After some time experimenting with same goal in mind i discovered this pretty simple solution: you can call it hack, but it actually works: 1 -> 01, 01 - > 01, A1 -> A1

Hi,
In Scripting yes but not in File masks as it would make it too complicated.

A less comprehensive version of that could work actually...
It is possible to test for the first character or track no = "A" or "B" isn't it? If so then that would cover most cases I would think.

Unless it is possible to test for "character = alpha" / "does not = numerical" ?

I'm guessing that would be the best to search for exact Track# eg. $if(<Track#>,$if(<Track#>=A1,<Track#>,$if(<Track#>=B1,<Track#>,$if(<Track#>=A2, <Track#>, ..... and so on until you cover all the cases. Unfortunately I'm not certain what you are trying to Archive, maybe it is better to create several Auto Playlists with track criteria you need and then simple use them?

Are you trying to recreate vinyl side order (A1 B2, B1 B2)?

I am trying to do that in combination with <Track#:2> so that I don't need 2 separate masks for both regular numbering and vinyl alphanumeric numbering

For example, this works for regular numbering
$if(<Track#>,<Track#:2>

and this works for alphanumeric numbering
$if(<Track#>,<Track#>

Is there anyway to combine the 2?

If you have all numbers, it will add a leading leading zero depending on what ":#" you have,
for ex., if single digit, ":2" adds 1 leading zero; ":3" adds 2 leading zeros...and so on.

If you have all letters, it will subtract the letter at the end depending what ":#" you have,
for ex., if "ABCDE", ":2" results in "AB"; ":3" results in "ABC" and so on.

If you have a dual position letter-number combination, the letter is replaced with a leading zero(s)
depending on what ":#" you have,
for ex., if "A1", ":2" results in "01"; ":3" results in "003"

If you have a multi-position letter-number combination, the letter(s) appears to be subtracted or replaced depending on position (left or right)
and a leading zero added depending on what ":#" you have
for ex., if "AA1", ":2" results in "01"; "if "11A", ":2" results in "011"


Its functionality seems to depend on what you have in the field, although as Lowlander suggests, ":2" was likely intended
primarily (at least maybe originally) for numbers.

Are you trying to recreate vinyl side order (A1 B2, B1 B2)?

Thanks for your answer

I've read that Track# was switched to text in MM3. Quote from the forum (2007):

Track number was changed from numeric to alphanumeric due to user requests that necessitated the change.
We have no intention to switch back, though we may add a couple of improvements to improve consistency of the information/presentation.

The field does accept alphanumeric input, but later on it is treated as numeric? Seems a bit inconsistent, maybe a design compromise (scarcely documented).

As the field is supposed to be numeric I presume that adding :2 treats it as numeric resulting in the loss of the letters.

Hello, when using Auto-Organize Files with alphanumeric track field values (e.g. A1, A2,..., B1, B2,...) and <Track#:2> in the mask, the letter gets replaced by "0" in the resulting filename. So, if <Track#:2>_<Title> then
A1 -> 01_<Title>
A2 -> 02_<Title>
B1 -> 01_<Title>
B2 -> 02_<Title>

10 -> 10_<Title>
1 -> 01_<Title>

If I omit the parameter and use just <Track#>_<Title> then
A1 -> A1_<Title>
B1 -> B1_<Title>

Is this working as expected? Why the padding if the track is already two chars long?