Mp3tag for Mac v1.4 released
Previously, I described how difficult it is to justify buying the new MacBook Pro — because the M1 Air is already so extremely good and far less expensive. Over the past weeks (if not months 
), I’ve observed myself watching countless reviews of the new MBP on YouTube, composing yet another dream machine in the Apple Store configurator, and simply spending a lot of time thinking about this device.
— To make this short, I gave in. I’ve bought a MacBook Pro 16“ (M1 Pro). It’s the best computer I’ve ever used. My previous MacBook Pro was the first Retina 15“ from 2012 (it’s my Mojave and Catalina test device now) and I hope this one here will last just as long.
Today, I’ve released Mp3tag for Mac v1.4 and I want to take the opportunity to outline some of the changes for you:
Scale Images to Square
This new feature allows for scaling album covers to squares, which is particularly useful for covers that are only slightly off (e.g., 598x600px). Previously it was only possible to crop them to square, which always cut off some pixels of the original images. It was quite a challenge to create the UX for this feature — it now allows to manipulate cover art in a plentitude of different ways. I was trying to not make a dialog that fills the screen and I’m really happy with the result. Let me know what you think in case this is something for you.
Size of File List
I’ve used a slightly smaller-than-standard font size on multiple dialogs and windows in Mp3tag for Mac. This proved to be problematic for users with really high-res screens and I’ve improved that with this release. I’m using the standard font sizes almost everywhere now and, in addition, introduced a new setting to configure the size of the File List (Small, Medium, Large) — as some of you might know from Music.app. It’s good on the eyes 
User-defined Field Mappings
This is a bit of a nerd setting and mainly relevant for mixed-format music libraries. It allows for mapping a field name from Mp3tag, e.g., TRACK to an internal representation, e.g., TRACKNUMBER — as it is used with Vorbis Comments, the tag format of lossless FLAC files. You can check the default mappings (they’re used internally since the first version) and add your own if necessary via Tag Types → Use field mappings → Manage.
A few more things
I’ve also worked on many more fixes and other changes that don’t make it into dedicated mentions in this newsletter. However, if you’re interested, you can inspect them all via the Mp3tag for Mac changelog. If something is unclear or sparks your interest, please don’t hesitate to ask.
If you’re not yet using Mp3tag for Mac, you can always get the 7-day trial version — only days you’re using the app are counted.
Thank you for reading, your interest, and your support.
Enjoy and take care
— Florian
