Hello there, hoping I can find an answer to a problem with music files.

My files are perfectly organized on my computer and my thumb drive, and I use the thumb drive in my car; Honda. The problem is that in the car, all of the files are not organized like they are on my computer and thumb. All of the settings on the car system are set properly, I've even spoken to Honda about this and they have no idea. I just dl'd Kid3 (I don't see it on the list but a link in the Kid3 program takes me to this site), but I'm hoping that before I try all of the many settings and configurations someone knows an answer for this.

In the car, all of the songs are properly stored in the correct folders. For example: Pink Floyd - The Wall. All songs are in the proper folder but not organized. Not by alphabet, track number, genre, times listened to, date created, etc... no logical order at all. The folders are not organized in any rational sense either.

Is there some sort of way, such as with metadata or something, that's causing this, and is there a way to organized it properly?

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

I don't know how your car software handles music files, if it is by file name or by id3 tags, and you didn't tell the type of music files you are actually talking about. Nor do I actually use what software is used on that car to play music, but it being a car, I suspect something entirely proprietary and not something we have any influence over.

I suggest you make sure all your files are correctly tagged first. And of course the actually type of music files you use, I suggest using only one type that can handle id3 tags properly, and is actually supported by the car software.

FWIW: we can't make separate subforums for each and every application within KDE, so kid3 is something that goes into Graphics and Multimedia, as it is about media files.

Thanks for the response and I'll try to put future posts in the correct place.

As to id3 tags, I've never worked with them at all. But if that's what needs to be done for this issue I'll do some research and figure it out.
-sometime later...
After researching, I'm deleting all ID3 v1.1 tags as from what I've read they're basically obsolete. I've now put the updated drive into the car with only the ID3 v2.3 tags and nothing has changed.

Links to Kid3 examples of Pink Floyd - The Wall, all mp3.
https://ibb.co/w6h0kJ2
https://ibb.co/FHJ2LYt

-sometime later again...
I got Kid3 to create an M3U file (not sure how I did that), that's in the correct order. I've monkeyed with multiple settings though and just cannot get the songs to organize by track (like the M3U shows). Even in the Kid3 program it shows them alphabetized.
M3U file: https://ibb.co/4VJL8S0

Also, the files organize correctly by track# in iTunes, alphabetically in VLC, and completely random in the car like I've not seen elsewhere. I'll keep updating as I go.
-sometime later yet again...

This is ridiculous. I've now added track# info as you will see in the attached pic, and Kid3 won't even sort it properly. I think focusing on getting it to sort properly in Kid3 might be the best place to start. I'll leave the car out of the equation for now.
Kid3 pic: https://ibb.co/Xy0vvk8

Okay, so I've now at least gotten it to sort properly in Kid3 (hopefully I can recreate what I did), it's even sorted properly in VLC although the track numbers don't show (I never use VLC for audio anyway, it's just that I wanted to see how the music would line up in a program other than iTunes).
Kid3 pic: https://ibb.co/5W9rp3L

Anyway, that's the latest.

But still, I have about 50,000 music files. All of which are perfectly organized. Going through every single folder is going to suck.

FWIW: no need to delete old version ID3 tags, those are still needed by some music players, hardware is often way behind in terms of obsolete tags. Both tag versions can exist alongside in an ID3 container.

You can automate this retagging, btw, provided you have a reliable source for the tags of all your files. Depending on the music this might or might not be the case.

I increasingly think the problem is the car software, which you btw still haven't told us what it is. The mere fact that your tracks show correctly elsewhere (kid3, VLC) points to the car software to be the actual problem.

So please, answer these questions:

What software does your car use?
What file type are your music files in?

All of my files are mp3, and I have no idea what software the car uses. It's a 2015 Honda Civic if that's any help. I've searched online but can't find even a mention of software. I'll call Honda again on Monday and see if they know... they don't seem to know much else though so I'm not too hopeful they'll be of any assistance.

I should've asked you, what exactly should I ask Honda? Just a simple, "What kind of software does the stereo use?" I have a feeling they won't know what I'm talking about, nor will I be able to help cause I don't even know, so what kind of answer am I looking for? iTunes, ID3, Android Auto, etc...? I searched and neither I nor Google has a clue.

In my last car the software was described in the manual, sadly quite proprietary and not very reliable.

AFAIK there are almost no car manufacturer who use Free Software in their cars, still a field where they haven't understood the advantages...

Not answering your problem, just a suggestion.

Car radio plays mp3's from a usb. My solution was to convert some or all tracks from a cd into a single mp3 track on the usb. I can then play the "track" in full or skip to the next 'multi-mp3' with one tap of the > button on the radio.

Thanks for the suggestion. I suppose that would work as long as it didn't start from the beginning every time.

One more thing I just thought of. Could the way the drive is formatted have anything to do with it?

only if you would use a non-standard format that can't be read by all OS. How is it formatted?

Formatted on a Mac; ExFAT.

And I just thought of something. I'm going to put the album on my phone and see how it works that way. I'll keep updating.

Ok, it works. If I wanted to use my phone for this, however, this wouldn't be an issue. Now gonna reformat my zip.

Btw, I went to Honda. They told me I'm not the only one who's asked about this. They said they don't know about the software because Honda's stereos are outsourced. They don't know who makes them. smh

Oh, and the reformatting didn't change a thing.