Sorting a directory.

[jaimicook]

I have a minor but anoying problem. I have a number of MP3 files, mostly recovered from old LP's. The problem is that when I burn them to a CD (as MP3 files) they don't burn to the cd in the order they are listed in the directory or the the directory in Nero. I had, many years ago, a program which would sort the files in a directory, rather than just the file names. I suspect that this would work if there were something similar for NTFS. Any suggestions?
Jim

[3fingersalute]

Nero should allow you to change the order the tracks will appear on the cd by simply dragging them up/down the list.

[confus-ed]

Nero should allow you to change the order the tracks will appear on the cd by simply dragging them up/down the list.

Err umm did he not just say he can't get the order right with nero ?

..they don't burn to the cd in the order they are listed in the directory or the the directory in Nero..

They come out in alaphabetical order I believe no matter what - I think its to do with how CDFS works but I'm not 100% as there's all that white/orange/red & yellow 'book' stuff - the quote/'fix' below alludes to this, but fails to explain 'really' ..

There's this 'workaround' posted at Nero on their Faq's thus :-

11. Why does the order of MP3 tracks change when I compile an MP3 CD? It always ends up in alphabetical order, and I am unable to change it.

First of all, there is a big difference between an Audio CD and a MP3 CD.
If you burn an Audio CD, all MP3s will be converted into CDA, so regular CD players will be able to read this CD. (This is specified through the Red Book.)

An MP3 CD is really just a Data CD, as you are using the CD-ROM (ISO) standard. And every CD-ROM (ISO) has to be written within the specification of the Yellow Book for this format. Otherwise it would not be readable on any system or by any MP3 player. This specification forces all tracks to be in alphabetical order. No exceptions.

But there is an easy workaround. Set prefixes in front of the filenames which consist of numbers.
For Example:
001_name.mp3
002_name.mp3
003_name.mp3

This way you can burn the MP3 audio files in the order you wish to play them.

Not exactly elegant but effective