Messages

1

Wishlist / Re: Select Folders for inclusion from the Folder Contents pane.

« on: February 04, 2011, 15:44:56 »

You are very quick to view my post!  I have replaced the images with color versions.

Thanks!

2

Wishlist / Re: Select Folders for inclusion from the Folder Contents pane.

« on: February 04, 2011, 14:43:58 »

Looks like the [img] tag is disabled, so you will have to click the links 

I've located a folder in the (left hand top) Tree Pane (_M)

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0tbUZRv8FYlOTgxNTZiOTMtZGVjNi00YmQ2LTk0MjgtYzliMzI2NTA0OGU5&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Now I've selected my desired folders in the (right hand side) Contents Pane (Connie Smith, Patsy Cline)
 
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0tbUZRv8FYlOTI1ZTEyZmQtOGVmZi00ZmU3LWJlYWEtOTk0MWNjM2UwODVl&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Next <something magical> happens (my suggestion), and the boxes for those folders are now checked.  They also now appear in the Selected Folders Pane.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0tbUZRv8FYlZjZiZjJjYjEtYWMwYy00YjY4LTlkZDYtOGVlMTFmNjUxODYy&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

The something magical might be

• (with the cursor in the Contents Pane)
   "right click" "Check All Selected", or
• (with the keyboard focus in the Contents Pane)
   pressing Ctrl+S key combination, or
• ? ? ?

If you do update the right click menu, please also add "Select All (Ctrl+A)"
I cheated a bit between screen 1 and 2. 

The sub-folders of _M should not have been expanded in screen 2.  (Or, I need a screen 1.5 showing the click on the "+" to expand them.  )

The expansion would happen as the boxes are checked, which would make them visible if they already were not.

3

Wishlist / Select Folders for inclusion from the Folder Contents pane.

« on: February 04, 2011, 06:34:49 »

On the Folders tab, looking at the file tree, selecting (clicking to highlight) a folder displays the contents of that folder in the pane at the right.  (Do not confuse this with checking/unchecking the "include this one" box to the left of the folder icon in the tree).

Multiple files and folders displayed in the right pane may then be selected (highlighted) using shift and control keys while clicking.

Now that I have several folders selected in the contents pane, I want a way to check the corresponding "include this one" boxes back in the folder tree.

Somethings could be put on the right click menu for the selected item, "include selected", "exclude selected", "invert include/exclude for selected".

Perhaps a keyboard key (space?) could toggle the check boxes of the selected items.

I hope this is a good enough description of the problem.  I'd gladly add more (a example from a screen shot?) if you can ask me some question.

Thanks!

4

Wishlist / "Are you sure?" prompt when closing program.

« on: January 29, 2011, 17:06:54 »

Stupid me.

After Similarity ran for half an hour, I clicked the close button when I meant to click minimize.

Obviously, I inadvertently threw away a lot of work.

Protect me from myself, please!  Prompt me before closing when there is something in the result list.

5

Wishlist / Re: Display format: highlighting; new columns; field contents too wide

« on: January 29, 2011, 16:55:29 »

Thank you for your kind considerations.  An good algorithm for D) could get real complicated, really quick.

I would be easier (and probablly just as useful), if you

• work on C), the "C:\**\" replacement, and
• ignore D), the fancy name trimming.

6

Wishlist / Re: Display format: highlighting; new columns; field contents too wide

« on: January 29, 2011, 16:49:32 »

I understand that Apple and Microsoft and RealMedia and other vendors all have different ways of doing DRM.

I was just looking of an quick way to decide if

• I should archive/remove a file from my collection because I can't (or won't) get a key to play it, or
• I could easily get a key (I already own), and Similarity could then analyze the file.

This is most important for songs that were ripped by Window Media Player with the (stupid) option to "copy protect my music" enabled.  Microsoft will give me the key I need to play the music I ripped, but

• I have to ask for each song individually by opening it in WMP and clicking yes to get my key, and
• I already "own" the key -- Microsoft created it just for me when I ripped the song, and
• I can make the song legally playable without spending any money.

I believe you when you say there isn't an easy way to diagnose this condition in the general case. 
 
I'd be delighted if someone knows a trick that will let me easily (maybe in batch?) recover all the songs I ripped before I learned that I should have turned off "copy protect my music" option.

7

Wishlist / Full function trial.

« on: January 29, 2011, 16:18:55 »

I'm still on the fence about Similarity.  I haven't found anything better, but I can't get enough function out of the program to significantly speed up the culling process.

I'm wondering if the free version disabled function "rearrange groups" would help.  Not being sure about how it is supposed to work, I'd like to see it in action for a few days.  But with the free version, I can't.
Automatic selection has me confused.  It looks like the free version already chooses what it thinks is the "best" in a group, and there is an option tab to chose a ranking method.  What does the subscription version add which is not already there?
Would you consider generating a trial subscription key good for only 3 or 5 days for a trial user?

Or add an option in the registration to -- one time only -- enable a 3 day trial?

8

Wishlist / Re: focus line should not change when a new file is created on top

« on: January 29, 2011, 16:07:52 »

I just got burned by this problem.  Similarity was still adding duplicates to the Results tab, and must have added to a group shown above the focus line.

Version 1.5.3 build 1001 (1/20/2010).

Any idea when the fix will happen?

9

Wishlist / Re: CBR vs. VBR indication

« on: January 29, 2011, 16:04:03 »

What ever gets done for CBR vs VBR should also include some indication that a file was encoded in a loss less manor.  Think about .wma files -- it's most difficult to tell what the encode was thinking when it did its job.

10

Wishlist / Re: New "Right Click" functions, useful for tagging support

« on: January 28, 2011, 18:08:05 »

OK, I've done some more thinking about this.  These five features may avoid/defer a lot of the tag editing suggestions I've seen.

A).  Copy field under mouse cursor to clip board. 

  This would also get a single path name.

B).  Copy group to clipboard.

  Every file path in the candidate duplicate group would go to the clip board in two formats.

• B1).  Text string of path names, suitable for pasting into a (pseudo) common dialog open box file name field. 
  
  I fire up my favorite tagging program, have it do a "select files", and then paste the file path names into the dialog.  Presto, all the tags of all the files are available for me to play with.
  
  -- This may imply semi-colons, as well as spaces, separating the names?
  
  -- This also implies some sort of limited display refresh function in Similarity to pick up the tag values just changed in the tagging program, which is function E) below.
  

.

• B2)  Files paths to clipboard in reference format similar to a shell "copy" operation.  In theory, a "paste" operation in Windows Explorer would then copy the files.  And a tagger program could receive these files through a (tagger implemented) paste files function.
  

C)  Open tagger for group.

  The tagging program is defined in the options panel. 

• C1)  Just launch the program with the file path names as the parameter.
  

.

• C2)  Launch the program passing the files as if they had been dropped on the program icon, or the program launched by a shell extension. 
  
  Note that this is a much more sophisticated method and difficult method, but the only way to pass lots and lots of files as parameters.  But for a launch by Similarity, there won't be enough to require this method and C1) will probably work great.
  
  (For an example of a shell extension for tagging, install MP3Tag and you can have a Window Explorer right click shell extension "MP3TAG".  Select the files, right click on one of them, and launch MP3TAG from the menu.)
  

D)  Drag and drop.  Yes, it's a pain in the arse to get working, but it coordinates with C2).

• Grab (mouse click on) some area next to a logical box containing the candidate group information.  Drop the file names on the target window, probably a tagging program. 
  
  --  This implies designating target areas to click on.  Perhaps clicking on a file name will drag just that name, and clicking in any other column will drag all file names in the group.
  

.

• Drop the files on an open window (i.e. the running tagger program).
  
  Using MP3Tag as an example, the drop operation would replace/add to the current files list.  One would start a tag cleanup in Similarity by C) -- launch tagger with bunch of files.  The next group of files would be dropped on the open MP3Tag window, thus saving the overhead of closing it (as well as allowing multiple groups to be added to the tagging operation).

E)  Refresh (re-read those being displayed) tags in group.

As a first cut, A), B1), C1), and E) might be doable in the foreseeable future?

11

Wishlist / New "Right Click" functions, useful for tagging support

« on: January 28, 2011, 14:52:36 »

1.  Copy full drive/path/file name to clipboard.

2.  Copy full drive/path/file names in group to clipboard.

  This would make it easy to fire off a tagging program for all the files in the group (of candidate duplicates).

  The simple way would be names separated by spaces into the text portion of the board.  More complicated would be file references, similar to drag & drop onto an executable file.

3.  Copy just the field containing the mouse pointer to the clipboard.

  This would make it easy to grab just the title, or album, etc. for use in another tagger/program/filter, etc.

4.  Fill blank tags from Marked.

  If there is (good) tag information in marked files (deletion candidates) and the corresponding tag information in unmarked files (the keepers in the group of duplicates) is missing, then insert that information so it won't be lost.

  "Good" is not a program decision; the user would mark only the files the user believed contained recoverable (correct) tag information before doing the right-click operation.

  This should probably be limited to copying specific fields so that comments information created by indexing/identification programs (which is unique to that specific file) isn't propagated.  Otherwise, the wrong identification/signature/etc. could be attached to a file that hasn't been processed by the indexing/identification program.

12

Wishlist / Display format: highlighting; new columns; field contents too wide

« on: January 28, 2011, 14:49:06 »

A.  Marking a selected line causes it to appear in black on dark red, which is unreadable and annoying.  Of course, when the selection moves, the marked line will appear red on white/light gray which is just fine. 

It's just irritating that some parts of the display become (temporarily) unreadable because of the act of marking.  I suggest using much lighter values of red as a background color, less intense than any gray shade in use.
B.  New columns for

• FILE PATH (with drive), not including file name or file extension.
  

.

• FILE EXTENSION, and/or ENCODING format. 
  

.

• BAND, now known as ALBUM ARTIST.
  

.

• DRM protection
  
    .wma files can be
      1) protected & readable because the user has the key
      2) protected & not readable, but the user can get their 'own' key (i.e. ripped by WMP with the "copy protect my music" option not disabled).
      3) protected & not readable because the user has to purchase the key
      4) unprotected (therefore readable)
      5) corrupt
  
    iTunes type files can be
      1) protected (i.e. .m4p) readable (user has purchased)
      2) protected unreadable (machine not authorized to account, stolen, etc.)
      3) unprotected (i.e. .m4a)
      4) corrupt
  

C.  Locate and remove folder names common to all files in the file list, on a per drive basis.

For example, if all files on the C: drive started with
  C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Music\*
then replace the common part with "C:\**\" giving
  C:\**\[Various Artists\Sam Hill\Track 1.mp3
  C:\**\[Albums]\Jim Jones\Meet JJ\Track 7.m4a

Do this for each drive letter so "H:\**\" would work for an external drive, along with "C:\**\" for the system drive.
D.  If data is too wide for the column, suppress only the duplicate portion, leaving (as much as possible) of differing ends.

Examples:
  H:\Music\_MM\[Soundtrack]\Austin Powers the Spy Who Shagged Me
  C:\My Music\_MM\[Soundtrack]\Austin Powers
might compress to
  H:\Music\...tin Powers the Spy Who Shagged Me
  C:\My Music\...tin Powers

  H:\Music\_MM\[Soundtrack]\Star Trek II; Wrath of Kahn
  H:\Music\_MM\[Albums]\Star Trek II; Wrath of Kahn
might compress to
  H:\Music\_MM\[Soundtrack]\...Wrath of Kahn
  H:\Music\_MM\[Albums]\...Wrath of Kahn
or perhaps to
  ...\[Soundtrack]\...Wrath of Kahn
  ...\[Albums]\...Wrath of Kahn

  C:\My Music\[Soundtrack]\Star Trek II; Wrath of Kahn
  H:\Music\_MM\[Albums]\Star Trek II; Wrath of Kahn
might compress to
  C:\My Music\[Soundtrack]\...Wrath of Kahn
  H:\Music\_MM\[Albums]\...Wrath of Kahn

Note:  Don't suppress back-slash at the beginning or end of an identical portion

13

Wishlist / File Type Grouping; Include/Reject same song different file types; Type filters

« on: January 28, 2011, 14:27:11 »

1.  Sometimes I want to keep the same song in different formats. 

For example, files "asdf.mp3" and "asdf.wma" are listed as duplicates.  I want a way to say that I don't consider files duplicates because they only differ in file type.

2.  I have several file types, .ape, .mp3, .wma, .m4a, etc.  I want to include just some types in the comparison. 

For example, I'm on a campaign to remove .ape and .m4a files from my collection by converting them to .wma files.  I want to remove all my .ape/.m4a files that are already converted (or very similar) to .wma so I don't have to convert them again. 

I also want to ignore all other file types (than .ape/.m4a/.wma) as they are a project for another day.

3.  Perhaps on the Folders tab, you could add a filter for
  file types to be included,
  file types to be excluded
and a check box to "compare/don't compare" differing file types.

This would solve problems 1) and 2).

4.  And while we're talking about filters, how about "<tag>" contains/omits "<text>" and/or ...
  And add a couple of fields to the list of tags, like "path", "file name", "full path".

In the interim, I'd be happy just to select based on just a partial match in the full path name.