I want to view and work with ID3 tag info in the Finder ???

[mscriv]

Okay, so does anyone know a good way to do this? Let me explain better so you can understand what I want. In Windows a folder can use ID3 tag information from music files for display in a column view just like you would see music displayed in iTunes. (Title, Artist, Album, etc.) I have an extensive library of music (600+ GB) and sometimes I'm working with multiple external drives. I'm also constantly adding to the collection as I get new music. Being able to see all of this data in the OS window makes managing the music on multiple drives much easier. We're talking about folders with 1000's of songs in them. I don't want to have to set up mutiple iTunes libraries for each external drive and deal with the headache of switching back and forth between them. That is just too confusing.

If I could view the ID3 tag info in columns in the finder window then I could easily compare and contrast the different drives to ensure consistency for back up or duplication. For example, Drive A is missing Album #1 when I compare it to the same folder on Drive B. So let's copy that one album over to Drive A to ensure that they are identical.

I don't need an ID3 tagging program because that will not do what I want. I can edit tags manually or in batch through iTunes. I need to see the ID3 tag data in the finder for multiple window display.

I'm hoping this makes sense and I feel like I might have over explained...

Oh well, my research thus far has only turned up this finder replacement program called Pathfinder 5.

I'm not sure I want to replace the finder entirely just for this one needed function. Has anyone else ever needed this same functionality and if so what do you do? I'm open to all suggestions.

 

[GGJstudios]

You can't do that with Finder. However, you can have all of that music in one iTunes library, even though the files are stored in multiple drives. That way, you can manage the tags in iTunes, which is far more efficient than Finder would be, even if Finder could do it. Your best bet is to consolidate and clean up one library (even across multiple drives), then back up that library.

 

[mscriv]

Thanks for the idea GGJ, but that's not an option. It's not one massive library across multiple drives. It's one library duplicated on multiple drives for backup and various use. And I neglected to mention in the first post that not all of the drives are formatted for Mac. Some are Fat32 for use on PC's. I do want to have the Mac dedicated drive maintained in an iTunes Library, but that doesn't help me when I'm crossreferencing drives for continuity.

I know it's complicated.

Edit: the Pathfinder 5 program I reference above adds ID3 column view to Finder as a part of how it operates, but like I said I'm not sure I want to replace the entire Finder for just this one function.

 

[GGJstudios]

Thanks for the idea GGJ, but that's not an option. It's not one massive library across multiple drives. It's one library duplicated on multiple drives for backup and various use. And I neglected to mention in the first post that not all of the drives are formatted for Mac. Some are Fat32 for use on PC's. I do want to have the Mac dedicated drive maintained in an iTunes Library, but that doesn't help me when I'm crossreferencing drives for continuity.

I know it's complicated.

Edit: the Pathfinder 5 program I reference above adds ID3 column view to Finder as a part of how it operates, but like I said I'm not sure I want to replace the entire Finder for just this one function.

Pathfinder doesn't replace Finder. They can both be used at the same time.
Also, you can manage the files in iTunes, regardless of drive format.

 

[mscriv]

Update:

I tried Path Finder 5 and it does not replicate the way Windows allows column view of ID3 tag information. Thank goodness they have a demo. At their website forum other users have asked for this feature, but it has not yet been incorporated.