Sync Files to Portable Devices
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Introduction
MediaMonkey can Synchronize media files and associated metadata (Album Art, play history, etc.) with MediaMonkey for Android devices, iPhones, iPads, iPods and other MP3 Players connected via USB, and USB Storage/Memory Cards/Internal Locations/Network Storage to your PC. MediaMonkey can also do Wifi sync started from MediaMonkey for Android. Media files that are in formats that aren't supported by the device can be converted on the fly, and Track Volumes can be leveled for synced files.
Preparing your Media Files
Sync will have the best result if your media files are well tagged, have the correct Artwork, and have multiple Artist Albums tagged correctly. If you're syncing to a device that supports Replay Gain like MediaMonkey for Android on Android devices and Apple devices (MediaMonkey supports Apple Sound Check on Sync) you may want to make sure your files had their volume analyzed.
How to Start Sync
Connect your device to your PC and MediaMonkey should recognize it (Apple iOS devices require iTunes) and automatically create a Device Profile for your device. This Device Profile is used to manage the settings for Syncing media files to your device. You can access your device in the Devices & Services in the Media Tree. MediaMonkey creates a Device Profile for each memory in the device. For example an Android device with an SD card inserted will have a Device Profile for the internal memory (on the device) and the external memory (the SD card). You can sync to either or all Device Profiles for a device.
From the device sub-node it is possible to view/edit/delete/copy media files on the device (depending on the device and the plug-in used), and if the device has its own database, to update the device database. Note that files that appear in this node are not part of the MediaMonkey Library.
Basics of Synchronization
There are 2 types of Synchronization:
- Automatic Synchronization (Auto-Sync): This is the simplest and most powerful means of device synchronization. Choosing this option syncs the Sync List to your device while also being able to delete files not in the sync selection from the device.
- Manual Synchronization: This is for one-time operations where you want to manually sync a selected Playlist or set of files to the device.
Manual Synchronization
Select some files and right click on them or right click on a Playlist in the Media Tree and use Send To from the Context Menu. Select the device you want to Sync the selected files or Playlist to and that selection will be synced according to the Sync settings (see Auto-Sync below) in the Device Profile for that device. This won't delete other files already on the device (use Auto-Sync for that). Any files that were manually synced will be removed by Auto-Sync unless the files are on the Sync List.
Auto-Sync
Auto-Sync will sync the content you select in the Sync List to your device according to the settings in the Device Profile. MediaMonkey for Android uses these settings as well when doing a Wifi sync. The important setting is selecting what should be synced on the Sync list (Library --> Device) tab. The Device Profile has the following settings:
Summary
On the Summary tab of the Device Profile there are a couple of settings on how MediaMonkey interacts with the device.
- Click on the device name if you want to edit the name MediaMonkey displays for the device.
- Scan as soon as the device is connected, when enabled MediaMonkey will scan for files on the device when you connect the device. Scanning will otherwise take place when needed by MediaMonkey.
- Auto-Sync as soon as the device is connected, when enabled MediaMonkey will automatically start Auto-Sync as soon as the device is connected to your PC. This is useful if you generally don't modify the Sync List or other settings in the Device Profile.
- Automatically unmount device after Auto-Sync (available for certain devices), when enabled will unmount the device from your computer.
Sync List (Library --> Device)
The Sync List can be accessed on the Sync list (Library --> Device) tab of the Device Profile. This is where you select what should be synced from your MediaMonkey Library to the device. If you don't select anything Sync will still run, but won't Sync any content to your device. You can select:
- An entire Collection, or specific selections within a Collection like an Artist, Genre, Subscription or Series to be synced to the device.
- Playlists to be synced to the device. Auto-Sync will select all files selected through any selection in a Collection or a Playlist.
For:
- Audio based Collections you can enable:
- Sync random subset of selected files up to target capacity, which is useful if the Sync List selection exceeds the device's storage capacity. When enabled a random selection of files from the Sync List selection will be synced. Sync random subset has 2 additional settings:
- Sync higher-rated tracks more often will use Rating to sync higher rated files more often when syncing a random subset.
- Reserve xx MB of free space will allow you to keep some space free if your Sync List selection exceeds the device storage capacity and you're doing a random sync.
- Sync random subset of selected files up to target capacity, which is useful if the Sync List selection exceeds the device's storage capacity. When enabled a random selection of files from the Sync List selection will be synced. Sync random subset has 2 additional settings:
- Video based Collections you can set:
- to Sync All, x most recent or x oldest videos or unplayed videos.
- Podcast based Collections you can set:
- to Sync All, x most recent or x oldest videos or unplayed episodes.
The last settings pertain to what MediaMonkey should delete from the device on Auto-Sync.
- Enable Delete other files and playlists from xxx if you want MediaMonkey to delete files from the device during Auto-Sync. There are 2 options for deleting files:
- Unselected Library files will delete any files not on the Sync List selection that are in the MediaMonkey Library. This for example won't delete any files you have removed from MediaMonkey.
- All other media files will remove all media files from the device that aren't on the Sync List selection. This includes files not in the MediaMonkey Library that are found on the device. This option is needed if you want Auto-Sync to remove files from the device that you have removed from the MediaMonkey Library.
- Show confirmation dialog, this is recommended to be enabled so that you can confirm file deletions before they're deleted from the device. There is no undo of file deletions done by Auto-Sync.
Sync Profile
The Sync Profile tab of the Device Profile contains settings on how MediaMonkey should sync files to the device.
Auto-Conversion
Auto-Conversion (Rules, Supported Formats and Level Volume) will allow you to convert files in your MediaMonkey Library not supported by the device to a format that is supported by the device. Auto-Conversion is fully explained here.
Tagging
In the tagging section you can have MediaMonkey change a few things like Artwork and multi-value fields for the synced files (doesn't affect the media files on your computer).
- Sync all Artwork files to folders, when enabled MediaMonkey will create Artwork images according to the preferences you set. This includes creating Artwork files for files with embedded Artwork on your computer. Select this if your device doesn't support embedded Artwork
- Copy Artwork to file tags, when enabled MediaMonkey will embed Artwork into the synced files. This includes embedding Artwork saved as Artwork files for files on your computer. Embedded Artwork generally gives less trouble when supported, but uses more space as the Artwork is saved in each Media File.
- Remove artwork from tags if larger than xxx KB, when enabled will remove embedded Artwork when exceeds the user set size limit. This is useful if you have large Artworks embedded, but lack storage capacity on the device.
- Use only the first Genre when multiple Genre's exist, enable this if your device doesn't support multiple Genre values.
- Use only the first value when multiple Artists / Composers exist, enable this if your device doesn't support multiple Artist or Composer values.
Manage Settings
- Lookup Settings will take you to the MediaMonkey Addons website so you can try to find a Device Profile for your device.
- Import Settings allows you to import an exported Device Profile.
- Export Settings allows you to export the settings of the current Device Profile. Note that Sync List settings are not included in the exported Device Profile.
- Reset Settings allows you to reset the Device Profile settings to their defaults.
File Locations
(not available for Apple devices as Apple uses its own filenaming convention) Under File Locations you can set how MediaMonkey should store the Media Files it syncs on the device. There are individual settings per Type and you can use Masks to configure.
- Enforce use of the sync mask for files already on xxxx will rename files on the device according to the file naming settings, but this can slow Auto-Sync if lots of files have to be modified.
- Other locations on xxxx to scan for media files, select which locations on the device MediaMonkey will scan for media files. This allows you to scan locations with files synced/copied/downloaded with other applications and will be compared with the Sync List to determine what files MediaMonkey needs to Sync during Auto-Sync.
Playlists
(not available for Apple devices) In the Playlist section you can set which additional Playlists should be synced and how Playlists should be created on the device. Generally the default settings will work, but if the device can't read the Playlists you may need to adjust the settings. Refer to the manufacturers documentation as to what Playlists are supported by the device.
Sync List (Device --> Library)
On the Sync List (Device --> Library tab) (not available for Apple devices) you can configure MediaMonkey to sync content from your device to the MediaMonkey Library.
- Auto-sync playlists and new files from device to the PC will sync Playlists created and/or edited on the device and any media files on the device not in the MediaMonkey Library to the MediaMonkey Library. You can select which folders on the device to include in the sync of media files from the device to the MediaMonkey Library.
- Destination sets where files synced from the device to the MediaMonkey Library will be stored.
- Show confirmation dialog will show a confirmation before syncing any files from the device to the MediaMonkey Library.
- Auto-sync file metadata from the device to the PC will sync any tag changes made to files on the device back to the same files in the MediaMonkey Library.
Save Settings
Once you're done updating all the settings in the Device Profile click Apply in the Device Profile to save the changes. If you accidentally navigate away from the Device Profile MediaMonkey will prompt you to save the changes.
Auto-Sync
When your device is setup and the Sync List has been selected use Sync Now in the Device Profile to initiate Auto-Sync. MediaMonkey will now remove, update and sync new media files according to the settings in the Device Profile.
- Auto-Sync is only available when your device is connected via USB to your PC.
- Wifi Sync can't be initiated from MediaMonkey, it needs to be started from MediaMonkey for Android. It will run the same Sync as via USB, but more reliably for certain devices.
- Apple iOS devices require iTunes to be recognized by MediaMonkey.
Disconnecting your Device
Make sure MediaMonkey has finished with the device before you try to disconnect the device. Some devices (like non-iOS Apple and USB Storage devices) will have the option to Safely remove device in the right click Context Menu of the device in the Media Tree, whereas others (like Android and Apple iOS devices) can be disconnected without safely removing first.
Additional Android and Apple Device Instructions
Check out additional device specific instructions for:
- Android devices
- iPhones, iPads and iPods
Related
- Help: MediaMonkey for Android Help
- Knowledge Base: USB Sync with Android / MP3 Players fails
- Knowledge Base: MediaMonkey doesn’t Recognize my Apple Device
- Knowledge Base: Copy Files from an Apple Device to Your PC
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