How does that work under Windows?
Does the file manager on the device somehow know which order the files were added to the flash card in? Why would the device not know that if Linux were used and not Windows?
Sorry, I think I'm misunderstanding you here and thinking you've some reason for assuming that flash storage behaves like tape.

Thanks for the reply
There may not be a windows app that will do mixtape playlist to external drive

I understand that these devices [thumbdrive, sd cards] are treated like harddrives formatted fat32
I use Clementine which will generate & save m3u, xspf playlists in any order I wish, I can even open with exaile or gmusicbrowser
But getting the actual files copied on to external media in that same order, that can play on a car stereo in that same order is what I'm after

I could go through & rename file by file, but that would not be practical for 100's or even 1000's of files
when the files play on
http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLR34M-He...&keywords=pyle
a file number is displayed [along with track#, title, artist, album], this number appears to be the primary key
I can also display this # on gmusicbrowser
I see no way to make this visible on Dolphin file browser, I did start a thread on the KDE forum

Do you know that the device is reading the files in the order they were written? Otherwise then, yes, you probably have to add the track number to the beginning of each filename -- that can probably be automated using something to read the tags and the move command, for example.

Yes, some different organization [sort] schemes are possible when clementine [got a feature request on their system too] copies to a thumbdrive
it seems that what I'm suggesting is also along the lines of a query of the music files data base using the playlist as a filter

no idea how to do either of those things
ITunes & Brasero used do in order burning, but only as a cd

Yes, because an audio CD is a linear track where data is read in a specific order. On an SD card or other similar storage medium files can be read in any order so the order they are read in is dictated by the system reading the file system on the medium.
So, in essence, I am saying that what you are asking is not possible as that is not how SD cards work. What you have to do is find out how the device playing the music files determines which order to play them in and name them appropriately. This could be done either manually or by creating a script which reads the tags in the file which store the track number and renaming the files appropriately -- that is something you could ask as a question on this web site if it is what you need to do.

thanks for the replies
worked on ITunes with data cd's also...
what I'm seeking is very similar to building a slideshow from image files
the meta data is different enough to preclude using any of the many tools for image files
I'm certainly not the only one who wants this kind of function, I'm not positive there isn't a linux app...

I understand what you have written

thanks for the replies
worked on ITunes with data cd's also...
what I'm seeking is very similar to building a slideshow from image files
the meta data is different enough to preclude using any of the many tools for image files
I'm certainly not the only one who wants this kind of function, I'm not positive there isn't a linux app...

I understand what you have written

You are asking for something that can't be done because that's not how file systems work. On a data CD there is still just one track that is read but even on them I'd be surprised if every application listed or opened the files in the same order. The order files are read is a function of the application or OS reading them not of the medium they are stored upon.

sure
I understand what you wrote

sure
I understand what you wrote
thanks for the responses...

Yes, that's what playlist files are for. They basically list which files to play in which order.

A "mixed" tape is in a specific order because a tape is a sequential storage device. A disc is a random access device. On a flash disc it makes even less sense about which file is saved before another than on a spindle disc.

So, what you're after is something which saves a playlist file (usually something like a .M3U / .XFPF) onto the same disc where you save the MP3/FLAC/OGA/whatever audio format the actual files are. Then you need a player which imports the playlist file instead of just reading what audio files are on the disc.

In that case it matters much more about your player than whatever you use to save the files onto the disc. For that matter you could simply copy-paste them in any file browser. Only if the player reads the M3U file in lieu of the MP3s would there be any chance of being able to play them in order. This is probably possible with nearly all computer-based player programs (possibly through some manual import instead of automatic), but I've not seen a component player (like a car stereo) which ignores the MP3s and reads the M3U instead.

Otherwise you could rename the MP3 files such that you prefix an incrementing number to their name. That way they'd sort in your predefined order. Though that also wouldn't help if the player sorts by song title - or some other tag inside the file. In which case you'd need to modify those tags. I can think of making such program, or even just a script, but I've not come across such before. Personally I tend to want my music to play in random order instead of repeating the same pattern, so I've possibly not looked to much for such a feature.

1 members found this post helpful.

It sounds like you need EasyTag. Just hover over things and follow the tooltips. You can not only create playlists but can edit the file names (like add a number before) so your song plays in the desired order.

So say the original files may be something like this:
Track 1.opus
Track 2.opus
Track 3.opus

After tagging the files and running the scanner, you can end up with something like this:
01 Roar.opus
02 Legendary Lovers.opus
03 Birthday.opus

And if you want, you can change the order they play simply by changing the name (assuming the track tags don't conflict!)
01 Legendary Lovers.opus
02 Roar.opus
03 Birthday.opus

Playlists would be less hassle, but if you just want it quick and dirty, go for the name change. Another way is changing the track numbers in the tags.

Hope this helps.

thanks for the reply
I use eztag, to fix tags that clementine has trouble with
I tried to do a couple of playlists, but still end up renaming 1 at a time

thanks for the reply
I use eztag, to fix tags that clementine has trouble with
I tried to do a couple of playlists, but still end up renaming 1 at a time

I feel I ought to point out that, as far as I am aware, Windows (and, for completeness) MacOS and OSX do not have the feature either.
This being a thread about things from Windows wanted under Linux and not a general "I wish any OS would do this" thread. I realise I extended the discussion a little but this was because I was anticipating some Windows feature I'd missed or other exlanation as to why Linux can't do it when Windows can.