Of course I didn't expect you to be the example, but here you just have it. This time because there is no provision for knowing it is MultiVolume, but I think you can see the problem now clearly. "Chaos".
(added the emphasis)
"Chaos" between quotes of course, and I was only continueing on my expectation of how some expect things to work while they "obiously" (
) never can. But before Russ is equalized with such a suggestion, let me better and explicitly make clear that nothing of the sort is the matter here. Well, except for that *I* (XX) didn't provide a good means to let this work properly. Russ only provided the best structured means thinkable and it still didn't work. Of course the example in particular (Yo-Yo Ma) is quite challenging, although many more exist days days ("the complete work of" etc.). The "Box Set" on this matter is special, because it's actually a collection of, say, normal albums, now in a container and really being different from the individual albums (might they exist - but this assumed).
With the notice that a Box Set can be setup like normal albums - each album "flat" under the others, but the name maybe always containing "Box Set ~ 30 Years outside the Box (2009) ~ [here the individual title]" let's see what Russ made of this :
Referring to the pictures in my last post, you see that the whole Box Set is contained in one main folder named "30 Years Outside The Box";
Within that folder (thus holding the (Multi Volume !) Album as such) he preceeded each individual Volume with a sequence number. This number is equalling the physical Volume Sequence Number. Also see the Back.jpg at the right side in the picture which denotes "02" while I had the second Volume selected in the middle pane.
Nothing is more
logical now to make a folder named "00_Scans", the 00 part of that causing it to be the first in the list, which already will be convenient for yourself if you want to browse through the Coverart by means of normal Explorer. Or add new in there. Notice that in this case the first 5 pictures from the right pane are in there, and that the right pane will show all Coverart found for the particular Volume. This includes the Coverart which is dedicated to the Volume itself (02 in this case) but also the Coverart which belongs to the whole Set (like the Book.pdf, the front cover of the box, the back of it, and the index pages to the Volumes). The "trick" here is that we'd want to see all the Coverart always, while we don't want to store the Coverart belonging to the whole Box redundantly.
Notice that while the General Coverart is stored in the 00_Scans folder, it also could have been stored in the "30 Years Outside The Box" folder (at the same level of the Volume folders). Both work equally, but both can not be used mixed !! Thus, XX can not use two "general coverart" sources - only one - but either of the means will work. Also keep in mind that this is similar to having to "Scans" folders; only one will be used, and probably it will be the first in the (alphabetical) list.
It is important to know that the just said "will be used", is not only about obtaining it and show it, but is also about creating Galleries. This means that only one source will be copied, and the other is just not seen. For example, if both a "Scans" folder and individual files at the higher level (as decribed) are used, the individual files are not copied.
In the end this topic is about how things are copied and changed by the program (have the latter above as one example), and not so much at all about how *you* set it up. Thus, despite my ever attempts to explain how to setup a nice structure, actually it is not about that, and merely how XXHighEnd must deal with it in order to let you work with maybe any structure (but keep in mind the logic !).
The ultimate perfect example Russ gave (by means of handing me that part of his Gallery) now works. It works because it should work. It works because nothing else for nice structure can be thought of with a Box Set like this one. Keep in mind : the example I gave earlier about how it can be done also, does *not* allow for the General Coverart to be somewhere.
After the adjustments I browsed through my own chaos (this time without quotes !) and I don't see anomalies at first glance. Album Compare is speedy, which is a first indication all should be fine. On this matter, try to imagine how the speed of things can be influenced by your structure. Look at the earlier pictures again, and try to see the difference with no Box Set at all, it looking something like this :
\RussGallaries\
\RussGallaries\Classical\
\RussGallaries\Classical\Yo-Yo Ma\
\RussGallaries\Classical\Yo-Yo Ma\Robert White ~ Sings Beethoven\
\RussGallaries\Classical\Yo-Yo Ma\Saint Saëns ~ Carnival of the animals\
Why now the \Yo-Yo Ma\ part wouldn't be seen as a box set ?
And about the speed : Why now the \Classical\ part wouldn't be seen as a box set ? This is at the exact same level as the \Yo-Yo Ma\ folder from the earlier picture you know ... So if we're not very careful all our Classical albums get (internally) listed as a box set, and are being dealt with as such. Well, that can be thousands ...
With this I want to say two things :
It is fairly complex to let this all work properly (which includes speed and which is not visible to you with a few hundreds albums only !), and which should include (cover for) all the still strangenesses from you guys, that by itself so often implied by the album name itself. Then we have the mixed structures (Artist\Album vs. Artist - Album) and before we know it, it really is chaos. Chaos because of me not recognizing what you (or album names) can do, mixed with your thoughts about it all which really *can* be wrong. So, still a large part of it is on your own shoulders, but whereever I can support it, I will. I mean, as long as your proposal is
logical, I sure think it should be supported. That sometimes it is a hell of a job is something else, but that's on my side only.
Well, from off 0.9z-5-1 the rules for Multi Volume in general, but for Box Sets now just the same - are as follows :
1.
The individual folders for a Multi Volume volume must start with numerics or and with that. Te start is Russ's example, the end is CD1, Disc1, Vol.1 etc. etc.
Keep in mind that this follows the (now strict !) logic that Box Set volumes *will* start with their volume sequence number. You may not have set it up like that, and only when you coincidentally have let end the names with "Vol.1" etc. it will still work (but the volumes will obviously not be shown in volume sequence).
2.
One folder is allowed not to follow the numeric rule from #1, and this is the folder where Coverart recides. Can be named Scans, Coverart, Covers, Art, anything you like. But it can start with numerics just the same, as long as no music data is in there (which is a rule for a coverart folder anyway).
3.
Coverart files can be at the level of the main folder for the album just the same. However, no dedicated Coverart folder is to exist then, or otherwise the files at the higher level are discarded.
4.
When the Album folders end with a year number, this is not seen as following #1 above. On this regard we should notice the problem of letting an album name end with 24-96 (etc.) which is *not* recognized and may cause problems (it tries to follow #1). But, denoting an album name like this doesn't look good to me (I'd make that "[24-96]" or something, at least with some kind of brackets).
5.
The
volume specific Main Coverart belonging to the individual volume *must* comprise of at least one .jpg (or .jpeg) file, or otherwise it's not recognized. This is on purpose, and it allows you to show the individual volumes with heir Main Cover in the Library Area as per Russ's example. So, if there's no .jpg (all) the Coverart will still show in the right pane, but per example of the picture above, the boxcover.jpg will be used for each volume in the Library Area (notice that Boxcover.jpg comes from the general 00_Scans folder in this example).
6.
If the #1 rule is adversely used in reversed fashion (meaning, an album name ends (or starts with) with numerics but it is not multi volume at all), this is not a big deal unless Coverart accidentally is stored at a higher level in the folder structure (it will be used for the album), *but* this will imply degradation of performance. Thus, \Classical\My Wrongly Named Album #1\ (mind the lacking Artist !) will traverse up to Classical looking for the other volumes and coverart, and now deals with your 2,500 classical albums.
With the latter example I only want to emphasize that having an Artist in there is paramount. Not only for more or less counterattacking some unavoidable wrongly-working Abum Name examples, but also because you'd imply different levels mixed levels because of it, which is to be mixed again with the two general means of working in the first place (Artist\Album vs. Artist - Album), but which is also to be mixed with the multi volume albums, Box Sets being special again because of their often specific names of the volumes (opposed to "CD1" from a mormal double album).
Think this over carefully before you start creating structures of which you may be sorry later.
Thanks - and thank you Russ for providing the very well setup example,
Peter
