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Join Together v5.3 Released
I've just released Join Together v5.3. This AppleScript Studio application automates the process of joining the files of selected iTunes tracks together with QuickTime and exporting them as a single AAC Music or Audiobook file/track. Optionally, you can create a "chapterized" audio file of the exported AAC file with pointers to the individually joined tracks.
Join Together comes in two flavors:
The basic version of Join Together is free and always will be. It has the same or better features--and performs as well or better--as it ever has without restrictions. Most users will find the free basic version of Join Together satisfactory for their track-joining needs.
Join Together Plus is an optional shareware upgrade that provides additional pre-flight and post-op features that have been requested by power-users. You can upgrade to Join Together Plus from the free basic version for US$7. This is to cover development and support expenses, which, in turn, helps make Join Together work better for everybody. See Join Together's Help pages for more information on its Plus features.
Updated in v5.3:
- Added disc number and disc count tags for final track
- Added "Track Names to Chapter Names" menu item [Plus version]
- Fixed error in "Finished!" dialog [Plus version]
- Updated GUI
- Updated Help pages
- Performance enhancements
Visit the Join Together information and download page.
Back In The Saddle, Nearly
My wife and daughter and I have just finished moving all our stuff from our place in Providence, Rhode Island to a new place in Newton, Massachusetts. Now that about ninety-percent of the move is finished we can proceed with the remaining ninety-percent: un-packing (can't wait to recoup that extra twenty-percent that must be floating around somewhere). I have yet to set up my studio/work area properly, so it will still be a day or two or three before all those emails I said I would reply to actually get thoroughly replied to.
On another note, a concern that some Correspondents have reported is that Apple's ChapterTool UNIX application that is required for some tasks with Join Together is no longer downloadable from the original Apple coordinates. I am working on getting more information about this and developing a suitable workaround. Just so you know.
UPDATED: Join Together v5.2
Join Together has been updated to version 5.2.
This AppleScript Studio application automates the process of joining the files of selected iTunes tracks together with QuickTime and exporting them as a single AAC Music or Audiobook file/track. Optionally, with Apple's ChapterTool application installed, you can create a "chapterized" audio file of the exported AAC file with pointers to the individually joined tracks.
As of version 5.2, Join Together comes in two flavors:
The basic version of Join Together is free and always will be. It has the same or better features--and performs as well or better--as it ever has without restrictions. Most users will find the free basic version of Join Together satisfactory for their track-joining needs.
Join Together Plus is an optional shareware upgrade that provides additional pre-flight and post-op features that have been requested by power-users. You can upgrade to Join Together Plus from the free basic version for US$7. This is to cover development and support expenses, which, in turn, helps make Join Together work better for everybody. See Join Together's Help pages for more information on its Plus features.
Updated in v5.2
- Added "enabled" checkbox for the final track
- Added "Rating" options for the final track
- Added "Part of a gapless album" and "Skip when shuffling" options for the final track
- Can cancel operation from QuickTime
- Updated the interface
- Updated Help pages
- Fixed unusual issue with filename replacing track name
- Addressed QuickTime invalid track error while using pass through
- Performance enhancements
- Combine contiguous tracks as chapters [Plus version]
- Chapter name editing; auto-increment chapter numbers [Plus version]
- Use grouping tags as chapter names [Plus version]
- Contextual info windows for tracks/chapters [Plus version]
- Save options for saving final file to playlist, as a Podcast, and copy to iPod [Plus version]
- Preferences for various options [Plus version]
- Dock menu reduces application switching [Plus version]
...And Until That Bug Is Fixed
I mentioned yesterday about the High ASCII bug in iTunes that prevents Chapter titles containing High ASCII characters from displaying in the Chapters menu of iTunes 7.5 (note that I still have yet to get a real confirmation on this). As far as Join Together is concerned, you can avoid the error caused by High ASCII in track titles by eliminating those kinds of characters in the track names in the Join Together Track List. As I mentioned yesterday, I have a fix for the error in Join Together, but because of the alleged iTunes bug, you won't have access to those titles in iTunes 7.5.
Join Together and High ASCII
I have gotten a couple of reports from users of Join Together regarding an error that occurs right when chapterizing begins. Turns out that ChapterTool was choking on High ASCII characters in the track names (?, ?, ?, ?, and so on). This error only occurs in Leopard, and I have fixed the problem. But I am hesitant to release an update just yet because it turns out that iTunes 7.5 willl not display titles containing High ASCII in the Chapters menu. At least not at my house. QuickTime will display the chapter titles, and iTunes 7.4.1 in Tiger will, but not iTunes 7.5 in Leopard.
I'd like to try to nail this down. Unfortunately, I don't have any joined files created in Tiger that have High ASCII characters in the chapter titles. What I need to know is if joined files created in Tiger display their titles correctly in iTunes in Leopard. If you can be of assistance, please email me.
QuickTime 7.3 Bug - AAC VBR, Whether You Want It Or Not
This thread and this thread at Apple Support Discussions describes a bug in QuickTime 7.3 which ignores your iTunes VBR (variable bit rate) settings for importing or converting AAC tracks. As a result, you always get VBR. (Thanks to Correspondent Christian who pointed this out to me when describing a problem with the "Pass-Through" setting of Join Together. This option will only be available if your selected tracks all have the same bit and sample rate. Of course, if they are VBR, they won't all have the same bit rate and Pass-Through won't be available.)
I smell iTunes 7.5.1 and/or QuickTime 7.3.1 coming soon. At least, I hope that's what I smell.
UPDATED: Join Together v5.1.3
Join Together has been Leopardized and updated to version 5.1.3. Along with compatibility with Mac OS 10.5, I've also added a new icon, a "Comments" tag entry for the final joined file, and a "Check For Update" menu option--you'll want to be using this in a few weeks ;)
UPDATED: Join Together v5.1.2
Join Together has been updated to v5.1.2. A couple of months ago I started getting reports from Join Together users regarding a strange "-54 file open" error. This error occurred as Join Together was attempting to apply tags to the joined file in iTunes. Turns out that iTunes 7.1.x is busy analyzing audio data during the "add" routine, thus leaving the file open and preventing the tags from being applied. I couldn't duplicate the error myself (still don't know why), so I had to rely on the kindness and patience of a good dozen or so users to fix the problem. Looks like it's licked. Also, the "-2753 variable" error that some people were getting has also been fixed. This was another error that I was unable to duplicate, so, once again, many thanks to the beta testers for their patient assistance.
UPDATED: Join Together v5.1.1
Join Together has been updated to version 5.1.1. This AppleScript Studio application will enable you to join the files of selected iTunes tracks together with QuickTime and export them as a single AAC file/track. Optionally, with Apple's ChapterTool application installed, you can then create a "chapterized" audio file of the exported AAC file with pointers to the individually joined tracks.
This is a minor fix release that fixes an error that occurred at startup when attempting to generate a Genre names list from the XML file of a loaded multiple library ("Can?t get items 1 thru -2 of {??}. (-1728)") and prohibits auto-selection of every track in the "Music" or "Audiobooks" playlist when no specific tracks have been selected.
Join Together Trouble-Shoot
A very few users have written to me over the past few months regarding an error that appears when using Join Together v5.1. The error is "The variable m is not defined. (-2753)". This will occur after QuickTime exports the final joined file. I'm trying to track down some of the reasons for this error. It occurs when Join Together is unable to successfully change the file type and creator of the final joined file. If you have seen this error, or have reported it in the past, would you mind letting me know some details: Does the error, indeed, occur after QT export? Is the final joined file very large--say, over two or three hours? I'd like to try and fix this soon and your help is appreciated.
