1. Id3v2.3 tagging warning
Since build 13, FileRenamer supports id3v2 3.0 tags. This is however very experimental, for at my computer it didn't work flawlesly.
Yet I don't know if this is is a bug in FileRenamer, or something wrong on my computer, for I got the same problem in other programs too...
After formatting my pc and trying again I found the same problem still here. So I guess it's something with FileRenamer.
The problem exists, that is a fact, and I will keep looking for a solution, but until then I'll give you the info you need to avoid the problem.
To correctly insert all id3v2.3 tags including the track aswell:
1. Enter the Id3v2.3 tags.
2. Enter the Id3v1.1 tags.
Result: All tags are entered correctly.
Other Situation 1:
1. Enter Id3v1.1 tags.
2. Enter Id3v2.3 tags.
Result: All tags are entered correctly except for the track, all tracks are the last id3v1.1 track you added.
Other Situation 2:
1. Enter Id3v1.1 tags.
Result: All tags are entered correctly, but you don't have id3v2.3 tags (means some titles are truncated).
Other Situation 3:
1. Enter Id3v2.3 tags.
Result: All tags are entered correctly, except for the track, it will be empty. And there will be no Id3v1.1 tags.
One last thing: Don't add id3v2.3 tags to a song you are playing. The song will be copied with a name filename.mp3.mp3 for example. And this will keep going, I have had filename.mp3.mp3.mp3.mp3.mp3.mp3.
Just close Winamp or your music program, or play a song of which you are sure you're not going to tag, and then do it. All will be fine then.
Thanks for your patience, please follow these isntructions and stay out of trouble with tags. I will try to solve it, and when I have an update will be available.
ThoNohT
2. Starting Up
When filerenamer starts up it will check several things. Those will be discussed further on in this chapter.
First of all to run at all, it will need several components, (.ocx files). They can be downloaded on this site.
Look at the homepage in downloads for a link to those files and information on what to do with them.
Then when FileRenamer runs, it will check the following things: Settings, Languages, Directory.
Settings: Settings are generated automatically. They are saved in settings.ini, and if the settings don't exist, it's no problem.
They are generated so FileRenamer can remember what you filled in in all textareas and which checkboxes you checked. They are of no great importance.
Languages: Filerenamer supports languages, but that does mean that it needs a languagefile to startup.
On the homepage there are links to all languagefiles that I know, but it is very easy to make a new languagefile.
If you do, please send it to me so I can add it to the site. To use languagefiles, just make a subdirectory in your
FileRenamer directory called 'languages' (without the '') And in it place the languagefiles.
Now, when FileRenamer starts and it prompts for a language, you can select a languagefile.
Directory: The directory file will also be autogenerated. When you start for the first time,
the directory you start in will be the directory FileRenamer itself is in too. The directory.ini will be generated automatically.
If by accident a certain directory is saved in that ini, but the directory was deleted afterwards, FileRenamer will give an error
when starting up. It will ask you to restart FileRenamer and then shut down by itself.
That is because FileRenamer then deleted directory.ini and will then use its own directory as the starting directory at the next startup.
Apart from that FileRenamer checks internet for version information and more,
but those things cannot interrupt the startup process and will therefore not be discussed.
3. Left Part: Folderbrowser & More
Looking at the layout of FileRenamer you can distinguish 3 parts located next to eachother.
The left part contains the Folderbrowser and three buttons.
I hope you know how a folderbrowser works, so I will skip that part. The only thing you should know about it is that by
double-clicking on a folder, it will be selected for editing.
The button on the left is the 'Set Default' button. When you click this FileRenamer will update directory.ini,
and put the currently selected folder in it. This way next time you start the folderbrowser will already by pointing at
your desired folder. This keeps you from having to navigate to that place all the time, useful if you save all your files
in one place.
The 'Refresh' button is useful if a new folder was created while FileRenamer was running. The Folderbrowser might then not show
all the folders, Refresh will solve that.
'Select Language' opens the same screen as the language screen you get when starting FileRenamer without a language set.
In that screen you can select a language for the FileRenamer interface.
4. Middle Part: Information
The function of the middle part is actually only to provide you with information.
There are 5 things on it.
The upper thing is a label which shows you in which directory you are working.
Then there is a filelist, which shows which files are in the selected folder.
Because those filenames are often longer than the filelist can show, when you click on a file in the filelist,
the textbox that is directly beneath the filelist will show the complete name (without path) of the selected filename.
The text in it cannot be edited, but it can be copied. This might come in useful when you want to replace a certain
part of the filenames. Typing it might cause a typing error. A much safer and faster way is to just copy that part out of te
filename textbox and use that for the replacing.
A function new to version 26 is doubleclicking a file in the filelist. This wil open a prompt which asks you to give a new filename
for the file. If you leave it empty or press cancel, it doesn't do anything. But if you fill in something, it will rename the file.
It's called Manual Rename because you have to type it all by yourself and have full control over it, and it works on only one file at a time.
And then there is a status indicator which shows what FileRenamer is currently doing, and a progressbar, which shows how far
the process has already succeeded.
5. Right Part: Log
The function of the Log is pretty clear: it logs all events in FileRenamer.
When starting up it shows a welcoming message, when there is a new version available it will show that too (if you have internet).
And there is also a small message that I (ThoNohT) put online, it contains some information I'd like to give you at that moment.
The message is usually an enthusiastic comment about a new version. I will always point for which version new languagefiles are needed.
Then there is a button to clear the log, useful if you have done a lot in it and what a clean screen.
There is a link to this website, and the right button opens the changelog in a separate window.
6. Right Part: Ren Dir
Ren Dir is short for: Directory Based Renaming. This tab is for including parts of the path in the filename.
You can add up to three parts of the path in the name, separated by the texts you insert in the textboxes.
Some examples:
1. Say you disable all checkboxes. Then the file will be renamed as simply the filename (shown in the output label as filename.ext).
This way you can choose to move files one or two directories up. This by selecting one of the option buttons, which speak for themselves.
2. You have the following Directory: "D:\Media\Bandname\Albumname", and you want to include the bandname and albumname in the mp3files in the folder.
You'd like to get something like this: "Bandname - Albumname - filename.ext" (filename could already be named as "Tracknumber. Songtitle" (ie. "01. A Song").
In this case you check the Level 1 and Level 2 checkboxes, and in both textboxes you put the text " - " (without the "").
This indicates that you want to include the folder above the folder, and the folder above that one in the filename, separated both by " - ".
The output label will always show what your filename will look like after converting. Try to experiment a bit with it, and see what comes out in the output label.
The go button starts renaming.
7. Right Part: Ren 1
In Ren1 there are three parts: Crop, Replace, Add.
Crop: Crop removes an amount of letters from the right and left side of the filename, by using the arrow keys you can define how much it removes.
Replace: Replace will look in the filename and search for the first occurence of the text you put in the left textbox, if it is found it will replace it with the text in the right textbox.
This can be nothing of course, for removing something that is in the middle of a filename. If you put nothing in the first textbox it will just not replace.
Add: Add will just add some text to the left or right side of the filename, on the left side it'll add the contents of the upper textbox,
and on the right side the contents of the lower textbox.
8. Right Part: Ren 2
Ren 2 came later than Ren 1, it added some extra functions which are always quite useful.
The first two buttons should be clear, they turn the entire filename in lowercase text, or in uppercase text.
The next button 'Proper Case' makes the entire filename in 'proper case', which means the first letter of each word is capitalized.
The keep lower case list doesn't work at the moment. This will also be removed from version b25 up. Since I never used it and made all words start with a capital letter,
and the support for it had become more difficult with the new renaming mode I decided to remove it. Anyway the list was used for keeping certain words in entire lowercase.
This list was in lcase.ini, which you had to edit yourself, and then FileRenamer would load it and keep those words in lowercase.
But it doesn't exist anymore.
A button new to b27 is the Remove double spaces button. Clicking it will simply search for any occurence of two sequential spaces. One of those spaces will be removed, so no double spaces will be present anymore.
Then there is change "_" in spaces, and spaces in "_". Files often come with underscores "_" at places where there should be spaces.
That's useful for distributing them on the internet, preventing the use of %20's. With these buttons you can inmediately change all
underscores to spaces or spaces to underscores.
9. Right Part: Id3v1
This part is for managing Id3v1 tags. (Id3 tags are tags that are in mp3 files that give information about artist, title, album etc.)
The first button is for deleting all tags.
Then there is a part where you can define how the tags should be inserted in the mp3 file (note: this only works for mp3 files).
FileRenamer assumes the filename of the mp3 has some logic in it. For example: "Track. Title", or "Artist - Album - Track.Title"
or "Artist - [Year] Album - Track. Title"
In creating you can define in which order those tags come, and what is between them. Let's assume it's like the last example.
Then it would look like this:
First textbox: Nothing (there is nothing before the artist)
First combo-box: Artist
Second textbox: " - ["
Second combo-box: Year
Third textbox: "] "
Third combo-box: Album
Fourth textbox: " - "
Fourth combo-box: Track
Fifth textbox: ". "
Fifth combo-box: Title
Sixth textbox and combo-box are empty since we have now reached the end of the filename.
Then when you click add tags and you have filled in all fields correctly, the tags should be added. Otherwise you will get an error :)
Show tags makes a nice table with which tags are in which files.
10. Right Part: Id3v2.3
Id3v2 tags are newer and can contain more information than Id3v1 tags, but FileRenamer supports only the same tags as it does with Id3v1.
Removing and tagging works exactly the same as it does with Id3v1, so I won't comment on those.
I don't recommend checking the remove Id3v1 tags checkbox for the reason stated in chapter 1 of this documentation.
But if you do, it will remove all id3v1 tags after adding the Id3v2 tags.
11. Right Part: Plugin
Plugins are dll files which can do things with your filenames too. They come separate from FileRenamer, and everyone can make them.
If you want to install a plugin you have to make a subdirectory in your FileRenamer directory called "Plugins" (with the capital P an without the "").
Then you make a folder in it which has exactly the same name as the dll (but without the extension of course). And the dll goes in that directory.
When you now run FileRenamer the plugin will be listed in the plugin list.
When you click settings you can alter the settings of the plugin (if there are any).
Plugin Information will show a screen with information about the plugin (And I request to all plugin makers to do make an information screen)
Then Run Plugin, this will send the current filename of each file to the plugin, and the plugin will return what it wants to make of the filename, then FileRenamer will change the filename to the desired filename.
Beware, it is also possible for a plugin to do things with files directly,
so make sure you are using safe plugins, and not for example deleting all your files.