microstudio 4.200

[ddouglass]

Good choice. Vista has always been a pain.
As far as you import of ZIPS. From what you wrote "Disk_ID_-_Track_-_Artist_-_Title" There should be no spaces or underlines between DiskID and Track and you would have to use Custom settings to get the right separator (_-_ instead of " - "). Also if your DiskID-Track is something like AKS100-03-09 then you will have to modify it to make the second separator "-", the second field "&This", next separator "-", and then Track for the third field with the Artist and Title pushed back to fourth and fifth fields.
Importing files like that can get very complicated and you have to pay close attention to the details.
If you are going to convert them first it would be best to convert to BIN or MP3+G (which is what they are inside the ZIP. I am not sure but converting them to KMA with Songverter doesn't unzip them I think. MTU is trying to get away from using ZIP files within Hoster because they cause extra delays when cueing them up for play to unzip them. When you import them as ZIP files now they are unzipped and stored as MP3+G inside the KMA file.

[seawolf]

Thanks, Dale.

I have discovered that the best way for me to to achieve imports, both into Hoster and into Microstudio is to perform the following on them:

1. Rename the ZIP file(s) to the following format Artist_-_Title
2. Convert the ZIP file to BIN (this changes the file name in the ZIP file to the same format Artist_-_Title
3. Convert back to ZIP, then import to Hoster (or Microstudio)

For the conversion, I use MP3G Toolz 4 or Songverter, the latter generally being slower, but every bit as good if not better. Doing this may seem like quite a bit of work, but it achieves several things:

1. Ensures that the binary files are in tact (no CRC errors). This practically guarantees that all files will be read corretly
2. Standardizes the file naming protocol (for large blocks, I use "Better File Rename" which is a great program, by the way)
3. Ensures that when you print the songbook from Hoster that you get a nice, neat & clean product. I print a single book, sorting by Artist in the front and Title in the back using Microsoft Word to add header & footer, duplex print them with 2-columns and get 11,000+ songs in a book that is 144 pages on both sides. All this takes me about 20 minutes to set up & the laser printer about 8 minutes per book. I can produce, print & bind 13 books in an afternoon.
4. Permits storage of archives on an external drive for future recall.

Again, thanks for your insight & help

DC

[madjim- with the Lord]

Hey DC,
Since Hoster converts any ZIP file it imports to an MP3+G file, you could save some time by just converting your ZIP files to MP3+G files.

A zip file containes an MP3 file (music) and a CDG file (lyrics). When you "convert" a ZIP file to an MP3+G file there are no changes made to the MP3 or the the lyrics file, it just eliminates the zip portion.

I Hope This Helps

Jim

[seawolf]

You are correct, Jim.

I have, however, had some difficulty processing the 2 files vis a vis one. Being an old feller, I sometimes forget to change the file name on BOTH files, so I play it safe! Besides, being retired, it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars except for work.

Hoster also imports binary & I have done it that way as well. The problem I face is that I retain everything I process and keeping them in other than ZIP format eats up a terabyte of space, whereas in ZIP format, I am slightly over 500GB.

DC

[madjim- with the Lord]

Originally Posted by seawolf

Besides, being retired, it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars except for work.

Here Here! Ha ha ha ha ha...


Jim

[seawolf]

Jim:
We've got family in Waycross...do you ever do any gigs in that area?

DC

[madjim- with the Lord]

No gigs in Waycross but I do get wedding gigs on St Simons every so often.

Do you live right on the bay?

Jim