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30 Most Recent RSS FeedAhh, SoundJam
A MacInTouch reader continues to use SoundJam and is nostalgic for its glory days. Maybe me, too. But only a little.
Multiple Library Confusion
I've just posted a brief article explaining how your system can get confused when using iTunes' multiple library feature:
Some of my AppleScripts for iTunes use a routine which reads the iApps.plist in order to obtain the location of the current iTunes library's XML file in order to get information from it. I occasionally get reports that these scripts don't seem to be working correctly; that the information seems to be wrong or doesn't correlate with track tags in iTunes. When the Correspondent and I investigate this phenomenon, very often it is because the iApps.plist contains the wrong location for the current iTunes library....read more here.
iTunes Library Manager v5.2.1 Released
iTunes Library Manager v5.2.1 is now posted. It fixes a problem some Tiger users were experiencing during the Rename routine.
On a technical note, I should point out that Tiger users will be unable to take advantage of the much faster load and save routines that Leopard users will experience. Under Leopard, rsync is used to back up files. However, the Tiger version of rsync can't be trusted to copy the resource forks of files correctly, so ditto is used instead.
Dupin v1.4.2 Released
A small number of Dupin users reported getting a crash at startup with v1.4.1, so this has been fixed in the latest release. The issue was caused by either 1) a playlist selected in Dupin's Playlist Popup no longer existed or 2) an iTunes update would re-create a default Smart Playlist (such as "90's Music") which had been selected in the Playlist Popup. Neither condition should be an issue now.
Banish the Track Numbers from Imported Files
This tip at Mac OS X Hints reveals the defaults command to keep track numbers from being added to the beginning of filenames after importing, a feature that was removed from iTunes' Preferences in iTunes 8. Of course, as one commenter laments, this won't remove the track numbers from files you have already ripped in iTunes 8.
Dupin v1.4 Released
iTunes' "Show Duplicates" feature is helpful but you still have to examine every track to determine whether you want to keep or delete the tracks it finds. Smart Playlists are of dubious help and trying to locate all duplicates with them can be tedious as they can quickly crowd your Source list and slow iTunes down.
Now there's Dupin.
Dupin is your iTunes duplicates manager.
Dupin allows you to quickly find all sets of duplicate tracks in iTunes based on the criteria you choose. It can then automatically select the "Keeper" tracks from among a number of duplicates using your choice of a variety of versatile filter options. Tracks you decide not to keep can be purged from iTunes and their files optionally moved to the Trash. Dupin is flexible, fast, and easy to use.
With Dupin you can:
- Locate, sort, filter, and purge duplicate tracks
- Manage intentionally duplicated tracks
- Copy tracks to new iTunes playlists
- View duplicates in non-loaded libraries created with iTunes' multiple library feature
- View duplicates in iTunes libraries on other machines on your local network
- Sort tracks and view track info
- Export a list of duplicates to a text file
- Locate tracks in the Finder and in iTunes
- Audition tracks
In addition, Dupin features:
- Familiar iTunes-like interface
- Robust Help
- Ample keyboard shortcuts
- Visual progress feedback during operations
- Customizable toolbars
- Optional update checking
Updated in version 1.4:
- Recognizes Genius Playlists
- Adds "Refresh Playlist Popup" toolbar button and menu option to View menu
- Adds Preference to limit number of Dupe Groups fetched during "Get Duplicates"
- Adds Preference to toggle between deleting files immediately or moving them to Trash during Purge
- Trash alert sound muted
- Fixes a minor date formatting issue
- GUI updated
- Speed and performance enhancements
This update is free for registered users.
It's Official
I got a follow-up email to my bug report to Apple regarding the iTunes 7.7.1 "whose clause" to-do: "Engineering is no longer able to reproduce the issue with iTunes 8." The iTunes guys put things back the way they were, more or less. An implied list (using "every" as the specifier or a range) returns a list or empty list, an implied single entity specifier ("first", "last", "some", and so on) returns a bare value.
iTunes Library Manager v5.2 Released
iTunes Library Manager v5.2 is now available.
iiTunes Library Manager makes back up copies of the current iTunes Music Library database file and iTunes Preferences, allowing you to maintain two or more libraries each with its own preferences settings.
For example, you can have one "Main Library" which contains all your songs and playlists, and another which just contains your "Holiday Music" songs and playlists.
Additionally, because each library is saved and loaded with its associated preferences, you can create many different configurations for different uses. For instance, you can assign each library its own designated Music Folder, and keep a directory of audio files on your computer and another distinct directory of audio files on another volume, network drive or external drive; different libraries can have different Sharing, Burning or Importing settings, too. The flexibility is awesome.
Updated in v5.2:
- Compatible with iTunes 8
- Recognizes--but does not manage--iTunes' multiple-libraries; however, such libraries can be the basis for additional iTLM libraries
- Some GUI enhancements
- Speed and performance fixes
This is a free update for registered users.
Another Reprieve
Dan Frakes emailed me with a vote for maintaining Set Video Kind of Selected:
"One that I'd like to see kept alive, so to speak, in some
fashion is Set Video Kind of Selected. Although iTunes 8 does let you
bulk-edit many of these fields, Set Video Kind of Selected has one unique feature that's very
useful: sequential episode numbering."
I had forgotten about that feature. Make Video Tags also has sequential track, episode ID, and episode numbering.
Genius 4010 Error
This Apple forums discussion post describes an error that many iTunes 8 users are getting:
"iTunes 8.0 gathers data about my music library well enough and sends it to Apple too; but then 10-15 seconds into 'processing' by Apple, iTunes stops and reports that 'Genius results can't be updated right now. An unknown error occurred (4010)'. I thought it might be overloaded servers and tried several more times in the hope of squeezing my request in between those of everyone else; but that didn't work; plus if it were a server issue I'd expect to see postings here from others with the same problems, and I'm not."
Several posters have tried removing dead tracks--tracks whose files cannot be located as designated with the encircled exclamation point--from the library using the script Super Remove Dead Tracks and trying again, and although this didn't work for everybody, several posters did get things working correctly afterwards.
