With XMiL Songster creates an Avid Log Exchange file for the audio files you drag on its icon. This works with MP3, WAVE and AIFF files. If your favorite file type is not one of these send an email to info@xmil.biz.

Select the metadata information you want to transfer into Final Cut Pro from the menus in the main window.

The setting of the video type and frame rates ('ALE Header') has no bearing on the imported audio clips, but is required by the Avid to accept the ALE file. The settings have to match the current project's format in the Avid.

Set the destination folder for the ALE files by clicking the button "Path..."

On the Finder level files can be dragged onto the XMiL Songster application icon where ever you see it. Click the button "Floating Window " to open a floating window that you can drag files onto. This floating window will always appear in front of any other window, providing an easy drop-target on cluttered desktops.

 

After importing the ALE file into an Avid bin, custom columns list the metadata of the audio files in these columns: Album, Track Number, Artist, Album Artist, Comment, Composer, Description, Disc Number, Disc Count, Genre, bpm, Year, Grouping and Lyrics.

XMiL SongsterALE adds up to 1.1 seconds of silence to the end of the imported audio files. This is to ensure that the entire file comes in.

Learn about the registration status by clicking the help button "?".

Click the words "Registration Status" to start the registration process.

All settings, including the position of the windows, will be retained for the next time that you run the application.

XMiL Songster uses iTunes to extract the metadata embedded in the audio files that were dragged onto the application. It creates a new playlist in iTunes, and adds the dragged songs to that playlist. It then queries iTunes about each song's metadata, and generates an ALE file containing that metadata. Depending on the the setting "Delete Songs after Processing..." in the XMiL SongsterALE window, the temporary playlist and the added songs will be deleted from iTunes.

Because the dragged audio files will only be in iTunes for a short time it is advisable to turn off the option to copy the files to the iTunes Music Library. This option is in the iTunes preferences. XMiL SongsterALE will not delete any copied files.