Topics

1

Questions / How to backup/restore ('portable' installation)?

« on: March 25, 2024, 02:37:00 PM »

Hi all.  I recently installed MusicBee on my computer, using the 'portable' installation.  I now want to carry out regular backups of my computer so that in case of catastrophe, I can quickly restore MusicBee in-full.  Is there a guide to what files I need to backup, and how to eventually restore from these backup files?

To be clear, my MusicBee contains many of the following that I would like to be able to backup/restore:

* Individual songs (usually mp3 files).

* Various podcast subscriptions.  Each subscription contains several podcast episodes.  Each episode contains various pieces of metadata, e.g. rating value, grouping value, etc.

* Bookmarks. 

Thanks in advance.  Sorry if this has been asked before.

2

Questions / How to migrate podcast eps to new computer if subscription link is unreachable?

« on: December 26, 2023, 09:30:37 AM »

TL;DR How do I migrate podcast episodes from COMPUTER-A to COMPUTER-B, if the RSS URL of the subscription is no longer reachable?

Hi all.  To give some background, years ago I installed MusicBee on COMPUTER-A.  At that time I added several different podcast subscriptions, using their RSS URLs. Over the years I downloaded new episodes into MusicBee, and added meta data to them (star ratings, grouping values, etc).  Eventually the subscription for one stopped (call it PODCAST-A), i.e. the maintainers stopped adding new episodes and the RSS URL eventually became unreachable.  But in MusicBee, the subscription remained visible and the episodes I downloaded remained playable. 

My question:  On COMPUTER-B I have now installed MusicBee fresh.  Apart from PODCAST-A, I plan to migrate the podcast episodes by first creating the subscription on COMPUTER-B, then copying and pasting episodes from COMPUTER-A to COMPUTER-B.  But what are my options towards migrating the episodes from PODCAST-A (and their meta data)?  When I try to create a new podcast subscription in MusicBee on COMPUTER-B, it fails, saying the URL is unreachable. 

Thanks in advance.

3

Questions / How to migrate bookmarks from COMPUTER-A to COMPUTER-B?

« on: December 21, 2023, 11:23:00 AM »

Hi all.  I have two Windows computers.  On COMPUTER-A I've added many podcasts, and from several I've created several bookmarks which I can view/play from the MusicBee bookmarks tab (screenshot).  On COMPUTER-B I have installed MusicBee fresh. It contains no music, podcasts, or bookmarks.  What are my options for migrating the MusicBee bookmarks from COMPUTER-A to COMPUTER-B?

In this case, my plan to migrate the podcasts from COMPUTER-A to COMPUTER-B is to carry out a more manual migration.  I don't plan to migrate by backing up MusicBee on COMPUTER-A and restoring to COMPUTER-B.  I tried that a few months ago and there were many prohibitive issues, so I'm planning to migrate the podcasts by simply copying the files from COMPUTER-A to COMPUTER-B, then adding them to the correct folder on COMPUTER-B so MusicBee recognizes them.

Thanks in advance.

4

Questions / Podcasts showing available episodes from a different, unrelated podcast.

« on: April 09, 2023, 09:37:56 AM »

Hello.  I have several podcast subscriptions in the MusicBee podcasts section.  Until recently, when opened in MusicBee, all podcasts have displayed all available episodes for that podcast, as expected.  But recently two of them have started to display many new available episodes--but episodes from a different, completely unrelated podcast (screenshot).  Any idea how to resolve and how to prevent in the future?

Of Note

* Both podcasts affected are essentially managed by the same person.
* If I view the same podcast in iTunes, it does not suffer from this issue.
* I'm using MusicBee version 3.3.7261

Thanks in advance.

5

Questions / Source files for podcast episodes goes missing every time I restart MusicBee.

« on: May 05, 2022, 01:22:53 PM »

Hello. Whenever I re-start MusicBee, the source file for each of my podcast episodes goes missing again.  Even if I manually locate it the file, upon restart, it again goes missing.  How can I resolve this?  

Here is more background.  I recently migrated my entire MusicBee installation from one computer to another, including many podcasts.  After I did so, I opened the podcasts section to see that each MusicBee could could not find the source file for any podcast episodes in the list (screenshot).  If I open Tools-->Locate Missing Files, I can see that all the episodes in-question are in the list of files that need to be located (screenshot).  If I click Start Auto-Match it works for a few seconds, but in the end does not locate any files.  If I manually locate the first file, then MusicBee then is able to automatically locate the remaining files in the list (screenshot).  And when I click 'Proceed,' all podcast episodes are now found and displaying as expected, even with the meta-data I added to each (e.g. rating).  And when I play one of the episodes, the correct audio file plays.  The problem is, when I close MusicBee and re-open it, all the podcast episode source files go missing again, and I'm back to where I started (screenshot).

6

Questions / How to edit the 'location' field for a bookmark?

« on: May 04, 2022, 12:06:29 PM »

Hello.  When editing a bookmark, how can I edit the 'location' field?  That field is disabled for editing (screenshot).  This seems to be the case for all my bookmarks.

Here is some more background.  Over the past several years I've created several bookmarks from different files, and they worked fine without issue.  I very recently migrated my entire MusicBee installation from one computer to another. After I did so, opening each bookmark first required that I manually relocate the file from which it was created.  I did so without issue for nearly all of my bookmarks.  But for four of them, I accidentally selected the wrong file.  If I open those bookmarks for editing, the 'location' field points to the incorrect file.  That is why I am now interested in changing the 'location' field so it points to the correct file.

Thanks in advance.

7

Questions / If I remove a podcast, then re-add it, will the same meta data be visible?

« on: April 09, 2018, 02:25:39 PM »

TL;DR To my podcast episodes I have added additional meta info (e.g. "Rating").  If I remove the podcast and its episodes, then re-add the podcast, then re-add the episodes, will MusicBee still display the "Ratings" for each episode?

Hello.  In MusicBee, I have a podcast with several episodes.  I would like to remove this podcast, then re-add it, in an effort to change the default download folder for this podcast.  I have backed up all episodes to an external hard drive, and when I re-add the podcast in MusicBee, I plan to copy-and-paste these episodes into the newly created podcast folder on my computer.  When I do so, will the additional meta data per episode be retained and displayed in MusicBee?  To clarify, to each episode in MusicBee I have added additional meta data, to the "Grouping" and "Rating" fields (screenshot).  When I re-add the podcast, and re-add the episodes via this manner, will this meta data be displayed in MusicBee, or will MusicBee be unable to display it?  The meta data is important to me, so if will be lost during this process, I'll have to figure out a different solution.

I realize MusicBee has a built-in method of changing a podcast's download folder.  But I tried that, and encountered a prohibitive and costly issue.  I posted it about it (post here).  In short, when you change a podcast's download folder in this manner, it seems that MusicBee copies all episodes in the current download folder and pastes them into the new download folder.  Well on my computer, this resulted in my hard drive filling up during the process, which in-turn resulted in issues that took a long time to fix.  So instead, I am trying this new workaround of removing the podcast and re-adding it.

Thanks in advance.

8

Questions / Error adding new podcast: "Unable to verify the validity of this URL"

« on: December 18, 2017, 02:15:23 PM »

Hello.  I'm trying to add a new podcast using the URL https://soundcloud.com/armorypodcast, but MusicBee returns an error, "Unable to verify the validity of this URL" (screenshot).  How can I resolve this?  I encounter the same error if I use the podcast's iTunes link (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-armory-podcast/id725209377).

Thanks in advance.

9

Questions / Podcast episodes not up-to-date--can I modify the podcast URL?

« on: November 28, 2017, 05:02:35 PM »

Hi all.  In MusicBee, I have subscribed to particular podcast.  But MusicBee doesn't display the latest episodes, even if I click 'Check for updates.'  If I right click on the podcast and click 'Open Home Page,' it opens a page on the site www.cyberears.com (podcast page here), and the page also suffers from the same issue (missing the latest episodes).  If I open the iTunes and Soundcloud pages for the podcast, the latest episodes are displayed.  How can I resolve this issue?

Can I somehow instruct MusicBee to look at iTunes or Soundcloud instead of cyberears.com?  If I 'edit' the podcast, I see a greyed out 'podcast URL' field set to a cyberears.com .xml URL.  I also ee a 'home page' URL set to a cyberears.com URL.

Thanks in advance.

10

Bug Reports / When I 'reorganize,' I am not able to deselect any of the checkboxes

« on: November 23, 2017, 03:01:47 PM »

Hello.  When I open Edit-->Preferences-->Library-->Podcasts-->Reorganize it lists all of my podcasts, and next to each is a select box (screenshot).  But clicking this box does not deselect it as expected.

I currently have a situation in which I would like to change the "to folder" without actually moving any of my existing podcasts.  I just want to ensure new podcasts are saved to the "to folder."  Allowing me to deselect these files would seem to resolve my issue.  But as it stands, I cannot deselect them, so changing the "to" folder will also trigger MusicBee to move my existing files, which is undesirable.

11

Questions / When I 'reorganize,' how can I deselect files to be moved?

« on: November 20, 2017, 12:21:23 PM »

Hello.  When I open Edit-->Preferences-->Library-->Podcasts-->Reorganize it lists all of my podcasts, and next to each is a select box (screenshot).  But clicking this box does not deselect it.  How can I resolve that?

What I would like to do is change the "to folder" without actually moving any of my existing podcasts.  I just want to ensure new podcasts are saved to the "to folder."

Thanks in advance.

12

Questions / Does 'Reorganize' copy/paste my files, or cut/paste my files?

« on: November 11, 2017, 09:58:22 AM »

Hello.  I have several hundred podcasts stored on my computer (in directory-a) and loaded into MusicBee.  Currently MusicBee saves all new podcasts to a different directory:  directory-b.  I would like to ensure all new podcasts are saved to directory-a.  I will do so via Edit-->Preferences-->Library-->Podcasts-->Reorganize (following these instructions).  I have a couple questions about that process.

1.  It appears that MusicBee will move all of my existing podcast files to a new directory.  I am OK with that.  But when MusicBee does this, does it copy and paste the files, or cut and paste the files?  My hard drive is nearly full, so if attempts to copy and paste those files, my hard drive will run out of space during the process.  I couldn't find this information in the instructions, but perhaps I missed it.

2.  Currently, in MusicBee, my podcasts are properly separated by podcast (like this). After I run 'Reorganize,' and MusicBee moves my files, will the podcasts still be arranged within MusicBee in this manner?  I guess I can always test that out myself on a single podcast.

I should perhaps note that all existing podcasts on my computer (in directory-a) have a certain folder structure. If I click 'Reorganize' and preview the new filenames, it appears the existing directory structure will not be preserved after the move.

Thanks in advance.

edit: Actually, is there a way to deselect files in the 'File Organiser' dialog box (screenshot)?  If so, that could be an easy solution to my issue--I could change the "to folder," yet ensure none of my files are moved.  That would be my ideal result.  But when I click the check box, it does not deselect.

13

Questions / How to change podcast download directory?

« on: November 08, 2017, 12:38:36 PM »

Hello. Currently, all new podcasts are saved to C:\<user>\Music\MusicBee\Podcasts.  How can I change that?

I believe I used to do that via Edit-->Preferences-->Library-->podcasts-->"download to folder."  But I don't see that option anymore.

Thanks in advance.

14

Questions / How to update MusicBee?

« on: November 02, 2017, 03:48:35 PM »

Hello.  I currently have MusicBee v3.0.6335 installed and see that v3.1.6512 is available.  I have enabled "Check for updates on start up" in Edit-->Preferences-->General.  But for some reason I am still not notified of an available update when I start MusicBee.  How can I resolve this?

Thanks.

edit:  I closed MuisicBee, went to bed, and woke up the next day.  When I opened MusicBee, it prompted me to update. I then updated without issue.  So I guess we can consider this resolved.

15

MusicBee Wishlist / Automate backups

« on: November 02, 2017, 03:44:19 PM »

Hello.  I have just backed up my settings per the http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Backup_%26_Restore.  It would be nice if MusicBee had a feature to automate this backup so it occurred automatically on a schedule (e.g. weekly daily, etc).

It would be nice if automation was possible for both settings and media.  But I personally would be happy with an automated backup of settings only.