Settngs import does not work

[JohnD]

Hi,

I am trying to export data from old phone to new one.

Mostly I am interesed in track ratings, but they are not imported (yes, I select them when exporting from old phone). I am uwing the lastest version (as of today).

I have even made a tracks only export and tried to import. But still +4000 entried were reported as imported, but on new phone tracks are not rated.

 

 

[andrewilley]

Ratings will only be imported to the exact same files on a new device. Have you changed the director structure of your music collection when copying it over from your old device?

Andre

[JohnD]

also as I see it is a zip file of an sqlite database. would be much better if you would use text file formats like json. I am saying that as text files could be edited easily if needed before import (I mainly have referring to the change of a tracks path, as android SD cards have different ids in paths).

 

p.s. in my case I have solved that by modifying sd card's partitions and setting the same id to it, but still json would be easier and nicer as a special non freeware software is needed for modifying SD card's ID.

Edited May 10 by JohnD

[JohnD]

31 minutes ago, andrewilley said:

Ratings will only be imported to the exact same files on a new device. Have you changed the director structure of your music collection when copying it over from your old device?

Andre

why such limitation and not even a notice but a success mesage with a restart of an app? Isn't this feature used most on device migration?

and still in my case dir structure is absolutelly the same as I cloned the SD card and even cloned the SD card unique id (xxxx-xxxx).

p.s. pls also see my earlier reply regarding using text file formats like json and not sqllite.

 

Edited May 10 by JohnD

[andrewilley]

Ratings (and other library database properties such as play count, date added, playlist entry, etc) are linked directly to the full path and filename. Once if has been scanned, if you rename or move the file (even by changing the name of one of its containing folders) it becomes a new audio file with new date added, zero play count, no rating, etc.

Changes in root path are anticipated during import of course (as you say, it's used for migration between devices) and should be resolved by the import process in the same way that Playlist files from PC "C:\User\name\Music\" paths are resolved for Android storage layouts. I'm not sure why yours are not working though.

I agree plain text might have been easier for user-editing of backups, but they are not really intended to be user-accessible anyway. I suspect if that were the case there would have to be a whole load of extra code to parse and validate the import process. I doubt it will be changed again soon though, as that would create a third non backward-compatible backup format.

Andre

[JohnD]

1 hour ago, andrewilley said:

Changes in root path are anticipated during import of course.

hah, I've spent quote some time on changing the root path for the SD card (SD card's ID) as I that thought it was to blame

If I already have few ratings and stats on the new device - could ratings import fail because of that, or is there a merge mechanism? I don't mind loosing these fresh ratings as there are just few of them.

Full rescan also does not help, and deleting apps data through system's app manager also no longer an option (as it leads to PA's full rescan option).

If anyone has any other ideas I'd appreciate.

p.s. source device was running older android version, target is v13, but I doubt that should be an issue.

 

 

[andrewilley]

@JohnD The Import process will overwrite any existing/newer values found in the Library database, which the warning prompt lets you know. Don't forget it's not just ratings that are saved, other track properties such as Play Counts and Bookmarks are saved too. So the Import dialogue will tell you how many items it has found in the backup file - which should normally be the total number of songs from the original library, as every song has some data even if it's only zero values.

Different Android versions should not make a difference, nor should different Poweramp versions as long as you are not trying to apply a recent backup file to a much older Poweramp (i.e. around build 912 when the Zip file and extended choice system was implemented, which would need a backup created with only the first few items selected).

OK, let's try another method. Before the newer Settings Import/Export system was added, you could use Playlists to save and restore ratings. It's a bit more clunky, but give this a try:

1) On your old phone, go into the 'All Songs' Library Category and long press on any song title. Tap 'All', and then tap '+Playlist'. Use the '+' icon top-right to create a new internal playlist, which will contain every song in your library. Have a quick look to check the number of items in the playlist to make sure.
2) Go to the Playlists category and use the three-dots menu and choose 'Export'. That will export all of your internal playlists (including the newly generated All Songs list) to M3U8 files. The one for your new playlist will include #EXT-X-RATING lines for every song in your library. You can check it in a text editor app if you want to make sure.
3) Make sure PA Settings=>Library=>Playlists=>Import Ratings is enabled on your new phone.
4) Copy that new M3U8 playlist file over to your new device, placing it inside any music folder that PA has already been given permission to scan. The next background scan should detect the playlist and import it into the Playlists folder - including bringing the Ratings data into the new library. If you want to check that the storage root details have been resolved correctly between the two devices, open the new Playlist and make sure all the songs are visible with their tag details and artwork, and they can be played.

Andre