mergeFolderAlbums true/false does not "split" identical albums

[dvdr]

Hi
Am I getting something wrong with how the option "mergeFolderAlbums" works?
I have various multidisc-albums. One version is a CD rip, the other one a download-purchase. Both have the same "album" name - and of course their discnumbers are properly tagged. There only is a distinction in form of a "source"-tag, that I set to "CD" or "Studiomaster" AND that each version sits in its own folder.

When browsing my collection, these albums are always merged under ONE album title, with multiple (depending on the number of discs) #1, #2, #3...-tracks following each other.
I thought, I could "split" those albums by setting "mergeFolderAlbums" to "false" and that way produce TWO separate albums displayed in my control point (Linn app / Linn Kinsky / mconnect)?
Whatever I choose, "false" or "true", I always get a merged view of those two versions.

The same happens, when I display those old, infamous CD-rips of multi-discs, where I stored each CD in a subfolder inside the album-folder. They have a proper discnumber tag, but shouldn't "mergeFolderAlbums = false" split them up in 2 (or more) albums on my app, when browsing the artist/album section, each "CD"-folder producing its own "album"?

Is there any way (other than renaming the album title or using folder match filters) to not merge my album versions?

[simbun]

This caught me out initially too as 'mergeFolderAlbums=false' should surely stop them merging, but it doesn't, or at least it does unless one of the albums contains multiple discs. There are ways around it mainly through the use of the match filters, and also in some circumstances - if you have a multidisc album and a single disc album - by not tagging one of the albums with a DISCNUMBER but both of those options didn't appeal.

I tag my music as per the attached screenshot (which is broadly aligned with MuiscBrainz except for ALBUMADD where I place distinguishing text, largely for remasters). As you can see, using just ALBUM would cause these groups to merge, so I created a new tag that contained the hash of:

Code:

albumartist, boxtitle, album, release, albumadd, date

NOTE: If this was purely for MinimServer's album attribution I could have just used 'boxtitle, album, release, albumadd' but I've found it quite convenient to have a primary key for an album, especially with MinimServer's tagUpdate functionality.
I used foobar2000 to perform this hash, but if you have MusicBrainz id's in your tags then you may already have something suitable.

I then use this tag in place of the album tag in MinimServer by renaming them both using aliasTags (so MinimServer forms albums correctly) and use .displayFormat to label it:

Code:

aliasTags: Album:inAlbum, AlbumUniqID:Album
itemTags: inAlbum, release, boxTitle, albumAdd, remasterDate
tagFormat: Album.displayFormat={$date^^ - ^$inAlbum^^^$boxTitle^ (from the boxset '^')^$release^ (^)^$albumAdd^ (^)^$remasterDate^ [^ Remaster]^}

It may seem extreme, but I don't think there's another way.

[simoncn]

MinimServer treats each folder separately no matter where the folder appears in the library folder structure. This means that for multidisc albums contained in multiple folders there is no attempt to use parent/child/sibling folder relationships to deduce which folders belong to which album.

It is very common for multidisc albums to be contained in multiple folders. This is why mergeFolderAlbums=false (the default setting) does not prevent folder merging for a multidisc album.

For the scenario you are describing, MinimServer provides match filters. Is there a reason why you don't want to use these?

[dvdr]

(21-02-2023 11:08)simoncn Wrote:  For the scenario you are describing, MinimServer provides match filters. Is there a reason why you don't want to use these?

I know about the match filters, but this would require a lot of work for my huge collection. That's why initially, I was trying to avoid that by looking for a way out to use standard settings. But I figure, I'll have to go the match filter collection route. Thanks for providing help

[dvdr]

(21-02-2023 09:47)simbun Wrote:  There are ways around it mainly through the use of the match filters, and also in some circumstances - if you have a multidisc album and a single disc album - by not tagging one of the albums with a DISCNUMBER but both of those options didn't appeal......

Code:

aliasTags: Album:inAlbum, AlbumUniqID:Album
itemTags: inAlbum, release, boxTitle, albumAdd, remasterDate
tagFormat: Album.displayFormat={$date^^ - ^$inAlbum^^^$boxTitle^ (from the boxset '^')^$release^ (^)^$albumAdd^ (^)^$remasterDate^ [^ Remaster]^}

It may seem extreme, but I don't think there's another way.

WOW, I sure will look into that, thank you!
You mentioned the tag update function - I read through it. What I would need was something to update a tag to another tag - in my case "albumartist" to "album artist" - meaning for each file, "albumartist"s value will be written to "album artist" on a file-per-file basis...

[simoncn]

(21-02-2023 12:36)dvdr Wrote:  You mentioned the tag update function - I read through it. What I would need was something to update a tag to another tag - in my case "albumartist" to "album artist" - meaning for each file, "albumartist"s value will be written to "album artist" on a file-per-file basis...

This should not be necessary. For each file, MinimServer reads both "Album Artist" and "AlbumArtist" tags. If both are present, "Album Artist" is ignored. If only "AlbumArtist" is present, it becomes the "AlbumArtist" value. If only "Album Artist" is present, it becomes the "AlbumArtist" value.