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Topic: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10 (Read 1737 times) previous topic - next topic
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[bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Foobar2000 is showing .m4a files as "MP4" when Foobar is set as the default app to open files with m4a extension in the windows file explorer.



Is there an easy fix to this I can myself as a layman implement and perhaps in the future if I face such extension name mismatch in the future?

If not, please fix this issue kindly as I heavily rely on the "group by type" for sorting files and I might accidentally confuse m4a files as mp4 files because of the misleading naming foobar is providing.

Thank you in advance for any and all help received. :)

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #1 –
M4A stands for MP4 Audio, so they're the same thing.
It's your privilege to disagree, but that doesn't make you right and me wrong.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #2 –
Actually, the file type is MP4.
An mp4 container need not contain video, so they started to use the "m4a" file extension. But file extension doesn't change file content.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #3 –
Quote from: fooball on
M4A stands for MP4 Audio, so they're the same thing.

There is good reason why every other program labels it "M4A" or at least specifies that it's an MP4 Audio file so it's not confused with the actual .mp4 extension or jumbled together with it when sorting files...


...which is a very practical issue pointed out in the original post concerning sorting files with file type, which is essential why I labelled it a bug.


You could argue that sorting by file-type-name isn't the same as sorting by file-extension but since that's what most people use "file-type" sorting for, it'd just be semantics, because there is no feature in Windows that allows sorting by extension alone, which is why Windows (and other 3rd party programs not named Foobar2000) always specifies, for example, what extension of Audio file it is and never just as "Audio File", the same rule applies here. :D

But then again, judging by the signature at the bottom of your message, it doesn't seem like you browse here to help.


If anyone seeks help with something similar in the future, I'll leave a solution I found after painstakingly searching the depths of Google-search, through a 3rd party program:

You can use a File Types Manager for Windows called FileTypesMan developed by NirSoft, a very well reputed developer who has developed plenty of small and portable utilities for Windows. You can do plenty of interesting things with this tool among them is that you can rename the "File Type" name given by the app the user has chosen to open a certain file extension.

Once you open the program it will list you all the file extensions registered to your Windows. You can jump to .m4a file extension and follow what these images depict:

Right-click on the file extension, and:


Just change the "Description" from "MP4" to "M4A" or "MP4 Audio" or anything of your choosing and press "OK"...


...and voila! Peace at last. Issue is solved! Windows will no longer jumble different file extensions together because Foobar2000 didn't add the word "Audio" after MP4, and maybe did something similar with naming other extensions not yet to my knowledge, which I don't have to worry about now thanks to this wonderful tool.


Thanks for the help.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #4 –
Nirsoft has so much smart little stuff that I cannot ever remember those I don't use.

For "most foobar2000 users", I guess they will index *.m4a and not *.mp4 - that goes by file name (with extension) and not by what is actually in it. That way those light blue icons will be .m4a-named files.
You can also search for .m4a

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #5 –
I think the fundamental problem might be that the OP doesn't realise file extension is not the same as file type.  Any listing of file type will show it as MP4 whether the extension is .MP4 or .M4A.  A listing of file extension will of course make the distinction.  Also, when the manager I use sorts files by type, it displays the program assigned to handle that particular file type in the registry, so I have a number of extensions which get listed as VLC (for example).

The content type of a file being identified by the file extension (ie after the dot) is a hang-over from MS-DOS 8.3 file names, and increasingly irrelevant.  Yes, Windows still launches handler programs based on the extension, and by default it hides the extension (stupid idea, it exposes the user to exploits), but the dot has become almost meaningless since they became permitted characters in file names.

In the non-Windows/DOS world, there are no extensions and file contents are typed by the first few bytes in the file.
It's your privilege to disagree, but that doesn't make you right and me wrong.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #6 –
Quote from: fooball on
Also, when the manager I use sorts files by type, it displays the program assigned to handle that particular file type in the registry, so I have a number of extensions which get listed as VLC (for example).

The content type of a file being identified by the file extension (ie after the dot) is a hang-over from MS-DOS 8.3 file names, and increasingly irrelevant.  Yes, Windows still launches handler programs based on the extension, and by default it hides the extension (stupid idea, it exposes the user to exploits), but the dot has become almost meaningless since they became permitted characters in file names.

In the non-Windows/DOS world, there are no extensions and file contents are typed by the first few bytes in the file.

Who asked? And how is this relevant to the issue? How does it help in fixing it?

I predicted you'd prevail in being an unhelpful and self-important smirk in the replies. The issue and its practical hindrance was blatantly pointed out to be in the Windows OS and its native File Manager, with screenshots and how no other program does this so no such issues arise.

Quote from: foodoom on
sorting by file-type-name isn't the same as sorting by file-extension
I understand that you really need to win this petty nothing internet argument that doesn't exist in a help-post to solve an issue to reign as the technical jargon champion and make yourself feel better but I literally pointed out the difference and how windows always specifies the extension in the file type name so that multiple file extensions of the same file type doesn't get jumbled together while sorting with file-type in the >Windows< File Explorer.

Good day to you, You go on typing some more words of irrelevance so that you come out as the rightful right-man.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #7 –
Hey Foodoom, thanks for that informative and helpful reply. Today I had the same extension renaming issue and for some reason when I was editing files and saving, all the tags were deleted from the newly reincarnated MP4's.
I'm a well-experienced novice to all this (don't ask ;) so it's greatly appreciated to find a solution to a problem I didn't understand! And in a forum.....get out! Cheers, we owe you

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #8 –
Quote from: foodoom on
I understand that you really need to win this petty nothing internet argument
Think what you like, see my signature panel.  What you're complaining about is a non-problem.
It's your privilege to disagree, but that doesn't make you right and me wrong.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #9 –
Funny people.

Can't wait until they run into mka's :-)
Probably a bug as well!

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #10 –
Quote from: foodoom on
You could argue that sorting by file-type-name isn't the same as sorting by file-extension but since that's what most people use "file-type" sorting for, it'd just be semantics, because there is no feature in Windows that allows sorting by extension alone
That's not true. Explorer has at least since Windows 10 allowed adding file extension column and you can group and sort by it.

Quote from: fooball on
The content type of a file being identified by the file extension (ie after the dot) is a hang-over from MS-DOS 8.3 file names, and increasingly irrelevant. [...] In the non-Windows/DOS world, there are no extensions and file contents are typed by the first few bytes in the file.
You keep repeating this claim even though it's a blatant lie. Go try your beloved non-Microsoft OS and rename an mp3 as .txt and watch it open in a text editor.

Re: [bug] Foobar shows files with M4A extension as "MP4" files in Windows 10

Reply #11 –
@foodoom
Thanks for the info, already knew about some but some was new to me.
Exactly, your description of fooball is spot on!
And NirSoft is an extremely smart person unlike some "von oben" people in here.
What is the opposite of music?