Clearing tag fields?

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MMFrLife
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Clearing tag fields?

Post by MMFrLife »

Does anyone know of a way to clear tag fields by choosing which ones you want to clear from a group of them
without having to always choose them one-at-a-time in properties, in-line, RegExp F&R specific or all inclusive all text fields,
and clear field add-on?
Last edited by MMFrLife on Fri Feb 12, 2016 6:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
MM user since 2003 (lifetime lic. 2012) "Trying to imagine life without music gives me a headache"
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dypsis
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Re: Clearing Tag Fields?

Post by dypsis »

I am not 100% sure of what you are asking, but have you tried Mp3tag?
It is very good with tags and removing standard and non-standard tags.
MMFrLife
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by MMFrLife »

In properties, for example, to clear a specified group, you would check each box. But next time you want to do this, you have to painstakingly
do it all over again.

I'm talking about something like an add-on that has a menu of fields where you choose/set the ones you want cleared, "one time".
It will stay that way unless you change the layout again. This way you can just press one button or icon everytime you want that particular layout
of fields cleared. Kind of like the Copy/Paste menu in Advanced Duplicate Find and Fix.

I tried Mp3tag years ago. Does it do what I'm talking about? I don't remember.
MM user since 2003 (lifetime lic. 2012) "Trying to imagine life without music gives me a headache"
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Please take a moment to read the bottom of the linked page to support the one and only - ZvezdanD! (the "originator" since 2006).
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ZvezdanD
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by ZvezdanD »

With the RegExp Find & Replace add-on you could choose All Text Fields item from the Into combo box with the "Clear <Into Field>" preset and it would be applied to all fields that are selected on the Search sheet of the Options dialog box. And, of course, you could assign every preset to some hotkey or toolbar button to be able to apply such preset without opening the RegExp dialog box.

However, if you don't want to change the Search settings in the Options dialog box just because of that use with the add-on, you could create one batch preset in RegExp v5 that could include several "Clear <Into Field>" presets, each one with the specific different field selected in the Into combo box, e.g. Artist, Title... You would create that batch preset just once, every next time you should just press its hotkey or click on the corresponding toolbar button to apply it.
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MMFrLife
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by MMFrLife »

ZvezdanD wrote:With the RegExp Find & Replace add-on you could choose All Text Fields item from the Into combo box with the "Clear <Into Field>" preset and it would be applied to all fields that are selected on the Search sheet of the Options dialog box.
That's great and it works. But like you mentioned, I don't want to have to change search criteria for clearing layout.
ZvezdanD wrote:you could create one batch preset in RegExp v5 that could include several "Clear <Into Field>" presets, each one with the specific different field selected in the Into combo box, e.g. Artist, Title... You would create that batch preset just once, every next time you should just press its hotkey or click on the corresponding toolbar button to apply it.
That is what I want to do. How do you approach it?
Do you set it up with "a single" field > save it then add more?
I chose "clear <into field>" with "all text fields". I checked "batch". I altered the name of the preset. I added at least one field, like "genre". I tried to save it.
It says something like "it already exists, try renaming menu or toggle batch". I'm sure I'm doing it wrong.
MM user since 2003 (lifetime lic. 2012) "Trying to imagine life without music gives me a headache"
Top 2 scripts: RegExp Find & Replace (e.v.) and Magic Nodes (e.v.) ZvezdanD's scripts site
Please take a moment to read the bottom of the linked page to support the one and only - ZvezdanD! (the "originator" since 2006).
MMW 4.1.31.1919; 5.0.4.2690 || back it up...frequently!
|| software for power users: "Q-Dir" (free alt. to explorer) and file/folder renamer: "ReNamer" (den4b)
"The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth"
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ZvezdanD
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by ZvezdanD »

Let say you want to clear Artist, Title and Genre:
1. open Preset Settings dialog box and choose "Clear <Into Field>" preset;
2. choose Artist from the Into combo box;
3. rename the preset to "Clear Artist";
3. tick on the Batch check box;
4. enter some name for the new batch in the Menu combo box, e.g. "Clear multiple fields";
5. click on the Add button;
6. choose the previously created preset (if it is not already selected);
7. choose Title from the Into combo box;
8. rename the preset to "Clear Title";
9. click on the Add button;
10. choose the previously created preset (or any other preset from the same batch, if it is not already selected);
11. choose Genre from the Into combo box;
12. rename the preset to "Clear Genre";
13. click on the Add button.

If you want to assign some hotkey or toolbar button to the batch, you need to use the corresponding option for the first preset in the batch. In the previous example you need to set Hotkey or Toolbar options for "Clear Artist" preset.
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MMFrLife
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by MMFrLife »

OK! Now we're cookin' with fire! :D

Followed your gracious instructions and set up the start of one that I will continue to work on.
Originally, I thought it batched several instructions within a single preset. It turns out it's just the opposite.
It batches several separates as one (who knew? Not me! :wink: ). Anyway, I tested it out and it works swimmingly. :P

Thanks again! Mucho Apreciated!!!

btw, The toolbar button option is really a menu item that is button-like. Is there a way to get it to show as it's own button/icon next
to the add-on/preset menu buttons? I associated an icon with it.

Also, is it possible, using the same or a similar method as employed in the above example, to batch together presets that are different (not based on the same
core preset)?

Now its not so swimmingly :(
Addendum:
1.) I got the icon button to show on the toolbar for the Clear Field batch. However, in button/icon form, it only performs the function of the first preset in the batch :( .
It works fine on the menu. What is going on?

2.) When I try to add Lyricist to the clear batch it says that it already exists, but the preset it points to is about Lyrics not Lyricist and its find mask is
significantly different than the clear field one. It points to, Clear Lyrics greater than x line(s) but less than y lines.... It asks me if I want to modify this.
I say no, thinking it will still add what I want to the clear field batch without modifying the other one it points to, but it does not add it :( . What to do?

3.) I added clear rating to the batch. When the batch is executed, it has an error/problem if rating is originally "-1" (unknown). It asks me,
ok - abort - retry - ignore - ignore to all. When I choose ignore to all it does not work. I have to ignore for each track :( . For other fields that are already empy and don't use a number value, they reclear just fine. Is there a way to get empty fields with values to do that without a hiccup in the batch
process? It may do this if there is any value in the field. I haven't tried anything else with rating yet. I'll test and edit back here. [EDIT] Yes, the error occurs for all
ratings values. Error shows a value of -1 for unknown, 5 for 0, 20 for 1 star, 40 for 2 star, etc.. Anyway, natively in MM (properties) if tracks are selected with unknown
track ratings and check box is selected for unknown (not that you would bother checking it if all tracks were unknown, and that's what you wanted, but still), it just seems
to skip over (no hiccup). If tracks are selected with various ratings, including some unknown, it also just seems to skip over (no hiccup) the unknowns and clear the rated ones if box is checked for unkown.
It's not a batch issue either. For rating preset, I toggled the batch off and renamed the preset menu to single it out, but I got the same error/result.
MM user since 2003 (lifetime lic. 2012) "Trying to imagine life without music gives me a headache"
Top 2 scripts: RegExp Find & Replace (e.v.) and Magic Nodes (e.v.) ZvezdanD's scripts site
Please take a moment to read the bottom of the linked page to support the one and only - ZvezdanD! (the "originator" since 2006).
MMW 4.1.31.1919; 5.0.4.2690 || back it up...frequently!
|| software for power users: "Q-Dir" (free alt. to explorer) and file/folder renamer: "ReNamer" (den4b)
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Eyal
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by Eyal »

Skins for MediaMonkey: Cafe, Carbon, Helium, Spotify, Zekton. [ Wiki Zone ].
ZvezdanD
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by ZvezdanD »

MMFrLife, you should have posted a new post instead of editing the old one, because I didn't get the report about it in the e-mail and could not know about it if Eyal didn't have a new post in this thread. Besides, I suggest that your questions regarding RegExp should be posted in the related forum, not here.

Anyway...
MMFrLife wrote:The toolbar button option is really a menu item that is button-like. Is there a way to get it to show as it's own button/icon next
to the add-on/preset menu buttons? I associated an icon with it.
I don't understand what you are talking. Every preset that has the Toolbar option turned on would get its own toolbar button in the same row as "RegExp Find and Replace" and "RegExp Tagging Presets" toolbar buttons. If you are talking about the "RegExp Tagging Presets" button, yes indeed, you would get the dropdown menu when you click on it, but that was always the case, even with the last freely available version of the add-on; the only difference is that that new menu has added several add-on options beside of the preset groups.
MMFrLife wrote:is it possible, using the same or a similar method as employed in the above example, to batch together presets that are different (not based on the same
core preset)?
Yes, of course. You just need to specify the same batch using the Menu option. Please read the Usage section of the Web page of the new version, if you didn't already, since it has the information about batches.
MMFrLife wrote:1.) I got the icon button to show on the toolbar for the Clear Field batch. However, in button/icon form, it only performs the function of the first preset in the batch :( .
It works fine on the menu.
I think that I implemented it, but if you say so I will fix it in the next update.
MMFrLife wrote:2.) When I try to add Lyricist to the clear batch it says that it already exists, but the preset it points to is about Lyrics not Lyricist and its find mask is
significantly different than the clear field one. It points to, Clear Lyrics greater than x line(s) but less than y lines.... It asks me if I want to modify this.
I say no, thinking it will still add what I want to the clear field batch without modifying the other one it points to, but it does not add it :( . What to do?
I am not sure, but I suppose that you are talking about the auto-complete behavior of combo boxes of the program, which is something that I cannot change. As you type the name of the preset the program will auto-suggests the name of the first existing preset that has the same begin as the typed one, in this case "Clear Lyric..." When that happen, i.e. when the program completes what you are typing with the name of some existing preset, you should delete the added text and continue with typing.
MMFrLife wrote:3.) I added clear rating to the batch. When the batch is executed, it has an error/problem if rating is originally "-1" (unknown). It asks me,
ok - abort - retry - ignore - ignore to all. When I choose ignore to all it does not work. I have to ignore for each track :( . For other fields that are already empy and don't use a number value, they reclear just fine. Is there a way to get empty fields with values to do that without a hiccup in the batch
process? It may do this if there is any value in the field. I haven't tried anything else with rating yet. I'll test and edit back here. [EDIT] Yes, the error occurs for all
ratings values. Error shows a value of -1 for unknown, 5 for 0, 20 for 1 star, 40 for 2 star, etc.. Anyway, natively in MM (properties) if tracks are selected with unknown
track ratings and check box is selected for unknown (not that you would bother checking it if all tracks were unknown, and that's what you wanted, but still), it just seems
to skip over (no hiccup). If tracks are selected with various ratings, including some unknown, it also just seems to skip over (no hiccup) the unknowns and clear the rated ones if box is checked for unkown.
It's not a batch issue either. For rating preset, I toggled the batch off and renamed the preset menu to single it out, but I got the same error/result.
I am lost here with your description. I suppose you have a problem only when trying to clear the Rating field, right? The "Clear <Into Field>" preset that I suggested as a pattern for this batch is applicable only for textual fields, which Rating is not. If you want to clear Rating, i.e. to make it unknown, you should specify -1 in the Replace with combo box.
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Just Guessing
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by Just Guessing »

Two programs I always rave about for music management; MediaMonkey & JAIKOZ.

For bulk tag manipulation, Jaikoz is the right tool for the Job. And I mean a powertool. Its not free, but its one of those programs I have always been glad I invested in. Going back and forth between Jaikoz and Mediamonkey requires options be set intelligently (using same ID3 flavor for example) but I strongly recommend the software combo.
MMFrLife
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by MMFrLife »

Anyone interested in the RegExp F&R disscussion, follow/continue here.

@Eyal,
Thanks. I mentioned that one in the op. It's been my experience using it that it only deals with a single field at a time. Yes, If I had gotten desparate I may have used
that one for rating or another numerical field. Although, it's not any quicker to get to than the checkbox in properties. Do you know of a way to modify the
code to include batch fields execution?

@Just Guessing
Thanks. I tried Jaikoz a while back and couldn't really get it to work, but I didn't invest much time into it. Will it do specifically what I want?
I'm pretty happy with RegExp F&R, I just gotta get some kinks worked out.
MM user since 2003 (lifetime lic. 2012) "Trying to imagine life without music gives me a headache"
Top 2 scripts: RegExp Find & Replace (e.v.) and Magic Nodes (e.v.) ZvezdanD's scripts site
Please take a moment to read the bottom of the linked page to support the one and only - ZvezdanD! (the "originator" since 2006).
MMW 4.1.31.1919; 5.0.4.2690 || back it up...frequently!
|| software for power users: "Q-Dir" (free alt. to explorer) and file/folder renamer: "ReNamer" (den4b)
"The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth"
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Just Guessing
Posts: 64
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:06 pm

Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by Just Guessing »

I offer the jaikoz sales pitch more in a general sense, because I have gratitude and repect for this forums contributors, and I think its a favor to let folks know Jaikoz is out there. I always see mp3tag mentioned, but I don't think its even close which is better.

But, specifically, yes - drag a folder/selection of files to jaikoz... from menu select 'find and replace' ... select what column to search. Very easy.

If your talking about deleting ALL entries (even though they're filled with different values), that's a right-click-empty column in Jaikoz, and Properties/clear tag field/checkbox checked for that tag/'enter' in Mediamonkey.

I apologize, but I'm not confident I understand what you're exactly after.
MMFrLife
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Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by MMFrLife »

Just Guessing wrote:I apologize, but I'm not confident I understand what you're exactly after.
No worries. Chime in anytime. You sound like quite a respectful human being yourself, with highly respectable opinions :wink:

There is "a batch of files" and "a batch of fields".

I want something that performs the actions of both concepts simultaneously (batch). Where you tailor everything you want as part of a single execute.
That is to say, any field you want, any type of function you want - performed all in one or two click(s).
RegExp F&R add-on (donate version) does this. I'm "very" close to getting it. I just need to work the kink out. Have you ever used RegExp F&R?

Jaikoz sounds interesting and I'm sure I would find it useful, but it doesn't sound like it would have anywhere near the customization of the above mentioned
script. The Clear Fields thing is merely one aspect of many other custom functions (batch and otherwise) I'm working on. Most other programs out there are for
people who want the basics/essentials, and want it to be relatively easy, but don't want to bother with "seemingly endless" possibilities, settings, functions. I, on the other hand, love it, even though doing that has the cost of a steeper learning curve.
MM user since 2003 (lifetime lic. 2012) "Trying to imagine life without music gives me a headache"
Top 2 scripts: RegExp Find & Replace (e.v.) and Magic Nodes (e.v.) ZvezdanD's scripts site
Please take a moment to read the bottom of the linked page to support the one and only - ZvezdanD! (the "originator" since 2006).
MMW 4.1.31.1919; 5.0.4.2690 || back it up...frequently!
|| software for power users: "Q-Dir" (free alt. to explorer) and file/folder renamer: "ReNamer" (den4b)
"The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth"
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Just Guessing
Posts: 64
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:06 pm

Re: Clearing tag fields?

Post by Just Guessing »

RegExp F&R is the kind of script that I couldn't begin to write (the authors contributions here are profound!), but its so oriented toward being of assistance to everyone, that for very repetitive or specific needs I have, I have found I prefer to learn the code needed to craft something that does EXACTLY what I want it to. There's the joy of having accomplished the goal, AND any inspirations for improvements are then easily implemented.

Do you have some scripting knowledge? What you're after sounds like a rather tight, straightforward half-page of vbs.

Jaikoz is actually EXTREMELY customizable (although the options page is truly intimidating and not perfect!). It permits scripting, javascript integration for manipulating how tag fields can be expressed/joined/etc. Also you can create lists that are saved in the options page and then applied to files via right-click. (ex. I have a list that cleans out notation I used to use in file names - (f) meant CD source, (h) meant cassette source, & many more. One click and those notations are cleansed from track names inferred from file names. Yeah, the learning curve is real.

I would both buy jaikoz AND attempt your own script to get done exactly what you want, in exactly the way you want to do it. It is a BLAST to have MediaMonkey keep becoming more and more the thing you wish it could be. There's not a single other piece of software on any of my computers that permits me to shape it and evolve it to MY needs the way mediamonkey and its forums has permitted.
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