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Topic: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000 (Read 2509 times) previous topic - next topic
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A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Hiyall,
I have literally hundreds of thousands of albums to process. Currently each album needs 6 clicks to get a result. Is there a way of configuring Foobar to reduce my workload? (see attached).

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #1 –
Instead of using 'Quick Convert', select '...' and save a converter preset with the "Destination" and other settings you want - see Converter wiki.

(Then you can also assign the preset to a toolbar button or keyboard shortcut if you like - therefore you only need to select tracks and 1 click / key)

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Peter Linu on
I have literally hundreds of thousands of albums to process.
Well that was a statement ...

If you have taken on a big task like that, you may want to think over how to streamline it more than even "one click per album".
Which likely means: what are you actually trying to do here?

From your foobar1.png attachment I take it that you want to collect tracks from various sources into one folder per artist?!

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #3 –
Hey anamorphic,
thanks. That makes a big difference.

Porcus,
You are changing what I want to what you think I want.

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #4 –
Yes, I thought you wanted to save work and maybe get down to even less than one operation on each of "literally hundreds of thousands" albums. Apologies for being dead wrong about that, please enjoy your full-time job.

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #5 –
Hey anamorphic,
I saved my named preset and it works fine. The real saving will come when all of that can be operated with one click on the keyboard. I'm unclear on how to do it. Can you assist, please?

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #6 –
In File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts you can set it up - click 'Add New' and find the preset you saved under [context] or [context / playlist] > Convert > (name of preset). Type key in key box. (This one should probably not be a 'Global Hotkey' to save hitting it accidentally outside foobar)

By the way I should've pointed out in the Converter preset, make sure you selected "Other" > 'Transfer metadata (tags)' so converted files have tags. (For some reason I think that is not enabled by default though it should be)

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #7 –
ana (for short),
thanx once again. You shoulda bin a teacher. Clear, concise, to the point and btw either the 'other>metadata' in your second paragraph was already ticked or I'm a genius. The former is more likely.

The final item I hope: When my process has completed, I am still left with the original album's files (songs) in the Foobar window. What I have done is to then go back and click delete on the keyboard. Is there a way of including that 'click delete' in the process?

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #8 –
^ No. Or rather, there is no easy way.

(You're referring to running multiple menu commands which require a level of j-scripting or command line - I would not bother for that. Just hit the key and be done :D )

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #9 –
Two more question.
1. I drag n drop a folder from my desktop containing the album into Foobar and the list of  songs opens with the songs highlighted. After a day of work I have found that clicking the keyboard  shortcut does not work unless I click the mouse somewhere ABOVE the window populated by the tracks for if I click where the tracks are it un-highlights the tracks. If I click anywhere but the 'Title' field, the result back in the original folder is that the tracks have lost their track numbers.

2. Is there a way to automate the deletion of the original files from the same folder where the mp3s have gone?

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #10 –
Hi, I had to get on PC to test what might be happening - sorry for delay.

1) Yes, drag-n-drop folders into foobar does not focus foobar window (make it the active window) - therefore keyboard shortcut does not work. You could make it a 'Global Hotkey' but I think safer to just click the foobar window...

2) You said you hit "delete" key to remove tracks from playlist. You could instead make another keyboard shortcut to delete the actual files (which also removes them from playlist) - after conversion. In Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts, that would be under [context / playlist] > File Operations > Delete file(s). However you can do the same by right-click files in playlist - and once again that would be a heck of a lot safer than making it a keyboard shortcut.

(Are you really sure you want to delete lossless files? That seems ill advised- once they are lossy MP3s there'd be no transcoding to any other format without loss of quality. Also there could be unforeseen issues with conversions that you might need to re-convert. Would be better to back them up / move them elsewhere)

But hey, I'm not responsible ;D

I'm not sure of your "question of workflow", so let me just ask... Are you aware you can convert the entire drive / library at once and go fix a sandwich and watch a nice movie, instead of doing this repeatedly?

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #11 –
Hi ana,
I tried 2) but got into trouble. I'll try again AC (after coffee).
3) The conversion is being done on albums copied from an external NAS drive so the originals are safe.
EDITORIAL: for 98% of the population, their audio playback equipment is not good enough to hear the difference between 320CBR and wav or flac let alone 24 bit. So I may as well save space or increase the file population.
4) ENTIRE DRIVE conversion: That would be wonderful! Please show me how.

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #12 –
I bet Porcus wishes he thought of and suggested mass conversion instead of the unhelpful suggestion that was shot down  :))
 

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #13 –
Quote from: PredUK on
I bet Porcus wishes he thought of and suggested mass conversion
Sorting and then mass conversion was the how to streamline it more than even "one click per album", which turned out to be in zero demand among those who wish to do extra manual work.

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #14 –
And I'm not as savvy (Capt'n Jack*) with the ol' command line encoding as I suppose our Porcish friend was going to suggest, so on we go... ::)

Quote from: Peter Linu on
4) ENTIRE DRIVE conversion: That would be wonderful! Please show me how.

Basically add more folders to the playlist (add a higher level / root folder), hit CTRL-A or Edit > Select All, and Convert ...

Or if you are monitoring folders in the foobar library, can just right-click any level in Album List / library viewer > Convert ...

Firstly though, I'm not sure what "Destination" settings you ended up with (?) or what you gathered from the wiki, but just make sure the Converter is outputting to individual folders for each album. Check your saved preset "Destination" page for example (setting in bold) -

Output path:
  Source track folder
Output style and file name formatting:
  Name format:
    %filename%

^ This outputs to source folder with source filename.

Alternatively, you can have it can automatically create folders -

Output path:
  Specify folder:
    D:\Music
Output style and file name formatting:
  Name format:
    %album artist%\%album%\%filename%

^ This outputs to "D:\Music" and then artist / album folders based on tags. Can add whatever drive, tags and folder structure you like.

And yes, if you make changes, you need to save (overwrite) the preset again if you want to keep them.

(Probably a good idea to test converting a few folders at once first before adding hundreds of thousands... or perhaps do it in batches, all the "A" artists, then "B", etc)


* "Savvy?" - Capt'n Jack

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #15 –
Ana,
thanx again. I'm way ahead of you. I now convert one visible page of albums at a time (~20). This is enough as it takes enough time for me to do other things. I also have to frequently alter the album file name in the original NAS drive.  I'd like to create a new file however I can't find how to save pdf and jpg files from the original file to a proposed new file. Not transferring the pdf & jpg creates even more work than leaving it the original folder and returning to delete the flac files.
I assume something like terminal code might do it. I can't do it well enough but I can follow orders.

BTW: 'savvy' is from the French, 'savoir'= to know.

Re: A question of workflow part 3 - Foobar2000

Reply #16 –
Hi ana,
I enlisted the help of 9 colleagues. I cloned the FB2K setup on each computer and sat back and managed their work. IT'S ALL DONE!

"...I discovered that the original files remain highlighted in the original left side folder so it's easy enough to simply click 'delete' to remove them. Whether this was something that was set up by Foobar or simply a fortunate accident, it works.
If I find a more logical and permanent solution, I'll add it here."

There may well be further possible refinements however I won't spend more time in contemplation! Feel free to add further insights as and when they occur. So until then, thank you and good night.