Editing the contents of a single column at a time

Support
21

Hi, and many thanks for looking at what I'd done. I'm afraid I'm completely out of my comfort zone, so realize that some of my actions and methods will appear as nonsense to those with the expertise I lack.

When I say, 'I went back to the Export scree, all in fact I did was to close the open export screen, then reopen it from File > Export.
Then I created a new 'configuration, which I simple put as PRB, with no thought of file extension, or similar. So, when I clicked to export to 'PRB', of course nothing basically happened.
When you say, 'If I open a new export script, and something completely different happens, where/how do you open said export script? Presumably if I could find where to do this, the
prb.mte screen opens, as yours did?

Where do I add the .mte extension name to 'PRB', at which point, and at which place. I think these are my present stumbling blocks. It's like using a language that I have little or no ability to write in, but still not making any errors of syntax. Please bear with me! Many thanks for your continuing help and support - always very much appreciated!

22

Try the following
Select all the files for which you would like to get an export - ideally these files feature more than just 1 composer.

Press Ctrl-E.
Click on the new button.
The dialogue to enter the name of the export configuration opens:
grafik
Enter the name and klick OK
An editor window opens with the filename prb.mte in the window title opens:

grafik
grafik784×569 24.7 KB

This editor window also contains the code for a sample export script.
Select all the code (Ctrl-A)
Paste the following code:

$filename(composers.txt,utf-8)
$loop(%composer%,1)%composer%
$loopend()

This should replace the sample code with this code.
In the end, the file should only contain the 3 lines of code.
Press Ctrl-S to save the code.
Close the editor
The original list of export scripts should now contain an entry called prb - select this entry if that is not already the case.
Click OK to execute the export script.
If you are asked whether you want to see the result, click Yes and another editor should open and show you the list of composers.
Done.

23

Good morning!
Thank you so much for your 'blow-by-blow' guide to export configurations.
I have followed your instructions implicitly:

Select all the files for which you would like to get an export - ideally these files feature more than just 1 composer.

I then followed your instructions to the letter, and arrived at:

grafik
But, when I then clicked OK, it didn't lead to an editor window opening with the filename prb.mte so I was unable to see how to edit the file, as you were able in your following graphic.

I know I must be missing something blindingly obvious!

24

You say what didn't happen.
What happened instead?
Or, to speed this up a little:
What happens if you select an existing export script and click on the edit button?

25

If nothing happens and the windows "Name of new export configuration" stays in place there probably already exists an export configuration of the same name. Look at the selection window for already existing configurations.
You have to delete that first or take another name for the new one.

26

Sorry to be really thick, but where do I see any 'existing export script' to be able to click on its edit button?

If I could achieve that, I could hopefully answer your question.

I have looked at the previews of various export configurations, but none of them looks remotely like what would be useful to me, by allowing me:

  1. To export the contents of the 'Artist' field, without duplications, in alphabetical order, and in txt. format which, I presume would then allow me to fill the contents of the Artist field on the Tag Panel
  2. To do exactly the same with the Composer field

If the Album could also be incorporated, this would be a welcome bonus, but I don't require the Title, or anything else.

I just want a script to make this happen, so that the end result would
appear as

Album Artist Composer
Hungarian Gypsy Songs Santa Gypsy Band Bartok, Bela
Irish Folk Songs Irish Songsters Joyce, James
French Dances Le Louvre Lully, Jean P

I see that other members of the support community have suggested their own configurations.

Would it even be possible to ask whether anyone out there would be able to make a bespoke script for me. It would be worth paying for, just to easy my ongoing frustrations?

27

You showed a screenshot yourself in this thread
https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/9/9019e98ca23f41158dae5028ea7e0e986eed3845.jpeg
What you see in the window "Export - Export configuration" are already installed and in your system existing export scripts.

1 Like
28

Right now there have been 26 attempts to get a simple export script into your configuration.
As that has failed so far - how do you intend to incorporate that script into your configuration as that would require similar steps as the ones outlined so far.

And just to spare you some money: the script for the alphabetical list for composer has been suggested to you at least 3 times. It would now be up to you to add that to your local environment, a task that no one from the distance can take over for you.

1 Like
29

For_Wolksby.mte (104 Bytes)

Download the above .MTE file.
Move the MTE file to your Mp3tag configuration folder (File -> Open Configuration Folder) and there in the existing subfolder \export. You will find other MTE files there already.

Then you will see this export file in your "Export configuration window" as shown above from poster.

You have to adjust this file in a text editor to your needs.

30

Dear LyricsLover

Thank you so much for the ForWolksby.mte file. I downloaded, and installed it as suggested - your instructions were so unbelievably succinct, in words that I could relate to, understand, and follow.

Tis is the screenshot of just the one CD I was using as a test. All I had to do was slightly adjust the third entry, in terms of vertical alignment.

It is really humbling for me to see the three fields shown in exactly the way I saw it in my mind's eye, but just lack that final bit of expertise to bring it off!

I will try it with a larger selection, and then, once fully au fait and confident, I will apply it to my whole database.

Not that I ever would need to, but is there a way to open For_Wolksby.mte, just to see, and better understand, how it does its job?

Thank you so much again!

Composer-Album-Artist
Composer-Album-Artist1600×900 87.4 KB

31

Sure.
If you see your open Notepad (as above in the screenshot) press on File -> Open in this Notepad.
Then browse to the same directory where you have moved the file For_Wolksby.mte
(-> the Mp3tag configuration folder and there the subfolder \export).

If you don't see the filename For_Wolksby.mte directly, you maybe have to switch the preselection in the lower right corner in Notepad from
Textfiles (*.txt)
to
All Files (*.*) <--- this includes the *.mte files and every other existing file
image

If you see the filename For_Wolksby.mte press the Open Button in Notepad.

32

And one further suggestion, is to tell Windows that you want to "Always" use Notepad to open .mte files so this becomes automatic in the future. I have yet to find any other application in my case that use .mte that causes any issues.

Even from within mp3tag you should then be able to view the files for editing.

33

That is so very helpful, and clear.

I meant to ask one (hopefully!) last question, if I may?

When wishing to edit this in Notepad:

Export Screenshot
Export Screenshot1600×900 49.1 KB

How do I select/work on the contents of one field only, without the other two being selected at the same time - for example if I wanted to make a dropdown list with Composers, as I have already done for Genres?

Many thanks!

34

You can't select only one column in the built-in Notepad in Windows. Notepad is very limited and does not offer such a selection.

You would have to use another text editor like Notepad++ or a spreadsheet software like MS Excel.

35

You have to use another export-configuration-file that only lists the composer - as was told you several times and the content of the file was shown you several times:

$filename(composers.txt,utf-8)
$loop(%composer%,1)%composer%
$loopend()
36

Hopefully a final thank you, for pointing me in the direction of Notepad++ which certainly allows me to select and work on columns independently.

Thank you again for your patience - a vital commodity for a teacher, or anyone trying to explain something to someone, on less familiar ground. That's what I call Support, in the truest sense of the word. Also a similar shout out to @poster who was also very helpful and their advice finely complemented yours, to give me the fullest picture overall! :innocent: yet without giving up on me.

37

It is still not clear to me what you intend to do to achive that what you wrote in the title of this thread:
Editing the contents of a single column at a time.

The export script exports 3 fields for you and they are displayed in 3 columns.
Then you asked

and got the reply to use either a program that you are apparently not familiar with -

  • or

(which IMHO would be much closer to that what you want to achieve: get a file that you can import to fill the dropdown list).

So what is the solution?

39

Could you please tick the "solution" marker for that post that describes the solution for you?

1 Like
40

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