Solved EXCEL Users - any ideas on linking to a music folder and playing it.

jimbo45 · Jun 7, 2024

Hi folks

I've got a spreadsheet with a list of ripped music cd's e.g e:\B\Bach\Brandeburg concertos. Just the folder title's not the ripped tracks themselves (that makes the DB too big in any case).

What I want now is when I select this cell is for VLC to OPEN THE FOLDER and play the CD.
Note: If I create as a URL then I get a web browser which is what I don't want !!!! I want to launch an application.

Any ideas anyone.

Cheers
jimbo

cereberus · Jun 7, 2024

Could you embed a batch file

jimbo45 · Jun 7, 2024

cereberus said:
Could you embed a batch file

I'm looking at that and possibly using a macro -- e.g create an event which could call a program --but it's not so simple.

Getting the file listing is simple enough (Windows Tree command is brilliant for this )

e.g for those reading this thread who don't know about the tree command (it's a built in windows command --- no Linux stuff involved here !!!!!BTW).

That's a doddle to get into Excel -- the formatting lines can be removed easily enough -- and I don't need the individual tracks -- but I'd make that an optional drop down

I did a cd to the relevant directory (audio_cd's) to simplify the command line

tree /a /f >files.txt (if files within subdirectories not wanted just omit the /f parameter

Anyway @cereberus thanks for suggestion - embedding a batch file looks like the best way if I can find a way to do it.

There's an example (sort of) in Mr EXCEL which might be a starting point though.

Sub convert()
Dim par As String
Dim fldr As FileDialog
Dim sItem As String
Dim fName As String

Set fldr = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)
With fldr
.Title = "Select a Folder"
.AllowMultiSelect = False
.Show
sItem = .SelectedItems(1)
End With

par = "c:\ILI\convert_al3.bat "
Call Shell("C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c " & par & sItem & "/*.* > proc355ing.csv", 0)

End Sub

Cheers
jimbo

antspants · Jun 7, 2024

If you have an .m3u playlist or some type of playlist file, couldn’t you simply insert a link into a cell or the text in a cell, to the .m3u?
It should automatically play in your default music player.

I have not tested this, I might now.

jimbo45 · Jun 7, 2024

antspants said:
If you have an .m3u playlist or some type of playlist file, couldn’t you simply insert a link into a cell or the text in a cell, to the .m3u?
It should automatically play in your default music player.

I have not tested this, I might now.

No - I just ripped the tracks into .flac files for each cd. Using playlists etc just makes the whole thing too complex. Playlists are fine if you want to play specific tracks from different sets of music -- the point of an audio_cd library (digitised) is to keep the original CD tracks etc in a separate folder for each CD.

Cheers
jimbo

antspants · Jun 7, 2024

it does work but you get warnings. Perhaps disabling them would work.

antspants · Jun 7, 2024

jimbo45 said:
No - I just ripped the tracks into .flac files for each cd. Using playlists etc just makes the whole thing too complex. Playlists are fine if you want to play specific tracks from different sets of music -- the point of an audio_cd library (digitised) is to keep the original CD tracks etc in a separate folder for each CD.

Cheers

Not sure what you mean?
.m3u files are/can be created for a single album and exist in the album folder

antspants · Jun 7, 2024

In fact the way I am looking at it, it removes the need for a batch script because the batch is just going to call on the album, which an m3u file already does. I could only imagine that unless you wrote a bypass into the batch, the batch script would also trigger warnings.

However, as the batch needs to run to disable the warnings, the warnings have already been displayed because you are trying to run the batch.

antspants · Jun 7, 2024

Another benefit of m3u files, is that they don’t need to live in the folder where the music is placed.
Unlike many playlist files which rely on being in the same folder as the music, m3u files can be saved outside of the album folder.

Theoretically, or in practice, all your different m3u album files for your albums can live in one separate folder together (As long as they are named differently. e.x “Angela Hewitt Plays Bach.m3u”) as the m3u files contain the path to the albums.

jimbo45 · Jun 7, 2024

@antspants

Hi there
Using a FREE program called cuetools I can create a .cue file(creates one really quickly) which does work

The only problem with that is that's it a bit of a manual process -- since the CD's have already been ripped by dBpoweramp so will have to be done for each CD -- but the whole process just takes millisecs per cd so I'll just stick with it. However this only needs to be done once so it'll do !!! -- but thanks for the suggestion. I won't mark the thread as solved yet just in case someone can come up with a fast batch process for doung this -- either .cue or .m3u files will be OK. The problem with .cue files that they must exist in the main directory - but I can't see that as a mega problem.

I'm looking to see if things like ffmpeg can do things since I would need a command line / non GUI batch execution to automate things.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 · Jun 7, 2024

@antspants

Finally solved -- although still a manual process.

Create an m3u (or the newer one for non latin chars if necessary) with the excellent FREE VLC player
then open it and then save as a file -- I've checked -- the file will play wherever it's on disk as it has "relative links" embedded .

Text file :

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:448,Angela Hewitt - Handel : Chaconne in G major, HWV 435
file:///E:/Audio_CDs/A/Angela%20Hewitt%20plays%20Bach/Hyperion%20Bach%20D0/Plays%20Bach%20%28CD16%29%20-%20Not%20Bach%20%28Bonus%20Disc%29/01%20Angela%20Hewitt%20-%20Handel%20%3B%20Chaconne%20in%20G%20major%2C%20HWV%20435.flac
#EXTINF:376,Angela Hewitt - Couperin : Piu Ces de Clavecin, Book III - 14e Ordre #1 - Le Rossignol en amour
file:///E:/Audio_CDs/A/Angela%20Hewitt%20plays%20Bach/Hyperion%20Bach%20D0/Plays%20Bach%20%28CD16%29%20-%20Not%20Bach%20%28Bonus%20Disc%29/02%20Angela%20Hewitt%20-%20Couperin%20%3B%20Piu%20Ces%20de%20Clavecin%2C%20Book%20III%20-%2014e%20Ordre%20%231%20-%20Le%20.flac
#EXTINF:101,Angela Hewitt - Rameau : Suite in A minor - 7a. Gavotte
file:///E:/Audio_CDs/A/Angela%20Hewitt%20plays%20Bach/Hyperion%20Bach%20D0/Plays%20Bach%20%28CD16%29%20-%20Not%20Bach%20%28Bonus%20Disc%29/03%20Angela%20Hewitt%20-%20Rameau%20%3B%20Suite%20in%20A%20minor%20-%207a.%20Gavotte.flac
#EXTINF:58,Angela Hewitt - Rameau : Suite in A minor - 7b. Double 1
file:///E:/Audio_CDs/A/Angela%20Hewitt%20plays%20Bach/Hyperion%20Bach%20D0/Plays%20Bach%20%28CD16%29%20-%20Not%20Bach%20%28Bonus%20Disc%29/04%20Angela%20Hewitt%20-%20Rameau%20%3B%20Suite%20in%20A%20minor%20-%207b.%20Double%201.flac
#EXTINF:58,Angela Hewitt - Rameau : Suite in A minor - 7c. Double 2

I like this idea better as I can store the m3U files plus the CD titles into a MySQL / MARIADB database and then can create queries so user can find and play music too. The idea of M3U files is brilliant if you want to play music in a car from a USB device etc !!!. as you can also link to the Internet to access the files and do a whole slew of other stuff.

Thanks to @antspants for making my weekend !!!!!!!

Cheers
jimbo

antspants · Jun 7, 2024

Glad I could contribute. Cheers

Edwin · Jun 7, 2024

Or...,
... you could use a Player that sorts/shows music by folder structure...

jimbo45 · Jun 7, 2024

Edwin said:
Or...,
... you could use a Player that sorts/shows music by folder structure...

View attachment 98634

Hi there
The idea is to have a spread sheet or whatever with a list of the CD's - just the title and a jpg of the cover and play it by just clicking on the file link which could be on any disk. There's zillions of players that can show the tagged file names etc -- that's not what I wanted for this application.

By also enabling for example in KODI the m3U plugin for iptv-basic on the computer plugin you can play the music on a remote TV with a firestick plugged in etc without having to go to the actual file / disc.

Similarly if your car has Internet connectivity (a lot do nowadays) and a USB / AUX in you can copy a few of these m3U files to a small thumb usb drive and play the music in your car.

Cheers
jimbo