Author Topic: "Replace file" feature  (Read 34447 times)

redwing

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Originated from this thread: http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=8538.0

Say, you want to replace an audio file in your music library with a new one.

How it would work:

1. You place the new file in inbox (no need for tagging)
2. Go to music library and right-click on the track you want to update
3. Select "Replace file" sub-menu which will then display the list of files in inbox
4. Select the new file you just placed in inbox
5. MB overwrites the original file with the new one while retaining all the tags and metadata of the original including Date Added, play count, rating, and all the (auto)playlists which it belongs to.

If implemented, this would make the process for updating audio file a lot simpler and easier.
Last Edit: January 19, 2013, 06:45:47 PM by redwing

Bee-liever

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maybe "update" would be a better term than "replace"  ???
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redwing

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maybe "update" would be a better term than "replace"  ???

I had thought so too, but then it occurred to me that it could be confused with rescanning files for updating tags.

tom_dl

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I've been meaning to post this wish for ages.

Massive +1!

Bee-liever

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I had thought so too, but then it occurred to me that it could be confused with rescanning files for updating tags.

True. Maybe "Upgrade" or "Repair"? "Replace" just makes me think that you'd be deleting one and replacing it with the other, without keeping the tags.

BTW +1
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psychoadept

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A possibly simpler solution that would do about the same thing might be to have the tag copying function include playlist placement, etc.
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redwing

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A possibly simpler solution that would do about the same thing might be to have the tag copying function include playlist placement, etc.

MB already has two kinds of tag copying functions (whether to include play count and rating). Making that three wouldn't make things simpler in any way. Plus, you would still have to tag, copy, and delete a file.

Zak

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I think this would be a useful feature but find Redwing's suggested implementation overly complicated.

For one, it assumes everyone uses the Inbox which isn't true.
For two, it means moving your replacement file to a monitored folder to make it appear in the Inbox, which seems unnecessary because you're only going to move it again anyway.
For three, if you haven't tagged your replacement file (and there's no point, because you're about to replace all of its tags anyway), you won't easily be able to identify which track will be the replacement unless you display all the file paths which would be messy.

I think it would suffice if the "Replace file" menu command just displays a standard file browser dialog to select the replacement file. MusicBee can then take care of the file moving, renaming and tagging.
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redwing

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I think this would be a useful feature but find Redwing's suggested implementation overly complicated.

For one, it assumes everyone uses the Inbox which isn't true.
For two, it means moving your replacement file to a monitored folder to make it appear in the Inbox, which seems unnecessary because you're only going to move it again anyway.
For three, if you haven't tagged your replacement file (and there's no point, because you're about to replace all of its tags anyway), you won't easily be able to identify which track will be the replacement unless you display all the file paths which would be messy.

I think it would suffice if the "Replace file" menu command just displays a standard file browser dialog to select the replacement file. MusicBee can then take care of the file moving, renaming and tagging.

So your suggestion is to use a standard file browser dialog instead of inbox? No objection with your way, either.

greenday1987

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I like Zac's idea but I suspect that would be a fairly major coding project and probably more hassle than it's worth. I wouldn't think that many users would use it
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psychoadept

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Yeah, Zak's idea seems sound, if it can be pulled off.  I have over 10K files in my inbox, currently, so that method would be kind of impossible.
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redwing

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I have over 10K files in my inbox, currently

What are they doing there? I'm just curious.

Steven

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i've actually already implemented this along the lines Zak has suggested. I will make it available when i get a chance to complete testing it.

redwing

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i've actually already implemented this along the lines Zak has suggested. I will make it available when i get a chance to complete testing it.

Fantastic! I'm looking forward to the update. Thanks!

Zak

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Gotta love a developer who implements feature requests before they've been requested.  :D
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