An album has an intended sequence, but a local music library can describe that sequence in several ways. Some files carry complete disc and track tags. Others rely on filenames such as “01 Track.flac.” A compilation may be meticulously tagged, while an older rip has useful names but incomplete metadata. PhaseShift v1.2.6 gives each album a dedicated sorting control so those different collections can play and browse in the order you expect.
Choose Album Order, Filename, or Title
Open an album and select the new Sort button beside the list/grid control. Album Order follows the sequence stored with the release, Filename uses the names of the audio files, and Title sorts by the track titles shown in the library. Each choice can run in ascending or descending order.
The selected order applies to both list and grid views. Switching the layout changes how the album is presented, not the sequence of its songs. PhaseShift also remembers the sorting choice across launches, so a collection that works best by filename does not need to be configured again every time the app opens.
How Album Order Uses Music Metadata
Album Order starts with embedded disc and track numbers. That is the most reliable source for a properly tagged release because it can preserve multi-disc structure as well as the song sequence within each disc. A track tagged as disc 2, track 1 stays after the tracks on disc 1 instead of being grouped with every other track numbered 1.
PhaseShift treats an untagged disc as disc 1, which keeps a partially tagged first disc together. When two tracks still resolve to the same position, their filenames and titles provide stable tie-breakers. The result is predictable without requiring every file in the album to have perfect metadata.
Numbered Filenames Fill in Missing Track Tags
When a track-number tag is missing, Album Order now checks for a conventional number at the beginning of the filename. Names such as “01 Track.flac,” “01 - Track.flac,” and “01_Track.flac” can supply the missing position. Embedded track tags still take priority whenever they are present, so the fallback does not override metadata you have already curated.
The filename check is deliberately narrow. A name made only from a number, such as “1984.flac,” is not assumed to mean track 1984. PhaseShift looks for a leading number followed by a familiar separator, reducing the chance that a title is mistaken for an album position.
This is particularly useful for lossless libraries assembled from different sources. FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, DSF, DFF and other supported files do not always arrive with equally complete tags, but many rippers and download stores preserve the intended order in the filename. Version 1.2.6 can use that existing organization without changing the audio file or inventing new metadata.
Existing Albums Work Without Another Import
The new sorting logic runs when PhaseShift displays an album. You do not need to remove and re-import an existing collection for numbered filenames to take effect. Open the album, leave the sort choice on Album Order, and tracks with missing number tags can use their filename prefixes immediately.
Filename sorting is also natural rather than purely alphabetical, so a sequence containing 1, 2 and 10 sorts numerically instead of placing 10 directly after 1. If filenames are the source of truth for your collection, choose Filename explicitly; if they are only a backup for incomplete tags, keep Album Order selected.
Which Sort Choice Should You Use?
Use Album Order for most releases. It respects embedded disc and track metadata and gracefully fills gaps from numbered filenames. Use Filename when your folder naming system is more reliable than the tags, or when you want to inspect an album in its on-disk naming order. Use Title when you want an alphabetical view of the songs independent of the release sequence. Descending order can reverse any of the three views without changing the files themselves.
Smoother Navigation from Now Playing
Version 1.2.6 also makes the main tabs behave more naturally while the full-screen player is open. Selecting Library, Stats or Settings now closes Now Playing and takes you directly to the chosen section. Playback continues; the navigation simply gets out of the way so you can move from listening to browsing or library management in one step.
Together, persistent album sorting and more direct navigation make PhaseShift better suited to the irregular reality of a personal music collection. The app can honor carefully maintained tags, make practical use of numbered files when tags are missing, and keep the chosen order consistent wherever the album appears—all while leaving the library under your control and available offline.