Question about the Adjust Cover feature

Mac
1

I came across a list of numerical values associated with .mta actions, but I can't find anything on the Adjust Cover action. I'm trying to figure out what the .mta code would be assuming it's similar to Export Cover, which I also found through search and customized to my use case:

[#0]
T=13
! Export cover to file=
1=%YEAR% - %ALBUM% [%COUNTRY%] [(%DISCOGS_RELEASE_ID%)]
3=0|3
2=0

Appreciate any help on this
Mike

2

Users are discouraged to edit MTA files directly.
Instead only use the editor functions available from within MP3tag.
This editor assigns the correct number.

3

Truth be told, I'm keeping all actions in one document so when I upgrade macs I don't have to re-do 100+ actions from scratch, which is laborious as hell. So no one can provide? I promise not to broadcast lol. Thanks

4

It is possible to import the actions form the PC version to a Mac.

I think that you do not create an endless number of actions of this type. So it should be possible for you to use the functions within MP3tag and then look at the newly created action and see which setting in the proper editor results in which internal code.

I still do not advise to edit the actions with other means than the MP3tag internal functions.

5

So it should be possible for you to use the functions within MP3tag and then look at the newly created action and see which setting in the proper editor results in which internal code

That's what I've done for most except adjust cover, which is the last one I'm stuck on

6

Have you tried to import the actions from the Windows version to the Mac version?
This would be the much safer way to do it.

7

So it should be possible for you to use the functions within MP3tag and then look at the newly created action and see which setting in the proper editor results in which internal code

Sorry, I should've mentioned I don't have a PC, just mac. Unless that's something I can do without a PC? Thanks

8

There i a section in the documentation about how to save and restore the settings:

9

There i a section in the documentation about how to save and restore the settings:

Thanks, I previously exported the settings but can't determine the action preferences/number from the data: {"compression":80,"isCropToSquare":false,"sizeMode":0,"isUseMaxSize":true,"coverType":0,"field":"","version":2,"userDescription":"","type":"adjustcover","scalingMode":0,"maxSize":500}

10

Still looking for the MTA expression for adjust cover if anyone knows it

Thanks!

11

Just wanted to ask you, why you're not creating the actions you need and create a backup of everything using the method outlined at Documentation → Exporting and importing preferences settings?

This would certainly address the

I'm intentionally not documenting the internal file format of MTA actions, because it would require me to also update this documentation whenever I change something internally.
In addition, as @ohrenkino already pointed out, manually adapting those often introduces errors that can only be solved after users are contacting me via email and asking why their action produces an error message.

If you have other reasons for needing information on this implementation detail, please let me know.

12

Thanks for replying. I'm continuously tweaking actions so it's easier to revert back to a prior stable state of actions if I'm later unsatisfied with results vs having to worry about exporting every time I make a change in the event I need to re-import. Ultimately, it's your program and I respect your concerns. I'll just continue to manually add the adjust cover action to my list if I have to.

13

OK, I understand and can see that you're using your collection of MTA actions as a kind of single source of truth.

Without any guarantee that this might work forever, those are the current fields for the adjust cover action:

[#0]
T=17
1=1
2=500
3=80

1= is the image type, where 0 is Original, 1 is JPEG, and 2 is PNG
2= is the size in pixels
3= is the image quality, where 100 is highest.

The macOS version has more configuration options for this action type, so you might need to adjust the action after importing, in case you want to use any of the currently macOS-only options.

14

Much appreciated, thanks Florian! Working fine and I understand it's not guaranteed to remain as is forever.

15

I know you have a solution, but another option is you could use Time Machine (or third party backup app) to create hourly versioned backups (or even more frequent with a third party app).That way you will have many versions of your MP3Tag preference data. Personally, I use the Hazel app to monitor the relevant directories and run a script at the intervals I choose, which creates a backup of all of the configuration data for my preferences, actions, web sources and so on.

1 Like
16

Right, Ohrenkino mentioned time machine backups earlier in the post, and that's good to know as it stores all preferences, not just the actions. Either scenario would work, but I've been tweaking my actions for several weeks and just wanted a way to save them all in one file vs doing a full restore. Might seem pointless to some, but it's the way my mind unfortunately works. Thanks

17

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