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███ Unofficial Mp3tag & Audio Efficiency Guide 1.0.0 ███ Mp3tag Arrangement Optimization ███
This is list of thing that have to be done in order to achieve the most work space possible, while still retaining a proper visibility of the data. Those settings are designed for a set up consisting of Windows 7 x64, with a 16:9 aspect ratio monitor, displaying 1920 x 1080 screen resolution set to a 125% display mode
The "EG-0004 Mp3tag Arrangement Optimization 1920 x 1080.png" [http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=04412668129773512666] is a screenshot presenting how the Mp3tag should look like, after implementation of the instructions from below [in conjunction with visually optimized Winamp]
1] Go in Windows to the
Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Personalization > Window Color > Advanced Appearance Settings > Item > Message Box > Font
and choose a font named Sagoe UI with the Size set to 11. That is the Item responsible for how the list of files is shown in Mp3tag. And if you like that font, then you can change every other Item to use it for displaying, but it is not necessary. And if you do not have that font it in your system, then simply go get it and install it first
Sagoe UI is the right font to choose, because it shows distinction between characters >>l<< [lower case L letter] and >>I<< [uppercase letter i]; while at the same time it also show a distinction in how the >>|<< sign is drawn in correlation to those two letters
Alternatively, to at least see that aforementioned distinction between the letters, you can try out one of these sans-serif / gothic fonts:
- Cabin
- Cantarell
- Comfortaa
- Iwona
- Kp-Sans
- MA Trebuchet
- PT-Sans
- Source Sans Pro
- Tahoma
- Verdana
Unfortunately, various typewriter-like fonts like Courier New or Dark Courier [while having distinctions among letters] are also monospaced, thus taking a much more horizontal space to show the same amount of text in comparison to most of the other fonts. But this can be overcome by using the font called Pragmata Pro, which is a narrow version of that kind. But when choosing any font please remember that it is not only the Mp3tag where it will be displayed, but also the file handler [Windows Explorer, FreeCommander, Total Commander etc.] and possibly in various other places. So it could be that in Mp3tag it will do it job of making the distinction, while in other pieces of software it will fail to deliver a clear view. But it seems that this Sagoe UI does not have that issue and at the same time shows the biggest [positive] visual differences. [Further reading on topic of bad designed fonts is provided in this article https://typography.guru/journal/letters-sym...misrecognition/, while this blog http://www.lowercasel.com documents the existence of the bad "fonting" problem outside of the digital world]
2] Go to the
Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Personalization > Window Color > Advanced Appearance Settings > Item >
and choose small / thin sizes for elements like "Border Padding", "Scrollbar", "Active Title Bar". The lesser they are, the more work space there will be. But on the other hand, the smaller the elements will be, the harder they will be to operate on / with: it can be simply difficult to aim at the Caption Button [the minimizing "_" icon] and not accidentally maximizing a window or even closing it [with the "X" button]
This can be tricky, because some of these settings are interconnected; and so changing one changes automatically others
3] Auto-hide your Windows Taskbar at the bottom
Taskbar [Right Click] > Properties > Taskbar > auto-hide the taskbar
Or just place that Taskbar permanently on the left side of your screen, but without the start menu button visible; and / or auto-hide it. And do not waste time for trying out the placement of Windows Taskbar at the top or at the right side of your screen, because such placement prevents from having a quick access to the "X" caption button [that closing icon] of every maximized piece of software. [The eventually docked at the top of the screen thin Winamp is a not really a problem, as in time it will be overcome by your muscle memory]
3.1] Open now your Mp3tag
3.2] Place the Mp3tag Toolbar at the top, on the left side
3.3] Place the Mp3tag Filter Box at the top, on the right side
3.4] Place the Mp3tag Tag Panel in a free floating form somewhere at the right side of the screen. Make sure you can see all of its borders
3.5] Grab and drag the bottom border of Tag Panel all the way to the top
3.6] If the Tag Panel covers the buttons on the right side of the Filter area, then grab its right border and adjust it
3.7] Grab the bottom border of the Tag Panel and pull it down, but not as much as to cover the status bar at the bottom
3.8] File > Options > General > Display Grid Lines At File View > semi-selected [not empty and not with the "V" check sign]
Such arrangement squeezes around 37 lines out of the main window of Mp3tag [that area which shows up list of files in the main window]. Those settings will also provide for the Tag Panel enough vertical space to display a whooping 12 additional single lined tag fields with a COMMENT tag field configured at the same time as a multiline. And if the 125% display setting of the entire operating system would be changed to a normal 100%, there would be even more files at a single screen. But then again: the data [the characters displayed by font] gets smaller, which can result in user mistakes [misreadings] and thus generating errors during the workflow. Because it is one thing having a small font in a player just for a quick reading, once the proper data is already saved in a file. But providing that data without errors is another thing and requires the utmost visibility conditions
███ Unofficial Mp3tag & Audio Efficiency Guide 1.0.0 ███ Mp3tag Arrangement Optimization ███ Things To Consider ███
1] If you are using Winamp docked at the top in form of a ticket bar [the Shade Mode], then you loose at least one line
2] If you have Filter Box turned on and set in the same line as the Mp3tag Toolbar, then you loose half a line
3] If you have Filter Box turned on placed in a form of a line under the Mp3tag Toolbar, then you loose more even more space
4] If you have Windows Toolbar docked at the left sided and not autohiding it, you loose some horizontal space
5] When creating some extra tag field, choosing single sign values will save you horizontal space when a time will come to display them in columns in the main window You do not have to for example use words like "excellent", "good", "mediocre", "bad", "awful" as values in field containing some rating system, as you could use "1", "2", "3", 4", "5" instead of them or "A", "B", "C", "D", "E"; or something like "+", "0", "-"
███ Unofficial Mp3tag & Audio Efficiency Guide 1.0.0 ███ Mp3tag Arrangement Optimization ███ Further Tweaks ███
1] You can make the Filter Box float and place it at the top. But when using this in combination with Winamp docked at the top, the Filter Box will sometimes obscure the Winamp
2] You can make the Tag Panel transparent, revealing what is behind it. See this thread for instructions: /t/17644/1
3] In the current version of Mp3tag [2.83] it is still not possible to rearrange / remove icons from the Taskbar of Mp3tag. An implementation of such feature could lead to a possible further optimization of workspace
███ Unofficial Mp3tag & Audio Efficiency Guide 1.0.0 ███ Mp3tag Arrangement Optimization ███ Mp3tag Column Markers ███
The "EG-0005 Mp3tag Column Markers - 1920 x 1080.gif" [http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=04785415825423727677] is a comparison of 2 screenshots showing the same set of files, the first one using in tag fields signs featured on a typical QWERTY keyboard and the second one using non standard signs
As that example clearly illustrates, using signs like
◆
■
◘
●
gives a lot better overview, than usage of signs like
@
*
!
+
This Wikipedia article provides a list of signs of such kind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_Shapes
And for adding even more on spot recognition of files marked with such signs, especially when scrolling down through long list of tag fields full of data, using the same column twice but placed apart will give a lot more clearer situation. This comes especially handy in a work environment consisting of more than just once monitor or on a single wider screen, when there is a more horizontal space / data. All the user has to do is to create another column with the same Value and Field data. Doubling [or ever tripling it] does not affect how Mp3tag processes content of that tag field: changing value in one column will automatically change it in all of its duplicates
As an example, the "EG-0006 Mp3tag Column Markers Repetition - 3440 x 1440.gif" shows the same list with a few marked files displaying markers in one and in two columns in a 3440 x 1440 environment
And too further enhance an on spot recognition of marked files, usage of signs like those should be combined with the Mp3tag check box available at
Option > General > display grid lines at file view
set to either the semi-state between the on and off or simply turned on [depending on some other settings of the operating system that a given Mp3tag is installed on]