Member Avatar for groundhogs84

i use my d: drive primarily for mp3s. is there a way to group the files on my d: drive by artist? The closest i have come is by grouping them by their first letter. My d: drive is all mp3's no folders nor do i want folders? is this possible?

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Useful follow‑up based on the thread: Explorer and most music libraries don’t group by anything except the metadata that’s actually inside each MP3. was right to call attention to tags, and ’s discovery about the folder view settings shows the UI side — the missing piece is reliable, standardized metadata.

Practical, low-risk workflow:

  • Batch-fill and normalize the Artist (and Album Artist) fields with a tag editor (examples: Mp3tag, TagScanner, Winamp). Correct spelling/capitalization and remove duplicates like “Beatles” vs “The Beatles.” Back up the files before any mass changes.
  • Use a tag editor to re‑write tags into a common format so Explorer and other players read them consistently.
  • Use a library-capable player (Windows Media Player, foobar2000, Winamp) or Explorer’s Details view to present the collection by Artist; sorting by the Artist column will place same-artist tracks together without moving files. Playlists or an application library give quick, persistent artist views.

Troubleshooting notes:

  • If Artist stays blank in Explorer but appears in a tag editor, re-save the tag and refresh the folder (F5). Some files use uncommon tag formats; rewriting tags with a modern editor fixes most issues.
  • For compilations or tracks with multiple artists, populate Album Artist to avoid fragmentation of an artist’s listing.

If editing tags isn’t wanted, a music library/player is the simplest route to browse by artist while keeping a single flat folder.

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Member Avatar for Zachery

i use my d: drive primarily for mp3s. is there a way to group the files on my d: drive by artist? The closest i have come is by grouping them by their first letter. My d: drive is all mp3's no folders nor do i want folders? is this possible?

not unless you already see it in the Collum Select List, if you dont your SOL sorry ^^

Member Avatar for groundhogs84

anybody else got any ideas maybe theres some way to tweak it theres gotta be a way
i dont know help please

Member Avatar for Zachery

anybody else got any ideas maybe theres some way to tweak it theres gotta be a way
i dont know help please

windows would have to check each file for the ID3 tags. and if they dont have them they couldnt sort it anyway :)

Member Avatar for groundhogs84

oh i just realized what you were talking about ha right click on the column and you get a choice i see thatnks

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