Import date for music is extremely important for a number of reasons. It’s a shame then that there is no robust method of Roon handling this. I recently had to change my music folder structure and import the new folders - Roon didn’t remember the import dates of the albums (which had previously been imported) and now all the import dates are set the same - to the day I added the folders again. 
If there is any way of getting my import dates back, I’d be keen to know…
Did the date and timestamps change when you moved stuff around? If not, setting Roon to use last modified date may solve the issue for you
The import date is now set to a few weeks back when I re-imported all the folders. Is that what you mean?
What do you mean by “trekking Roon” - and how do I do it? Thanks!
No, I meant the date and timestamps of the underlying files and folders. If they reflect when you acquired/ripped/tagged the albums then in Roon’s settings you can tell it to use last modified date as import date.
Where is that setting exactly - I can’t find it!
Thanks. I found the setting, applied it, and after about 15 minutes the Roon progress bar indicated that the updating had concluded. It seems to have changed the order when browsing by import date, though I’m not convinced it’s correct. Perhaps the last modified date isn’t too reflective of the import date in my case. Thanks for the info though!
If you’re using Windows you could try creation date also.
Do you know about the IMPORTDATE tag? It certainly is a solution. I do agree it’s a pain the first time. Enterprising individuals could no doubt write scripts to take one of the file dates and use it to populate the tag.
I do however have a couple issues related to the tag that I need to write up though.
This sounds interesting though I haven’t heard of that tag and have almost zero knowledge on script writing!
There’s mention of its use in:
https://kb.roonlabs.com/File_Tag_Best_Practice
I think I saw there’s other mentions of it in the KB.
You’ll have to enable the tag’s use with Settings->Library->Import Settings->Use IMPORTDATE tag when present
While I could write the scripts I mentioned, I didn’t because a) I’m not that well versed in any scripting language and I always have to look stuff up (so lazy) but more importantly b) I wanted the import date to reflect when I added the albums to my library which predates my using Roon (and in some cases Roon itself), and in many cases I’ve made fixes along the way so it requires my intervention to figure out what the actual import date is.
All of these solutions and workarounds apply to local files (like the addition of PDFs and other stuff).
But it doesn’t apply to streaming content.
And I am by now massively streaming focused, having doubled my library in the last year.
Roon needs to rethink several features under this shift, @danny and @brian.
And the transience of not just about moving files.
For example, I have been adding streamed versions of existing albums, high res from Qobuz, or MQA from Tidal, or new masters from anywhere. I mean, systematically going through the library and doing this, not just because I’m a nut about SQ or corksniffing mastering, but also because I want access to my favorites on the road, including downloaded Qobuz stuff.
This makes Added Date meaningless: my home page, albums by added-date, is now jammed with old favorites.
I’m not sure what the solution is, for that specific problem: there are other issues with metadata on new versions where I’d like to sync.
But I don’t wan5 to emphasize another workaround. Metadata for streamed content adds new perspectives in general.
1 Like
Please don’t think that I am diminishing your concerns about streaming, but the OP specifically asked about handling local files. I think the issues you describe deserve a topic (if not several) of their own.
1 Like