gtkpod -

[Bob Goodwin]

Todd Zullinger wrote:
> Bob Goodwin wrote:
>   
>> Can someone tell me how to go about copying the all music off an
>> ipod and then putting some of the files onto another one?
>>     
>
> Sure.  If you have gtkpod started and the ipod is showing up in the
> left pane, you right click and select "Copy Tracks to Filesystem."
>
> In the dialog that opens, you browse to the directory to which you
> want to export the music.  You can specify a format for the exported
> files in the filename format box.  There is an unfortunate bug that
> affects gtkpod on F8 which makes the tooltip that explains the
> available formats disappear nearly instantly[1].  The tooltip reads:
>
> "Determines the filename of tracks you copy from the iPod, e.g
> '%a/%A/%T - %t.mp3' or '%o'.  You can separate several patterns by
> semicolons -- gtkpod will determine which one to use by the filename
> extension given. Artist: %a, album: %A, composer: %c, title: %t,
> genre: %G, track nr: %T, CD nr: %C, year: %Y, original filename
> (requires extended information file): %o, current playlist: %p, the
> character '%': %%."
>
> If you have mp3 and aac (mp4, m4a) tracks on the ipod, you could use
> something like this to organize them by artist/album/tracknum-title:
>
> %a/%A/%T-%t.mp3;%a/%A/%T-%t.m4a;%a/%A/%T-%t.mp4
>
> After you've saved the contents of one ipod, you can then add those
> files to another ipod.  Perhaps it's best to ensure that this part
> works well first, then move on to adding files to the other ipod?
>
> Is the ipod you will be copying to is a newer ipod (classic, video
> nano, touch, or iphone)?
>
> [1] I think this might be a gtk bug, but I've not had much luck
>     tracking it down.  If anyone has ideas or has seen similar 
>     problems in other gtk apps on F8, I'd love to hear about it.
>
>   

    Ok, that seems to permit me to save files from the iPods using gtkpod. 

    Playing back the files I saved seems simplest using Amarok. 
    Unfortunately the iPod I have to experiment with this morning
    belongs to a teen aged grandson and contains nothing but whining
    adolescents singing, a horror to work with!

    The files on the iPod are grouped such as "Top Rated," etc. and I
    have only been able to copy those groups into newly created
    directories.  I would prefer to be able to copy the entire contents
    of the iPod in on fell swoop.  I'm still looking at that.

    Thanks to all for your help.

    Bob Goodwin