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Tutorials...
The following tutorials illustrate how you can use DioneSS Playlist Editor to solve advanced Music Management tasks. The tutorials on this page are updated frequently, and usually generated in response to user emails.
How do I?
- 1. Remove duplicate files from a Music Collection
- 2. Create a playlist for a folder of files quickly
- 3. Automatically repair a playlist that has been moved, or the files have been moved
- 4. Add Images to and tag an Album of files
- 5. Add Track Numbers to the Filenames of an Album of files
- 6. Convert a mixture of OGG, FLAC, or MP3 files to a single, consistent format
- 7. Generate a selection of small, low bitrate, preview files from an Album
- 8. Create an Excel spreadsheet of tag data from files on your computer
- 9. Shutdown the computer when Winamp stops playing Automatically
- 10. Tag the position of a song, sound clip or scene in an Audio or Video file
1. Remove Duplicate Files from a Music Collection
This process allows you to scan your computer or a folder for duplicate media files and remove the duplicate copies. This is really useful to save hard-disc space, or manage a compilation in which you don't want the same file twice.
- Click Add Items and choose the folder where you would like to add the files to be processed from (e.g. My Music)
- Click Select All to select all the files in the playlist
- Open the Repair Playlist Tool from the Tools Menu and click the Tab for Duplicate Items
- Check the box to allow for Duplicates processing, then select the Action Select All but First of Duplicate Items
- Also select to Compare the Filename Only in the drop-down list below
- Click Process. You should now find that for any files that are present more than once, the duplicate file has been selected
- Finally, right-click to get the Edit Menu and click Delete Files to remove them from your Computer
2. Create a playlist for a folder of files quickly
Quite often, you will have a folder of files such as an album, and no playlist. DioneSS Playlist Editor allows you to create one in 2 or 3 simple steps.
- Click Add Items or use Drag & Drop to add the folder of files you wish to create a playlist for
- Sort them if required by dragging them around or clicking the column header
- Click File->Save to Relative Folder to save the playlist. The ideal location is automatically chosen for you
3. Automatically repair a playlist that has been moved, or the files have been moved
Its very easy to move and mis-place files especially when organising them and suddenly find that an older playlist now has missing items. DioneSS has a special feature that can fix broken playlists painlessly.
- Click File->Open and load the broken playlist
- Click Select All from the Edit Menu to select the files to be processed
- Open the Repair Playlist Tool from the Tools Menu and click the Tab for Missing Items
- Check the box to allow for Missing Items processing, then select the Action Relocate Missing Items Automatically
- In the drop-down list below, choose whether you want the software to automatically "guess", or for you to confirm, the missing item location"
- If you click the Search In button, you can specify where the software should look. This can help to speed things up, otherwise the software will search the entire local computer for the missing files.
- Click Search to begin the re-location process
- After completing the search, the software will either have fixed all the playlist items, or ask you to confirm each entry
- When you have finished the Repair Playlist process, be sure to Save the playlist with the fixed entries
4. Add Images to and tag an Album of MP3 files
The ID3v2 standard allows upto 20 Images to be attached to an MP3 file, and tagging files with images is commonplace in todays online distribution market. This tutorial guides you through the process of adding a default tag and image to a selection of MP3 files.
- Click Add Items or use Drag & Drop to add the folder of MP3 files you wish to tag into the playlist
- Click Select All from the Edit Menu to select the files to be processed
- Right-click, and open the Tag Editor Tool from the Edit Menu, then click the Tab for ID3v2
- Check the box for ID3v2 and fill in the required metadata for the collection of files
- Now scroll down, and click the ID3v2 Images Tab, and choose the Image File you wish to add to the files. The Image used is dependant upon user preference although the Other location is read by the majority of media file players
- Click the Save Icon to begin the tagging process
- Note: If any files failed to tag, please check that they are not in use or set as Read only. You can instruct the software to Ignore this in the Preferences
5. Add Track Numbers to the Filenames of an Album of files
Quite often, the most reliable way to sort a selection of media files is to use numbers at the start of the filenames (e.g. 01, 02, 03, etc.) With a large amount of files, doing this manually can be extremely tedious, and when aquiring media files from a variety of sources, its useful to have a consistent file naming method. This tutorial shows you how easy it is to rename files, using the Batch Renaming Tool.
- Click Add Items or use Drag & Drop to add the folder of files you wish to rename into the playlist
- Click Select All from the Edit Menu to select the files to be processed
- Open the Batch Renaming Tool from the Tools Menu and click the Tab for Renaming Configuration
- Click the Tab for Automatic Renaming Functions and make sure the Add Incremental Numbers to Each Item function is checked, and set to At Start
- Browse through the other Tabs, and check or uncheck any other renaming options you wish to apply during the Renaming Process
- Click the Tab for Renaming Process at the top. This will tell you the exact operation that will be carried out on each file when processed. You can also click Test Renaming Process to see what will happen to a custom filename typed into the text box
- If you are happy with this, click Rename to process the files. The software will update the files in the list in real-time as they are processed
- Note: The Incremental Numbers are added in relation to the order of items in the Playlist. If there was a mistake, click Undo Last and go back and resort the files into the correct order
6. Convert a mixture of OGG, FLAC, or MP3 files to a single, consistent format
With online Media such as Audio common-place in todays world, these files can come in a variety of formats. This tutorial shows you how to convert a mixture of FLAC, OGG, and MP3 of different bitrates and samplerates, to a consistent single format, ready for Distribution, or Archiving in a music collection
- Click Add Items or use Drag & Drop to add the files you wish to process into the main application playlist
- Click Select All from the Edit Menu to select the files you wish to be processed
- Open the Encoder/Decoder Tool from the Tools Menu and check the box for Encode Selected Files as Compressed Audio Files. Choose the Format you wish to Encode to from the drop-down list
- Click the Tab for Encoder/Decoder Settings and select the desired settings for Bit-rate, Sample-rate, etc.
- Note: This section also contains a number of Presets in a drop-down list for the quick application of settings
- Now click the tab for File Handling and Tool Setup and select the appropriate actions for after conversion (e.g. Playlist updating, deletion, etc.)
- Finally, click the tab for Destination of Encoded Files and configure this as you wish. If you are deleting the original files, its a good idea to set the destination to be the same as the input folder. That way the files will simply be replaced with newly re-encoded ones.
- When you are happy with the settings, click Process. The software will work through the files, decoding, then re-encoding each file into the new, consistent, format.
- Note: It doesn't matter what the input format is, since all files are decoded, then re-encoded in seperate processes. If you are an Advanced user, you can specify an option to see the detailed command output from the encoder/decoder tool used instead of just a progress bar (see the Show Console Option)
7. Generate a selection of small, low bitrate, preview files from an Album
Similar to the previous tutorial, however with a specific application. This tutorial illustrates how to generate a set of low bitrate "preview" files from an Album or similar colection with ease. This feature is extremely useful for generating content for online record stores, or sending samples of audio via email. Remember, all operations are carried out on the selected items before the tool was run, so it doesn't have to be an album, but files from a number of places on your computer.
- Click Add Items or use Drag & Drop to add a folder of Audio files that are the collection to be processed
- Click Select All from the Edit Menu to select the files you wish to be processed
- Open the Encoder/Decoder Tool from the Tools Menu and check the box for Encode Selected Files as Compressed Audio Files. Select MP3 files (LAME) Encoder
- Click the tab for Encoder/Decoder Settings and scroll down to reveal LAME MPEG Encoder Settings. Choose 64kbps Low-quality Mono from the Presets list
- Now scroll up and click the tab for Destination for Encoded Files and check the box for Create a Folder based on Input Folder
- Finally, click Process. The software will create new, re-encoded low quality preview versions of each file in a folder within the source folder chosen in Step 1
- At the end of the process, these files will be added to the playlist, ready to be previewed.
8. Create an Excel spreadsheet of tag data from files on your computer
In order to publish playlist information to the Internet, or create an album cover or tracklist, its useful to be able to tabulate media file information. To further enhance the usefulness of such data, MSExcel is a common choice for the table format. This tutorial illustrates how to export a playlist to Excel, ready for publishing.
- Click File->Open to load a playlist, or Add Items or Drag & Drop to build a collection of files to be tabulated
- Click Select All from the Edit Menu to select the files you wish to be processed
- Open the Generate Report Wizard from the Wizards Menu and select the list item for Text file. Do not add a title or description at this stage
- Click Next and specify the data you wish to be tabulated. You can also re-order which rows will be tabulated first, by using the Up and Down Arrows
- Uncheck Create Summary, then click Next again.
- Now check the box for Comma Delimited Columns and click Next again. Choose Save to Relative Folder
- Clicking Next at this stage will create the file. The software will open this file to show what has been created
- Save the file to the Desktop, and then open it in MSExcel. Click No unless you want to keep the file in the Relative folder with the files
- Once open in Excel, Excel should ask what delimiter should be used for the Import to take place. Select Comma Delimited and proceed to Import it
- The final data should now be tabulated appropriately in MSExcel, ready for you to edit, or save it as XLS format.
- Note: You can save all the settings in this Wizard by clicking Save on the start dialogue (reachable by clicking Next once more. Its recommended you simply save these settings in the DioneSS program folder for future use
9. Shutdown the computer when Winamp stops playing Automatically
Winamp is a powerful media player from Nullsoft. Dione Software Solutions have chosen this media player specifically due its popularity, low CPU usage, and wealth of features. DioneSS Playlist Editor integrates seamlessly with Winamp, and one such feature allows DioneSS playlist Editor to shutdown the Computer if it detects Winamp has Stopped playing.
This feature is ideal if you are listening to music while dozing off to sleep, or want the computer to shutdown automatically after watching a film. This tutorial shows you how to use this functionality with ease.
- Make sure Winamp is already playing the media prior to the Shutdown operation, and that any other open programs are closed to prevent data-loss
- When ready, click Tools->Winamp->Shutdown Computer when Winamp stops playing
- If you have an unsaved playlist in the application, you will be prompted to Save it
- Sit back, and relax. When Winamp reaches the end of its current playlist, DioneSS will shutdown the Computer
- Note: A delay of 20 seconds is given to allow for the skipping or loading of new media into Winamp. This prevents an unintended shutdown should you wish to interact with the player while monitoring is enabled
- If you wish to pause monitoring, simply click Pause to prevent an unintential shutdown
10. Tag the position of a song, sound clip or scene in an Audio or Video file
Longer media files in the form of Podcasts, Mixes or even Films are now commonplace on the Internet. However, how many times does such a user find themselves skipping through the file to find a specific track or point within that file?
The TPSI Time Position System is unique to DioneSS and solves this problem very easily. It can be used to find a specific track, or even bookmark a scene in a movie file. This tutorial illustrates how to use it, and for maximum capability, in conjunction with WinAmp.
- Click Add Items or Drag & Drop to load a long audio file such as a Podcast or Radio show into the Playlist
- Select the file, then Right-click to select Edit/Recall Cue Points
- Make sure the Lock TPSI Clock to WinAmp option is enabled in the TPSI Options tab, then click the Play Icon on the left hand toolbar to start playback
- Seek through the file in Winamp, and when you reach a point you wish to Bookmark, click Add New Cue-point to List. The exact time elasped should now be tabulated as a Cue-point, in the Cue Point List below
- Repeat as necessary, until all the Cue-points you wish to Bookmark are listed. Note you can skip around the file using WinAmps Progress Bar
- Once you are happy with the cue-points, click the Save Icon. DioneSS now creates a file in the same folder as that Media file ending with the TPI extension.
- Next time you load that media file into DioneSS, the Cue points will also be loaded along with it (provided you don't delete the TPI file).
- To automatically jump to a Cue point during playback, double-click it in the List, and WinAmp will automatically Jump to that point in the file.
- Note: The TPSI function is not limited to just Audio, but can be used with ANY file type DioneSS supports. This is especially useful in advanced mode, for bookmarking scenes in a film, or points within obscure file formats.
Further Tutorials
Tutorials are added frequently. Please check back here for updates.
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