[Edil]

I need a utility that creates playlists by ID3 tags. The problem with many other utilities (for some reason that escape my comprehension), is that they doesn't support the composer tag filed or actually any other tag field except for artist, album and title.

For example let say that 3 different composer names were found after reading the COMPOSER TAG data. If I specify only the tag field [COMPOSER] without a search keyword, 3 playlists files are going to be created named with the data:

Composer_Bach.m3u
Composer_Vivaldi.m3u
Composer_Mozart.m3u

Since nobody seems to care about the composer let me put another example. If you specify the tag fields [YEAR, COMMENT] and the search keywords [1980, UpBeat] then only one file will be created:

1980_UpBeat.m3u

filled only with tracks that contains those keywords in the specified tags

That can go on and on:

Wildcards or partial expression can be used
[ARTIST, YEAR, COMMENT] [______,199*, mellow]
Madona_1991_mellow.m3u
Madona_1993_mellow.m3u
Cristina Agulera_1996_mellow.m3u
Cristina Aguilera_1998_mellow.m3u

[ARTIST, GENRE, COMPOSER] [_______, Classical Barroque,_____]
Andres Segovia_Classical Barroque_Bach.m3u
Imochichi_Classical Barroque_Vivaldi.m3u
etc, etc.

You got the idea, right?

I wish I could do this but I'm not a programmer I can do simple stuff in GW-BASIC though, so if you tell me how to read tags from GW-BASIC I can give it a try?

 

[Nospam]

Have you considered using iTunes?

 

[Jasper994]

Foobar has the ability to create playlists from a database query. If you have it installed, go into "components" and then "extended playlist generator" then "configure playlist query". Select help and it'll launch a html doc with insturctions on it's abilities and how to use it.

 

[Edil]

I forgot to mention that I will be using the playlists in an iRiver h140. Winamp, iTunes and Windows Media player can not do what I'm asking. They all have some sort of smart or dynamic playlist creators but can not create the files automaticly, so if you have 100 composer names and you want to create a playlist file for each one of them, you have to create those smart or dynamic playlist one by one, even worst when you want to combine tag fields. The only program that I found that creates playlists with the respective file names automaticly is TDT but only for artist, album and title, so again NO COMPOSER SUPPORT!!!!

That is so fustrating because when you have a large collection of classical music tracks, the composer info is as important as the artist tag. Can you live using your DAP without the artist info? For me is the same with the composer info and I need both COMPOSER and ARTIST, so please don't suggest replacing the artist data with the composer data because that's not an option!!!.

I istalled Foobar once but didn't find it friendly, at least in this respect, I will follow your instructions and give it a try again though.

 

[jiiteepee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edil I wish I could do this but I'm not a programmer I can do simple stuff in GW-BASIC though, so if you tell me how to read tags from GW-BASIC I can give it a try?

Reading ID3v2 tags is quite easy (ASCII data, starting from beginning of the .mp3 file). Here you can download documentation for Declared ID3v2 frames.

To get tags read, you need to open the file, check if file is ID3 type tagged, search the 'field key(s)' you are after (eg. 'TCOM' to get Compser data out).

There are many ways to program the job but if you have named all tag 'field key' values the same way (eg. Madonna is always Madonna, etc) then I would suggest you to make it simple :

pseudo code for the main functionality:
-- START --
do
read the filename(next) in directory (filename)
open file1 <path+filename> to read ; !! you get the data for .m3u lines here
check if ID3 tag format used --> if not exit file (jump next_in_loop)
clear data on field_key(s)
scan and read 'field key(s)' TCOM (TDOR, TXXX, ...)
open file2 "field_key1(_key2_key_n).m3u> for output (append mode)
write file2, path+filename
close file2
:next_in_loop
loop (scan all files you have one at the time)
-- END --
You need also program directory changes too.

If GW-BASIC understands long filenames then it maybe would not be hard work to write utility(s) do the job for you. You can also find some source code by searching the web. There are also free windows compatible basic enviroments/compliers available (just google for them).

jiitee

 

[Edil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiiteepee pseudo code for the main functionality: -- START -- do read the filename(next) in directory (filename) open file1 <path+filename> to read ; !! you get the data for .m3u lines here check if ID3 tag format used --> if not exit file (jump next_in_loop) clear data on field_key(s) scan and read 'field key(s)' TCOM (TDOR, TXXX, ...) open file2 "field_key1(_key2_key_n).m3u> for output (append mode) write file2, path+filename close file2 :next_in_loop loop (scan all files you have one at the time) -- END -- You need also program directory changes too. If GW-BASIC understands long filenames then it maybe would not be hard work to write utility(s) do the job for you. You can also find some source code by searching the web. There are also free windows compatible basic enviroments/compliers available (just google for them). jiitee

Jiitee thanks, actually the gw-basic thing was a sinical joke. I doubt you can read long file names with gw-basic, I don't think you can even do that with qbasic!!! possibly with visual basic but again I know nothing about programming, except for those small programs that I did once in gw-basic long time ago.

 

[Edil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 Foobar has the ability to create playlists from a database query. If you have it installed, go into "components" and then "extended playlist generator" then "configure playlist query". Select help and it'll launch a html doc with insturctions on it's abilities and how to use it.

Jasper, installed Foobar and followed what you told me... no good

The extended playlist generator is similar to the dynamic or smart playlist of iTunes and Windows Media Player.

To make myself clearer lets forget the composer ok? (nobody cares for composer which bothers me off but lets put that aside). Let use the ARTIST tag:

*There are 384 different artist names in my collection.
*I'm going to instruct the program "go look at the artist ID3 tag"
*The software is going to automatically create 384 files.
*The software is going to name those files using the names of those 384 artists.
*On each file the program is going to automatically put the tracks corresponding to each particular artist.

Of course I will like to create plylists by combining tags as I described in the previous post.

EDITED FOR CONTENT

 

[Edil]

Now I'm using MP3Tag ability to dump the entire information from the MP3 tags to a text files. I'm going to create a program using Qbasic I though that I will have problems creating long names with the OPEN IN, OUT, APPEND command but I will use the command SHELL instead and let windows create the file I want. Then I will use the command MID, LEFT, RIGHT to get the data from the text file.