Guides. Create Bookmarking Files (Mac&PC), Cassette Tape, LP & CD(PC)

[robert]

it has worked for lots of people. Be sure you are importing the newly renamed file into iTunes. Go back to Guide 1 and make certain you are executing each and every step. What doesn't work? Is the file in itunes under songs? What happens when you right click and choose show file? Do you see a file with m4b extension. Have you used applescripts, the link, to "rename" the file. I understand that mac doesn't actually need to be renamed m4b, but the applescript changes the tags so that it becomes a bookmarking audiobook. Post some more of what doesn't work, and maybe a mac user can help you out.

[tetbautista]

it plays all the file extensions in my itunes & ipod. But when i transfer the files to the ipod it doesnt go to audiobooks. It goes directly under music's playlists.

[robert]

rename the file extension m4b following the renaming steps in Guide 1. Clear the song name of the file that now has a ! by it and no file associated with it. Import the newly named file into iTunes as described in the guide, then drag or synch the renamed file to your iPod. I am shaky on mac territory here, but I think mac doesn't require renaming to become a bookmarking file, but may require renaming to m4b to place in audiobooks.

I repeat, what do you see when you click show file? What file extension? You can rename it in the process of looking.

[tetbautista]

okay.. i have the original file with the extension of .mp3 - then i converted the file to Apple Lossless so it changed the file to .m4a then manually replaced the extension with .m4b.

Still, doesn't work. btw, i have a 4G iPod. I believed that some of the features are not the same with the earlier iPods.

[robert]

I believe you have to use the applescript referred to in the guide to change the tags, not just rename.

[isoiso]

this is a complete load of rubbish - what are we? pretend hackers? we need to be able to download an mp3 onto an ipod and if it is music then - cool tag it as normal - artist,album etc. If it is spoken word/podcast IT SHOULD BE BOOKMARKAEBLE and in a different area to our songs - oh and while i am on it - we should be able to delete stuff after we have listened to it. maybe i am wrong and should spend most of my time hacking around with file conversion and stuff . HELP! Ijust wanna listen to stuff and be able to find it ......

[fauxpaux]

Updated version located at http://mp3merger.cjb.net/ if you want to up date the "Guides"

[leeraff]

Why does this have to be some damn hard?

Aren't there other players that have, oh, I don't know, a freakin' "bookmarking" feature? On other players, when you hit genre.... will it maybe, only show that genre, regardless of format?!?

Not real impressed with all the work involved. Think about it from a newbie's point of view all the detail and work involved in this post. Think I'll just go get a different player!?!

Thought ipod was supposed to be easy. Maybe all those critics out there have a point. Love not to become one, but geez, convert this to that and rename this and buy this 3rd party software and rename this.

Later! The Creative player I initially bought and returned EVEN SOUNDED BETTER! FACT! Didn't get nearly the wash out of sounds I do with the ipod and now the ipod is this complicated?1? Later!

[chetman]

Hi
Just to let you guys know that i tried this and it works but only if I drag and drop the m4b files from my library to the iPod. They then show up inder audiobooks. If I select update iTunes does not send them to my iPod.
Has anyone experienced this and is it unusual?

Ta

[moriond]

Originally posted by chetman
Hi
Just to let you guys know that i tried this and it works but only if I drag and drop the m4b files from my library to the iPod. They then show up inder audiobooks. If I select update iTunes does not send them to my iPod.
Has anyone experienced this and is it unusual?

Ta

Are you using a Mac or a PC? What kind of updating options do you have selected (manual sync, semi-automatic sync, or autosync) under the iTunes preferences for your iPod? Are these podcasts that you have made bookmarkable? That's the only place in iTunes where you can "select update" by toggling on an icon and they are downloaded into a special Podcast subdirectory. However, the "update" only refers to updating the contents of this subdirectory of your iTunes Music Library, not updating your iPod.

If you're on a PC and you have just the bookmarkable (m4b) files in iTunes when you connect, then the iPod should update the same as usual (e.g., autosync will bring these across, if that's what you're using; in manual mode all files have to be transferred with drag and drop). (Make sure that you've cleared up intermediate files before you autosync, so you don't have these on your iPod).

If you're on a Mac, you only had to run the Make Bookmarkable AppleScript on your files. The only confusing occasion occurs if you use autosync and you already had these files on your iPod tagged as non-bookmarkable (e.g., you didn't create a new large file which merged the contents of several CDs, and which you then made bookmarkable). In that case, the iPod will only update the status of these files (as bookmarkable) if there is a change in the file length or the keywords -- go and type "OK" in the comments field, for example. When you next connect under autosync these will be bookmarkable. No need for any of this if you make new files bookmarkable before you autosync. And no confusion if you use manual syncing, since files are brought over by drag and drop.

[chetman]

thanks for the time taken out to reply
I use a PC and had it on manual sync but assumed that when i right clicked on my iPod icon in iTunes and clicked update it would update all new filles added inti iTunes since last synch. I'm not too bothered with it as i can just drag and drop.

[chetman]

thanks for the time taken out to reply
I use a PC and had it on manual sync but assumed that when i right clicked on my iPod icon in iTunes and clicked update it would update all new filles added inti iTunes since last synch. I'm not too bothered with it as i can just drag and drop.

[Kim L]

Help! I have used the guide and works great except for one thing.
When I open the file to change the extension only 14 of the the 15 files that should be there show up. What happened to the 15th file? Does anyone else have this problem?

[robert]

The missing file is probably somewhere on your computer. Go to start>search>for files or folders>all Files and folders> key in the basic file name that you assigned, and click search. After the search is comlete all 15 files should show up. Note where the odd file is and relocate (r click and select move to the folder with the other files) and rename.

MarkAble would do almost all this for you. Give it a try. If you are converting CD audiobook, MarkAble has a CD wizard that is a snap. See guides below.

Good luck!

[fox5150]

Hi,

Thanks for the guide, work works perfectly for me. The only issue is that after the MP3 to AAC conversion there is a very slight delay. This is fine on the MP3 prior to the conversion. The settings on the MP3s are 32kbps (joint stereo) and 22.050kHz. I have performed the conversion using the same settings and then the delay creeps in. If I up the sample rate to 64kbps I can't hear the delay but the file size is twice the size of the mp3's. I was wondering if it had something to do with the original MP3 being joint stereo, so I contemplated making the converted AAC files mono, but the guide states that this will crash the iPod.

So far I have just kept the MP3's and checked the bookmark and skip when shuffling buttons and just access them through genres. I would like to have them as m4b and accessed through Audiobooks though. Has anyone else experienced this.

Just for info I'm using the 5G 60Gb iPod with iTunes 6.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Fox