TRAKTOR PRO 2.9. Manual Englisch (2015)

The Browser

This section provides detailed information on TRAKTOR’s Browser. The Browser’s primary de-

sign is to help you quickly manage your songs through the use of Playlists. Let’s first look at
which file types are compatible with TRAKTOR.

Compatible Music File Formats

TRAKTOR supports the following music file formats:

• MP3
• M4A (AAC)
• WAV
• AIFF
• WMA
• FLAC
• OGG Vorbis

DRM-protected music files cannot be played back in TRAKTOR. This affects for example AAC-
tracks bought in the iTunes store.
You have to install Windows Media Player in order to use WMA files in TRAKTOR.
You have to install QuickTime in order to use M4A files in TRAKTOR.

6.1

The Track Collection

TRAKTOR's Track Collection (or simply “Collection”) represents the music that you have used,
that you are using, or that you plan to use in TRAKTOR.
Based on the music files on your computer, the Collection makes it easy to organize, tag, and
prepare your tracks for being played as part of your mix.

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The Track Collection

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Worth noting is that the Track Collection doesn’t care about the actual file structure on
your hard disk, nor will it alter this structure in any way (as long as you don’t delete your

files from within TRAKTOR).

The Track Collection is:

• A database storing information about your music files.
• A convenient way to filter your music files by many of their characteristics (tags) like title,

artist name, BPM, genre, key etc.

• The place where TRAKTOR-specific information about your tracks is stored.
• The basis on which you can create your Playlists.

The Track Collection is not:

• Moving, copying, or converting any audio file to some secret location.
• Modifying in any way the hierarchic structure of the files on your hard disk.

To make use of the Track Collection, you have to populate it by importing your music files.

TRAKTOR reads existing song tags during the import of the music and writes tags to the

tracks immediately when you change some property of one or more track(s), like changing
the Genre of a song.

6.2

Importing Music Folders

TRAKTOR offers an easy import function for tracks stored on your hard drive:

►

Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) on the

Collection

icon in the Browser

Tree and select Import Music Folders from the menu.

The Browser

Importing Music Folders

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The contextual menu for the Track Collection, with the Import Music Folders entry selected.

By default, this process imports all music files contained in the My Music folder of your operat-
ing system.
TRAKTOR analyzes music for certain characteristics (BPM, length, etc.) when loaded into a
Deck for the first time. This function takes some time to process. Be sure to prepare the tracks
you want to use in a DJ set beforehand if you want to use features such as syncing or Auto
Looping with them without having to wait for this analysis process.
If your Track Collection contains more than 10,000 files, it is recommended to have TRAKTOR
analyze your Track Collection in smaller chunks of only a few thousand files each. As this pro-
cedure may take quite a while, it is a good idea to let TRAKTOR perform the analysis while you
are not working with your computer such as overnight.

The Status Bar at the bottom of the Browser window will provide a visual indication of the

analysis process and alert you to any problems.

Adding Files from Other Folders

If you have stored tracks in other folders or on external storage devices, you can add these
folders to the list of TRAKTOR Music Folders as follows:
1.

Open Preferences > File Management.

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Importing Music Folders

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Click

Add…

at the bottom of the

Music Folders

section.

Navigate to a folder you want to add.

Confirm with

Choose

(Mac OS X) or

(Windows).

Click

to apply the changes.

Repeat to add all of your music folders.
Subfolders are automatically included in the scan. Hence, you don’t need to add them to this

list.

Alternative Importing Methods

TRAKTOR offers alternative methods to import single tracks and special folders that are not
part of your normal Music Folder structure:

►

Drag and drop a track or folder from either the Mac OS X Finder or Windows Explorer onto
the

Collection

icon within the TRAKTOR Browser Tree.

►

Drag and drop a track or a folder from within the TRAKTOR

Explorer

icon. This Icon rep-

resents all of the drives connected to your computer.

►

You can also right-/[Ctrl]-click on a track or folder within the TRAKTOR

Explorer

icon and

choose Add to Collection.

Any track played within a Deck will be added to the collection.

6.3

Tracks Managed by iTunes

If you have organized your music collection with iTunes, TRAKTOR offers direct access to your
iTunes Library and your iTunes Playlists.

6.3.1

Playing Tracks Managed by iTunes

You can browse your iTunes Library and Playlists directly from TRAKTOR.

The Browser

Tracks Managed by iTunes

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The iTunes tree node represents a read-only view on your iTunes Library and Playlists. Editing
functions are not available in this view.
To browse your iTunes content from within TRAKTOR:
1.

Click the

iTunes

icon in the Browser Tree to open that node.

Browse through the Library and Playlists as you would in iTunes.

Load a track into a Deck as you would do from a normal TRAKTOR Playlist—for example
by dragging the track onto that Deck.

6.3.2

Importing a Selection of Tracks from iTunes

You can import a selection of tracks from your iTunes Library into the Track Collection via the
TRAKTOR user interface:
1.

Click the

iTunes

icon in the Browser Tree to open the iTunes node.

Select the tracks to import into the Track Collection.

Drag the selection onto the

Track Collection

icon in the Browser Tree.

Alternatively, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the selection and choose
Import to Collection in the contextual menu.

6.3.3

Importing iTunes Playlists

You can directly import iTunes Playlists as TRAKTOR Playlists via the TRAKTOR user inter-
face:
1.

Click the

iTunes

icon in the Browser Tree to open the iTunes node.

Select the Playlist to be imported.

Drag the Playlist onto the

Playlists

icon. Alternatively right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click

(Mac OS X) on the Playlist and choose Import to Playlists in the contextual menu.

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Tracks Managed by iTunes

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A dialog box will appear, asking for a name for the new Playlist. Type in a name and click

6.4

Track Search

By entering text into the search field, the currently displayed list is dynamically narrowed down

to the entries containing the typed string.

The search field in the Browser Tree.

6.4.1

Filtering Playlists

Click in the search field or hit [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+F.

Type a few characters of the track‘s attributes (e.g., the first characters of the track title).

As you type, the search results on the right side are narrowed down to the tracks contain-
ing the typed search string.

Hitting the [Tab] key reverts back to Hotkey control, required for scrolling the list of re-
sults.

Hotkeys will not work while searching.

►

Hitting the [Enter] key after entering the search string extends the search to the entire
Track Collection.

►

Pressing [Esc] clears the search string and terminates text entry mode.

►

Each individual Playlist will retain independent search entries until they are cleared from
the text entry box.

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Track Search

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6.4.2

Refining a Search

You can narrow a search to a specific subset of metadata fields by selecting one of the options

from the Refine List.
1.

Type a word into the search field.

Click the Refine button (magnifying glass) behind the Search field and choose a field

from the drop-down menu.

The list is narrowed down to only display tracks fitting the criteria chosen from the drop-
down menu.

6.4.3

Searching for Similar Tracks

In the Browser List, you will notice that some metadata fields have a small Magnifying Glass
icon. Click this to search for tracks sharing the category of that specific metadata field. For
example:

►

In the Browser List, click the Magnifying Glass next to an artist name.

→ TRAKTOR will search for tracks sharing the same information within the Artist field.

6.4.4

Search in Playlists

You can call up a list of all Playlists containing a certain track.
1.

In the Browser List, right-/[Ctrl]-click on a track and choose Show in Playlists. A list is
shown with all of the Playlists containing this track.

Click on an entry to select a Playlist.

→ The entries are displayed in the Browser List.

6.5

Working with the Track Collection and Playlists

Playlists are an effective way of organizing your tracks while preparing for a set. Essentially,
Playlists offer a means of grouping tracks into an order that has several significant advantages
over physical record crates.

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Track Search

TRAKTOR - Manual - 55

►

One track can be contained in multiple Playlists.

►

A Playlist can be re-ordered or reset to the original state rapidly.

►

Additional advantages are saving, loading and exporting Playlists.

6.5.1

Creating a Playlist

Method I:

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on the

Playlists

folder icon in the Browser Tree.

Choose Create Playlist from the context menu.

Type a name for your new Playlist into the window.

Click

to confirm.

Your new Playlist will appear under the

Playlists

folder.

Method II:

Select one or more tracks in the Browser List.

Drag these tracks onto the

Playlists

folder in the Browser Tree.

Type a name for your Playlist in the pop-up window.

Click

to confirm.

Your new Playlist will now appear under the

Playlists

folder.

6.5.2

Adding Tracks to Playlists

Click and hold one or more tracks.

Drag it onto a Playlist of your choice while holding the mouse button. The view of the
Browser List changes and shows the destination Playlist. (This behavior is shown if the
Playlist follows its original order.)

If you move your mouse over the content of the Playlist now, you will see a red line indi-
cating where the track(s) will be inserted when releasing the mouse button.

If the Playlist has a sorted order, the track(s) will be inserted according to the sorting.

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Working with the Track Collection and Playlists

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This behavior is shown if the Playlist follows a sorted order.

6.5.3

Showing Tracks in Collection

When browsing inside the Explorer Node of the Browser Tree or in the iTunes folder within

TRAKTOR, all tracks that are already imported into the Track Collection have the option Show

in Collection when right-/[Ctrl]-clicking them. The browser then directly jumps to the tracks in
your collection.

6.5.4

Deleting Tracks

General Deleting Options

To delete tracks from your collection, select the tracks to be deleted, then right-/[Ctrl]-click on
the selection and select the Delete entry from the context menu. The security dialog contains 3
different options to choose from:
Delete from collection
If this option is checked the chosen track(s) will be removed from the collection.
Deleting track(s) from the Collection will also delete them from all Playlists.
Delete from collection and remove TRAKTOR tags
If this option is checked all TRAKTOR specific tags will be removed from the music files.
Delete from collection and delete from hard drive
Check this option if you want to completely erase the music file(s) from your computer.

Deleting Tracks from One Playlist

There are two ways for deleting tracks:

►

Click on one or more track(s) and press the [Del] or [Backspace] key of your computer
keyboard.

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Working with the Track Collection and Playlists

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►

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on one or more track(s) and choose Delete.

6.5.5

Sorting Playlists

There are several ways to sort and arrange Playlists. Changes to the sort order can be undone

by clicking on

Sorting by Columns

Click on the name of the column header to sort the Playlist by this category. Click a sec-
ond time to invert the sort order.

Click on the header of the

-column to restore the Playlist to its original order.

After restarting TRAKTOR all Playlists will reset to their original order.

Consolidating a new Sorting Order

Click on the name of the column header to sort the Playlist by this category.

To make the new order permanent, right-/[Ctrl]-click on that Playlist’s icon and choose the
option Consolidate.

Permanently Changing the Position of Selected Tracks within a Playlist

Reset a Playlist to its original order by clicking on the header of the

-Column.

Select one or more track(s) and drag them up or down in the Playlist.

The red line indicates where the selection will drop when releasing the mouse button.

This is only possible when the Playlist is in its original order which you get by clicking on

the header of the #-Column.

6.5.6

Organizing Playlists in Folders

You have the option to further organize your actual Playlists by creating a Playlist Folder:

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Working with the Track Collection and Playlists

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Right-/[Ctrl]-click on the

Playlist

Folder icon in the Browser Tree.

Choose Create Folder from the context menu.

Choose a name for your new Playlist Folder and type it in the following dialog.

Confirm with

Your new Playlist Folder will appear under the

Playlist

Folder icon.

You can now add Playlists to this folder via drag-and-drop.

6.5.7

Track Collection Subfolders

The subfolders below the Track Collection icon are grouped by Artists, Releases, Labels or
Genres. A number indicates the amount of entries in this category. You may also view All
Tracks, or All Samples within their respective subfolders.

►

Double-click one of the entries to see a further breakdown of each category.

Example: Double-clicking

Artists

will expand the Playlist to show all artists and the number of

related tracks within your Collection.

►

Click on an artist’s name to show all of their tracks in the Browser List.

6.5.8

Favorites

The Favorites area is the navigational tool located at the top of the Browser. If you do not see
the Favorites, go to: Preferences > Browser Details and activate Show Playlist Favorites.

You can assign any File Browser folder or Playlist as a Favorite.

Pre-assigned Favorites:

• Track Collection
• History

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• Preparation
• All Tracks
• All Samples
• All Remix Sets
• Demo Tracks
• Demo Loops
• Demo One-Shots

To create a new Favorite:
1.

Click the

Playlists

folder to browse its contents.

Click, hold and drag the Playlist name onto a free (

not assigned

) Favorite slot.

Now you can access the Playlist quickly by clicking on the relevant Favorite.

Dragging a new Playlist onto an existing Favorite will replace the previous Favorite with the

new one.

6.5.9

Preparation Playlists

Any Playlist can be defined as the Preparation Playlist, but only one Playlist can be the Prepa-
ration Playlist at a time. The Preparation Playlist has the following special features:

• The Playlist icon changes to a dedicated Preparation Playlist icon.
• Each track contained in the Preparation Playlist is displayed with a diamond icon. The

icon suggests a “Waiting” state. This way you can see what tracks you already added to
the Preparation Playlist while browsing.

• Right-/[Ctrl]-click on any Playlist and choose Select as Preparation List to change this list

into the Preparation List.

• Right-/[Ctrl]-click on any track(s) and choose Append to Preparation Playlist to add the se-

lection to the Preparation Playlist.

• Right-/[Ctrl]-click on any track(s) and choose Add as Next to Preparation Playlist to insert

the selection after the last loaded track into the Preparation Playlist.

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6.5.10 Exporting Playlists

Exporting a Playlist creates a folder containing the tracks in the Playlist as well as the Playlist

file. To export a Playlist:
1.

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on the Playlist and select Export Playlist from the context menu.

Enter a name for the exported Playlist.

Enter a destination path.

Confirm with

6.5.11 Importing Playlists

Importing Playlists can be done in several ways:

Method I

Locate the Playlist in the TRAKTOR

Explorer

inside the Browser Tree.

Drag-and-drop the Playlist file onto the

Playlists

folder in the Browser Tree or onto a Play-

list folder you have created.

The Playlist and all contained tracks will be added to your Track Collection.

You can use this method to import Playlists from previous TRAKTOR versions after export-
ing as explained above.

Method II

Locate the Playlist file (*.nml) in the Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder.

Drag-and-drop the Playlist file onto the

Playlists

folder in the Browser Tree or onto a Play-

list Folder you have created.

The Playlist and all contained tracks will be added to your Track Collection.

Method III

►

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on the TRAKTOR Playlists folder or a Playlist Folder you have created
and choose Import Playlist.

►

The Playlist and all contained tracks will be added to your Track Collection.

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Working with the Track Collection and Playlists

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Method IV

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on the TRAKTOR

Playlists

folder or a Playlist Folder you have created and

choose Import Playlist Folder.
The Playlist Folder and all contained tracks will be added to your Track Collection.

6.5.12 Printing Playlists

Printing Playlists allows you to save Playlist track name contents in a format readable by any
web browser (HTML).
1.

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on the Playlist in the Browser Tree.

Choose Save as Webpage.

Enter a name for the Playlist.

Enter a destination for the exported file.

From the List Options select the columns you want to add to the file.

Confirm with

6.5.13 More Playlist Functions

Right-/[Ctrl]-click on a TRAKTOR Playlist to find the following additional options:

• Rename: enables you to rename the selected Playlist.
• Consolidate: stores the current sorting order and arrangement for the current Playlist.
• Remove Duplicates: removes all double entries in the selected Playlist.
• Analyze (Async): analyzes the tracks contained in the selected Playlist. For a more detailed

explanation of the Analyze Options dialog box and the circumstances under which it ap-

pears, refer to section 5.10.3.

• Clear Playlist: removes all tracks from the selected Playlist.
• Delete Playlist: deletes the selected Playlist. This will not delete the tracks from your Track

Collection.

• Select as Preparation List: will make the current Playlist the Preparation List.
• Reset Played State: removes all Track Icons from the Icon Column in the Browser List.

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• Restore AutoGain: will recalculate original gain values if they have been changed.

6.5.14 History Playlist

TRAKTOR automatically lists the tracks you have played during a gig in the History Playlist.

Often, it can be useful to have a record of which tracks were played in a specific session.

The History Playlist is not available in LE 2.

History Playlist storage location

►

After closing TRAKTOR, the History Playlist is cleared. However, you can find the Playlist
stored under: My Documents\Native Instruments\Traktor\History (Windows) and Users/~/
Native Instruments/Traktor/History (Mac OS X).

►

A History Playlist is labeled with a date and time after every TRAKTOR session.

Tips for Using the History Playlist

You can import History Playlists after good sessions for use during future gigs. If you have been
working with TRAKTOR for a long time, the amount of History Playlists can become very large.
Try this trick:
1.

In the Windows Explorer/Mac OS X Finder, navigate to your Traktor folder and open the
History (Windows: My Documents\Native Instruments\Traktor\History; Mac OS X: Users/~/
Native Instruments/Traktor).

As a rule of thumb: every track in a list equals around 1 kB. This means that all Playlists
of 5 kB or less will have less than 4-6 tracks within them.

You can delete the smaller files making browsing in the History Playlists more managea-
ble.

6.6

Editing Track Meta Data

Each track in your Collection has track properties (“tags” or “metadata”) such as Song Title,
Artist Name, Album Name, Cover Artwork, etc. TRAKTOR gives you the option to edit this data
in two ways.

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Editing track metadata is not available in LE 2.

If you are using iTunes for collection management we recommend that you only edit tag

data in iTunes.

6.6.1

Editing Track Properties via Inline Editing

In the Browser List, click on a track to highlight it.

Click again in the field you want to edit, e.g. the artist name.

You will see a cursor appear in the info field.

Edit the artist's name.

Click in another property field to edit its contents.

Hit the [Enter] key on your keyboard to exit Inline Editing mode and confirm your entries,
or hit [Esc] to abort editing.

6.6.2

Editing Track Properties via the Edit Dialog

Not all properties of a track are visible in the Browser List. To get access to all available prop-
erties of a track, use the Edit Dialog. This dialog allows simultaneous editing of a selection of
tracks.

Editing a Single Track

Select a track in the Browser List by clicking it.

Right-/[Ctrl]-Click the selected track and choose Edit from the context menu.

The Browser List turns into the Edit dialog.

Edit the desired information for your track.

Use the drop-down menu next to a track property to select a previously stored property
from your Track Collection.

Use the

Restore

button to undo any changes you have made. To apply the changes, click

the button labeled

Apply

. You can abort editing by clicking

Cancel

The Browser

Editing Track Meta Data

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TRAKTOR PRO 2.9. Manual Englisch (2015) - part 3