bi-directional sync

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Rob_S
Posts: 869
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:53 pm

Re: bi-directional sync

Post by Rob_S »

Just thinking to myself here.... I see many possibilities for things to go astray

For bi-directional sync to work, it would seem that there should be no conversion options, as a converted file might be synced back as a duplicate.

Also, there should be no auto-organizing nor changes to any relative paths.

It seems to be way too easy to miss any one of all the settings that could screw it up.

Possibly there should be a whole separate action to sync both ways, which would turn off and disallow any of these locations and conversion options.

However, even that can't take into account if the user has changed file locations manually on one side or the other.

If there are two identical tracks in different relative locations, how should MM decide which one is to be kept, or both? Is the decision based on any or all parts of the tags, or on the filename?

In theory, if the root folder is Music or My Music should not cause duplicates, as the relative paths would be the same, so not sure why that would have happened.

I can see where this gets complicated.
Using 5.1 LATEST alpha or beta build on Windows 10, HP laptop, managing 13k tracks
frank.bungartz
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:29 am

Re: bi-directional sync

Post by frank.bungartz »

Thank you all for your patience.
I believe I now almost have it figured out, but will need to do some more testing.
Yes, it seems the file converting options are (partially) to blame. Last night, after cleaning everything out, I synched my phone successfully via USB with the desktop, but when I tried doing it with the laptop, exactly those files that were converted all got duplicated again.
This time it wasn't too bad though. My mistake was not the "My Music" vs. "Music", but the fact that iTunes stores the music not directly inside "My Music", but in "\\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media". So, I had to map the Android \music root folder not to the PC \My Music folder, but to the iTunes Media folder.
With that the files are now no longer duplicated (with the exception of the converted ones).
So, turning file conversion off should (theoretically) do the trick.
Ironically, what still doesn't seem to work is bi-directional sync for the playlists. Playlists that I ad/modify on my cellphone still don't show up on the PC and vice versa.
frank.bungartz
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:29 am

Re: bi-directional sync

Post by frank.bungartz »

It seems like I figured out the syncing. No more duplicate files.
But I cannot get updating the playlist to work. Some playlists from the "device --> library" simply won't get updated. I even had one case where the update messed up a existing playlist. Ironically that one playlist was exactly the same on both cellphone and computer, but after the update contained completely different titles on both the computer and the phone.
No idea what is going on. I wish playlist could simply be exported and imported (like in iTunes), but it seems Media Monkey playlists are part of the database, so this doesn't work.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: bi-directional sync

Post by Lowlander »

You can export Playlists from MMW5, however if they work on a different device depends on the Paths on the Playlist still being valid.
frank.bungartz
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:29 am

Re: bi-directional sync

Post by frank.bungartz »

You can export Playlists from MMW5, however if they work on a different device depends on the Paths on the Playlist still being valid.
What does that have to do with syncing ???

I did not ask about exporting a playlist to a device to use it in a different app. I am interested in using my Media Monkey Windows desktop playlist on my Media Monkey Android App (and vice versa). Synchronizing those playlists doesn't work.

How would exporting the playlists on the desktop help? The Media Monkey Android App has no import tool for playlists...

I have given up on this. At least syncing the media files now works without files being duplicated. But keeping playlists synchronized on the various devices simply impossible. The changes from my computer are not applied to the cellphone. Changes on the cellphone are not applied to the computer. And trying to keep playlists across different computers in sync, using my cellphone is a complete nightmare. Existing playlists get messed up.
I tried all kinds of settings. Nothing works.
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