Preview action, V2.52 Options

[chrisjj]

Is there any trick to allow me to preview the results of an action group, or an action?

[JJ Johnson]

Not that I'm aware of.

What I usually do, if I have any doubts about the results of applying a complex action or action group, is to first run it in a test directory of files. Sometimes all you need is one file for testing, so it only takes is a few seconds to make the test copy.

I've also used backup fields within files, so that the original values are preserved during testing. Restoring from those backup fields can be faster than copying backup files. Say I'm rewriting the TITLE field. I'd first create a separate action as part of an action group that copies TITLE (and any other fields that might get overwritten) to something like TITLEBAK. Another action is created to copy TITLEBAK to TITLE, then remove TITLEBAK. By running it, you restore the tagging back to what it was originally.

This post has been edited by JJ Johnson: Aug 17 2012, 16:34

[chrisjj]

> Not that I'm aware of.

Thanks.

> What I usually do ... is to first run it in a test directory of files.

Me too - slow and bothersome, esp. while Mp3tag disallows even two portable installs to run simultaneously.

> I've also used backup fields within files, so that the original values are preserved during testing.

Me too - example here for anyone else interested: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/2815/actionsq.png . Improvement suggestions welcome.

> Restoring from those backup fields can be faster than copying backup files.

Plus prevents unwanted transform repeats. This is important for me in a process sequence while Mp3tag can only retag in place, rather than from source to dest files.