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Dynamic patterns for the Name column

For entries, having ID3 tags, WinCatalog supports Dynamic Patterns for the Name column. Using the Dynamic Patterns you can define how the Name field will be displayed in WinCatalog. The Dynamic Patterns affect any place in WinCatalog where the Name field is used (Grid View, Thumbnails View, Search Results, Reports).
 
The main advantage of the Dynamic Patterns is that you can define or change how WinCatalog displays the data without a need to rescan your drives.
 
The difference between Name and Filename columns is explained here.
 
1For most file entries (files and folders) the Name column equals Filename until you rename the entry in WinCatalog (in that case, the Name column will display the new value). For entries having ID3 tags but not renamed manually by a user, WinCatalog displays names according to the Dynamic Pattern rules.
 
The priority of displaying the values in the Name column is the following (1 is the highest):
 
 

Opening the Dynamic Patterns editor

 
To open the Dynamic Patterns editor for the Name field please make a right mouse click in the header area of any column in the Grid View, or click the Gear icon () in the header of the Name column. This will open the Configure Columns window.
 
Click the Additional Options button to open the Dynamic Patterns editor.
 

The Dynamic Patterns Editor

 
Dynamic patterns for the Name column
 
 
1

Data Source

1. Data Source
Data source for building the value. To the moment, ID3 Tags is the only available Data Source
2

Pattern

2. Pattern
The Dynamic Pattern, edit this field to change how WinCatalog displays the Name field values.
3

Pattern test

3. Pattern test
This is a test string based on some predefined data to provide an example of how the Name field may look for the selected Dynamic Pattern
4

The list of all available fields

for the selected Data Source

4. The list of all available fields 
for the selected Data Source
The full list of the available fields for the selected Data Source. Type these values into the Pattern field, or make a double click on any row - this will append the selected field to the Pattern string.
5

OK and Cancel buttons

5. OK and Cancel buttons
Click OK to save the changes and close this window, or Cancel to discard changed and close this window.
6

The resize grip

6. The resize grip
Use this Resize Grip to change the size of the window.
 

Dynamic Patterns for ID3 tags

 
There are following fields are available for entries having ID3 tags. The default value is %autoN%.
 
Pattern Test
 
The Pattern Test field is based on the following example:
 
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Help!
Title: Yesterday
Genre: Chamber pop
Track number: 13
Year: 1965
Duration: 125 sec.
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Sample Rate: 44100
Channels: Stereo (2)
Comments: "Written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney."
 
Filename: "13 - Yesterday.mp3"
File system path: "E:\Music\The Beatles\Help! (1965)\"
Catalog path: "Catalog\Music\Beatles, The\Help!\"
 
Automatic Templates
 
%auto% - builds the automatic strings by trying to include Artist, Album, Title, Year, and Duration. If any of the following values is empty, it will be skipped. For the "Yesterday" example above, this pattern will be expanded as "The Beatles - Help! (1965) - Yesterday (2:05)".
 
%autoN% - the same as the %auto%, but with the Track number in the beginning. For the example above, it will be expanded as "13. The Beatles - Help! (1965) - Yesterday (2:05)". This is the default pattern.
 
All available fields for ID3 tags
 
%artist% - the Artist Name from ID3 tags. If this value is empty, the "Unknown Artist" value will be used. For various artists, WinCatalog shows all the artists separated by slashes. For the example above, it will be expanded as "The Beatles".
 
%album% - the Album Title from ID3 tags. If this value is empty, the "No Album Title" value will be used. For the example above, it will be expanded as "Help!".
 
%title% - the Title from ID3 tags. If this value is empty, the "No Title" value will be used. For the example above, it will be expanded as "Yesterday".
 
%genre% - the Genre from ID3 tags. If this value is empty, the "Unknown" value will be used. For the example above, it will be expanded as "Chamber pop".
 
%len% - the Duration, automatically formatted. For the example above, it will be expanded as "2:05".
 
%year% - Year value from ID3 tags. For the example above, it will be expanded as "1965".
 
%track% - Track number. For the example above, it will be expanded as "13".
 
%brate% - Bitrate in kbps. For the example above, it will be expanded as "320 kbps".
 
%srate% - Sample Rate. For the example above, it will be expanded as "44100".
 
%chN% - number of channels, for the example above, it will be expanded as "2".
 
%chA% - number of channels, string representation (Stereo/Mono). For the example above, it will be expanded as "Stereo".
 
File and catalog fields
 
%filename% - the name of the file (the Filename field). For the example above, it will be expanded as "13 - Yesterday.mp3".
 
%filebase% - filename without extension. For the example above, it will be expanded as "13 - Yesterday".
 
%ext% - extension. For the example above, it will be expanded as ".mp3" (with a leading dot).
 
%parentF% - the name of the parent folder in the file system. For the example above, it will be expanded as "Help! (1965)".
 
%parentC% - the name of the parent folder in the catalog. For the example above, it will be expanded as "Help!".