CSV Export/Import for mass updating file extension (m4a > flac)

English mAirList 6.x
1

Hi,

Most of my audio files are Apple Lossless (m4a) CD rips but I want to convert them to flac files.

But when I export a list of m4a files from my database, rename the extensions to flac in the CSV file, convert the actual audio from m4a to flac and then import the same CSV file in mAirList, the filename extensions don’t change.
I’ve tried both exporting with and without ID’s. With ID’s no modifications are recognised when importing and without ID’s the files are recognised as being modified but the extension is still m4a.

Thanks for any advice.

(mAirList 6.3.18 Build 4467)

2

So in short, how can I mass edit database items from .m4a filename extensions to .flac?

Many thanks!

3

Sorry, too many things to reply to these days…

The Filename column in CSV import is for identification only. Even if the ID column is present, you cannot update filenames through CSV import.

If you really want to replace all occurences of .mp4 in your database with .flac, the easiest way is probably to do it via the SQL console:

UPDATE items SET filename=REPLACE(filename, '.mp4', '.flac');

Don’t forget your backup!

4

Thank you Torben, I don’t understand much about sql but I know how to send commands to a database.

So the local mairlist database in the home use edition is also an sql database?

I understand it’s busy these days, also because of the v 7 release.

Wish you all success!