In order to most effectively manage audio Tracks, they must first be added to the Library. This is done automatically the first time the application is run. Subsequently, you can initiate this process manually:
| • | To (re)scan your entire drive, simply click File > Add/Rescan Tracks to the Library on the main menu, or press <Insert> |
| • | To add or rescan a selected folder, Drive, or Network Location, select a folder in the My Computer or Location nodes, then right-click and select Add/Rescan Tracks to the Library or press <Insert> . Alternatively, you can manually enter paths in the 'Selected Folders' box, though each path must be enclosed in quotes. |
You'll be prompted to choose what types of audio files to scan for, to modify which folders to scan, or set other options. Once you press 'Ok', MediaMonkey will scan the selected locations for the types of files that you chose, and:
| • | Add any newly found music files and associated Album Art (from files or tags) to the Library. |
| • | Catalog the contents of any CDs that are found to the Library. CDs that have been added to the Library will appear in the Locations node of the Library. If any CD album is selected, the Tracks on the album will appear greyed out if they're inaccessible, and in black if the CD is inserted. |
| • | Add any .m3u playlists that are found to the Library, along with any of the Tracks contained within the playlists (if they can be found). |
| • | Notify you of any tracks that are missing and give you the option to remove them or find them |
| • | Update the properties of any scanned Tracks that have changed (configurable--by default, only Tracks whose filesize or timestamp has changed are updated). |
| • | Give you the option of importing missing ratings, play count, and last played data associated with the tracks from a Windows Media Player, iTunes or Winamp database, if one resides on your computer. |
Note: If you wish to interrupt this process at any time, simply right-click on the status bar near the bottom of the screen, and click Terminate. If you wish to reduce the amount of CPU cycles used during the process, you may similarly right-click on the status bar, select Change Priority, and choose a lower priority level.
Automatically Updating the Library with the File Monitor
The above process can be automated using the File Monitor ( Tools > Options > Library > File Monitor ). If enabled, it monitors specified folders for any changes at startup or while MediaMonkey is running, and automatically updates the library accordingly. It behaves slightly differently than a manual scan as it:
| • | Automatically removes any Tracks that have been deleted (configurable) |
| • | Automatically changes the location of any Tracks that have been moved (configurable) |
Note: Although the File Monitor does monitor for moved files, it only searches the specified directories for the moved file, and consequently will not detect the location of the moved file if it has been moved to an unmonitored directory. For these situations, you can Retrieve Moved/Missing Tracks as described below.
Manually Retrieve Moved/Missing Tracks
If Tracks have been moved by another application to a new location, MediaMonkey will automatically find the Track if the File Monitor is configured to monitor the directory to which the Track has been moved. For other cases:
| 1. | Go to /Library/Files to Edit/ Dead Links in the left hand pane of the MediaMonkey Explorer. You will see a list of Tracks that are inaccessible because they have either been moved or deleted. |
| 2. | Select the Track(s) you want to find, and click File > Retrieve Moved/Missing Tracks . |
| 3. | Choose which drives you would like to scan for the Track. |
| 4. | A dialog will appear showing moved files that have been found, files that haven't been moved, and files that couldn't be found. Of those that have been found, select the check box next to them to confirm that you want to update the library with the location indicated. |
Note: Tracks are found based on filesize and timestamp or track metadata (length, Artist, Album and Title).
Page url:
http://www.mediamonkey.com/sw/webhelp/frame/index.html?addingexistingfilestothelibrary.htm
