Noob: Batch Mode Issues

Hi

Many thanks for a terrific app. I have 2 issues though, that I just cannot resolve myself:

I keep trying to create a sequence of 3 methods, made up of presets I have saved, as follows:

a) Insert opening bracket 5 characters backwards
b) Insert closing bracket 0 characters backwards (assuming the above has executed first)
c) Insert 4 characters 0 characters backwards (assuming the above 2 have executed first)

In other words, I want to change the text from

Led Zeppelin LA Forum 1970
Led Zeppelin LA Forum 1971
Led Zeppelin LA Forum 1972

to

Led Zeppelin LA Forum (1970) FLAC
Led Zeppelin LA Forum (1971) FLAC
Led Zeppelin LA Forum (1972) FLAC

Issue 1.
Whenever I Add a second method using a Preset, the first method is automatically replaced by a Move method (and also Batch Mode has changed to Move, all by itself), which I never wanted and I have no idea why this is happening - it's driving me nuts!

Issue 2.
I am also having to change the Batch Mode Output folder to the folder I'm working on before I press Start Batch or the subfolders move to another folder, which I don't want. I'm probably not understanding this properly, but I then I don't understand the purpose of Batch Mode. Is there a way to make the Output folder default to the current folder if its subfolders are to remain exactly where they are?

If Issue 1 can't be done the way I understand it at the moment, can you please tell me how I can create a mask that will add a space then brackets around 4 digits (a year) and then add a space and 4 characters please (so it looks like the above example)?

Thanks

Paul

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Reply to #1:
Issue 1

I believe this is "by design", ie AR saves what is currently active at the time you save. So, get your Method 1 as you want, with no other Methods visible, then save to a name that suits. Every time you open that file, you'll get exactly what you saved. Repeat for the other 2 methods.

However, this workflow will require three steps (open & apply EACH Method).

So, you need to manually create the 3 Methods you describe, so all 3 are visible. For testing, go through the steps: load files, tick Method 1 ONLY, check output in the right hand screen, run batch. Reload files, tick Method 2 ONLY, check output in the right hand screen, run batch. Reload files, tick Method 3 ONLY.

Key point: AR will show you IF a change will be applied, if that change is OK or will cause an issue or error.

Once happy, you can save that as a custom Method.

Issue 2

The batch mode should be set to RENAME if you just want to do that, rather than use the copy/move functions.

The principle here is that you drag in files or folders directly into the main window, or select them from the Folder Panel (select it via the button at the top). You can set filters, whether to include sub-folders etc. It's these files that you process ("batch"), even if it's only a single file. Think of "batch" as "GO! Apply the Methods!".

Given the name format:

Led Zeppelin LA Forum 1970

so <text><date> in that order, where the date is 4 digits) try this:

Replace Method
Text to be replaced: (.*)(\d\d\d\d)
Replace with: \1(\2) FLAC
Occurrence: All
Case sensitive: not ticked
Use regular expressions: ticked
Apply to: Name

The (.*) will find all characters up to the (\d\d\d\d), which is the set of 4 numbers

\1 is the result of the (.*) search
\2 is the result of the (\d\d\d\d) search
You can see the added text you wanted, namely the ( ) and FLAC.

This example is limited to the assumed format, but you can see the principle.

Have fun!

Mark

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Reply to #2:

Great reply, many thanks Mark!

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Reply to #3:
To add to Mark's effort, I would modify the Regex a tad so that there is no unwanted changes. Therefore,

Find:
^(.+?) (\d{4})$

Replace:
$1 ($2) FLAC

Note the anchors, '^' for the start of the string, and '$' for the end. You may have 4 digit numbers in the Album name which will be affected.

Side Note:
I went through similar many years ago redoing my audio collection, and chose to use ' • ' (space-bullet-space) as a delimiter between the fields. For example, Led Zeppelin • LA Forum • 1970 • FLAC. In the future you may want to change things again, and this make life much easier.

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Reply to #4:
Just seen your message John - many thanks.

What is the advantage of a bullet over the "-" symbol please?

On a separate note, the task of converting all my folder titles to bullets would be horrendous as I have tens of thousands. Aside from that, I can't find the bullet symbol on my keyboard :-)

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Reply to #5:
I guess it's aesthetics!

ps, I appreciated the RegEx improvements

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