Script: Easily change quality of MP3 files

[picpak]

DISCLAIMER: I don't want this topic turning into a discussion of how bad it is to turn a low quality mp3 into an even lower quality mp3. I don't want to "kill" their mp3s; I want to provide them with a solution to a very viable problem. Maybe they're running low on disk space, or need smaller files for their mp3 player.

Intro:

I for one got very tired of having to always type lame -b 128 etc, etc. into the terminal each time I wanted to change the quality of an mp3. Sure, there's http://www.media-convert.com/ , but that lags our internet. So I whipped up this script.

Installation for Nautilus

Installation for the default file manager in Ubuntu.

1) Download mp3Convert by downloading the attachment at the bottom of this post.

(Alternatively, you can get the code right here:

#!/bin/bash

quality=128
title=Converting
file=$@

if [ "$file" ]; then
cd `pwd`
lame -b $quality "$file" 2>&1 | awk -vRS='\r' '(NR>3){gsub(/[()%|]/," ");print $2; fflush();}' | zenity --progress --auto-close --auto-kill --title="$title" --text="$title $file at $quality kbps to $file.mp3"
fi

Copy and paste it into the Text Editor and save it as ~/mp3Convert.sh.)

2) Open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and put the script into ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts (the folder Nautilus checks to find any scripts):

mv mp3Convert.sh ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts

3) Make the script executable so that Nautilus will detect it.

chmod 740 ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/mp3Convert.sh

All done! Now you can right click an mp3 file and go to Scripts > mp3Convert.sh.

Installation for Thunar

Installation for the default file manager in Xubuntu.

1) Download mp3Convert by downloading the attachment at the bottom of this post.

(Alternatively, you can get the code right here:

#!/bin/bash

quality=128
title=Converting
file=$@

if [ "$file" ]; then
cd `pwd`
lame -b $quality "$file" 2>&1 | awk -vRS='\r' '(NR>3){gsub(/[()%|]/," ");print $2; fflush();}' | zenity --progress --auto-close --auto-kill --title="$title" --text="$title $file at $quality kbps to $file.mp3"
fi

Copy and paste it into Mousepad and save it as ~/mp3Convert.sh.)

2) Open up a terminal (Xfce Menu > Accessories > Terminal) and put the script into ~/.config/Thunar/actions (not needed, but it's a nice clean place to put it):

mkdir -p ~/.config/Thunar/actions
mv mp3Convert.sh ~/.config/Thunar/actions

3) Make the script executable:

chmod 740 ~/.config/Thunar/actions/mp3Convert.sh

3) Now go to Edit > Configure custom actions.... Click the Add (plus) sign and put in the following:

a) Under the Basic tab:

Name: mp3Convert.sh
Command: ~/.config/Thunar/actions/mp3Convert.sh %f

b) Under the Appearance Conditions tab:

Put a checkmark next to Audio files. Click Ok and exit out of the actions manager.

Now you can right click an mp3 file and go to mp3Convert.sh.

Configuration

By default it converts files to 128kbps, which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea. So you can edit ~/.gnome2/nautilus-actions/mp3Convert.sh (or ~/.config/Thunar/actions/mp3Convert.sh, depending on where you put it) by doing

gedit ~/.gnome2/nautilus-actions/mp3Convert.sh

(or, mousepad ~/.config/Thunar/actions/mp3Convert.sh)

and changing line 3 from

quality=128

to

quality=192

Or, whatever quality you prefer. Save and exit.

Enjoy!

[Mary.Riley]

Is there a way to do this for Konqueror as well?

[_march_]

Thanks for your Skript :)
Just added it in our Wiki (http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/Thunar/Benutzerdefinierte_Aktionen) :D