Export Information from Your Library February 2005
It seems that no matter how large a hard disk is, we can always find new ways to fill it up. If you've been listening to music or watching movies on your computer for a while, then you may have amassed quite a large collection of media files. To help sort, organize, and search for content, you can use the Library feature in Windows Media Player 10. However, you can also manage the library in the program of your choice by exporting media information by using the Media Info Exporter PowerToy.
Download and install the Media Info Exporter from the Windows Media Player 9 Series Winter Fun Pack 2003 Web page, and you can export all of the information from your library to Excel, Word, or any other program you specify. You can even turn the contents of your library into an HTML or XML file for easy sharing on the Web. The Media Info Exporter lets you sort your files by any category you choose. Print or share all of your files organized by artist, song, or genre, or export the information from customized playlists.
This article contains the following sections:
Choose the Application that Displays Exported Information
Select the File Format for Exported Information
Export All Files in a Collection
Export Specific Files or Categories
Choose Specific Information to Export
Choose the Application that Displays Exported InformationAfter installing the Media Info Exporter, you can choose which application you want it to export information to. The capabilities of the application determine what you can do with your media information. For example, if you export to Word, you can create attractive printable pages that include album art; Excel enables you to turn your library into a powerful database and reporting tool.
To select the export applicationIn Windows Media Player, click the Access applications menu button  , point to Tools, and then point to Plug-ins. Click Media Info Exporter, as shown in the following screen shot. In Media Info Exporter, click Properties. - Click Application to start, and then click one of the options shown in the following screen shot.
Notes Some of the choices above will not appear if you do not have the associated program installed on your computer. If you click None, the media information will be saved as a file with the name Wmpdb in your My Music folder (or the folder you specify as the default). If you click Custom, you can choose another program to use for exporting.
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Select the File Format for Exported InformationThe Media Info Exporter enables you to choose the file format for your exported information. If you simply want to print your information, you can choose to export it as a text file with a .txt extension. If you'd like to share the information on the Web, you can export it as an HTML or XML file.
To choose the type of file that you'll exportIn Media Info Exporter, click Properties. In the File type list, click a format, as shown in the following screen shot. Note If you're not sure, choose Best fit for application, and the Media Info Exporter will choose the file type that is most appropriate for the export application.
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Export All Files in a CollectionThe Media Info Exporter lets you export collections of categories, such as all of your music, all of your videos, and radio stations.
To export collections of categoriesIn the Media Info Exporter, click Select collection to export. Select the type of information you'd like to export. For example, All Music exports media info for all files with .wma or .mp3 extensions. Click Export.
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Export Specific Files or CategoriesYou can also export information for individual files or selected categories, rather than an entire collection. For example, you can export information for all music by a particular artist or genre, an individual song, or playlist you've created.
To export information for specific categories or filesIn Windows Media Player, click Library. Select a category, such as a single artist, genre, or playlist, in the Contents pane or select one or more files in the Details pane. Right-click the selection, point to Send to, and then click Media Info Exporter, as shown in the following screen shot.
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Choose Specific Information to ExportThe Player stores many different pieces of information about each file and category. For songs, the Player records not only the title, artist, and album, but other items such as the length of the song, the bit rate, and a star rating based on the number of times you've listened to it.
The Media Info Exporter enables you to choose which types of information you'd like to export. The exporter pulls this information from the columns displayed in the library. Therefore, you can choose which information to export for each file and category by changing the column view.
To change the column viewIn Windows Media Player, click Library. In the left pane, click the category you'd like to export (for example, All Music or an artist name). On the View menu, click Choose Columns, as shown in the following screen shot. - Do the following to choose which information you'd like to export and in what order:
To add or remove columns, click the check boxes. To change the order of the columns, select a column and click Move Up or Move Down.
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