Transfer All Song Files To external Drive

[Joe Nieves]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

Windows Explorer is the easiest way to move the files.

Yes I know this, my problem is

Why can't the playlist be changed too, it's part of the operation for running the shows?

This is very important and I can't see the reason why the playlist was left out and not part of the plan when the ability to change the location of the song files was implemented.

This is a very important part of that operation.

I also remember some talk about updating the playlist on file format extension automatically when converting to new file format in Hoster 4.0

This was driving people crazy.

Why can't this be done when changing the location of a file allready on the playlist?

Is the playlist a database?

Thx Joe....

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by Joe Nieves

Why can't the playlist be changed too, it's part of the operation for running the shows?

This is very important and I can't see the reason why the playlist was left out and not part of the plan when the ability to change the location of the song files was implemented.

This is a very important part of that operation.

I don't think playlists were originally designed to be re-usable. The only reason to save them was to keep from losing it if Hoster crashed. Since most people still don't save them and no one has requested this, then why would they add more code and slow down the rebuild process more?
The funny thing is no one has ever requested this in all the years Hoster has been in existence and Hoster has always had the ability to locate your song files where ever you want them.

Originally Posted by Joe Nieves

I also remember some talk about updating the playlist on file format extension automatically when converting to new file format in Hoster 4.0

This was driving people crazy.

Why can't this be done when changing the location of a file allready on the playlist?

At the time there was a problem brought up about it and when all ZIP files were being converted MP3+G, then the playlists still listed all those files as ZIP and Hoster would not play them.

Originally Posted by Joe Nieves

Is the playlist a database?

Thx Joe....

No it is not a database file, so no you cannot open it with Access. The file is a proprietary format that was created by MTU and there are no programs you can read/edit it with except for Hoster.

[Skybird74]

[quote=ddouglass;85925]The funny thing is no one has ever requested this in all the years Hoster has been in existence and Hoster has always had the ability to locate your song files where ever you want them.

I have had many conversations with users on this forum about saved playlists and how to still make them useable when moving songs from one drive to another. That's how I learned what to do. The "file path" is a common function in ALL computer programs. If you move any file, you need to tell the computer where to find it. What other programs do you know of that automatically know when & where you move files from one place to another without your having to tell it where you put them???

[Joe Nieves]

Hi Skybird74

Thanks for you're input.

Quote:
I have had many conversations with users on this forum about saved playlists and how to still make them useable when moving songs from one drive to another. That's how I learned what to do.


What do you do to make the playlist useable without entering every song again in each playlist X 30 in my case? (That's a lot of work)

Quote:
The "file path" is a common function in ALL computer programs. If you move any file, you need to tell the computer where to find it.


This is the main point I was trying to convey in my post.

The playlist is an intrical part of the song database relationship which is use to hold the requested songs for cue.

This absolutely needs the ability to be able to edit or have some kind of fuction to tell it where the songs are located.

Do you have to reimport all you're songs if you change the drive location?


Quote:
What other programs do you know of that automatically know when & where you move files from one place to another without your having to tell it where you put them???


Yes You're Right, they give you the option of "DO YOU WANT ME TO SEARCH" or gives you a dropdown explorer type list and you pick the drive and directory where the files are located.

Thank You
Joe...

[Skybird74]

[quote=Joe Nieves;85939]Hi Skybird74

What do you do to make the playlist useable without entering every song again in each playlist X 30 in my case? (That's a lot of work)
I know what you mean, but the only way to avoid having to re-Add a song to the playlist is to preserve the file path. When I copied all my hst files to a new portable (smaller) external drive, I had to change it to the same letter I had been using on the older drive & set it so that the Drive letter never changes no matter what machine I hook it up to. When I bought my new Vista machine with a large HD, I had planned to put all my files on it and keep the ext. drive at home (to save carrying it around), but that wouldn't work because Hoster can only find my Playlist files on my "K" drive where I originally created them. (BTW, the Manual explains how to do this.)
Do you have to reimport all you're songs if you change the drive location?
The only way you can get Hoster to know where you moved the files to is to search & re-ADD them to the Playlist from their new location.

Yes You're Right, they give you the option of "DO YOU WANT ME TO SEARCH" or gives you a dropdown explorer type list and you pick the drive and directory where the files are located.
Yep, that pretty much explains it. There is no way around it.

[laddie]

When you expose the contents of the 4.06 list files, there are no obvious links to a file location. The file references the BookID. I don't think the list files care where the files are located, it simply calls the bookID from the DB, the DB knows where the file is. I have changed file locations in 4.06 and did not reload the list, list still worked. If you you want to see the contents of these file change it to an .HTML file. You can then display the contents. The list used in the 4.xx version is different than the list used in the 3.xx version.

[marklwood]

I have never used playlists, but I have been reading up on them. Could someone clarify for me what they actually look like when you load a list. Does it look like a normal singers songlist in the player screen? If so, does the book id show up in the right hand column like any normal show?

What I was thinking was, since while entering a book id from the main screen the name stays persistent, wouldn't it be better to utilize the singer's database for keeping these lists? Load your playlist, then it would be a matter of going down the list, entering the book id, and hitting S+. It would only take 1 second per entry to type the number. 1000 songs would take about 15 minutes. You would have a LOT more flexibility with the data that way.

Again, I don't use playlists so I may be WAY off base here. If I am off base, hit me with your best shot. I have thick skin

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by laddie

When you expose the contents of the 4.06 list files, there are no obvious links to a file location. The file references the BookID. I don't think the list files care where the files are located, it simply calls the bookID from the DB, the DB knows where the file is. I have changed file locations in 4.06 and did not reload the list, list still worked. If you you want to see the contents of these file change it to an .HTML file. You can then display the contents. The list used in the 4.xx version is different than the list used in the 3.xx version.

Laddie, you mean you can read .hst playlist files by converting them to .HTML??? OMG, if this is true, you have answered all our prayers. So....... what do you change to get Hoster to know where you put the songs? I have Re-built the database on a different computer which DID change the Book ID & old Playlists could still find them.
I have searched & tried everything else for 3 years! Whenever I move a song to a different location & try to play it later from the old playlist, it always says "file not found" & I have had to re-add it and Save the Playlist.