I've just started using MP3TAG, and it seems a pretty good application.

The auto-numbering wizard, however, numbers tracks sequentially in the order they appear - which is always alphabetically. Of course, CDs don't arrange tracks alphabetically, so the wizard numbers everything wrong. There doesn't seem to be a way to manually rearrange the track listings as they appear on the original recording.

What am I missing? How do you get MP3TAG to correctly number tracks via the wizard, or do you have to number them one at a time, saving each file as you go along?

Thanks!

Hahaha how would Mp3tag know the correct numbering order without the tracks having been numbered in the first place?

I use Mp3tag, albeit not for those purposes. I think you're probably gonna have to do it manually.

I think teh roxxors has a point. It would be easier if you could quickly drag files to certain order in the list before auto-numbering the tracks. Currently the only option is to tag the number and save the change for each file separately.

For example, foobar can do what teh roxxors asked. You can first drag the files in the correct order in a playlist and then use the "Auto track number" tagging script.

Mp3Tag could use the creation-date-time as an ordering criterion.

Why not grab the track number data (along with the album's other metadata) from the discogs or freedb sources available from within MP3Tag?

Yes, I tried that, and the other options as well, to no avail. The author needs to allow users to move tracks around manually in the list, so they can be placed in the same order as the original recording -- that way the autonumbering wizard actually works.

I'm not sure if I understand this correctly, but if I rip a CD with no ID3tags and name the files with no numbering, then load them into mp3tag and use freedb, mp3tag renames them correctly with correct numbering and all... Or is this not what you are trying to do?

You must have the files in the correct track order first. Otherwise the freedb search does not work.

Also, the album may not be available in the CD database or the user may want to number tracks that not part of a commercial CD, like private recordings or personal compilations.

Just rip the files so that within their file names the track number comes before track titles. This so obvious, isn't it?

But once the harm was done and the file names have the track numbers missing, the only thing you can do is to rename the files manually before loading them into MP3Tag.

It is obvious. Most rippers add tag numbers by default and can use a naming scheme that uses track numbers in front of any changing information. That is not the topic here.


This is also obvious. This topic is needed because of this obvious problem. Dragging the tracks to the desired order would be much faster than renaming or tagging each file manually.

As I already said, the user may want add new track numbers to a personal compilation that consist of files that are from various sources. Even if the files in the compilation happen to be from previously ripped CDs probably they contain old useless track numbers in the filenames and tags.

I was surprised when I first realised that Mp3tag doesn't allow dragging the files in a new order before auto-numbering. This is possible with many other programs that I use regularly, so the problem is not a biggie for me. However, the OP could post a feature request in Mp3tag's user forum.

He should request it at the MP3Tag forums

http://www.anytag.de/forums/

To add to robert's advice: %_file_create_datetime%

Very nice Robert and Cosmo. Thanks for the information. need to spend more time looking around Mp3Tag website
@ Cosmo, interesting url to "fire-waves"

cheers,
herefornow

You can rearrange the tracks by holding the ALT key and dragging-and-dropping the files to whatever position you want. If you have further Mp3tag specific questions, it might be a better idea to post on the official support forums.

No, track order doesn't matter for the freedb search, just the number of tracks and their total playing time. In fact, when a match is found (or selected, if there are multiple entries), mp3tag pops up a dialog box with the track info from freedb on the left (in correct track order, of course) and your selected tracks on the right, where you can then drag 'n' drop them into the correct order to match the freedb listing.


I'll be damned...I guess you do learn something new every day - like RTFM.

Hmm... I trusted Mp3tag's help file. This is a direct quote:

"freedb - different methods for getting album information: 2. determine from selected files
With this method, Mp3tag calculates the freedb-ID from the selected audio files. The files have to be in the same order as on the Audio-CD."


Thanks Sebastian. I didn't know this one even I have used Mp3tag extensively during the last couple of years. (I can't find this from the help. Perhaps it should be added if it is missing.)

There are official forums?

So you can move tracks around by holding the ALT key and click-dragging. Probably should have mentioned that in the Help document. Bet a lot of people have been using it for some time now without ever knowing this little tidbit.

I tried it; it works; speeds up the whole renumbering thing substantially.

Yes, here is the Mp3tag forum page. If you have seen the Mp3tag website, you would see the "Forum" link toward the top of the page.

Well, I don't want to sound harsh but that's common GUI knowledge. Or rather it's a quasi-standard - when you can re-arrange items in a list then you can do it with ALT-Up or ALT-Down and not with a different key combo. It's the same thing wit the CTRL key, if you want to select or deselect single items in a list you hold the control key and click the items, SHIFT will select/deselect a range where the already last focused item is the starting point and the item clicked while holding shift the end point.

But nevermind I didn't knew it was possible to use the mouse and drag'n'drop the items while holding ALT, that's new to me, too.