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Duplicate File Handling in MusicZen

In this post I will try to give a quick over view of how MusicZen handles duplicate mp3 files.

When multiple files are found with the same tag information the files are flagged as duplicates, MusicZen will then compare the bit rate, duration, and file size. The file with the highest bit rate, duration, and file size will be selected 🙂 If some of these properties are the same then it will compare them in order and then one file is selected.

The order in which the file is selected is as follows:

  1. If the bit rate is the same it will compare duration. The file with the longest duration will be selected.
  2. If bit rate and duration are the same then the file size is compared. The file with the biggest file size is selected.
  3. If bit rate, duration, and file size are the same, then the first file in its queue will be selected since they are considered the same file by MusicZen.

There is no complicated byte, hash or character-level comparison here. Just a simple logical comparison of these file properties.

I am considering integrating more options like the ability to select which bit rate to keep in a future version. But for now I hope this helps in knowing which file MusicZen will end up moving or copying at the end of its run.

I welcome any questions, feedback, and/or feature requests via my contact form.

Thank you for stopping by and for using MusicZen.

By hsnyc

What is MusicZen and how to get started

Here is an introduction video to get you familiar with MusicZen:

In this video I introduce MusicZen and show you how to quickly get started.

MusicZen is a simple Windows Desktop application designed to help you move, rename, and organized mp3 files with ease. MusicZen reads the tag in each mp3 file and it uses this information to move or copy the files into another location placing them in the directory structure of your choice.

If you have any questions or comments, please enter them in the comment section below or you can reach me via my contact form.

Referenced Links:

ID3 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID3
MP3 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3

Thank you watching!

By hsnyc

How to convert .m4a files to .mp3 using iTunes.

I have been asked several times for advice on how to organize a music library with mixed file formats and what tools are best for the task. There are several ways to go about this and it is mostly based on preference. My advice would be to see which format most of your files are in now, and convert the minority to what the majority of files are in. For example, say you have 75% mp3 and 25% m4a, I would suggest converting those 25% into mp3 and using a tool like MusicZen to rename, move, and organize your files into the appropriate folders. Of course it is ultimately up to you which format to pick and which tool to use. You may decide to convert the mp3s instead and there are many great programs out there that can help you organize file formats other than mp3s. (more…)

By hsnyc

MusicZen on FLATTR

musiczen-on-flattr

I recently wrote about Flattr and how I came to it. I love this idea of micro donations. To me, it is some what related to Micro finance (except you do not have to pay it back), which is what Kiva.org is all about! and as you probably know, I am a big fan of Kiva. As a contributor and developer, I benefit from the ability to give and receive support from others who make products and share it with the world. MusicZen was built as a result of this. I gathered information and resources provided by many different people and organizations from all over the world and simply put it together to create the product you see today. Of course it helps to have some programming experience, but still, I just read numerous Blogs and Articles and used various frameworks and libraries that were built by different people. This is what made it happen. Because of this, I have signed up on with Flattr.com. I think it creates a simple process to give and receive, and who does not like when things are simple 🙂

MusicZen is now part the Flattr catalog to allow visitors an easy way to contribute to it. It also allows me to contribute to the great work other developers do that have actually allow me to create this little app as well.

musiczen-flattr-button

If you decide to Flattr MusicZen, I will send you the portable files for the latest version of MusicZen as a sincere ‘Thank You’. You can use these files to run MusicZen anywhere you like. Use it from a USB drive or transfer it to another computer. Take it with you to your neighboors house and help him or her find and organized their scatter mp3 files or, you can just merge multiple small collections into one big collection. It is all up to you.

Then you can feel good about helping me and helping others at the same time. After all, this is what its all about.

Take care and thank you for visiting.

By hsnyc

MusicZen is truncating the file name or does not read certain tags.

If you notice that MusicZen is truncating your files or they are missing a letter in the file or folder name after you have run MusicZen, or that some file tags are not being recognized even after you have verified the mp3 file shows the tag when you look at the file properties, this may be caused by a bad file or corruption in the encoding of the file.

This problem may occur on files that were created with an older or buggy mp3 encoder. The mp3 metadata may be bad, invalid, or simply corrupted. Also, these files may have invalid symbols or characters within the tag that are removed by MusicZen or otherwise not recognized.

In order to organize these files with MusicZen, you will need to do the following. NOTE: You only have to do this once to have your files metadata repaired.

(more…)

By hsnyc

Downloading and getting to know the MusicZen portable files

When you donate and complete the checkout process you will receive an e-mail with your license key and a link to download the executable file. At present, the file name is ‘MusicZen_v1.4_portable.exe’ which reflects the current version of the app. For the free download, the file name will be ‘MusicZen_v1.4_setup.exe’.

Downloading the portable files

Once you click on the link from your e-mail receipt the file will start downloading. Once the download finishes, depending on your browser, you may need to open the ‘Downloads’ folder, or just click on the message given by the browser confirming the download has completed. (more…)

By hsnyc

MusicZen v1.4 Released!

I have been working over time this weekend to release this update. Among other things, it now allows you to download any updates directly from the license form, instead of taking you to the home page, which was no help since the download link for the portable file was modified.

The new licenses are now in place and working the way they should. Other bugs were addressed as well. See the Change Log for more details on this update.

For current license holders, you can download the updated version using this link –> MusicZen v1.4. You can register it again, or, you can just move the license.xml file from the old version to the “MusicZen/Program Files” folder in the new version and it should recognize it. If you encounter any issues or have questions please contact me via the contact form or by leaving a comment below.

Thats it for now. Thank you for supporting MusicZen and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

By hsnyc

Implementing new licenses.

About a week ago I experimented with two other license options, one that allows you to use the current version without updates and one for lifetime updates. After the setup, all seemed to be working fine until a user contacted me saying he could not activate the license, and then a second user contacted me with the same issue.. Ouch, that is what happends when you do not throughly test your licensing system. I took for granted that since my first license was working the rest will work too. That proved to be wrong and it has taught me a lesson, which is ‘Never to trust your licensing system’.. I am kidding of course, but the lesson here is to not take anything for granted (at least in web development) and to always test every new implementation on your test site before making it live, even if you are 90-99.99% it will work.

That being said, I am still working on the bug that is causing the activation issue and hopefully will get it resolved in the next few weeks. At the end of the day, there will be 3 licenses available:

  • 1 – One for the current version (no updates).
  • 2 – A regular license which comes with one year of updates.
  • 3 – A lifetime license with updates forever (or at least as long as I exist 🙂

The license will be issued based on set contribution amounts which will look something like $8, $12, $18.

Well, that is it for now. Thank you for stopping by and for your interest in MusicZen. Enjoy the rest of your day.

By hsnyc

MusicZen license discount!

MusicZen License Discount ImageGet a MusicZen license discount today. To celebrate it’s new home on the web, you can get a $2 discount towards a MusicZen License. Just enter discount code 2LDAY at checkout and you should be all set. If you are feeling good and want to spread the word about this easy-to-use utility, you can share it with your friends via your favorite social network and you will get an extra $2 off! that is $4 dollars off the regular license fee.

Imagine how much time you will save organizing your vast collection of mp3 files by just pointing MusicZen to your music file folder, or even if you are just looking to rename your mp3 file directories, MusicZen can help you do that with just a few clicks!.. just share it and enter 2LDAY at checkout to get the discounts.

Thanks for stopping by and for checking out MusicZen 🙂

By hsnyc

MusicZen v1.3 Released!

I am happy to announced that I have finally finished the new version of MusicZen. Many people who have used the application have given me some great feedback and some have asked me for different features so I hope that with this new version I will be able to met everyone’s requests, or at least most of them.

One of the major updates is the ability to re-order the folder structure and the file names by dragging the tag labels. You can also specify which character is used when naming your files. Check out the reference guide and the screenshots to get a picture of how this works. The other update is the addition of the Genres, which I got a lot of e-mails about for some reason. Also, mp3 files are now able to be moved or copy without having to rename them.

Other improvements include enhancements to the user interface, better layout for the report file, and some bug fixes. See the change log for a complete list.

I have licensed the new version for a small fee (about the cost of a CD/Album) so that I am able to continue to support the application and contribute to kiva.org. The license fee is to unlock the Advance features of the application and is a one time fee. The original version of the application will always be free, which I now call the Basic version.

Check out the new home page where you will be able to download the application, see screenshots, and read future blog posts about how to get the most out of MusicZen. So please check out the site, try the new version and let me know what you think. I would love to hear your feedback. Thanks for reading and for supporting MusicZen. See you next time.

By hsnyc