Fix the central record of truth before the dependent lists.
Your VirtualDJ database is the heart if your live workflow. The last thing you want to be doing is searching for alternatives because your most played songs can’t be found, or trying to Locate missing file while mid mix.
Also those folders/playlists you curated for just that moment, now show broken paths and were all created by searching your database. So when a path breaks, it tends to break in all of those places at once, for the same underlying reason.
That’s why the normal order is database first. Fix and validate the database(s) before importing the changes back.
It’s not a hard rule for every situation, but if you’re not sure where to start, starting with the database is very rarely the wrong call.
Export
/stage:export will read all available databases, check if all the track file paths exist and, if not, it gets exported to the worksheet ready for fixing. You can see a full example run in the Export docs.
Manual updates
Not all repairs can be repaired automatically. You are more than likely going to have to roll your sleeves up and fix a few yourself. More in this in a future blog post.
Fine Tuning
Note: It is your responsibility to ensure the right file has been chosen to replace the missing/broken file before continuing.
Before validation, a visual check is recommended and any manual updates completed. Any misplaced autofixed rows should be updated or have their Status set to Not Found.
Final Steps
Once updated the next steps are to:
/stage:validate– Check the replacement file paths exist/stage:import– Update the database with only validated fixes/healthcheck– Make sure your fixes landed
These are covered in more detail over the next few blog posts.
But before all of those, let’s explore one of VDJTools secret powers – Autofix.
Read the Database Repair docs · Read the CrossRef docs · Read the Autofix docs
Why repair rather than remove? VirtualDJ’s own Remove missing songs from database deletes the entry and everything in it. Read what it really removes.