Chapter Editor

MPEG-4 files can contain chapters which are essentially bookmarks into the audio stream. Typically these are used with (but not restricted to) audiobooks with an m4b filename extension.

The Chapter Editor can be used to modify existing chapter names in these files. Edit>Chapter Editor... will be enabled when at least one selected file contains chapters. When a file is saved, modifications to chapter names will be committed.

When saving changes to chapter names the entire file must be read into memory. For video files this can be a lengthy process.

The following columns are displayed:

change state: A green circle when the row's name is the same as the name currently in the file. A red circle when the name has been modified.
Identifier: Many audiobooks are divided into separate files each containing a single chapter. This can make editing each file separately tedious. If multiple files were selected when the panel was opened, this column shows an identifier describing which file was the source of the chapter.

You can opt to display the album name, the filename without an extension, the filename, the full path, a compressed path or the title.

Compressed Path does not display common leading path components and will abbreviate the path if after removing path components it is relative to the home folder. If all files are in the same folder, Compressed Path is the same as Filename.ext
#: The chapter index.
Initial Chapter Name: The initial name associated with the chapter.
Write Chapter Name: Unless a chapter name has been modified, this column will be the same as the Initial Chapter Name. This is where you edit the name of a chapter.

You can elect to display spaces in the two Name columns as centered dots via the Display spaces as centered dots checkbox. Note that this setting only affects the display of the columns, not the retained values.

You can use the table's context menu to empty or revert values. There are four available functions:

Set to Empty: The specified rows will have their Write Chapter Name column value set to empty.
Rename: The specified rows will have the write chapter names renamed using the current rename template. If you never change the configuration the template is Chapter #.
Configure...: A panel will be displayed which allows you to configure the template to use when renaming files.
Configure & Optionally Rename: A panel will be displayed which allows you to configure the template to use to use when renaming files. You can save a new configuration and optionally rename.
Revert to Open Values: The specified rows will have their Write Chapter Name column values set to whatever values they had when the Chapter Editor was displayed.
Revert to Initial Values: The specified rows will have their Write Chapter Name column values set to the values currently stored in the files.
Revert to Editing State Values: The specified rows will have their Write Chapter Name column values in place when Editing State was last set. If no editing state has been set, the function is equivalent to Revert to Initial Values.

For each of the above functions you can choose to operate on selected rows; all chapters in the file associated with the clicked row; or all chapters.

The Font menu and associated keyboard shortcuts can be used to change the size of the display font.

When a row is selected if you do an Edit>Copy, the initial value of the column will be copied.

You can tab and backtab between rows.

You can use the main window's Has Chapters filter to locate files containing chapters (via File>Filter).

If you are updating existing Audiobooks in iTunes, the files need not be linked. iTunes will update the chapter names the next time the book is played.

If the Edit>Chapter Editor... menu item is disabled and you feel that a file should have chapters, you can do a View>Raw Data. If a fault was found which caused the reading of the chapter names to be disabled, it will be displayed.

The Chapters statement can be used to automate the renaming of chapter names.

Importing and Exporting Chapters

You can import and export chapters from and to .txt files. When exporting one line is written for each chapter name. When importing one line is read for each chapter. Empty lines will not overwrite current values. If there are not enough lines in the .txt file, corresponding chapters will not be overwritten.

The Import/Export menus dynamically change for the number of files loaded and which items are selected.

When multiple files are displayed in the editor, the menu items on the import/export menu will be displayed on two submenus: All Files and Selected Files. Items on the All Files submenu will attempt to import/export for all displayed files. Items on the Selected Files submenu only import/export those files which have at least one chapter selected. When only a single file is displayed, the menu items are directly displayed on the import/export menu.

The following menu items may be displayed:

From / To Same Folder: The .txt files are read/written in the same folder as the audio files. The filename is the same as the audio file with a .txt filename extension.
From / To Chapter Files Subfolder: The .txt files are read/written to a subfolder named Chapter Titles in the same folder as the audio files. The filename is the same as the audio file with a .txt filename extension.
From / To Folder...: You will be prompted for a subfolder. The .txt files are read/written to the chosen subfolder. The filename is the same as the audio file with a .txt filename extension.
From / To File...: You will be prompted for a filename. The .txt file is read/written to the selected file.

Disabling Chapters

If want to disable all chapters in a file you can do a File>Save Selected Files>Save if Has Chapters Disabling Them. Note that the chapter names are not removed from the file. They are only made inaccessible. This function cannot be undone. Setting the chapter names to empty may be a better solution for you as the names can always be reentered.