Help Desk Geek – Help Desk Tips For IT Pros

Linux users typically have any number of options when it comes to completing certain tasks.  Need to edit some text?  You have gedit, Geany, Bluefish, Kate, Mousepad, Leafpad, and dozens of other editors.  For web browsers there is Firefox, Google Chrome (or Chromium), Konqueror, Rekonq, Midori, Epiphany, Galleon and more.  You have different music players, multimedia players, file managers… if there is something you can do in Linux, you can probably accomplish the same thing with many other programs.  The trick is finding one you like.

The same is true for converting music from one format to another.  You can use a Terminal program like Perl Audio Converter, or if you want the convenience of a script, there is Nautilus Sound Converter.  If you want a simple GUI, on the other hand, you’ve probably already tried SoundConverter, a default for many GNOME Linux distributions.  If you’re still looking, today we’ll discuss Gnac, which also offers a simple, easy to use GUI to offer powerful converting features, and a few extras.

Gnac is pretty much distribution agnostic, for those people tired of the “here’s how to install it in Ubuntu” spiel.  Go to this page and you’ll find, in addition to Ubuntu, there are installers or installation instructions available for Gentoo, OpenSUSE, Slackware, Arch, and Red Hat, plus a FINK port for Mac OS X users!  But, installation is easy in Ubuntu, and Ubuntu is widely used, so here’s how to install it.  First, open up a Terminal

Then type the following three commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnac-team/ppa

This adds the Gnac team’s PPA to your sources list and downloads the PGP key as well.

sudo apt-get update

This updates your software lists so your package manager is aware of any new items, and the following command installs Gnac.

sudo apt-get install gnac

When you’re finished, Gnac will reside in your Applications menu, under Sound & Video.

When Gnac first opens, you’ll see a very basic window.

Along the top you’ll see buttons (from left to right), for adding items to the conversion queue, deleting an item or items (this option is grayed out until you’ve selected an item), an option for clearing the entire queue, and finally for beginning the conversion process.

You can add items either by clicking the Add button (far left in the image above), or by simply dragging your files into the main Gnac window.  Gnac will quickly scan them and will then display them by file title.

To convert them, you’ll first want to select the format from the list found at the bottom of the window.

If you want more control over the output than is offered from the default options, click the Edit button and the Profile manager will appear.

Now simply select the format whose options you want to change, and click the Edit button.  The following window will appear, where you can adjust everything from the name of the profile to the description, from the format and encoding mode to the quality.

You can also, by clicking the triangle beside Advanced (near the bottom of the window), reveal even more options, which allow you to set up your encoding profile exactly the way you want.

Once you’ve selected your encoding profile, close those windows and access the Preferences, found in the Edit menu.

Here you can choose what happens when you encode (replace the originals or not), as well as where to save the new items.  You can also choose to have an icon in the notification area while a conversion is taking place.

In the second tab, you can decide on a file hierarchy and naming scheme.  This is great for doing automated encoding of a large number of files.  Gnac will take the file, scan its metadata, then place the file in a folder based on the information it finds, thereby re-encoding and organizing your collection all at the same time.

Once you’re finished here, it’s time to encode.  Simply click the icon at the far right end of the toolbar, or the Convert button near the bottom of the window.  A progress bar will appear, and you’ll get an estimate of how long the process will take, as well as information as to the progress (how many files have already been converted).

Progress can be paused (to be resumed later), or stopped altogether, and when the process is done, you can go to your selected folder and find your newly encoded files, ready to go.

Gnac is a nice program, with a ton of features, as you can hopefully see, which gives the user nearly total control over not only encoding parameters, but more.  But all this power, once set up and configured correctly, is hidden behind a simple interface, with few buttons and an easy to read progress bar.  It’s simple yet powerful, and is a great choice for those wanting something a little more user friendly than a Terminal program for all their music converting needs.