Weird Synchronisation issue

[wquatan]

I'm trying to sync MM4 with my Nokia (as I did with MM3)

I have specified :
in options, sync music files to \Music\
in options, playlists, for the playlist : Foldername\<Filename>
the folder exists on target (but I even think that doesn't matter)

After syncing : there is only one file in \Music\ named _1.mp3 (which is not the filename)
When doing the sync a second time, the _1.mp3 is offered for deletion (as not in the list), but re-copied the same way

Am I doing something wrong, or is there a problem ?

PS : in MM3 I didn't have that problem

[nohitter151]

Are you using auto-sync? Did you check some items/playlists to sync in the auto-sync list tab?

[wquatan]

Yes.

In the meanwhile it's getting even worse.
While playing around with the playlist sync-settings (Edit-button top-right of Auto-sync list) suddenly a red text popped up (top-right too) saying 3.5.3 (or something like that). I think that it was when I deactivated the "use extended M3U"

Since that, I don't get any-more the Edit-button for the Auto-sync list, and therefore can't set the destination.

Then I started again with a new database (the old one was migrated) and relaunched the add files for all folders.
Then I saw that the m3u files hadn't been imported. By doing the add files once more, now every folder separately , MM4 imported the m3U-files. I noticed also that MM3 imported these into "Imported M3U playlists" and MM4 uses "Imported playlists"

The edit-button is still missing for the Auto-sync list !

[nohitter151]

I don't know which "Edit" button you mean, there is no such button in any of the device plugins. The destination path is set under the "Options" tab, then "Destination".

[wquatan]

Click on the portable device
Click on the Auto-Sync List tab
Open "Playlists" -> Then you see all available playlists
Open "Imported Playlists" -> There you can select the one to be synced
Select a playlist -> At the top-right there was a EDIT-button allowing to change several settings related to the synchronisation of that playlist (ex destination) and the options for the m3U

Example:
Under options/destination I specified the overall destination "\Music\"
Via the EDIT-button I specified the destination of that playlist "FolderName\" and the filenameformat "<FileName>"
The result : the playlist was synced on the device in "\Music\Foldername\song.mp3"

The problem I mentionned at the start of this topic, is for sure related to the missing EDIT-button. It looks like some _1.mp3 default (within the options/destination "\Music\") is used because of not having the other specs.

In MM3 this was the key functionality (flexibility) to allow syncing onto the device, in a hierarchy completely different from the source and this for every selected playlist

I started using MM3 two weeks ago with MediaMonkey_3.2.5.1306. Maybe someone still using that version can confirm

[wquatan]

I did some testing

Removed MM4 completely
Installed MM3
This is was it lookes like in MM3 http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14013341/MediaMonkey/MediaMonkey_3.2.5.1306%20A.gif

Upgraded to MM4
With this result http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14013341/MediaMonkey/MediaMonkey_4.0.0.1459%20A.gif
See the yellow marked edit-button which disappeared after a while
See the name of the "Imported M3U playlists"

Removed MM4 completely
Re-installed MM4
See the missing edit-button http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14013341/MediaMonkey/MediaMonkey_4.0.0.1459%20D.gif
See the name of "Imported playlists"

Findings :
When MM3 is upgrade to MM4, the EDIT-button is available but disappears after a while (?). Using the button the set the directory and <filename> has no effect --> the data aren't saved
When MM4 is fresh installed the EDIT-button is NOT available
MM3 uses "Imported M3U playslists"
MM4 uses "Imported playlists"

I think this is also the reason of "After syncing : there is only one file in \Music\ named _1.mp3 (which is not the filename)" reason why I started this topic

[nohitter151]

I don't know how you got this Edit button to show in MM4, but I do know it should not show there. The edit button was removed in MM4 because the whole device layout was changed, and you can achieve the same results via the "Destination" section.

[wquatan]

I got the EDIT-button by upgrading MM3 to MM4. Apparently it was foreseen but not finished or abandoned

And the button should be there and working, as completely different functionality than the Destination section.

The Destination section allows to specify an overall destination for that device for a specific type of files, ex : music
The Edit-button allowed to specify a location (and file naming) on the player for a specific playlist.

Without that I'll have to go back to MM3 (and have again a problem with the missing mask <length>)

[nohitter151]

And the button should be there and working, as completely different functionality than the Destination section.

No, the devs intended it to be removed. See:
http://www.jirihajek.net/MMwiki/index.p ... evice_Sync
http://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=6490

[wquatan]

Maybe the devs intended to remove it as seen in http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14013341/MediaMonkey/MM%204.gif, this doesn't mean it's a good idea.

It's not possible anymore
- to determine/create the destination (folder) per playlist, independant of any tag in the files, but based on the users functional needs / wishes or technical restrictions of the device
- nor is it possible to apply a different file-name mask per playlist which can be necessary if the files for one playlist need to be modified due to naming conventions (limitations) of the portable device and not at all for another playlist.

If that feature is removed, a lot of flexibility is gone out of MM.

No good at all.
I really hope this decision will be undone, otherwise MM4 is unuseable for me.

[nohitter151]

- to determine/create the destination (folder) per playlist, independant of any tag in the files, but based on the users functional needs / wishes or technical restrictions of the device
- nor is it possible to apply a different file-name mask per playlist which can be necessary if the files for one playlist need to be modified due to naming conventions (limitations) of the portable device and not at all for another playlist.

Sure, you could just use the <Playlist>\ mask. So each file would be copied to a folder the same name as the playlist it is in. Or is this different from what you are referring to?

[wquatan]

Sure, you could just use the <Playlist>\ mask. So each file would be copied to a folder the same name as the playlist it is in. Or is this different from what you are referring to?

Sure, under circumstances the <playlist> mask might be an option, but certainly not always as being a 1-N relation (one setup for many -all- playlists) instead of N-N (many setups for many playlists)

As an example, assume the following :

- I have two mp3-collections from cd's, one cd of hits per year, each being in its own directory and with it's own playlist
- assume I want to have the mp3's (playlist) out of the folder "Collection one 1980 hits" and those out of "1980 hits collection two" in a single folder "\Music\1980Hits" in the portable device
- assume the naming of the first collection also need to be modified for technical reasons, the second collection being ok

In MM3 that all was possible. In MM4 (without the edit-button) none of above are possible

[nohitter151]

Code: Select all

$if(<Playlist>=Collection one 1980 hits,Path 1\,Path 2\)

in other words, you can:

Code: Select all

$if(<Playlist>=X,Use this path\,Else use this path\)

of course you can nest them:

Code: Select all

$if(<Playlist>=X,Use this path A\,$if(<Playlist>=Y,Use this path B\,$if(<Playlist>=Z,Use this path C\,Else use this path D\)))

But perhaps I still am still misunderstanding.

[wquatan]

$if(<Playlist>=Collection one 1980 hits,Path 1\,Path 2\)

Come on, that was an example. And the $if is even not correct.

To continue into the same .... , let's make it 50 years out of 5 collections to go into one folder per 5 years, and the year of the source-folder can be any notation of digits or characters. Go ahead with $if, I won't

I give up.

A feature giving flexibility was left out of MM4, there is no workaround to get back that flexibility by other means, although it seems difficult to admit.

Sad to see that MM got into the iTunes (or M$) way-of-thinking : We decide what's good for you, how you, the user, should behave

[nohitter151]

Look, I'm not saying that this was my decision or that it was the right one to make. In my understanding the devs were just trying to simplify the device config screen. I am just trying to help you out here by presenting the facts - the feature was removed, this is possibly another way to achieve what you are trying to do. But clearly I don't understand your use-case and I guess I should just stop posting here.