as easily put them in a "Singles" folder or something like that. MusicBee would then treat them as one group.
If it's really important to you to use genre in the file structure, think about how you organize them as physical media. Maybe you could use a custom tag like "album genre" to make multi-genre albums easier to handle. (You might also be able to do this with a virtual tag, setting a different
value based on album artist for compilations.)
My organization template uses a fair number of exceptions and virtual tags to handle special cases, but generally once an album is run through Picard and organized, it never moves again no matter what I retag or reorganize in MusicBee.
please tell me what needs to be written in the organization template so that I also have performers inhttps://musicbee.fandom.com/wiki/Functions#Left_.2F_Right
folders by letters of the alphabet, and inside Artist - album - title?
please tell me what needs to be written in the organization template so that I also have performers inhttps://musicbee.fandom.com/wiki/Functions#Left_.2F_Right
folders by letters of the alphabet, and inside Artist - album - title?
Thank you, very helpful! I have one more question:
given structure, grouped by first letter
$ Group (<Artist>, 1) \ <Artist> \ <Artist> - <Year> - <Album> \ <Track No.> <Name> is used for me only for one category of the genre.
For everyone else, I would like to use without grouping <Artist> \ <Artist> - <Year> - <Album> \ <Track #> <Name>.
That is, I select an album - send - move to an organized folder - select the desired genre category, but at the top, in the line "template for specifying names and files", there is always the first template (with grouping). And every time, no matter what category of genre (folder) I choose, everything is ordered with grouping. Is there a way in which I could set an exception for multiple folders along the path of their location, so that MB knows when to group and when not? The current exclusions in the organizer window only work for moved files.
OK, I understand your hints, I ask too many questions that have no answers. However, I read the old threads before asking a question.It's not that you ask so many questions. Questions are fine. The problem is that these issues are very specific to you and your process, and that it is ultimately for you to decide what the best process and procedure is for this complicated folder organization system you seem to be set on keeping.
On top of that, this tag confusion in MusicBee is splitting the same album apart.
Look at: Preferences > Sorting/Grouping > Grouping > 'the following fields define an album'.
The problem is that not all tracks on an album contain the same information.
$IsNull(<Album>,,$IsNull(<Album Artist>,no album artist,))
The problem is that not all tracks on an album contain the same information.
This is a way to display all tracks that have an <Album> tag but not an <Album Artist> tag. (even when MB is misleadingly suggesting that tag is present)
Create a virtual tag 'No Album Artist'Code$IsNull(<Album>,,$IsNull(<Album Artist>,no album artist,))
Then in the left navigator panel create a filter:
(https://i.imgur.com/8gR32lW.png)
Please stop sending me private messages directing me to different threads and asking me to answer them. I am not your personal customer service department.I assume this was directed at the person who posted last.
I assume this was directed at the person who posted last.Yes, bad habit of not quoting a post if directly precedes my reply. It was a rule on some board I used to visit I guess.
@Foliant- if you have a question about something on a different thread, please post your question, publicly, on that thread. If someone knows the answer, they will reply.
Yes, bad habit of not quoting a post if directly precedes my reply. It was a rule on some board I used to visit I guess.After half a glance I assumed it was directed at the OP of this thread.
I ignored it the first time it happened, but I woke up to another email notification today and didn't want to encourage further private interaction by engaging in the discussion privately. I probably have less couth than I should.Yes, bad habit of not quoting a post if directly precedes my reply. It was a rule on some board I used to visit I guess.After half a glance I assumed it was directed at the OP of this thread.
It's tricky discussing things like this publicly on the forum.
The best reason for discussing issues publicly is that others who are experiencing similar issues can follow the thread and possible get resolution.I was not referring to discussing technical support issues, but to publicly discussing a beef.
Another problem is tags. I have 40,000 tracks (not all of them I need, I plan to rethink my methods of collecting music and get rid of what is not fun) but a smaller part of them with tags. This is a very long job. Even if you use MusicBee tools or other tagging services, it is very long, because there are a lot of wrong genre tags on MusicBrain, Discogos. Everything needs to be manually entered, I browse my 2 main sites, where I get information about tags.
The problem is that not all tracks on an album contain the same information. I noticed that somewhere the year is not marked, somewhere the name of the album is missing. All this can be fixed if I had 100 albums, not thousands
Very useful information, thank you. It really has an advantage when you are a member of the forum group because you will know how to handle things or situations when you encounter them in the long run.Another problem is tags. I have 40,000 tracks (not all of them I need, I plan to rethink my methods of collecting music and get rid of what is not fun) but a smaller part of them with tags. This is a very long job. Even if you use MusicBee tools or other tagging services, it is very long, because there are a lot of wrong genre tags on MusicBrain, Discogos. Everything needs to be manually entered, I browse my 2 main sites, where I get information about tags.
At the end of the day, if you want MB to organize your files in the semi-complex structure you wish to maintain, then all - each and every single one - of your music files needs to be tagged according to how you wish to implement that structure. Every file from every album will need to be consistent. MusicBee does not manage files by folders. It manages files by tags, as it should. If you wish to incorporate a particularly detailed directory structure within MusicBee, you're not going to be able to do it without MONTHS of correcting your tags.QuoteThe problem is that not all tracks on an album contain the same information. I noticed that somewhere the year is not marked, somewhere the name of the album is missing. All this can be fixed if I had 100 albums, not thousands
If you're not willing to fix these thousands of albums, then you won't have your desired structure within MusicBee and should stick with whatever file manager you were using before, because all the tracks on an album must contain the same information album-level information. MusicBee is a tag manager, not a file manager, and if your tags are all over the place, then it will display your files all over the place.
I proposed this in one of your threads, but the main issue here is you're jumping the gun. You need to get all the tags in all the thousands of your albums consistent and afterwards figure out how to have MusicBee organize them. You won't be able to do it backwards like you're wanting.
I am wondering what the purpose is of the grouping setting "files for each album are organized in their own folder" if it isn't to get over this issue. Would someone be able to provide some clarification of this, as I am sure it would be useful for lots of newcomers to the program? I would add that I am having albums split up that are organized in their own folders and which have identical tags. I am using the setting mentioned above.