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Tools Options

These options control the settings for Helium Music Manager's major tools.

 Tag Editor

These settings applies to the Tag Editor.

General Settings

• Save ID3 v1.1 tag controls if the Tag Editor should save a ID3v 1.1 tag for each file (if the file type supports ID3 tags). More information about ID3 tags can be found on the ID3 Org web site.

• Save Lyrics3 v2.0 tag controls if the Tag Editor should save a Lyrics3 v2.0 tag for each file (if the file type supports Lyrics3 v2.0 tags). More information about the Lyrics3 v2.0 tag can be found on the the ID3 Org web site.

• Auto increase/decrease track number will automatically increase or decrease the current track number when navigating between the selected files in the Tag Editor.

• Auto assign total track number will set the total tracks to the number of files selected for editing if active.

• Show only user defined genres will only show custom entered genres in the genre combo box if selected. If this option is enabled, the default genre list will be removed.

• Enable Auto Complete will load previously entered data into all of the drop down lists in the Tag Editor. Note: You must restart the Tag Editor when changing this setting before it will take effect.

• Auto assign original filename will auto assign the current filename to the original filename field if selected.

• Auto play will automatically play the current file if selected.

• Auto calculate BPM will automatically calculate the BPM for the current file if selected.

• Load images and biography from database will load Artist and Album pictures as well as biography from the database for the current artist and put into the fields.

• Save tagging time
  This option will save information about when the file was last tagged in Helium Music Manager.

• Auto Extract multiple artists will automatically extract multiple artists entered in the Tag Editors

Colors

This option specifies the background colors to be used on fields in the Tag Editor as follows:

• Locked - sets the bacground for a tag field that is locked
• Changed - sets the background color for a field that is changed
• Changed (FN2T) - sets the the background color for a field that is changed by the Filename To Tag function (see below)
• Changed (Download) - [New in version 7.1] sets the the background color for a field that has been downloaded

Note: To select a color, click on the colored button for the item you would like to change, and a color picker dialog will be shown. If you prefer, you can also enter an HTML color code (in hexadecimal form) directly into the edit box to the right of the colored button.

 

Filename To Tag

These settings define how the Filename To Tag tool works from within the Tag Editor (Advanced).

• Enable Filename to Tag in the Tag Editor will enable Filename To Tag parsing in the Tag Editor (Advanced).

• Overwrite existing information will make fields found by the Filename to Tag function overwrite existing information in the Tag Editor (Advanced).

• Use full path when parsing filenames may be used if you have information in your folder-structure that you want to make the Filename to Tag function extract information from.

• Auto save user-defined templates will automatically save templates that you manually type, when not using Automatic filename parsing

• Verbose mode will invoke a dialog that lets you choose from multiple matching templates. The dialog will only be shown if there is more than one matching template found, and only when using Automatic filename parsing.

• Automatic filename parsing will try to automatically find the best matching template for the current filename.

• Greedy mode is an alternative mode which may produce more accurate results for some filenames.

Note:
Information about the Stripped filename:
In all the Filename To Tag processing, the actual filename is never altered. Only the internal Stripped Filename field is altered which enables the Filename To Tag tool to function more accurately.

Lists

There are four lists which can be altered to make the Filename to Tag function work more accurately. You can change the list that you want to edit by choosing it in the Change drop down list. These lists are explained below:

The Remove list
All the characters/words defined in this list will always be removed from the stripped filename before Filename To Tag parsing, if they exist in the filename.

1. Click the Add button to add a new character/word to be removed.
2. Type in the character/word.
3. Click OK.

Note:
You can edit or delete word replacements by selecting an item in the list and clicking on the Edit or Remove buttons.

The Remove End List
All the characters/words defined in this list will always be removed from the stripped filename before Filename To Tag parsing, if they exist at the end of the filename.

1. Click the Add button to add a new character/word to be removed.
2. Type in the character/word.
3. Click OK.

Note:
You can edit or delete word replacements by selecting an item in the list and clicking on the Edit or Remove buttons.

The Replace List 
Characters/Words in the stripped filename, that are defined in the original column, will always be replaced by the characters/words in the replacement columns before Filename To Tag parsing, if they exist in the filename.

1. Click the Add button to add a new character/word to be removed.
2. Type the original character/word in the Original word box.
3. Type the character/word that should replace the original word in the Replace with box.
4. Click OK.

Note:
You can edit or delete word replacements by selecting an item in the list and clicking on the Edit or Remove buttons.

The User defined templates
 
If Filename To Tag cannot find a matching template for a file, you can define your own template. When you save templates from the Filename To Tag tool (when working in manual mode), they will show up in this list.

1. Click the Add button to add a new template.
2. Type in your new template. You can use the Codes button to select the required template fields from the pull down menu. See the Filename To Tag tool for more information about defining templates.
3. Click OK.

Note:
You can edit or delete word replacements by selecting an item in the list and clicking on the Edit or Remove buttons.

 File Rename Wizard

These settings apply to the File Rename Wizard.

• Automatically remove empty folders will automatically remove empty folders when  the File Rename Wizard renames and moves files.

• Read album artist field from library
  This option will read the Album Artist field from the database to replace the Album Artist field used in File Rename Wizard templates. This option will make sure that Various Artists albums will get a correctly named Album Artist. This option should be used when you want to create folders with the Album Artist that is shown in the Album Browser.

• Show destination volume column
  This option will optionally display a column on the preview step of the File Rename Wizard, where the Volume that the files selected for renaming will end up in.

• The Replacement for illegal characters list specifies the characters that illegal filename characters should be replaced with. You can define your own original characters, but you cannot remove the default characters that are not allowed within filenames on the Windows platform. These characters are: \ / : * ? < > |
  
  Some platforms (such as the XBOX or Linux) have other restrictions which is why it is a good idea to define custom replacements to allow files to be transferred to these platforms.

• Non-music files remaining after a rename operation defines an action to be taken on files remaining after a renaming operation has taken place. This can be a good feature for moving album pictures, lyrics and other notes that belongs to the files you are moving with the File Rename Wizard.

  • Don't move any remaining files is the default option and will leave remaining files where they are.

  • Move all remaining files to the destination folder of the music files will move all remaining files to the location of the music files.

  • Only move remaining files of the following file types to the destination folder of the music files specifies custom file types to be moved with the music files. This option can be used to avoid unwanted files being moved with the music files.
    
    Great care should be taken when using this function since it might move files that you don't intend to move. You may want to start to define some custom file types such as jpg, gif, bmp, txt to be certain that no important files are moved to a different location. Files will never be removed however, which means that the operation is always reversible.

 Add Files

• Search for album pictures in folders will automatically try to locate album pictures in folders when adding files to the database.

• Search for album pictures in tags will automatically try to locate album pictures in the tags of the files that are added to the database.

• Show progress dialog when adding files
  With this option enabled a progress dialog will be shown when adding files. This dialog can be hidden by clicking the Hide button on the dialog. If this option is disabled files will be silently added in the background.

• Chunk based mode
  When chunk based mode is used, all the music files you are adding to the database will be split into smaller chunks for adding. This allows you to browse, play and manage items as each chunk is processed and before all the files in the queue are added; but this may be a bit slower than Normal mode.

• Normal mode
  When normal mode is used you will only be able to access the files selected for adding once all of the files have been added to the database. This mode is normally quicker then the chunk based mode.

• Apply unmatched user rating to Default user
  If this option is ticked any unmatched user tag name will have its rating value applied to the default user. See Mappings for more detail.

 Update Library

• Remove unavailable items will remove tracks from the database that have been moved or removed.
  Use this option with extreme care, since it can accidentally remove tracks that are currently unavailable (on CD/DVDs etc).

• Force synchronization of all files
  This option will force all files in the selected folders to be synchronized, disregarding file stamps. When this setting is turned off only files that have been changed from outside of Helium Music Manager will be synchronized.

• Show progress dialog when synchronizing files
  With this option enabled a progress dialog will be shown when synchronizing folders. This dialog can be hidden by clicking the Hide button on the dialog. If this option is disabled folders will be silently synchronized in the background.

• Select the Search for album pictures in folders option to search for newly added album pictures in the albums folders during the synchronization process. Located album pictures will only be added for albums that do not already contain a picture.

• Select the Search for album pictures in tags option to search for newly added album pictures from the files during the synchronization process. Located album pictures will only be added for albums that do not already contain a picture.

•  Use automatic updating
  Turn this option on to make Helium Music Manager automatically update your Library when your computer has been idle for a while.
  
  Set the idle timer in the drop down list.
  
  The Folders selected for automatic updating contains a list of folders in your library - select the folders you want to include in the automatic updating process.