beaTunes News

This maintenance update fixes a couple of issues having to do with lyrics, import of Bandcamp tags, and the switch from loved to favorited by the Apple Music.app. It also updates the internal Discogs database.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.34

• Fixed some lyrics related issues.
• Fixed retrieval of Bandcamp tags.
• Updated japlscript and obstmusic to fix favorited/loved issue.
• Updated built-in Discogs database.

Labels: Bandcamp, Music, Release

This minor update fixes a couple of issues having to do with responsiveness, house keeping, and a downright bug (time signature didn't show up in the main table view).

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.33

• Fixed sub-par responsiveness in inspection panes.
• Fixed time signature table renderer.
• Fixed deletion of orphaned playlists.

Labels: Inspection, Release, Time Signature

This minor update fixes a startup issue on Windows (reported for Windows 11) that led to a shutdown right after the splash screen. Furthermore, automatic synchronization during shutdown is now prevented.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.32

• Fixed window-activation-triggered sync during shutdown.
• Fixed startup issue on Windows 11 (missing accessibility dependency).

Labels: Release, Windows 11

This maintenance update improves the search experience in larger collections, fixes a couple of minor issues and updates some included components.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.31

• Fixed a lyrics issue (missing jlink dependency).
• Fixed encoding of relative paths in WPL playlist exporter.
• Fixed ConcurrentModificationException during initial synchronization.
• Increased search trigger delay for single characters.
• Updated to Java 11.0.17+7.
• Updated built-in Discogs database.

And, because an indfividual post was skipped, changes in 5.2.30

• Fixed synchronization abortion due to infinite volume normalization change.
• Updated to Java 11.0.16.1+1.
• Updated japlscript.
• Updated built-in Discogs database.

Labels: Discogs, Java11, jlink, Release

Getting ready for Ventura! This maintenance update introduces a couple of fixes for the upcoming macOS 13 (Ventura) along with some other performance-related issues.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.29

• Support deletion of currently playing song.
• Fixed responsiveness issue when initiating synchronization manually.
• Fixed taking last play/skip date into account when checking synchronization need.
• Fixed synchronization with Music.app taking too long despite only minor changes.
• Fixed NaN values in volume normalization.
• Fixed Music.app/iTunes selection for macOS 13 (Ventura).
• Implemented rate limiting for AcousticBrainz.

Labels: AcousticBrainz, iTunes, macOS, Music, Release, Ventura

Unfortunately, v5.2.27 was a rather unsmooth release, especially for people using macOS Monterey... v5.2.28 hopefully fixes this.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.28

• Fixed macOS version recognition for macOS 11 and 12.
• Fixed NoClassDefFoundError on Turkish systems.

Labels: macOS, Release

It's been a while! This maintenance release fixes a couple of minor issues, updates the used Java environment, and slightly improves the user experience. Enjoy!

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.27

• Ensured new playlist name is selected, so that it can be changed right away.
• Updated access method to live DBpedia.
• Updated access method to LastFM search.
• Updated built-in Discogs database.
• Updated to Java 11.0.15+10 (among other things this fixes JDK-8251377).

Labels: DBpedia, Discogs, Java11, Last.fm, Release

This maintenance release fixes an issue on macOS that caused file paths to be displayed containing the word POSIX. Furthermore, I have updated code accessing the Cover Art Archive, now using HTTPS for all search requests. Last but not least, when parsing the year field in audio files, beaTunes now simply takes the first four characters instead of attempting to parse it in a more complex way. This is in line with the ID3 specification.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.26

• Changed behavior of "year" parser.
• Updated access method to Cover Art Archive.
• Fixed POSIX file issue (macOS only).

Labels: Coverart, id3, Release

Gee! It's been a while. A lot has happened under beaTunes' hood and this maintenance release will incorporate some of the changes. As a first of a small series of releases, I have open-sourced three internal beaTunes libraries, namely JaplScript, Obstunes, and Obstmusic.

The first, JaplScript, is a library that allows you to generate Java programming interfaces for pretty much any macOS desktop app that is scriptable via AppleScript. The other two, Obstunes and Obstmusic, are such generated APIs and are used by beaTunes to communicate with iTunes and Music, respectively (other generated APIs, for example for the Photos app, can be found here - feel free to contribute!). One cool application for these libraries is the combination with JBang. This basically lets you script your Mac desktop apps in Java. Here's an example:

Log the current playing track in Apple music or sent it to a webservice… via #JDK17 #AppleScript and #JBang

Thanks a ton to @h_schreiber for #JaplScript https://t.co/klx6ZXF4Dkhttps://t.co/0JdtMNuQVv

cc @maxandersen

— Michael Simons (@rotnroll666) September 28, 2021

This release also fixes a small bug that occurred when editing the year field in the main song table.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.25

• Updated to use beaTunes spin-off open source projects (JaplScript, Obstunes, Obstmusic).
• Fixed table editor for year field.

Last but not least: Happy Holidays!!

Labels: AppleScript, OpenSource, Release

This maintenance release mainly contains an updated Discogs database and adjustments to changes that happened over at Wikidata (differentiation between recording and song).

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.24

• Allow playback of up to 90s during scan.
• Modified AVPlayer to restart tracks more conservatively.
• Fixed synchronization of "checked" ("enabled") field with Music.app.
• Improved tolerance towards malformed embedded fingerprints.
• Updated built-in Discogs database.
• Updated Wikidata logic to reflect changes from the website.

Labels: Discogs, Music, Release, Wikidata

This maintenance update fixes just one thing: keeping track of file/folder renames in a folder-based library—specifically one that lives in an NTFS file system. In plain English this means, that if you are using NTFS for your music files and a beaTunes folder-based collections, beaTunes should not loose track of your files, even when you rename them or move them to another folder, if that folder is still within the collection's root folder. beaTunes may indicate that files are missing (404 in the location column), but a simple synchronization (File -> Synchronize) should solve the issue.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.22

• Fixed file id tracking for NTFS on Windows.

Labels: NTFS, Release, Windows

This maintenance update fixes a couple of minor issues. The most notable of which is probably beaTunes' capability to automatically find and reassociate renamed files with the correct metadata in the database, if there is a valid file id available and if the file is still in the same folder (applies only to folder-based libraries). File ids are typically available for NTFS or APFS, but not networks drives, like Samba (SMB) mounts. This re-association happens on-the-fly and does not require a fill synchronization. That said, it also happens during synchronization, but in that case is not limited to the same folder. For details regarding the other fixes, please see the list below.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.21

• Fixed appearance of progressbars for Windows.
• Fixed inappropriate default editor for uneditable fields.
• Fixed automatic renamed file search for folder-based libraries.
• Ignore illegal ratings during synchronization.
• Avoid render/EDT hangs when noticing bad track location data.

Labels: Release, Windows

This maintenance update features some overall improvements and fixes a couple of issues. For details, please see the list below.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.20

• Fixed embedding of danceability values.
• Fixed potentially empty MatchLists when using SYNC.
• Fixed unnecessary reading of files during synchronisation on NTFS.
• Fixed unnecessary full synchronization after analysis for folder-based collections.
• Added alphanumerical sort order for keys.
• Re-enabled sharing for macOS 10.14 or later #NowPlaying.
• Moved to HTTPS for accessing DBpedia.
• Lowered CPU usage when idle and during playback.
• Updated to Java 11.0.10+9.

Labels: dancing, DBpedia, Java11, Matchlist, NTFS, Release, Twitter

This maintenance update features some overall improvements and fixes a couple of issues. A lot of fine-tuning has gone into the Get Info panel, to provide better performance and lower memory requirements—especially when opening it for multiple tracks. Fixes include re-adding the missing JavaScript engine ("Nashorn") to support beaTlets written in JavaScript. Due to changes on the Bandcamp website, our tag scraper had to be updated. Some minor changes also happend in the Commit All Solutions menu item, which was enabled erroneously, when it shouldn't have been.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.19

• Fixed update of player indicator in Beatport charts.
• Fixed enabled status of commit solutions menu item while committing.
• Added missing Nashorn scripting engine.
• Updated Bandcamp tag extraction.
• Reduced memory consumption of Get Info dialog.

Labels: Bandcamp, Inspection, JavaScript, Plugin, Release

This update improves/fixes a couple of efficiency issues. As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.18

• Improved efficiency when deleting tracks from iTunes/Music with missing files.
• Improved efficiency when modifying iTunes/Music playlists on macOS.
• Improved efficiency when calculating playlists stats (count, size, duration).
• Moved to CASampledSP 0.9.23.
• Moved to japlscript 3.1.9.

Labels: Release

This update fixes a sync regression on macOS Catalina (10.15) and later that caused full, very lengthy synchonizations. Further it contains an enhancement, as it visually follows the currently playing songs via scrolling the playlist table.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.17

• Added following currently playing song visually by scrolling appropriately.
• Fixed regression in Music.app synchronization leading to very long syncs.

Labels: Big Sur, Catalina, macOS, Release

This update fixes a couple of issues in the UI, probably most notable the solid gray window issue, but also an issue connected to Apple's itlibrary API exposing outdated playlists.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.16

• Fixed mouse interaction in playlist image.
• Fixed Genius playlists not showing up.
• Added workaround for itlibrary API exposing old playlists (macOS, Big Sur/Catalina).
• Added workaround for solid-gray-window bug on Catalina or later.
• Improved support for macOS accent/highlight colors.

Labels: Catalina, macOS, Release

This update fixes a couple of issues connected to muting. Additionally, I have adjusted the color scheme slightly to fit Apple's new operating system macOS 11, a.k.a. Big Sur, a little better. Note that there are still unresolved issues—upgrading to Big Sur is therefore not recommended.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.15

• Fixed showing tooltip popups even though beaTunes is not frontmost window (macOS).
• Fixed mute keyboard shortcut on macOS.
• Fixed unintentional unmute on next track.
• Added visual mute indicator in table view.
• Added Big Sur color scheme.

Labels: Big Sur, macOS, Release

This maintenance update contains a couple of small fixes and improvments, one of which, I'd like to discuss is greater detail. As you may or may not know, beaTunes can automatically export all playlists to the playlist file format of your choice whenever you change a list (setting in the general preferences). Typically, I tell people to be careful with this feature as exporting the whole library all the time can swallow considerable resources and leads to an overall less responsive system. However, if you consider this a key feature and have it turned on, you may be happy to read that the export is now also triggered by external changes to your playlists. In other words, when you use an iTunes- or Music.app-based collection and modify some playlists in iTunes or Music.app, beaTunes will recognize during the next synchronization that something has changed and automatically export those lists using the configured format. The neat thing about this is, that it fills a gap in iTunes'/Music.app's functionality that is otherwise hard it fill.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.11

• Fixed excessive status bar updates clogging database access.
• Fixed issue with using non-standard genre names in Get Info panel.
• Improved accessibility of context menus (selection on right-click).
• Improved peeking.
• Improved automatic playlist export to also consider external changes.

Labels: Release

This update contains a number of small bug fixes and improvements. As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.10

• Fixed UI artifact caused by table comboboxes (liking, instrument).
• Fixed toggles for UI elements on macOS (workaround for JDK-8216971).
• Fixed focus traversal in inspection.
• Fixed missing refresh in pending solutions list.
• Improved playback when editing currently playing song.
• Added ignoring of remote/shared tracks in artwork inspection.

Labels: Release