Need to make a list of music files in a folder

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Hello,

I am looking for a (free) way to make a text file list of (music) files in a folder.
So I can make a tracklist of my large music collection.
Any tips?
 

vansmith

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Open up a Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) and type the following:
Code:
ls -R ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Music > ~/Desktop/files.txt
That will create a file on your desktop called "files.txt" that will list all of the folders and each of the files in each folder in your iTunes folder. Does that work?
 
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Does that work?

I was curious to be able to do this to van but in short no.
Bought up a blank document. The file was there on desktop but opened to a empty page ....
 

vansmith

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It should work if you have all your music in the ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder. Where do you keep your music?
 
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Well any i get goes straight into iTunes (app) so by default they should be, shouldnt they ??
 
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du -arh Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Music > ~/Desktop/files.txt

prints it in a little bit more logical pattern for me.
 
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Ahhh just had a look and NO it isnt its in ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music

So if i go
Code:
ls -R ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes media\ Music > ~/Desktop/files.txt
Will that work ??
 
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Open the folder in the Finder.
Edit > Select All
Edit > Copy
Switch to a text editor like TextWrangler, BBEdit, or TextMate. Don't use Word. If you use TextEdit, make sure you have a plain text document open.
Edit > Paste

Some of you guys like to run to the Unix command line so often, I wonder why you even bother owning a Mac.
 
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Open the folder in the Finder.
Edit > Select All
Edit > Copy
Switch to a text editor like TextWrangler, BBEdit, or TextMate. Don't use Word. If you use TextEdit, make sure you have a plain text document open.
Edit > Paste

Some of you guys like to run to the Unix command line so often, I wonder why you even bother owning a Mac.

Thanks for that techno ... Is why I asked above if the code i had was right BC honestly i not a fan of Terminal just yet.. And before i used it wanted to know so i didnt crash the system because i did something in Terminal that would have...

Cheers that seems easy enough
 
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Open the folder in the Finder.
Edit > Select All
Edit > Copy
Switch to a text editor like TextWrangler, BBEdit, or TextMate. Don't use Word. If you use TextEdit, make sure you have a plain text document open.
Edit > Paste

Thanks for that. Exactly what I was thinking when I clicked to open this thread. Then I saw the more difficult answers. Had me wondering.
 
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I don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier. If all these songs are in iTunes, just print the list out from there. You'd get a more detailed listing as a bonus.
 
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Some of you guys like to run to the Unix command line so often, I wonder why you even bother owning a Mac.


Because it's Unix with real application support. Some of us guys develop in a Unix command line all so we spend so much time there that the GUI seems so completely inefficient for things like file management it's pathetic. Usually, I'd manipulate the snot out of the output using awk and sed.. putting the data together in exactly the way i want.. then I can import it into a spreadsheet without making any modifications. All from one command.
 
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Because it's Unix with real application support. Some of us guys develop in a Unix command line all so we spend so much time there that the GUI seems so completely inefficient for things like file management it's pathetic. Usually, I'd manipulate the snot out of the output using awk and sed.. putting the data together in exactly the way i want.. then I can import it into a spreadsheet without making any modifications. All from one command.

That's no excuse for directing a n00b to use a jackhammer when a rolled up newspaper would do.
 
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Of course, I could say the same thing about the absolute FEAR of the command line. There's nothing an ls command can do to hurt, and in the end they might just learn something. There is also no reason, really, to decide that your way is SOOOO much better than someone else's that you decide to question not just why they bother to do something differently, but why they even bother to own a Mac. So ridiculous, and really so pretentious that I'm flabbergasted. There are always multiple solutions to these types of issues, habits, workflow etc etc all play into it. At least a reasonable solution was provided.
 
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Some of you guys like to run to the Unix command line so often, I wonder why you even bother owning a Mac.

Hah! That reminds me of how, way back when, I sneered at the prospect of using Macs because I thought DOS and keyboard navigation was easier than messing around with a mouse.
 
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Of course, I could say the same thing about the absolute FEAR of the command line. There's nothing an ls command can do to hurt, and in the end they might just learn something. There is also no reason, really, to decide that your way is SOOOO much better than someone else's that you decide to question not just why they bother to do something differently, but why they even bother to own a Mac. So ridiculous, and really so pretentious that I'm flabbergasted. There are always multiple solutions to these types of issues, habits, workflow etc etc all play into it. At least a reasonable solution was provided.
I think we're coming at the same conclusion from different perspectives. My point, too, was that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and that what works for one does not necessarily work for another. You risk treating every problem as a nail just because you happen to have a big, powerful hammer in your hand.

One of the hardest things for experts and enthusiasts in a field to understand is that most people are not experts, don't need to be experts, and really do have other priorities besides maximizing their skills in a particular obscure field. This is not fear or laziness on their part. Sometimes, the quick and dirty solution is just fine, and sometimes the best way to help is to suggest that quick and dirty solution. Always suggesting your favorite solution, without considering who the user is or what his priorities are, no matter how much more efficient/powerful/speedy your solution might be, is the height of pretentiousness.

You do not have to make every question a "teachable moment." Now, if the user comes back and asks for a more powerful/efficient/speedy solution...then, by all means, put on your professor's hat.

I would not want to perpetuate any fear of the command line. But if you have a Mac, you have other tools as well, including the most sophisticated GUI on the market. It's not just there to look pretty. If you ignore that, you’re only using half of the computer you paid for.
 

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