A couple of queries from a Newbie.

[Pastim]

(10-12-2013 13:10)simoncn Wrote:  

(09-12-2013 12:56)winxi Wrote:  It may be a misunderstanding, but I think you mean the Artist.indexFormat property.

My apologies. I meant to say indexFormat, not indexValue.

(09-12-2013 15:05)Pastim Wrote:  I was just about to respond that I must be dim because I don't understand how to use the Artist.indexValue property from the description in the user guide. If indexFormat is indeed what was meant then that makes a bit more sense to me, but is it possible to get the index entries separated out individually, or can I only change the separator between them?

In the Artist index, there is a single index entry for each album. It isn't possible to create more than one Artist index entry for the same album. For files that aren't in an album, it isn't possible to create more than one Artist index entry for each file.

This rule applies specifically to the Artist tag and not to other tags.

Quote:
I'd also like to ask what 'All Artist' really means. In the user guide is says "...complete artist information It contains Artist tag values only, not AlbumArtist tag values". Is the word 'complete' meant to imply that other 'artists', such as composers and conductors etc are included, or is that dependent on the entry below?

Code:

Artist.displayFormat={$artist$orchestra$conductor}

The displayFormat setting controls what is sent to the control point for display. It doesn't affect what appears in the index.

The All Artists index contains all the Artist tags from all the files in your library. This is the meaning of 'complete'. Unlike the Artist index (which can contain a mixture of Artist tag information and AlbumArtist tag information), the All Artists index contains Artist tag information only.

Quote:I also note that neither BAND nor ORCHESTRA is listed in the common FLAC tag list under 'Tag Mappings'. Is that intentional? BAND in particular is fairly standard is it not (I have used it and put in a alias to ORCHESTRA)?

This is intentional. Any tags not listed in the mappings can be used in your files and read by MinimServer, so there is no problem with using BAND or ORCHESTRA tags in your files. These tags aren't in the list of mappings because they would appear "as is" in FLAC/Vorbis, ID3v2 and iTunes tags and therefore don't need any special mapping treatment.

Thanks for responding.

However, I admit to giving in. To be honest, as a simple 'user' I don't understand some of the answers. They may well make sense to the designers, but as a user, I'm baffled. Please don't get me wrong. I really like the interface, and have now got it 99% as I'd like it and much better than any other UPnP server I have come across, including my modified foobar2000 interface which was previously my best stab at a tailored user interface for classical.

So this isn't in any way a complaint, but I hope it might help you understand why I, and maybe some other users, might be a little confused at times.

The difference you have described between Artist and All Artists, except that the former includes Album Artist, seems obscure, and why the former is not divided up into separate items but the latter is, still totally escapes me - they are all both lists of Artists after all. The fact that 'All Artist' whilst 'complete' is nonetheless less 'complete' than 'Artist' (which include Album 'Artist' as well so is surely more 'complete') gives rise to some semantic puzzlement on my part. Never mind - I know how to use them now. I'm sure there's a good technical reason for the difference, but the terminology has led me down some long garden paths.....

Similarly, I still cannot for the life of me see why BAND is any less eligible for inclusion in your tag list than, say , CONDUCTOR, even if it is handled in the same way across different standards, just for completeness. Every other common tag is in the list. This (or ORCHESTRA) seems to be the only tag referred to elsewhere in the guide that isn't in the list. I spent hours (shows how dim I am) reading, and checking, and looking and not finding, any reference to these in your list. I almost gave up and assumed that that BAND could not be used. It might help simpletons like myself if you included it anyway.

I must be getting too old, since I also don't understand what is meant by "The displayFormat setting controls what is sent to the control point for display. It doesn't affect what appears in the index.". But the index is what is 'displayed' on the control point when I am selecting things, isn't it? Or is there some other subtlety in the words used that I am missing? When I see "Julius Katchen, LPO, Adrian Boult" (or whatever) is that not a different index entry from "Julius Katchen, LSO, István Kertész"? I hesitate to ask what 'indexFormat' is, since it is only listed, not described, in the same section.

Sorry for being so thick. I'm not expecting a reply. I can use the server now, which is all that matters Once I crack the gapless and multi-standard renderer problems (I have a 'cunning plan') I'll have a working system.