Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag [#14626]

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brian_hammerhead
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 7:51 pm

Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag [#14626]

Post by brian_hammerhead »

Summary:
With a few tweaks, MM could fully support date information in filenames when using Auto-Tag from Filename... - a feature that is critical for Old Time Radio ("OTR") enthusiasts. Adding a <Date:yyyymmdd> field would easily add this support.

I am a Media Monkey newby, but I did search the archives for such a feature request and I have spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out if this was already implemented. If you have any additional ideas, I would love to hear them.


Details:
I purchased MM in order to clean up my .mp3 filenames and tags. The most useful features for me are:

Auto-Organize Files... (create filename from .mp3 tags)
Auto-Tag from Filename... (extract .mp3 tag info from filename)

For Old Time Radio ("OTR") enthusiasts like me, the Date .mp3 tag is critical and needs to include year, month, and date of the show. Media Monkey supports the full date in the .mp3 tag.

Auto-Organize Files... using the <Date> field
I discovered an undocumented feature for the date tag when Auto-Organizing Files...:

\<Album Artist>\<Date>_<Title>

Example:
If the mp3 tags for a file are as follows:
Album Artist: Dimension X
Date: 4/14/1947
Title: And The Moon Be Still As Bright

... then using Auto-Organize Files... with \<Album Artist>\<Date>_<Title>, you would get:
\Dimension X\1947-04-14_And The Moon Be Still As Bright

There appears to be only one format for the <Date> field as shown: yyyy-mm-dd, which luckily is the right order for putting the date in the filename so that they sort in order by filename.

Auto-Tag from Filename... using the <Date> field
I have hundreds of OTR audio files that have the date in the filename, but not in the .mp3 tag. There doesn't appear to be a <Date> tag that is flexible enough to work for Auto-Tag from Filename... Here are some example filenames:

bh19481207 Christmas Shopping.mp3
1947-06-14_Summer Camp.mp3
1945.03.04_LifeOfRiley_060_ExpectantFathers.mp3
dimx470414-And The Moon Be Still As Bright.mp3
Abbott&Costello_44.12.24_ChristmasProgram.mp3
YTJD The Kirby Will Matter 2-2-57.mp3
41-1207-Jack Benny.mp3

The <Date> tag has to be flexible enough to pull in the correct information and put it in the .mp3 tag. It needs to be able to handle a variety of formats that may have been used in the filename. I did a quick scan through my collection and it appears there are four major categories of ways to specify dates in the file name. May I suggest the following four simple additions to the <Date> field that will cover all these examples:

Case 1: Simple 8-digit matches
<Date:yyyymmdd>
Example: 19470414 -> 4/14/1947

<Date:mmddyyyy>
Example: 04141947 -> 4/14/1947

<Date:ddmmyyyy>
Example: 14041947 -> 4/14/1947


Case 2: 8-digit matches with character separations
<Date:yyyy-mm-dd>
Example: 1947-14-04 -> 4/14/1947

<Date:mm-dd-yyyy>
Example: 14-04-1947 -> 4/14/1947

<Date:dd-mm-yyyy>
Example: 04-14-1947 -> 4/14/1947

<Date:yyyy.mm.dd>
Example: 1947.14.04 -> 4/14/1947
Note: dashes, periods, or any other valid character could be used to separate the date fields.


Case 3: 6-digit matches with and without character separations
<Date:19yymmdd>
Example: 470414 -> 4/14/1947
Note: The match is only on six digits, but the "19" is added to clarify the year.

<Date:20yymmdd>
Example: 470414 -> 4/14/2047

<Date:19yy.mm.dd>
Example: Example: 47.04.14 -> 4/14/1947

<Date:19yy-mmdd>
Example: Example: 47-0414 -> 4/14/1947
Note: It may seem weird, but some file names separate the year from the MonthDay by a character.


Case 4: Variable-digit matches with character separations
<Date:m-d-yyyy>
Example: 4-8-1947 -> 4/8/1947
Example: 4-18-1947 -> 4/18/1947
Example: 10-8-1947 -> 10/8/1947
Example: 10-18-1947 -> 10/18/1947
Note: The "m" and "d" match either 1 or 2 digits depending on what is entered. Of course these would require character separations between the digits.

<Date:m.d.yyyy>
Example: 4.8.1947 -> 4/8/1947


Summary
Adding a <Date> tag with these options would complete the Date feature for Auto-Tag by Filename... which is a really critical feature. It could also be used to make the current undocumented <Date> tag for Auto-Organize Files... much more feature rich (eg. <Date:yymmdd> = 480418).

What do you think?

If I understand correctly, the proper protocol is to post a reply with the words "I agree" if you think that adding this functionality is a good idea.
Cobolt

Re: Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag

Post by Cobolt »

Totally agree!
Trail_Runnr

Re: Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag

Post by Trail_Runnr »

AGREE! very important
hatn
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:28 pm

Re: Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag

Post by hatn »

great idea!
jamburglar
Posts: 84
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:11 am

Re: Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag

Post by jamburglar »

Has anything like this been implemented yet?
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Peke
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Re: Old Time Radio (OTR) <Date> Auto-Tag [#14626]

Post by Peke »

Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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