Q: How do I display the metatags of m4a's

[Seraiel]

Hi .

I searched for this the whole day already, and wasn't able to get an answer yet. What I want, is, that the normal Windows Explorer reads the meta-tag-data from all audio-files, like it i. e. already does with mp3's. I think what I'm searching for is called a "property handler" and have found this open-source property handler, which seems to be the only solution to my problem, except that installing dbPoweramp is also reported to fix this. I'm very cautious with both though, I actually neither want to install dbPoweramp, nor do I really trust in something which's last updae was 2013, if it modifies the registry so deeply as the linked property handler does.

Therefore I wanted to ask, if anybody knows a different solution.

Tia for any help!

Sera

 

[Callender]

You might want to try AudioShell. It integrates with explorer. If you don't trust such software make a system image backup before installing. Note: I've used AudioShell in the past but currently do not have it installed.

Download AudioShell - MajorGeeks

Obviously if you want something that integrates with explorer it's going to make some changes!

If you don't want to make changes to your system then you'll need a portable app to view and edit tags but you will not see results displayed in Explorer. Here's what I use currently:

TagScanner - The Ultimate Tag Editor - portable version

 

[Seraiel]

Thx for the tip Callender, I will keep that tool in mind, should the property-handler have downsides or not work. And you understood me wrong, I have no problem with something digging deep into the registry, the problems I had were, because the tool was from 2013, and taglib got numerous updates in the meantime, also version 0.3 somehow sounds like it was an early Alpha.
I'll make a full registry backup and a system restore point before applying the property handler, maybe even an image backup like you advised, and will report about how well the property handler works. Ofc. this shall not hold you back from still listing alternatives to it, like Callender did .

 

[Seraiel]

I've tried and installed dbPoweramp, because I thought, that it's property handler might be more up to date and also thought, that I might rip my CDs newly, as there's a new version of FLAC since Nov. 2014 and I also didn't knew about bit-exact copies back then. From what I can report 'til now, it works well. The ratings of .m4a get shown with a wrong value on my system, because Apple uses a 1-10 rating system, but my foobar rates with 1-5 like also Windows Media Player does. Ofc., it was necessary for Apple, to double the number of ratings available, to do it different meaning better than Microsoft in their opinion . Sry, ofc. it's a decisive difference, if a track has 4/5 stars or 4.5/5 ^^ .