Files dragged & dropped from PC are missing tag data in Android

[mk4kc5cmc4@gmail.com]

Hi all,

Since 512GB microSD cards are now a reality, I have been working on getting all the data in my MediaMonkey library standardized so I can load my entire mp3 library onto my phone (LG G7 ThinQ).

The problem is that while everything looks fine on my PC (meaning: no missing artists/albums/titles/artwork, consistent Artist/Album Artist naming, etc), some information does not appear to be making it to MMA. So for example, an album has artwork on MMW, but not on MMA. I copied the same exact 'Music' folder from my PC to my phone's music folder (via drag & drop in Windows Explorer), pointed MMA at that folder, and scanned it. The vast majority of the collection is fine, but I can't figure out how to fix things that look correct in MMW but are missing attributes in MMA.

I also am curious about the 'sync' features. I'm not sure if I should use them. I *do not* want my phone or PC to automatically add/delete/move files anywhere. I *would* like my phone to update tags etc when the PC library is updated if possible.

Thanks in advance

[Lowlander]

When you copy files straight to the device (not synced from MMW) you rely on the Android Media Scanner picking up tags and this is known to be a poor experience (MMA 2 should be able to scan on its own). This is why sync is recommended as this allows MMW to update MMA directly with all the supported info.

Sync can be configured to your needs. Sync can't delete files in MMW, but can (depending on your sync settings) delete files in MMA. Sync will also update tag changes between both (MMA > MMW is a setting) and sync Play Counts. You can set it run manually, so it only starts when you wish to do a sync.

See: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/index. ... oid_device

[mk4kc5cmc4@gmail.com]

Thank you for the quick response, appreciate it!

So is the best thing to do just delete all the files from the SD card in my phone, then move them all again via MMW instead of Windows Explorer? Sync does *not* seem to be updating the tags of the files I dragged over.

[Lowlander]

That's how I would do it. However it may not be required as MMA should match files with MMW.

[mk4kc5cmc4@gmail.com]

Thank you for the quick response, much appreciated.

So is the best course of action to delete all the stuff I moved on to the phone via Windows Explorer, then replace those files over via the 'Send-To' function in MMW? Syncing right now does not appear to update the files currently on MMA, not sure if that is because they were moved via drag & drop.

[Lowlander]

No, not Send To, use Sync instead.

[mk4kc5cmc4@gmail.com]

Tried deleting everything from the card last night, after which I had to delete/reinstall MMA as it would not 'forget' the now deleted tracks. Did a fresh install & used 'Send to' function to move everything back to the device. Fixed some things, but lots of others are still missing, mostly album art.

The thing about 'sync' is - I don't want my phone to do anything by itself, ever. I want to always pick & choose what is moved from PC>phone, and when. I don't want my phone constantly trying to update things. I just want to label my files in MMW, then move some of the files to my phone, and the files moved to my phone *look* like my PC's files.

[Lowlander]

Sync from your phone (wifi sync) needs to be started by you, it does not run on it's own. It, when run, will sync what you've set to sync in the Device Profile.

Sync from the PC (USB sync) can be automatic, but you can disable this in the Device Profile.

[mk4kc5cmc4@gmail.com]

Sync from your phone (wifi sync) needs to be started by you, it does not run on it's own. It, when run, will sync what you've set to sync in the Device Profile.

I guess this is where I get confused. I don't want 'sync' to move files anywhere, ever. At most, I want it to sync ONLY tags, though I don't quite understand why I need to do that at all. I would think MMA would display the same attributes as MMW when using literally the same files.

[Lowlander]

Sync copies files and tags. You need the files on your device anyway so sync does this and MMW writes directly to the MMA database with the tag information in MMW.

Otherwise you're relying on the Android Media Scanner, not MMA, to scan the files for tags and it is known to have deficiencies. MMA 2 should come with its own tag scanner, as far as I know, and which point this would no longer be an issue. Sync would remain a more convenient way of copying files to your device though.

[mk4kc5cmc4@gmail.com]

Sync copies files and tags. You need the files on your device anyway so sync does this and MMW writes directly to the MMA database with the tag information in MMW.

I need *some* of the files on my device. Not all. It would be a lot better if I could just drag & drop *only the stuff I want* without syncing. I can't be the only person who doesn't want/can't have my phone to be an exact copy of my PC library?

Like what if someone has a 1TB library on computer & a 500GB card on phone. You can't just sync everything, how do you pick & choose a subset of items to move *one time* vs syncing?

Thank you for the help btw. Much appreciated. I am inching closer to understanding this program.

[Lowlander]

Sync copies what you tell it to, not your whole Library (unless you tell it to). You can set what is synced in the Device Profile. If it is random files a Playlist is the easiest solution to sync.

[Erwin Hanzl]

SYNC

Everything works right with my settings.