mkvmerge...multiple files and chapters

[lordhutt]

I am appending multiple mkv files in mkvmerge.
I just assumed that each file would be a chapter.
Example if I join 7 files I would have 7 chapters.
All the chapters entries are checked in the 'tracks, chapters, and tags' box
It is joining the files fine but it comes out as a single chapter.

I've been all over this thing and can't seem to see what I am missing....

[cal_tony]

Chapters have to be inserted manually. There are 2 ways of chapterizing. (With the chapter editor or by using the global option of inserting chapters already in txt or xml format)

MKV merge gui(MMG) has a help button that takes you to the functions of how the program works and has a section on how it incorporates chapters.

Tony

[lordhutt]

I was hoping it would be automatic

I was fooling around with what you mentioned. I must be doing something wrong though.
I click the chapter editor tab.... added a few chapters.
Then I saved the chapters as an .xml file.
Went to the global tab and selected the file and then muxed.
Still didn't work.

ok..... as I was typing this I tried something else and got it working...
Don't really understand why the first way didnt work.
To make it work I muxed the files. Then in the chapter editor window I had to click the chapter editor tab and select save to matroska file.
Select the muxed file and it saved the chapters to it.

Not a big deal but am I doing something wrong that I need that extra step? Thanks!

[Surlias]

I am appending multiple mkv files in mkvmerge.
I just assumed that each file would be a chapter.
Example if I join 7 files I would have 7 chapters.
All the chapters entries are checked in the 'tracks, chapters, and tags' box
It is joining the files fine but it comes out as a single chapter.

I've been all over this thing and can't seem to see what I am missing....

I figured out a pretty simple way to do this. First, use MKVToolNix's chapter editor to create an xml chapter file with a single entry at 00:00, which is the default anyways. So if you click "Chapter editor" on the menu bar and select "New", you should get a screen like this, with the Chapter 1 entry at 00:00 auto-populated:



Then click on "Chapter editor" on the menu bar again and select "Save as XML file" and name it whatever you want.

Next, download JMkvpropedit, a slick little java applet that allows you to batch edit mkv metadata.

Launch JMkvpropedit, and Drag and drop all the individual mkv files you want to append together into the window. Then click on the "General" tab and put a checkmark in the box for "Chapters" and click the drop down to select "From file:", which will reveal an empty field with a "Browse..." button next to it. Click on Browse and select the chapter xml file you created earlier. Also, while you're on the "General" tab, you'll probably need to point JMkvpropedit to your mkvpropedit.exe in the MKVToolNix directory. Then just click the "Process files" button at the bottom and voila, all the mkv files now have a chapter marker written to them.




Now when you append all the files together using MKVToolNix GUI, it will automatically adjust the timecodes of each component file's chapter marker during the append process.

[sneaker]

No need to resurrect old threads. But while we're at it: Mkvtoolnix 9.0.0 added a feature for this:

[hello_hello]

As this thread's popped up again, I thought I'd add I suspect the original poster's problem was caused by an old bug in MKVMerge.
That was the old GUI and a long time ago. I imagine it's been fixed.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1672841#post1672841

[lordhutt]

And I'm still here! I'm running 8.9 right now. I'll update and check it out.
Thanks!!

[Surlias]

No need to resurrect old threads. But while we're at it: Mkvtoolnix 9.0.0 added a feature for this:

Well now I'm REALLY glad I resurrected this thread. I'm very pleased to learn about this new feature in MKVToolNix GUI, thank you for responding. Who knows how long it would have taken me to find it on my own?

[magnolia]

Almost January 2020 - & I'm logging on to THANK YOU for showing me the "add individual chapters" function also !!

Just saved me a TON of time -- Happy Holidays to ALL !!

also -- this is THE 1st hit that came up in my Dec. 18, 2019 Google search >>

"mkvmerge add chapters when muxing files together"

so I reckon it's still got some life!

ps -- be sure to select the Middle Tab named "Output" -- it took me a minute to realize this
when I didn't find the "Add Chapter" on the Input tab