Creating a playlist for a large directory of files on your computer which is identical to the directory of files on your media player.
Put all your files into a folder. There can be sub folders in this folder.
Start a command prompt, typically start->run->cmd enter
Change the command prompt directory path to the path of your file folder by first typing cd “the path to your file folder” (eg: cd "c:\Users\Dano\Documents\example" or ") then press enter.
Type dir /A-d /b /s >playlist.m3u then press enter. This will create a file in the folder "c:\users\dano\documents\example" which has all the directory contents printed in it.
Open the file created playlist.m3u with notepad and copy all the text by pressing ctrl+a then ctrl+c
Open microsoft excel or open office calc and select cell E1 then paste by pressing ctrl+v
In cell B1 type File then press enter
In cell C1 type 1 then press enter
In cell D1 type = then press enter
In cell A1 type =CONCATENATE(B1;C1;D1;E1) then press enter
Select cells A1, B1, C1, and D1
In the bottom right corner of cell D1 there will be a small black block. Position the cursor over this block and it will become a + sign. Left click and hold, then drag the cursor down to the last line of the text that you pasted in (column E).
Your prepended text for the M3U file is now in column A
Select all the cells in column A that have your file information by selecting cell A1 and then dragging the mouse down to the last line of text then press crtl+c to copy the text.
Switch back to the playlist document
Press ctrl+a then ctrl+v this will highlight all the old text and paste in the new text from the spreadsheet
Save the playlist as something relevant like movieplaylist.m3u
At the top/beginning of the file type [playlist] then press enter so that it is on the very first line
At the end of the file press enter and type Version 2
You should now change the relative path to your files in the playlist file so they will will be valid for your media player.
Highlight the text that is not needed in your path (eg: c:\Users\Dano\Documents) then press ctrl+c to copy.
Press ctrl+h to open the find and replace dialog.
Paste the copied text (c:\Users\Dano\Documents) into the Find What field by placing the cursor in the field and then pressing ctrl+v then press alt+a to replace all. This will paste nothing in place of all instances of the text in the Find What field.
Save the file and place it in the folder on your music server.
You are now ready to open the file using your media player. Selecting random after opening it on your media player will keep things fresh when you don’t care to watch in any particular order (like cartoons).
It is very easy to make a playlist for music files:
If all the music on PC is in iTunes, use iTunes DJ to create a playlist,
Access the playlist on PC from Media shares, and music is pushed to WD player.
I do this somwhat differently: My iTunes music is duplicated on a drive connected to my WD player. I copy the playlists I created to a folder called Playlists on the WD drive, I access them from the WD menu, I click on a playlist and it plays music on the drive. The WD ignores the path in the playlist and finds the music on the WD drive.
Yeah, I hear ya…I just detest Apple and refuse to use their products - especially iTunes. So my hope and anticipation with the approach I contributed is to share information with other users in a way that may help them to understand what goes on behind the smoke and mirrors some software performs. My approach costs nothing but time and a desire to see something work, and it doesn’t require any sign in to a store, etc.
Yep, no Apple fan here either, but I am not going to pass up using a good program that works with my ol’ iPod and newer iPad (and, as it turns out ,the WDTV, too.). Apple’s iTunes is a very nice (and free program) and I do not have to sign into their store to use it – I am also logged out of their store. I also do not buy anything from Apple’s iTunes store. All my music has been, from the beginning, DRM-free made from my CDs or music downloads purchased from eMusic. OK, I did buy something once from the store when it was nowhere else to be found.
Although my iTunes-created playlists work great with the WD player, they don’t with my GoFlex Sattellite wireless hard drive. I have to edit the playlists to change the path for the Satellite. Sometimes the edit works and sometimes it doesn’t, for some reason. So, I will give Playlist Creator a try to see if it edits my iTunes playlists better.so they all work with the Sattelite, “easy peasy”.
The only kinds of playlists I make are random/shuffled ones from my large music collection I can burn though frequently and replace with fresh ones, and I really want to spend as little time as possible creating the playlists. The very last thing I want to do is create playlists from scratch.
I’ve poo-pooed Apple since the iPOD. I just don’t like having to delete every file on the device to add one tune. That and not being able to move the files about freely was all I needed to learn about Apple. So in this house it’s NFF. (No Freakin Fruit).
Dano, I think your info serves those who want to know how things work very well. Sure it’s the long way around but it does TEACH you how it all happens. I think people should still learn to use MSDOS before they migrate to Windowz so they better understand things like what paths are, what formatting a disk is and bla, bla, bla.
But then I think calculators should not be allowed in schools…learn how to REALLY add and subtract, Oh, and find out what that round thing on the wall is with three arrows that keep moving…
I’ve poo-pooed Apple since the iPOD. I just don’t like having to delete every file on the device to add one tune. That and not being able to move the files about freely was all I needed to learn about Apple.
What?!
I never even heard of this “issue” or let alone experienced it. If I add one tune, it gets added and the whole enchilada is not deleted. If this was the case, I would have returned the iPod when I first got it. Also, I can easily “move” files by editing metadata using the iTunes program. I’d guess I know more about using iTunes than the average user, and I have found it is a very solid and versatile program.
As I said before, not an Apple fan, I have always thought their elistist and snobby attitude (since Day-1) to be disgusting. Nevertheless, they have buried Microsoft this past decade with many new, innovative products that work, and sell, well. Microsoft, on the other hand, has stood by, not innovating, and attempted to copy these products (unsuccessfully) one after the other. This is the main reason Steve Ballmer was requested to step down. Living just a few stone-throws from the headquarters is also a bit of a “personal” disappointment as well. I want all our Seattle-based companies to kick butt, like, e.g. Amazon, Costco, Starbucks, Boeing – and the Seahawks do!
I am happy to see that Playlist Creator is something that is useful and makes things a heck of a lot easier than my way. I did search for a software, but clearly not far and wide enough. Falling back on what helps me cement a process in my mind, I write down what I know, so figured it might be useful to post.
Where do you save the playlist result from playlist creator?
It doesn’t matter which program created them, and a m3u file is the same from any program. I save my playlists in a folder called Playlists on the root of the same disk my music is on. The WD finds them.
