FAQ: Sorting and editing your database

My list is not sorted properly, why?

If the sort-order is not what you expect, this can be caused by several reasons:

• When sorting by Title:
• If you tell the program to sort on the Title field, it actually uses the Title Sort field instead (if it is filled in). If the Title Sort field is not filled, the Title field itself is used.
• For instance, if the Title is "The Matrix", you can set the Title Sort field to "Matrix" to make it appear in the M's when sorting. Note that there is a list of articles that make a title split over the title sort field, check the menu tools | options, the 'title sort' tab.
• This can cause unexpected results if the Title Sort field is filled incorrectly or maybe left empty where it should be filled. You can find and change the Title Sort field in the Edit screen.
• Leading Spaces:
• Your Title field may have one or more leading "space" characters, which will result in the item being sorted at the top of your list. Check the Title field in the Edit screen.
• When sorting by Artist, Author, Producer or any other "person" field
• When sorting on a "person" field, the program automatically sorts on the person's "Sort Name" which is Last Name, First Name.

  For the artist David Bowie for example, the program will use "Bowie, David" for sorting, making sure the item is sorted in the B range instead of the D range. Of course, this only works correctly if the program knows about the person's Last Name and First Name. In other words, it only works if the First Name and Last Name fields in the person's database record are filled in. If the First and Last Name are filled in for some persons and not for others this can produce unexpected results when sorting.

• Sorting on more than one field
• If you would like your list to be sorted on more than one field (e.g. first on year, and per year sorted on title) you can use the menu View | Sort Order | Choose Sort Fields.

You can check and modify the person items using Tools / Edit Lists. In the Edit Lists screen, using the Folder button at the top left to select which list you want to edit (e.g. the Artist List or Author List). Double click items to modify or fill in First and Last Names.

Note: By default, the program shows the Display Names in lists, while it sorts on the Sort Names (e.g. it shows "David Bowie", but internally uses "Bowie, David" for sorting).

Some users find this confusing. If you do, you can make the program show Sort Names in lists instead by checking the "Show Names as "Last Name, First Name" setting.
This option is found in the menu Tools | Options.

How can I order my items in the order they were added?

This is possible by sorting on the ID field.

The newest items in the database have the highest ID numbers. So just add the ID field to your columns using the menu: View | Columns.

Then click the header of the ID column in the main screen (list view). This will sort on the ID field, click it again to reverse the sorting to descending order.

Note : the ID field is not the same field as the index field.

How do I add a new genre?

The genre is, like many other fields in the program, very flexible.

Just use the menu Edit | Edit Album (Music Collector example) and type a new genre just below the list of genres. Click the little "plus" icon and the new genre is added and selected for the album.

There is a more general way to add, delete and merge such values. Use the menu Tools | Edit Lists. The "Manage Lookup Lists" screen comes up. In that screen click the yellow folder icon and choose a field you want to manage.

Try creating a new genre there.

After returning to the main screen, you can open the Edit screen again and you will see the new genre in the list.

Can I change the field value for multiple items in one go?

Yes, you can batch edit a field value on any number of items in one go using the Edit Multiple command.

** Please use this feature with extreme care.
This is the only feature that OVERWRITES ALL existing information for that field **

For example: don't use it on the title field because it will rename your complete database to this specific title. You can use it on Genres, Formats or Collection Status but please note that is OVERWRITES existing data, it will not add the new value but will overwrite the old values.

Use the CONTROL+CLICK or SHIFT+CLICK method to select a number of items in the main screen's list.
After that, use the menu Edit | Edit Multiple Books (Book Collector example).

In the Edit Multiple screen, enter any field value you like, but be careful : this value will be set for all selected items. Hit OK to apply the value to the selected items.

What is a Tag in an audio file?

Tags are pieces of information that are placed inside the audio file.

This information is about the song title, artist, album, track number and more. It can be read from the file by many programs.

MP3 Collector can also read and write such tag information, and as a result show the audio files grouped by album title or artist for example.