I have made several M3U playlist files using 'directive' #EXTM3U as a header and then a #EXTINF: entry for each and every song. This works fine but it is labor intensive (a lot of copy and paste) to create playlists with a lot of songs. Is there a way to have one entry for an entire album and then the media player would create indexes of all songs in that album?

I have seen a 'directive' named #EXTALB: but I'm not sure exactly what it does.

 

Depending on the layout of your music store, it would be pretty simple to cobble up a script to create M3U playlists for your albums. So if, for example, you keep your music in a say Genre / Artist / Album / Song directory structure (I have /Music/<genre>/<artist>/<album>/<songs> and if you are relatively handy with a scripting language you could descend into each directory to the <album> level then just write out a file such as <album>.m3u that contains the proper #EXTM3U heading and one #EXTINF for each .mp3 under the <album> directory. I did this back around 2006 IIRC though I rarely play music by albums anymore. More scripting may be necessary to get the .m3u to have the #EXTINF lines in original track order.

Oh and #EXTALB is just for the album's title according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3U

 

Attached is how to use iTunes.

 

I will still use playlists but I'm going to start leveraging the Genre metadata more to group songs together. I just learned how to edit the metadata with Windows File Explorer, easy peasy. Open an mp3 file and right click on it then select Properties. Then select the Details tab from the window that appeared. Here you can edit all the metadata right o the file.

 

Would someone please post a playlist that works in a C7 Corvette. I mean the actual text of the playlist. That would be most helpful for understanding the format. Thank you.

 

Here's one:

EXTM3U
#EXTINF:149,All Along the Watchtower - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\All Along the Watchtower.mp3
#EXTINF:333,The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest.mp3
#EXTINF:166,Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Blowin in the Wind.mp3
#EXTINF:183,I Want You - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\I Want You.mp3
#EXTINF:212,It Ain't Me Babe - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\It Aint Me Babe.mp3
#EXTINF:209,Jemima Surrender - The Band
The Band\Jemima Surrender.mp3
#EXTINF:293,Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Just Like a Woman.mp3
#EXTINF:364,Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Like a Rolling Stone.mp3
#EXTINF:325,Mr. Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Mr. Tambourine Man.mp3
#EXTINF:210,The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band
The Band\The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.mp3
#EXTINF:232,Positively 4th Street - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Positively 4th Street.mp3
#EXTINF:179,Rag Mama Rag - The Band
The Band\Rag Mama Rag.mp3
#EXTINF:271,Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.mp3
#EXTINF:240,The Shape I'm In - The Band
The Band\The Shape Im In.mp3
#EXTINF:220,Stage Fright - The Band
The Band\Stage Fright.mp3
#EXTINF:135,Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\Subterranean Homesick Blues.mp3
#EXTINF:192,The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan\The Times They Are A-Changin.mp3
#EXTINF:269,Up on Cripple Creek - The Band
The Band\Up on Cripple Creek.mp3

 

Thanks Walt! That is exactly what I was looking for. I can now write code to do this.