# Organize your library

Select pieces to merge, link, combine, or file them — and use the Janitor to clean up duplicates, group sets, and fill missing metadata.

> Type: How-to · Status: Beta · Platforms: iPadOS 17+ · Last reviewed: 2026-07-18

## Select pieces to organize

Every organize action starts from Select mode:

1. Tap `Select` in the library toolbar (on iPhone it also lives in the toolbox menu as `Select` / `Done selecting`).
2. Tap each piece you want to work on. A count of selected pieces builds as you tap.
3. As soon as at least one piece is selected, the **action bar** appears at the bottom of the screen.
4. Tap `Done` to leave Select mode without doing anything.

The action bar scrolls sideways — if you don't see an action, swipe the bar left. The first button, `Guide`, opens a short illustrated explanation of each action with a live example (a Prélude & Fugue pair, a sonata with movements), so you can check what an action produces before running it.

Which buttons appear depends on what you selected:

| Action | Appears when | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| `Merge` | 2+ pieces selected | Any mix of your files and Catalog pieces |
| `Concatenate` | 2+ pieces, all on this device | PDF pieces only |
| `Merge as movements` | 2+ pieces, all on this device | PDF pieces only |
| `Link as set` | 2+ pieces selected | Any mix, including Catalog pieces |
| `Unlink` | Every selected piece is already in a set | — |
| `Add to Collection` | Always | Any piece |
| `Duplicate`, `Delete`, `Format titles` | Every selected piece is on this device | Local pieces only |
| `Composer`, `Form`, `Period`, `Difficulty` | Always | Any piece |

## Merge duplicates into one piece

Use `Merge` when the same work exists as several library rows — a scan plus a downloaded copy, or a re-import — and you want one piece that keeps everything.

1. Select the duplicate rows, then tap `Merge`.
2. In the `Keep metadata from` list, tap the piece that should survive. It keeps its title, composer, and metadata. Each other row shows what it will pour into the survivor (for example `+2 recordings · +1 version`).
3. Tap `Merge`.

Every recording, version, and annotation from the absorbed pieces moves onto the survivor, and collection membership is rewritten to point at it. Absorbed copies on this device are deleted; absorbed Catalog entries simply leave your library (the catalog itself is untouched).

> **Note** — Merge works across local and Catalog pieces: a Catalog piece with an engraved score can absorb your local scan's recordings, or the other way around.

> **Limit** — If moving one piece's data fails partway, the merge does not roll back: data already moved stays on the survivor, an error names what failed, and you can run `Merge` again on what's left.

## Link pieces as a set

`Link as set` ties pieces that are played as a unit — a Prélude and its Fugue — without touching any files. Select the pieces and tap `Link as set`; the link is created immediately, with a name suggested from the titles. One shared colored line marks the set everywhere in the library.

Because it's only a link, it works on Catalog pieces too. To dissolve a set, select its members and tap `Unlink` — files and metadata are untouched.

## Merge as movements

`Merge as movements` turns several PDF pieces into one parent piece whose children are the movements — one library row that expands into `I.`, `II.`, `III.`

1. Select the movement PDFs, then tap `Merge as movements`.
2. Under `New section (parent) title`, name the parent (a title is suggested; the `Create` button stays disabled until it has one).
3. In the `Movements — drag to reorder, tap to rename` list, drag rows into playing order and edit each `Movement title`. The parent's pages follow this order.
4. Decide with `Delete original pieces` whether the standalone copies stay in your library (off by default — originals are kept).
5. Tap `Create`.

> **Limit** — PDF pieces on this device only. Pieces from the Catalog can't be merged as movements.

## Concatenate scans into one PDF

`Concatenate` glues selected PDFs end to end into a single new piece — for a scan that came out as several files.

1. Select the parts, then tap `Concatenate`.
2. Edit the suggested title under `New piece title`.
3. Check the list under `Pages will be concatenated in this order` — pieces are joined in the order shown, with page counts per part.
4. Leave `Keep original pieces` on to keep the parts, or turn it off to delete them after the new PDF is created.
5. Tap `Combine`.

> **Limit** — PDF pieces on this device only, at least two.

## File, copy, or delete in bulk

- `Add to Collection` files the selected pieces into a collection without moving anything — a piece can live in several collections at once. Pick an existing collection or create a new one from the same sheet. See [Collections](collections.md).
- `Duplicate` makes a copy of each selected local piece (titled `… (Copy)`). It runs immediately, with no confirmation sheet.
- `Delete` removes the selected local pieces after a confirmation. It only appears when everything selected is on this device.

## Edit metadata in bulk

The right-hand group of the action bar rewrites metadata on every selected piece in one step:

- `Composer` — type one composer name for the whole selection.
- `Form`, `Period`, `Difficulty` — pick one value from a list.
- `Format titles` — rewrites the selected titles into their cleaned-up form and reports how many changed (or tells you they were already clean). Local pieces only.

## The Janitor

The Janitor is the library's clean-up scanner. Its banner — `Janitor` with a 🧹 — sits at the top of the piece list in the `My Library` and `All` tabs. It doesn't appear in `Catalog` or `Calibrated` (those aren't your private files), and it steps aside while you're searching.

Tap the banner to scan. On a large library the scan takes a few seconds — the banner shows `Scanning your library…` while it works. If there is nothing to fix, a `Janitor is clear` message says so. Nothing ever changes from the scan alone; every fix below has its own confirm step.

### Reviewing duplicates

When the scan finds duplicates, the Janitor sheet opens with up to four sections:

- **Re-import duplicates** — exact copies (same composer, title, and page count) left behind by a re-import. One button merges them all, for example `Merge 12 duplicate copies across 4 works`, after a confirmation. Recordings, versions, annotations, and collections all move to the surviving copy of each work.
- **Volumes & movements** — `Select pieces to organize` drops you into Select mode to use `Merge as movements` or `Link as set` by hand, and any auto-detected groups (same composer, sequential numbering) appear below it — tap one to open the movements wizard pre-filled. Nothing is modified until you confirm the wizard.
- **My Library duplicates** — near-identical pairs on this device, each with a similarity percentage. Per pair: `Merge as versions` keeps both as versions of one piece, `Build table of content` turns them into a parent with movements, or tap a trash button to delete one copy and keep the other.
- **Local + cloud matches** — a local scan that matches a Catalog entry. `Merge` keeps the Catalog entry's engraved score and metadata and moves your recordings, versions, and annotations onto it. `Not the same` dismisses the pair permanently.

### Applying suggestions

When there are no duplicates to review, the scan opens the suggestions list instead, grouped into `Duplicates to merge`, `Sets to link`, and `Missing metadata`.

1. Check the suggestions you want. Every row starts **unchecked** — suggestions can be wrong, and merges delete rows. Use `All` (per section or in the toolbar) to check a whole batch.
2. Tap `Apply N`. Only the checked suggestions run; the rest stay listed.
3. Swipe a row to skip it for this session.

`Missing metadata` rows work differently: each opens a before/after review of the proposed composer, title, catalogue number, and form, and only the rows you confirm are written. The lookup can use the web to identify a work, so proposals may be thinner offline.