[samibe]

I would like the option to add a value to a field for multiple songs (in batch edit mode) that might already have other values in it. 

For example, if I added a book of classical songs from various eras, filled in the genre field with the eras, and then later wanted to add "instrumental" to the genre field. I would have to filter the book by genre and then add "instrumental" to each group of songs. It would be nice if there was a checkbox to "Add" values to the field. Where values that are not shared by all selected songs could be grayed out and values that are shared by all can be added and/or removed.

[McAroni]

Im Not shure if i understand it right but if you have filtered your songs with the values of your choice you could select all -》 Edit and fill in what you want in the field you want and this value will be written and added for every Song you filtered out.

[samibe]

It's easy enough to filter out songs and use batch edit to fill out the data for empty fields. It's also easy to add more entries to a field to add more granularity to the search options for a field. For example, I have hundreds of duets (that I have labeled as "Duet" in the "Instrument" custom group) that I could then go through and add 1P4H (one piano four hands), 2P4H, PianoOrgan, GuitarPiano, etc. by further filtering the songs with a "Duet" instrument and doing a batch edit. It doesn't work as easily the other way. 

Scenario, say I have a Collection of all of my duets (of various instrumentations) but they are listed in the Instrument field as 1P4H, 2P4H, etc. only and I decide I don't want a Collection of duets, I want to add "Duet" to the Instrument field. 
 - Option 1: Go song by song through the Collection adding "Duet" to the instrument field and clicking "Save and edit next"
 - Option 2: Filter the collection down to a set of songs that have the exact same instrumentation, select them all, batch edit them, make sure the field name isn't red, add "Duet" to the field, click save, and repeat for the other instrumentations in the collection. 
 - Option 3: (Slightly faster than option 2) Go the Instrument tab, select each duet configuration (1P4H, 2P4H, etc.) one at a time, select all the songs in the list, batch edit them, make sure the field name isn't red, add "Duet" to the field, click save, and repeat for the other instrumentations. If the filed label is red and the data can't be replaced for all the songs in the list, then I have to close out of the batch editor, filter the songs further, and try again. (Which sounds a lot more like option 2).

It would be easiest if I could select all the songs in the collection, check a box at the instrument field to add a value to the field without changing any existing values, type "Duet" into the instrument field box, and click OK. 

Alternatively, rather than having the field label show up red when the values aren't all the same or have to check a box to add or replace the values in the field, I think it would be more helpful if the data that isn't shared by every song in the batch were to be grayed out. Checking the box (replace) that is already there would make all the values active (not grayed out). Selecting a grayed out value would make that value active (not grayed out) and add that value to the all the songs in the batch it's missing from. Adding a value to the field would add that value to the whole batch and not change any other value in the field. In terms of the scenario, I could select all of the songs in the Collection, edit the batch, and see that there are a bunch of grayed out Instrument values. I could then add a "Duet" value to the field or (if it's already been added to a few songs) select the grayed out "Duet" value that is already in the field so that it gets added to all of the songs in the Collection.

[Zubersoft]

I'll consider making those changes to the batch edit screen in a future update. That will require a fair number of UI updates and behavior changes, along with a bunch of testing, so I'll have to wait until some of the other high priority tasks are addressed before I can work on it. For now, I think the best approach is to go to the Instruments tab, create a new Instrument called "Duet", edit that instrument, then in the group editor, set up filters to show you only the songs you want to add to Duet. You can then tap the icon with two arrows to add all of those songs to the Duet instrument all at once.

Thanks,
Mike

[samibe]

Thanks Mike. I know you have more than enough stuff on your plate. This is something that can definitely wait until other major projects are finished.