itunes renamed filename as tracks?

Those two scripts are to reverse the effects of another script, StripTrackNumbers, that can remove leading disc & track numbers from the filenames. They only work at all if you disable the option to *Keep the iTunes Media folder organised* or the tracks are stored outside the iTunes Media folder. Back in the midsts of time iTunes allowed you to choose whether or not it created leading track and/or disc numbers when it organised files. Those options have long since disappeared from the interface but some people prefer to have bare track titles. While I wouldn't personally advise anyone to delete that data for reasons that should be obvious in this thread I nevertheless wrote the scripts to answer a request elsewhere in these forums.

tt2

Hi, it's turingtest2, tt2 or Steve but your email suggests this one was meant for my attention.

The original script expects to see files named in the following way:

*<Parent path>\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<ext>*

and is used to populate the relevant fields if the tags have no tags. Typically iTunes will have just picked up the filename as *## <Name>* which it puts in the Name field, usually complete with leading track number.

If you can show me exactly what the paths\filenames are for the files you are trying to correct I can tweak my script accordingly.

From this line in your post:

Name: Arch Lustberg - How to sell Yourself D01 T0i (i=1 to N)

it would seem that the file name is in the format:

*<Author> - <Book> D<Disc #> T<Track #>*

If you had correctly migrated your library from your old laptop to the new one, you shouldn't be having any problems with the tags/metadata, or is this a new download? How many tracks are there? Am I right in thinking that PD implies a Public Domain source? If so it might all be clearer if can take a look to see the files myself.

I can tweak my script to read the track numbers from the last two digits but if there are less than ten tracks to worry about it is more effort than manual renaming. Again when the other details such as Album, Album Artist and Album are clearly there to be extracted from the folder names then it is easy enough to do, but bulk changing of these common values for one album is easier to do through Get Info.

tt2

Hi Simone,

For anyone else running across this thread the main feature of the tracks in question is that they are set out like this:

Filename - Name
D01 T01 - Track 1
D01 T02 - Track 2
D01 T03 - Track 3
D01 T04 - Track 4
...
D01 T12 - Track 12
D02 T01 - Track 1
D02 T02 - Track 2
etc.

Rather than my TagFromFilename script, the main tool I would use for this is MediaMonkey. It has a number of features that make it easy to perform certain systematic changes. If you install MediaMonkey and browse to the folder holding these tracks you should be able to see them listed in their file path order which is also the correct play order.

Use *Tools > Scripts > Auto Increment Track #s* to give unique ascending track numbers to all the tracks.
(This is not so easy to do from my scripts as the script may not get the tracks in the correct order).

Now use *Tools > Auto-Organize Files* and enter the pattern *How To Sell Yourself, Part <Track#>* then click OK.

Then use *Tools > Auto-Tag From Filename* with the pattern <Title> and click OK.

Now use *Tools > Auto-Organize Files* and use the pattern *<Track#:2> <Title>* or *<Track#:3> <Title>* if there are more than 99 tracks.

Your files should now be in the following layout:

Filename - Name
01 How To Sell Yourself, Part 1 - How To Sell Yourself, Part 1
02 How To Sell Yourself, Part 2 - How To Sell Yourself, Part 2
03 How To Sell Yourself, Part 3 - How To Sell Yourself, Part 3
04 How To Sell Yourself, Part 4 - How To Sell Yourself, Part 4
etc.

You can then select all tracks and use *View > Properties* to set common properties such as Album & Artist.

Since the above has renamed the tracks you should now remove the existing entries from iTunes, correct the parent folder names, e.g. as <Author><Book> and reimport.

Finally, select the tracks in iTunes, change their *Media Kind* to Audiobook (it will have forgotten), then select them again inside the Audiobooks source and run my script AudiobookSortName to make sure the tracks will be ordered properly on any device. See Audiobooks on iPods for an explanation of what the script does and why.

As ever, make a backup copy of the source files before working with MediaMonkey or my scripts in case you need to undo an unintended change.

tt2

allesim wrote:
I have tried a bit, selecting all tracks and renaming "album" and "artist". It seems there is a little bug in MM. If I select all sometimes MM will change all records's fields, according to my request, sometimes it won't.

Anyway I have figure out how to rename the tags and importing in iTunes was flawless...Thanks Steve! The problem is really solved now!

I have some non-related topics:

1. is there a necessity and why, to use this option in iTunes:
Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to

When such an option could be useful? To create playlists?

Some people prefer to leave their original files in place and create copies for the iTunes Library. That way any edits in iTunes don't affect the originals. Personally I think in encourages unnecessary duplication so turn the feature off.

I prefer to put all my mp3s as, for example c:\Audiobooks\Brian Tracy - ABC.

Or as c:\Audiobooks\Arch Lusteberg - How to sell.

Why shall I need to import them in iTunes, thus doubling the hard disk space?

Thanks a lot!
SA

Yep, feel free to lay out your files any way that makes sense to you. I put all mine inside the media folder, but turn off *Keep iTunes Media folder organized* as I have my own preferences, e.g. separate folders for Comedy & Classical, longer file & folder names etc. The advantage of keeping the media inside the iTunes Media folder is that the library is all in one place for backups and such backups are portable. I.e. a library backed up from one drive is fully functional if accessed via a different path/drive.

You only need to use the iTunes audiobooks feature if you find it useful. It keeps my audiobooks away from the rest of my audio which I personally like.

tt2

allesim wrote:
Dear Steve

This topis is solved.
Now I just wish to make some "cosmetic" changes.

For example: is it possible to have this naming:

how to sell, part 01
how to sell, part 02
..
how to sell, part 11

instead of
how to sell, part 1
how to sell, part 2
..
how to sell, part 11

I am using MM as you suggested, but cannot find the right setting.

For 9 tracks you may find it easier to do this by hand, but going back to my earlier instructions after assigning the track numbers instead of:

Now use *Tools > Auto-Organize Files* and enter the pattern *How To Sell Yourself, Part <Track#>* then click OK.

Do this:

Now use *Tools > Auto-Organize Files* and enter the pattern *How To Sell Yourself, Part <Track#:2>* then click OK.

The ":2" forces the two digit numbering.

2.
In iTunes I defined these tracks as audiofiles, then I imported all of them to my iPhone 4 4.2.1.
Now, no matter which naming I have used for the tracks, they will ALWAYS show as

Part 1 of 59
Part 2 of 59
...
Part 59 of 59

Is this normal?

Yes, one of most irritating features of the iTunes/iDevice ecology is that each device seems to follow different rules for ordering, grouping and displaying content. See more in my article on Grouping tracks into albums.

3.
offtopic question: backup
I work on windows 7 laptop.
As for your knoweledge, which is the best and most comprehensive way to backup iTunes, all its settings, folders, media, etc in such a way that in case of hard disk replacement or PC replacement, I can then restore with few headaches all of those settings? I am not on Apple MAC, so time capsule is NOT an option..

*Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows Only)*
Grab SyncToy 2.1, a free tool from MS. This can be used to copy your entire iTunes library (& other important data folders) onto another hard drive or network share. You can then use SyncToy periodically to synchronise or echo your library to the backup. A preview will show which files need to be updated giving you a chance to spot unexpected changes and during the run only the new or updated files will be copied saving lots of time. And if your media is all organised below the main iTunes folder then you should also be able to open the backup library on any system running the same version of iTunes.

3b
And the bestbackup solution to FULLY backup my iPhone 4, includind settings and data? and how to restore them, if I purchase a new PC and install iTunes from scratch?

When the time comes to migrate (or reformat), do a final sync, close iTunes and open the backup copy on the external/network to make sure it functions properly. (Hold down shift when starting iTunes to choose a different library). Deauthorize the PC if you are upgrading on the same hardware or won't be using it again. Once you connect your external/network drive to the new system you should copy the entire iTunes folder into the new profile and then install iTunes. Install SyncToy again so that you can maintain a backup in future.

A library cloned in this fashion should (as far as iTunes is concerned) be identical to the library previously used to manage your devices, so none of the content should be disturbed.

4.
Very offtopic question:
are you familiar with syncing contacts from Outlook 2010 x32 to iPhone 4? I am struggling to find a proper application

Nope, I sync with Exchange and prefer Office 2003 to the later iterations. I dislike the ribbon. However I would have thought it was just a matter of using the options on the Info. tab when the device is connected.

tt2

allesim wrote:
Dear Steve

This topis is solved.
Now I just wish to make some "cosmetic" changes.

For example: is it possible to have this naming:

how to sell, part 01
how to sell, part 02
..
how to sell, part 11

instead of
how to sell, part 1
how to sell, part 2
..
how to sell, part 11

I am using MM as you suggested, but cannot find the right setting.

For 9 tracks you may find it easier to do this by hand, but going back to my earlier instructions after assigning the track numbers instead of:

Now use *Tools > Auto-Organize Files* and enter the pattern *How To Sell Yourself, Part <Track#>* then click OK.

Do this:

Now use *Tools > Auto-Organize Files* and enter the pattern *How To Sell Yourself, Part <Track#:2>* then click OK.

The ":2" forces the two digit numbering.

2.
In iTunes I defined these tracks as audiofiles, then I imported all of them to my iPhone 4 4.2.1.
Now, no matter which naming I have used for the tracks, they will ALWAYS show as

Part 1 of 59
Part 2 of 59
...
Part 59 of 59

Is this normal?

Yes, one of most irritating features of the iTunes/iDevice ecology is that each device seems to follow different rules for ordering, grouping and displaying content. The behaviour with respect to guest artist/album artists is particularly inconsistent. See more in my article on Grouping tracks into albums.

3.
offtopic question: backup
I work on windows 7 laptop.
As for your knoweledge, which is the best and most comprehensive way to backup iTunes, all its settings, folders, media, etc in such a way that in case of hard disk replacement or PC replacement, I can then restore with few headaches all of those settings? I am not on Apple MAC, so time capsule is NOT an option..

*Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows Only)*
Grab SyncToy 2.1, a free tool from MS. This can be used to copy your entire iTunes library (& other important data folders) onto another hard drive or network share. You can then use SyncToy periodically to synchronise or echo your library to the backup. A preview will show which files need to be updated giving you a chance to spot unexpected changes and during the run only the new or updated files will be copied saving lots of time. And if your media is all organised below the main iTunes folder then you should also be able to open the backup library on any system running the same version of iTunes.

3b
And the bestbackup solution to FULLY backup my iPhone 4, includind settings and data? and how to restore them, if I purchase a new PC and install iTunes from scratch?

When the time comes to migrate (or reformat), do a final sync, close iTunes and open the backup copy on the external/network to make sure it functions properly. (Hold down shift when starting iTunes to choose a different library). Deauthorize the PC if you are upgrading on the same hardware or won't be using it again. Once you connect your external/network drive to the new system you should copy the entire iTunes folder into the new profile and then install iTunes. Install SyncToy again so that you can maintain a backup in future.

A library cloned in this fashion should (as far as iTunes is concerned) be identical to the library previously used to manage your devices, so none of the content should be disturbed.

Note: This goes back to my point recommending that you organising your iTunes content within the iTunes Media folder. If you keep it elsewhere then the content needs to be restored to exactly the same path on the new machine or the library won't be able to access it.

4.
Very offtopic question:
are you familiar with syncing contacts from Outlook 2010 x32 to iPhone 4? I am struggling to find a proper application

Nope, I sync with Exchange and prefer Office 2003 to the later iterations. I dislike the ribbon. However I would have thought it was just a matter of using the options on the Info. tab when the device is connected.

tt2