Messages

1

Questions / Re: Un-do changes to tags?

« on: May 03, 2022, 01:06:28 PM »

A point of important information: don't just make backups. Make sure you can restore from your backups. With my backup schemes I don't have to worry so much, but there's nothing like having backups and then finding out that you can't restore from them. I test mine every couple of weeks.

That's a good point. I rarely do a restore. I assume when you do a test restore, that you don't restore to the original location - just in case something goes wrong.

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Questions / Re: Un-do changes to tags?

« on: May 02, 2022, 05:30:35 PM »

I could just schedule regular backups using EaseUS Todo Backup, which I already own.
I would need two separate backup schedules if I am going to backup to more than one location.

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Questions / Un-do changes to tags?

« on: April 30, 2022, 10:43:21 PM »

I realize that this question has been asked on and off over the last 10 years that MB has been around, but so far I don't see any way one can un-do changes to tags when the metadata is saved to the files. Perhaps if it is saved to MB database only, one can un-do, but I don't see a way to do it.
I had a 'scare' earlier today when I wanted to make sure that none of my files had the 'enable custom sorting' box (in the sorting tab) ticked. I selected my entire library, went into edit, and sorting. I found the box un-ticked, so I hit the Save button, thinking that if any of the files had custom sorting ticked, this would remove it.
After I saved, nothing bad happened, but I suddenly had the fear that perhaps some of the other checkboxes on the sort tab had also been ticked. What would be the result of doing that? I suspect it would seriously mess up the database. But luckily, MusicBee leaves all the boxes un-ticked by default - unlike another program (Tag & Rename) I sometimes use for tagging, which leaves boxes ticked from the last operation performed.
So, at least MB is smart enough to clear the boxes so something bad doesn't happen, but it would be really nice to have an un-do feature; although I suspect that if writing tags to the files, this would be somewhat difficult. A cache of all changed files would need to be stored somewhere.

Of course the best way to prevent disasters that can cost many hours of work, one should always keep a good backup.
I do a backup regularly every night when I have been working on MB, but I think it might be a good idea to do a backup more often, when processing large numbers of files during a day. Maybe once an hour.

Your thoughts?
Ultrarunner

4

Questions / Re: Why doesn't MB play tracks in order?

« on: April 29, 2022, 01:19:26 PM »

MusicBee will play whatever's in the playing tracks list unless you manually stop it. Auto-DJ's function is to keep adding tracks to the list so it never runs out, but if the tracks are already in the list, turning it off doesn't remove them.

Thanks for the explanation. I am just a tad overwhelmed by all the features in MB, and often miss the obvious.

5

Questions / Re: Why doesn't MB play tracks in order?

« on: April 23, 2022, 07:23:20 PM »

Looks like MB is playing the albums (title sans 'the') in alphabetical order.

OK. That makes sense. I overlooked the albums, as I don't normally listen to tracks by album.
Now, another related question:
Even though I stopped Auto-DJ, MB is still playing a shuffled playlist. I would think that with DJ turned off, the current track would finish, then nothing would play, but I guess I'm missing something.

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Questions / Re: Why doesn't MB play tracks in order?

« on: April 23, 2022, 03:15:52 PM »

I'll stick with the .flac format. I have more than 3500 tracks and it would be a waste of time to change them to anything else. That said, I may not convert anymore tracks to .flac, so long as Power Amp recognizes them in the same folders with the .flac files. I did read somewhere about an issue with this, but that might have been an older version of PA, or that the user didn't have all of the folders/files selected for scanning. I'll see what happens next time I purchase music on iTunes.

7

Questions / Re: Why doesn't MB play tracks in order?

« on: April 23, 2022, 12:00:03 PM »

This link to Google Drive should work; I set permissions to all users with the link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s3rKV3mjLunmgEvtGR_0VSpZ_ZDdwXj1/view?usp=sharing

The reason I am using .flac rather than .aac is that I ripped many of the tracks from my CD collection, and I preferred lossless format. Also, I am using PowerAmp 3.x on my Android phone, and I'm unsure whether it supports aac.

8

Questions / Why doesn't MB play tracks in order?

« on: April 22, 2022, 09:57:54 PM »

Hey guys;
I just purchased some tracks on iTunes (PC app) and converted them to .flac (lossy to lossless, but OK), then did a rescan in MB to add the tracks to my library.
I have a filter set up to display only tracks I added within the last 24 hours.
I clicked on Artist column to sort by artist, but MB isn't playing the tracks in exactly that order.
I have Auto DJ and shuffle turned off, but the tracks do not play in the order (top of list to bottom, or alphabetically) i would have expected.
Here is a link to the track list:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s3rKV3mjLunmgEvtGR_0VSpZ_ZDdwXj1/view?usp=sharing

Any idea why MB chose to play the tracks in this order, and not what I had expected?

Thanks for your help
Ultrarunner

9

Questions / Another issue with ratings

« on: April 17, 2022, 03:32:28 PM »

I am having a hard time trying to figure out what is happening in MusicBee with ratings on .flac files.
First, I have the option in Preferences > Tags(1)  "store ratings in the music file" ticked.

I have several tabs set up, using filters to select which tracks are displayed for each tab:

"Rock (All)" - filters:  Match ALL of the following rules:
Genre is not Classical
Genre is not Meditation

"Rock (3_Stars)" - filters:  Match All of the following rules:
Genre is not Classical
Genre is not Meditation
Rating in range 3* to 5*

If I change a rating from 3 stars to 2 stars, that track should no longer appear in the 3 star list, but appear in the All tab. However, changing the rating in MB does not immediately remove the 2* track from the 3* list. I must first 'refresh' the filter (by opening it, and saving without making any changes). After doing that, the 2* rated track(s) disappear from the 3* list, but are still listed in the All list.
Switching to another tab, then back to the 3* tab does not refresh the list, nor does closing MB and restarting the app.

However, if I set the ratings in Tag & Rename, then do a rescan in MB, the rating is updated in MB, and the filters work properly.
Also note that if I change a rating in MB, then look at the track in T&R, the ratings field is null.

While I understand that the .flac format does not store ratings the same way as .mp3 or maybe .wav, it does appear to store ratings in some way, but apparently, MB is storing the metadata in a different format than what T&R is using, but at the same time, MB is able to read the tags set by T&R (but not the other way around).

Can anyone shine a light onto this issue? Is there a bug in MusicBee, or is there a setting I have been ignoring?

Thanks for your help
Ultrarunner.

10

Questions / Re: flac files mysteriously changed to .tmp

« on: April 15, 2022, 02:10:09 PM »

I am guessing it is about the space that is available for metadata within the flac file.
If it previously had '123' as some tag value, and you make it '123456', more space is needed.
I know that for mp3 there are things in place to reserve some additional (blank space) for that, I am not sure if the same goes for flac.

Probably slightly off-topic but still curious: why would you want to use another tagger to edit ratings of files that reside in your MusicBee library?

OK. That makes sense. I was reading somewhere that .flac doesn't fully support metadata tags anyway.
Why do I use T&R to tag my files ratings rather than just do it in MB?
My intent is to have the ratings (and other meta tags) I set in T&R to be read by PowerAmp on my Android phone.
When I write ratings tags in MB, they are not displayed by T&R, but when I write them in T&R, then do a rescan in MB, I see the new ratings in MB. It appears that T&R ratings override MB's own ratings.
I was hoping that the ratings I set (either in MB or T&R) would be read by PowerAmp on my Android phone (after copying the files from my PC to the phone), but unfortunately PA does not read the tags set by either MB or T&R.

It appears that each app has its own method of writing metadata, or I may not be using the same version (idv2 vs idv3?) on all apps. It is frustrating, and confusing.
So I guess if PA isn't reading tags I set in T&R, then I might as well just use MB's tags.
By setting ratings tags, I can easily find my favorite tracks, then copy them to my phone. I only want 3 stars and higher on the phone, but sometimes will listen to lower rated tracks through MB on my PC.
If I was able to get PA to read the tags I set in MB or T&R, then I could use ratings to quickly select my most favorite tracks on my phone as well as on MB. But so far I have not been able to get PA to read tags set either in MB or T&R.

Perhaps if I used MP3 instead of .flac, the tagging would be more compatible across apps, but I prefer the lossless format.
I'm going to do some experimentation, and maybe I'll make a discovery that will resolve the whole issue of tagging once and for all, but my intuition is telling me that this will not happen with .flac files.
I think there's also something referred to as a 'chunk' that is used by .flac, which is different than what MP3 files use to store metatata.

Following the link vincent kars provided, I find it too much to take in at the moment.
I might have given up on MusicBee, and switched to Media Monkey, which I already have installed on my Android phone, and could sync between the PC and phone, but I have issues with MM while playing certain games, but don't have the issue with MB. Besides that, I have come to enjoy MB; I only wish there was an Android version that would sync between PC and phone.

Editt: Checking the Preferences > Tags(1) tab I find that 'store ratings in the music file' is ticked.
I am not currently using any of the custom tags, which are by default set to save to MusicBee database only.
Is there anything else I should try?

11

Questions / Re: flac files mysteriously changed to .tmp

« on: April 13, 2022, 12:42:37 PM »

I don't understand. Space for the new tags? Is there a limited number of bits allowed for tags in a .flac file? If so, then why is this happening only occasionally?
I guess I'm going to have to start documenting the problem. I'll make a note of the file(s) that cause the problem.

12

Questions / Re: flac files mysteriously changed to .tmp

« on: April 13, 2022, 02:36:21 AM »

The problem seems to occur when I have the file open in MB and try to save it (with updated tags) in T&R, but the mystery is why it doesn't happen every time. Normally, if I try to save the file in T&R while it's open in MB I get the error "cannot open the file... being used by another process..." When the file is changed to .tmp, I get the error "can't find the file..." And then, of course MB cannot find it either.

13

Questions / flac files mysteriously changed to .tmp

« on: April 11, 2022, 03:12:24 AM »

Hello;
I have been updating my music library, which is stored as .flac on my system.
I play tracks through MusicBee on Windows 10, but use Tag & Rename to tag the files.
I have both apps running on Windows 10 (latest build).
Occasionally, when playing a track in MusicBee, and opening that same track in Tag & Rename to set the ratings, I get an error from T&R telling me that it cannot find the file. When I open Windows file explorer, I see that the file has a .tmp instead of .flac extension.
I understand that I cannot save tags in T&R while the track is playing in MB, so I will always play another track before saving in T&R.
This extension changed to .tmp has only happened about half dozen times in all, and I am always able to recover the file by changing its extension from .tmp to .flac.

I am at a loss to what is happening. I don't know if the problem is with MusicBee or Tag & Rename, but when I searched through my Users/<username>/AppData/Local/MusicBee/InternalCache/ArtistBackdrops folder, I see many files with .tmp extension, so I am assuming it is MusicBee that is changing the file extension.

Any ideas?
Thanks
Ultrarunner

14

Questions / MB won't update ratings tag in .flac files

« on: March 28, 2022, 01:32:30 PM »

I have the 'store ratings in the music file' ticked, and yet if I make changes to the ratings in MB, the rating does not show in Tag & Rename, which I have been using to work with tags in my library.
My entire music library is stored on my local system in .flac format.
If I make changes to ratings in T&R, then do a re-scan in MB, the changes are updated in MB, but not the other way around.
As a matter of fact, if I change the ratings in MB, the rating in T&R disappears, leaving the track with no rating.
This behavior appears to affect only the ratings tag, as I can change other tags (such as title) in MB, and the changes will reflect in T&R.

I will do some more digging and see what I can find, but in the meantime, has anyone had this experience when using MB and another app for tagging flac files?

Thanks for your help
Ultrarunner

15

Beyond MusicBee / Re: No more iTunes app in Microsoft store

« on: March 24, 2022, 11:02:24 PM »

I guess I'm mostly a 'top 100' fan, considering that's what I grew up listening to on the radio; however, I used to listen to FM stations that played progressive Rock, rather than the pop-rock that was played on most AM and some FM stations. That said, I'm always open to new music, so I'll spend some time on bandcamp, and the other sites mentioned, and see what they have to offer.
I'd love to create some music of my own, but never really had much talent for playing. I did play the Viola in grade through high-school, but never got anywhere with it. Why I stuck with it for so long is anyone's guess; I was probably convinced that my parents would be disappointed with me if I gave it up. My dad, who I don't think ever took a music lesson used to play (the Viola or Violin) better than I ever did. Maybe he had lessons when he was a child, but I don't recall him telling me that.
So now I've got a Nektar LX49+ keyboard and Reaper DAW. I sometimes get a bit 'creative' and bang out a few chords or play around with the drum pads. I have been trying to learn it (on and off - mostly off), but still have hopes that I might be able to learn to play something. In any case, it tends to relax me, even though I don't really play the keyboard - I play with it!