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Generate Playlists

Use Generate Playlists to write playlists for the selected files from an action group. A partition format decides which tracks belong together; a filename format names each partition's playlist.

Create one playlist per album folder

  1. Select a few copied files and put them in the desired file-list order.
  2. Save pending edits, then open Actions → Actions (Quick)….
  3. Choose Generate Playlists.
  4. Set Partition format to %_folderpath%.
  5. Set Playlist filename format to %_folderpath%playlist.m3u8.
  6. Choose Apply action and inspect each folder's playlist.

Tracks with the same folder path enter one playlist, preserving their relative order in the file list. The .m3u8 extension requests an M3U8 playlist; choose an extension supported by the playlist writer.

Understand partitions

OpenTag evaluates Partition format for every selected track. Tracks with exactly equal results form a group. For each group, it evaluates Playlist filename format using that group's first track.

Goal Partition format Playlist filename format
One playlist in every folder %_folderpath% %_folderpath%playlist.m3u8
One per disc in an album folder %_folderpath%-%discnumber% %_folderpath%disc-%discnumber%.m3u8
One for the entire selection all An absolute path chosen for the combined playlist

The partition value is a grouping key, not an output path. The filename must distinguish different groups: two partitions that resolve to the same destination report an error. Adding %discnumber% to the partition alone would not give each disc a distinct output filename.

A relative filename is resolved beside the first track in that partition. For a combined playlist spanning folders, choose an explicit absolute destination so the result does not depend on which track comes first.

The filename format uses literal \ as a folder separator on every platform. Separators and reserved filename characters in ordinary tag values are cleaned; native path placeholders such as %_folderpath% retain their path components. The partition format remains a grouping key, not a filename.

Order and playlist options

This action uses the current playlist settings for entry paths, extended information, encoding where applicable, and writing behavior. Inspect the result in the player that will open it, especially when moving the music and playlists to another machine.

In an action group, playlist generation runs after the group's per-file actions. A preceding rename therefore appears in the playlist, and even a playlist action listed before that rename sees the final values. Files with an earlier action warning still participate. Put it in a separate earlier group if an intermediate state is required.

Gotchas

  • The action includes selected files, not every track in the folder.
  • File-list order matters; the action does not automatically sort by track number.
  • Avoid filename collisions with audio files or other partitions.
  • Generated playlists may require separate cleanup. Do not assume session undo removes every output file, or that a failed batch rolled back all earlier file effects.