files to Audio mp3's

[Pedro_The_Swift]

For one reason or another I have around 500 songs WITHOUT the .mp3 on the end,,,
any ideas on how to add .mp3 to the end of a windows file title,, in bulk.

[theresanothersteve]

You could try a batch file, something like
rename *.* *.mp3

Depends on where your files are and if there are other files present in the same directory. I'm also pretty certain if you create a batch file and drag and drop the files you want to rename on the batch file icon it'll change those only. You'd have to move the batch file to every directory you want to change.

You can also add paths to the file criteria, which would change the files in multiple directories.

More information will be needed...

[theresanothersteve]

Looking at your screen grab you'll have to modify the batch file to include opening and closing quotes etc to get it to work.

You have got show file extension turned on for that directory? (It pays to check)

BTW, is that Set Me Free by the Sweet?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

You could try a batch file, something like
rename *.* *.mp3

Depends on where your files are and if there are other files present in the same directory. I'm also pretty certain if you create a batch file and drag and drop the files you want to rename on the batch file icon it'll change those only. You'd have to move the batch file to every directory you want to change.

You can also add paths to the file criteria, which would change the files in multiple directories.

More information will be needed...



all the songs that need changing are in one folder, there ARE complete working song files in the same folder, but easily sorted and removed if necessary.

I have NO batch file experience,, [bighmmm]

file extension turned on for that folder.

The Sweet? naw,, this ones by The Kinks[thumbsupbig]

[Mick_Marsh]

In the command window, do a directory listing and write it to file.
Use that file to create your batch file. Post it up and I'm sure someone will be able to write the batch file for you.

Or you could use ZTG (Z-Tree Gold).

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yea,, ZTG looks fun,,, [FishSlap]

[Mick_Marsh]

Well, I won't recommend that other package I use that is brilliant at making batch files.

Well, did you do that directory listing and write it to a text file? Are you going to post it up?

Hint: it's the DIR command with a few switches set.

dir /b > list.txt

[Pedro_The_Swift]

its telling me access is denied,,

[Mick_Marsh]

You have other issues then.

When you open the command window, do you change to the directory where the files are using the CD command?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yes, have notepad file list[bigsmile]
and no i'm not posting it online..[bigwhistle]
I'm still not sure what this would give you Mick the screen shot i posted didnt??[bighmmm]

[Pedro_The_Swift]

were you expecting a list of song titles?

[Mick_Marsh]

I was expecting a list of files I can manipulate into a batch file.

If you don't want to post it on line, email it to me.

[Wraithe]

Right click on one of the files and see what the properties bring up..

Should have something like this "MP3 audio (audio/mpeg)" or maybe "MPEG-1 Layer 3 (MP3)"...

Just copy and paste what it shows..

Changing file extensions without knowing exactly what the extension should be can be fatal but most times just inconvenient...

to change extensions in bulk, you can use a wild card like "*.mp3" with out the quotes... The asterix is the wild card for all the files thus the extension is changed... Not sure of the windows command to rename files so you are on your own there... In Linux its "rn" so may be something simular...

[theresanothersteve]

... wild card like "*.mp3" with out the quotes...
Unless your filename contains spaces. You can work around using the first six characters of the file name and add ~1, but it starts to get messy if you have other files with the same 6 characters at the start (~2, ~3 etc).

Pedro, the code I added to my first post should work. Open a new file in notepad and enter the code. Save it, then use file explorer to change its name and extension to <name>.bat (<name> is whatever you want to call it). Create a copy of the folder where you want to work the magic and copy/ move your batch file to the location. Double click the batch file to run...

Please note I DO NOT GUARANTEE BATCH FILES OR CODE PROVIDED, use it at your own risk. That's why I strongly recommend you experiment on a copy of the folder (directory in batch file speak).

[Wraithe]

Unless your filename contains spaces. You can work around using the first six characters of the file name and add ~1, but it starts to get messy if you have other files with the same 6 characters at the start (~2, ~3 etc).



If you only wish to change the extension, then you can change it using the wild card for the name and add .mp3... Obviously if you have other files that are not mp3 then do this in a seperate folder(directory) with only the files you wish to change.. Its a simple process to relabel the files to mp3... This will also allow you to test if the relabel has worked...

The other issue could be that the files are not mp3 and then you would need to convert to mp3... I understand there are some files that are encrypted when saved in windows, but you can convert them with windows...

If someone is not fluent with a computer, its best to keep things simple and not apply process's that require a knowledge of computers beyond the user level... Not a lot of people spend hours modifying files or the OS, thus its better to simplify first and have all the information about what is being converted, then a simple process to get the result will make a user more confident to try other things...

Another point to consider is to change the permissions of the files in question... If they are copied, then they would carry the permissions un-changed, maybe they can change with a copy command and then be manipulated... Changing the attributes in windows is not that hard but I would have to look the command up, as its been 20 years since I used windows properly...

"Theresanothersteve", you would know these commands, it was the easiest way to change permissions in windows, then manipulate the file to your hearts content...

[Mick_Marsh]

How many files are we talking about?

[Wraithe]

How many files are we talking about?

Pedro stated 500 in his first post...

[Mick_Marsh]

Pedro stated 500 in his first post...
Is that all?

I'd have done them by now.

[Wraithe]

Is that all?

I'd have done them by now.

ROFL, thats a bit rough Mick... Pedro may be one of the older generation that is still looking for the "ON" key of a mobile...


Actually just realised, I worked with a younger person than I, who didnt know what SMS or TEXT was...
But saying that, my son is 18 and thinks computers are only for old people... Probably has something to do with us over 50's all having computers...

[Mick_Marsh]

ROFL, thats a bit rough Mick... Pedro may be one of the older generation that is still looking for the "ON" key of a mobile...
I think it is a fair and reasonable comment.

From his previous posts, I think he has a NAS. Something I would like but I seem to be incapable of setting up.
I think he is quite a smart and capable fellow. He just needs to be shown where the "ON" key is.

[AK83]

... But saying that, my son is 18 and thinks computers are only for old people...

Their problem is that playing games, useless apps, and wasting time on social media is just as easy now on the new fangled phones with as much processing power as many PCs ...
Hence lack of need for a proper computery device.



... Probably has something to do with us over 50's all having computers...
And being used to doing work on them.

I'm just trying to imagine collating 300 csv files on a mobile device, and using complex formulae to edit some of that data into usable fields all on a phone or tablet.
It's hard enough on a PC with one 32"(4K) and a 27"(HD) screens getting it all in view .. never mind using the final data in graphs.


Back onto Pedros' issue.
I'm thinking some other process may be using that folder, or some of the files in it for him to get access not allowed.

Files appear to be on the PC itself(not the NAS), and mostly likely on another HDD(the 1Tb black going by the screenshot).

the access not allowed would imply you're not allowed access(unlikely considering that the files can be played) .. so the obvious issue is then a process may be using one or more files, or that permissions for your use may be set to read only.

Check the permissions for the entire folder and that you have full access(or at least the write access) allowance.

[austastar]

Hi,
Can you see the file extension on other files like .jpg or .pdf in other folders?

I seem to remember there was a preference somewhere that would show/hide this.

Cheers

[AK83]

....

file extension turned on for that folder.

...


Hi,
Can you see the file extension on other files like .jpg or .pdf in other folders?

I seem to remember there was a preference somewhere that would show/hide this.

Cheers

Hopefully that answers that question.

BUT!! being pedantic for a moment ..
You say file extensions turned on for that folder .. does that mean that file extensions aren't on system wide?
If not, then maybe there's some corrupted doodad somewhere in 'electron land' on the PC, and even tho it's turned on, it may not really be fully turned on .. or something else to that effect.

If file extensions aren't on for the entire PC .. that may be the first thing to try at least.

if extensions are on for the entire PC .. I apologise for the rambling.

[Wraithe]

Their problem is that playing games, useless apps, and wasting time on social media is just as easy now on the new fangled phones with as much processing power as many PCs ...
Hence lack of need for a proper computery device.



I wish... He can take great photos with mobile or camera but he dont like gaming... But take him out into the paddock and he is in his element... Learns to operate machinery that quickly you would think he was born in them... Hunting, camping, fishing so long as he is out bush he is happy(even fixing or building fences)... Just a plain old bush kid, you know, work hard, play hard and drinks harder... I have become very proud of him but wish he would learn a bit about electronics... Anyway he does love the landy, so he aint that bad...


On the subject of extensions, I dont know if pedro has win 10, but from what I can gather, its been developed on a non microsoft kernel... In linux, you dont need extensions for a lot of files, just the name... The file type is able to be found in the file properties thus you can add it if not shown in the name... I am wondering if windows has gone the same way and if so then looking up the properties of the file will show the file type and then you can add it to the name so another device/os can recognise it from the name of the file containing the extension...
Just an idea!

Microsoft reveals all about Windows 10's Linux subsystem (https://betanews.com/2016/04/24/windows-10-linux-subsystem/)

Have a read, very interesting! ROFLMAO

[Pedro_The_Swift]

:o

My apologies to ALL,, I have been away,,
and now off to work,,

will attack this in the arvo,,

is that word still ok to use?
there's no NEW uptodate word for the time after midday?
[bighmmm]

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Right click on one of the files and see what the properties bring up..

Should have something like this "MP3 audio (audio/mpeg)" or maybe "MPEG-1 Layer 3 (MP3)"...

Just copy and paste what it shows..

Changing file extensions without knowing exactly what the extension should be can be fatal but most times just inconvenient...

to change extensions in bulk, you can use a wild card like "*.mp3" with out the quotes... The asterix is the wild card for all the files thus the extension is changed... Not sure of the windows command to rename files so you are on your own there... In Linux its "rn" so may be something simular...

as you can see,, some file names have spaces before text,, this will be deleted song numbers etc,,

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Hopefully that answers that question.

BUT!! being pedantic for a moment ..
You say file extensions turned on for that folder .. does that mean that file extensions aren't on system wide?
If not, then maybe there's some corrupted doodad somewhere in 'electron land' on the PC, and even tho it's turned on, it may not really be fully turned on .. or something else to that effect.

If file extensions aren't on for the entire PC .. that may be the first thing to try at least.

if extensions are on for the entire PC .. I apologise for the rambling.


no idea if this makes global decisions,,
you would think so seeing where it is,,

[Pedro_The_Swift]

snip--

Back onto Pedros' issue.
I'm thinking some other process may be using that folder, or some of the files in it for him to get access not allowed.

Files appear to be on the PC itself(not the NAS), and mostly likely on another HDD(the 1Tb black going by the screenshot).

the access not allowed would imply you're not allowed access(unlikely considering that the files can be played) .. so the obvious issue is then a process may be using one or more files, or that permissions for your use may be set to read only.

Check the permissions for the entire folder and that you have full access(or at least the write access) allowance.

should be nothing else using the folder,,

[Wraithe]

as you can see,, some file names have spaces before text,, this will be deleted song numbers etc,,

Could you click on the tabs "Details" and the other tab "Security" on the properties of that file, Please...

[Pedro_The_Swift]

...

[PeterJ]

There is a great little program (free) called FileRenamer, I use the Win (basic) version and it is excellent at this type of task. It can remove unwanted spaces, rename, change extensions, add numbers, add or delete pre-fixes and it's easy to use, just google it.

Peter

[Wraithe]

...

Damn, windoze does not say what file type is in the properties... It could be WMA or one of his friends that dont work too well on a lot of devices(Like car stereos for one)...

If you dont mind using an Audio(sound) converter, you could open the file in the application and it will convert to .mp3... I use "Sound Converter", but thats a Linux App... I know windows 10 can run linux app's natively but only if you impliment the linux subsystem on windows 10...

Sound converter will process as many files as you attach, my average per file is 1 to 2 minutes from ogg, wma, mp4 etc to mp3... My computer does 8 at a time as my processor has 8 threads(I have opened about 20 at once tho)...

If someone knows the commands to access to the file type, then you can work from there, but if you try doing anything to that file by renaming you may corrupt it...Either someone who knows windows commands to get type or using a converter, which should read the type when opened, either way its not just a case of renaming the files yet...

[Mick_Marsh]

Damn, windoze does not say what file type is in the properties...
Windows gets the "file type" from the extension.
As there is no extension, there is no file type to be read.

[Wraithe]

Windows gets the "file type" from the extension.
As there is no extension, there is no file type to be read.

Ah but then how would windows known what application(program) to associate with the file... An extension is not needed in the file name because the file Identity is associated by the file type in the properties along with certain attributes...

file extensions are not always part of the file name, its just required in some systems(like usb players) because the codecs that are built in look for the extension in the file name...

Example is this file details:

Name: MCS07
Type: PDF document (application/pdf)

There is no other detail in the name, just "MCS07", but it is associated with document viewer as that sees the .pdf and associates with it..

Those two bits of information is required by the os, along with other parameters, like who owns it, who can use it and who can modify it... You can even find the original signatures of most files, last time they where accessed and when they where first saved... In the case of PDF, Images and music, there are a whole list of extra information saved with the original saving of the file...(and you can also remove a lot when you modify and save them under a new name, too)...

[Pedro_The_Swift]

There is a great little program (free) called FileRenamer, I use the Win (basic) version and it is excellent at this type of task. It can remove unwanted spaces, rename, change extensions, add numbers, add or delete pre-fixes and it's easy to use, just google it.

Peter


:TakeABow::TakeABow::TakeABow::TakeABow::TakeABow: :BigThumb:


Thanks Peter[biggrin]

and thanks to Mr Marsh and Wraithe for their efforts[thumbsupbig]

[PeterJ]

You're welcome I suggest you copy 20 or 30 files into a separate folder and then play with the program to understand what it does and how it works then you can go and process your actual files without any fear of burning them.
Enjoy
Peter

[Pedro_The_Swift]

any suggestions on how to delete JUST the space in front of the song titles?

[Wraithe]

any suggestions on how to delete JUST the space in front of the song titles?

rename, once you are able to edit the file, just use backspace to take the first letter back to the beginning... But if you are converting the files, you should be able to rename when you resave it, using "Save as"...

[Pedro_The_Swift]

windows rename wont allow this as it thinks both names are the same,,[bighmmm]
used TigiTago, [smilebigeye]

[Pedro_The_Swift]

saving new list to usb as we speak,,
look out car!
[bigrolf]

[PeterJ]

any suggestions on how to delete JUST the space in front of the song titles?

Not sure if you have it worked out yet but in the menu tabs down the bottom you have a tab called Delete/Remove/Insert
Second item down is Delete/Remove
Click on the radio button to make the feature "live" and then select the number of characters you want removed from the start of the file name. For example, the file name I have selected is called "(06) River.mp3" There are 5 characters from the start of the file name to the R.
Those would be (, 0, 6, ), and a space. A computer sees a space as a character.
To remove the (06) and the space simply remove 5 characters from the start of the file name. Click the "Preview" button and see what your new file mane looks like, if it's OK click "Apply"
It will perform the action on as many files as you have selected in the main screen.
As I said, copy some files to a temp directory and play with it, you can do no harm.

Peter

[Wraithe]

If you do accidentally delete a file and its a permanent delete, even ones from the Trash/Rubbish-bin, you can still recover them, but you do need to spend a little time using an application for that...

There is no such as a file gone completely unless the space where the data was occupying has been written over, and even then you may be able to get it back...

I use a couple of app's for recovering SD cards/usb etc that wont mount when inserted and at the same time I am able to recover all files, including the ones deleted previously....

So dont stress too much...

Unless of course you thought you deleted something you dont want anyone to know about, then your in trouble...(even the US air force haven't discovered a fool proof method of deletion)

[theresanothersteve]

Ah but then how would windows known what application(program) to associate with the file... An extension is not needed in the file name because the file Identity is associated by the file type in the properties along with certain attributes...

When a program is installed under windows it registers the file types that can be used to open the program and the program can open. Each file type is registered with the default program.

If you use Window's open with command part of what happens is the file type gets registered with that program. Open with shows the programs registered for that file type, the choose other program part of open with enables other programs to be associated with that file type (and appear in the open with list).

[Wraithe]

When a program is installed under windows it registers the file types that can be used to open the program and the program can open. Each file type is registered with the default program.

If you use Window's open with command part of what happens is the file type gets registered with that program. Open with shows the programs registered for that file type, the choose other program part of open with enables other programs to be associated with that file type (and appear in the open with list).

Thats correct, but the file type does not have to be in the file name... ie = "reg" can be a file name but the file type is part of the properties not the name,,, if the file name is = "reg.doc" then the human can see the name and associate it to a "document type" but the os has not used the file name it has associated it via the properties... If you put a usb into a stereo with the file name as reg but no file extension in the name (reg.mp3) then a lot of stereos cant associate that file as mp3 or link the audio codec to that file as the stereo or device has a limited operating system(mostly to make them cheaper)...

I have the same issue in my disco, if you dont apply the extension to the file name, then it rejects the file as not compatible...

What your talking about is application association to file types, not where the file type is found which is in the properties of the file, not the name extension... Programmes/Applications on a pc has a lot more power and access to the file details than a stereo...

[theresanothersteve]

Thats correct, but the file type does not have to be in the file name...

We're talking about Windows, not Linux.

Although Windows operating systems can read the file header information, it uses the file extension to identify the program assigned to open it and the alternative programs that are registered for that file type. Check Disc, for example, compares the file extension with the file type in the header when it is looking for corrupt files.

There are Windows utilities that can read and identify file type from the header but they are not readily available through the OS (including Windows/ File Explorer, depending on your version of Windows).