Author Topic: Split artist issue after 3.4  (Read 2831 times)

Tybot

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 336
Just checking if anyone else has the same issue. I updated to 3.4.7749 and recently notice that "Split" produces a weird result in "Multiple Artist Splitter"

Display artist: Mel Smith & Kim Wilde

artists: instrument/role
Mel Smith & Kim Wilde: Artist
Mel Smith: Performer
Kim Wilde: Performer
Mel Smith: Vocals
Kim Wilde: Vocals

Clicking "Split" on this one results in:

Display artist: Mel Smith & Kim Wilde

artists: instrument/role
Mel Smith & Kim Wilde: Artist

I tried replacing the ampersand with "and" but it still produces the same result. If there are no instrument/role entries, only one Artist entry, then nothing at all happens when clicking "Split".



phred

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9299
I tried replacing the ampersand with "and" but it still produces the same result.
What happens if you use a semi-colon instead? ";"
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

Tybot

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 336
I tried replacing the ampersand with "and" but it still produces the same result.
What happens if you use a semi-colon instead? ";"

That seems to work fine. Perhaps all this is an intentional change that I've missed then? I looked for a changelog for the new version but I don't think there was one.

phred

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9299
That seems to work fine. Perhaps all this is an intentional change that I've missed then? I looked for a changelog for the new version but I don't think there was one.
Certainly not a recent change. The semi-colon has been the separator since Day One.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

frankz

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3834
The ; splits the artists automatically when the tag is read.

But it used to be that there were other things like "&" that, when you opened the splitter and manually hit the "split" button on an artist with one of these connecters in their name, would throw the artists down into the entry boxes as separate artists while maintaining the "&" (or whatever) version of the name in the display artist box.  It was handy.

Right now, it looks like "&" doesn't work (I'm not sure that it ever did, but if Tybot says it did I believe it), the word "and" doesn't work, and "/" doesn't work, but "," does.  Those are all I tested.

I think I remember this being a requested change that the wishlister assured us made total sense and wouldn't mess up anyone's process  ::)   I may be wrong on that, but it sounds familiar.
Last Edit: March 31, 2021, 04:00:47 PM by frankz

Steven

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 34312
i have updated the patch version to include &

Tybot

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 336
frankz got it correct. I've been using musicbee for years and for as long as I can remember, the "split" button would split artist into separate fields if the display artist field contained "&" / "," / "with" / "and" / and "feat". Those are the ones I know off the top of my head. It was really handy and I don't see how it could have caused issues for anyone. It did exactly what one would expect by clicking a button titled "split".

steven acknowledged that he would update the patch to include "&" and that's good enough for me as that character is the most common one in these occurrences, at least for me, even if I don't understand the reason why it was changed at all.

Angelo

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
After trying everything to try to fix the splitter I found out now that the "/" is no longer working. For me this is a big thing, as I always use this to seperate artists. And I have a lot of them. Is there any way that this function returns?

Steven

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 34312

Angelo

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Hi Steven, thank you for doing this! I appreciate it. Unfortunately I do not see how I can replace existing MusicBee application files. I have no experience in this, so I assumed I must have an existing MusicBee folder with the same files in it as the ones you have in the patch, which I then replace. But I can't find this and I am afraid I will break something if I add the files from the patch to my existing MusicBee folder, which has different files. I also tried starting MusicBee from the .exe file in the new folder, but this gives an error message. I will see if I can find tips on how to do this in the forum.

phred

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9299
If you're using the Windows Store version of MB then you can not apply the patch.

If you're using the portable version, then the MB directory is wherever you put it.

If you're using the installer version, try looking in C:\Program Files (x86) for the MB directory. It's been many, many years since I used the installer, so I don't remember exactly where MB installs.

Running MB from the .exe in the ZIP will do what you saw it do. It won't run. It needs to be in your existing MB directory.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

sveakul

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2438
I assumed I must have an existing MusicBee folder with the same files in it as the ones you have in the patch, which I then replace. But I can't find this and I am afraid I will break something if I add the files from the patch to my existing MusicBee folder, which has different files.
It sounds like you've been looking for a MusicBee folder with ONLY the same files as are in patch;  the patch only contains the files it needs to replace to provide the fix, it leaves the others alone.

Go to your actual "MusicBee" folder (which will have LOTS of files in it), put the patch in it, and "run" it to extract its contents therein, letting it replace the files it wants to.

As phred said, the caveat here is if you have the "Windows Store" version of MusicBee, in which case you're SOL with the patch.
Last Edit: April 10, 2021, 10:04:10 PM by sveakul

Angelo

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Thanks phred and sveakul for the advice! It turns out that I have the windows store version  :(

Batmang

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
If you make note of where the Musicbee Library database is, you shouldn't have any trouble switching over. Just point the new installation to the old database (File>Library>Create New Library>choose an existing library that no longer appears)