Also, did you remember to set “disc 2” to medium 2 before merge?
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I used the default setting, which is Append mediums to target release.
I have found some tutorials on YouTube, but I’m not fond of them. Each one that I have watched has had what sounds like a 14-year-old girl (that is, a high-pitched female voice) explaining the topic while loud music is playing in the background. When I was young, I had hearing like a bat. At 72, I have difficulty hearing her words over that music. In any event, a comprehensive example in the How To section would be better for me because I can open the example on an iPad and refer to it while entering the data on my computer.
I don’t see the screen you highlighted, but here is a screenshot of my work.
By the way, I get the same bad result if I type the name of the album without “Disc 1” in the space for “New Disc Title.”
I think try again and don’t cancel your edit.
I think your previous edits were correct but you cancelled them before they applied (it takes 1 week of pair review voting period).
Here’s a screenshot of what I get every time I attempt to merge these two discs. 51 tracks become 26 tracks.
I think IvanDobsky found the secret in that screen with Medium 2 and arrow keys, but I don’t know where to find that screen. When I wanted to identify some medleys, I had to use arrow keys to set the order of the songs in the medley. MusicBrainz would not let me type the song’s number directly, which is what I have done with the merge function. With medleys, the arrow keys are in plain sight. With release merge, they are not apparent, and the instructions do not mention them.
It is just a misleading display issue.
It just tells you that the targeted release is the one that currently has 26 tracks.
But as we can read:
- Append mediums
- Disc 01 Medium 1 is now Medium 1
- Disc 02 Medium 1 is now Medium 2
Then all is good, just wait 1 week.
It should say will be Medium X instead of is now, maybe.
In my open edits, I don’t see the three items you listed in bold face type, but I’ll wait a week to see what happens. Thanks.
I saw it on your screenshot:
Ach but now I spot something seems wrong this time:
Edit #97611028 - Merge releases
That Old Arlen Magic, Disc 01
Medium 1 is now medium 2 (will be medium 2 in merged release)That Old Arlen Magic, Disc 02
Medium 1 is now medium 1 (will be medium 1 in merged release)
Is it normal that you put Disc 01 as disc 2 in the target and Disc 02 as disc 1 in the target?
It seems you should cancel and redo the other way, unless I mistake.
The bit I am pointing at is in the bottom of the guide
For that SECOND release, edit the RELEASE on the normal RELEASE editing page. On the TRACKLIST tab you can shuffle your CDs around and set a different order
Those arrows let you set Disc 02 as Medium 2
Looking at your screenshot, I think your discs will at least appear in the correct release now, and you may have to shuffle the order afterwards. (Something a little weird may be happening on that Merge Releases page… something I bypass by just setting my medium numbers before clicking the Merge Release)
Yeah, something seems to have got confused in the middle of your merge…
It SHOULD look like this…
Will lead to this:
And Disc1 is Medium 1, and Disc 2 is Medium 2
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IMO, pre-editing release medium order can be useful in some cases but not in this simple case, where it is easier to just assign proper medium indexes on merge edit page. 
It is useful if you are working with multiple discs that may not all be there. Always good to know extra tricks.
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Yeah but apparently @Landlubber is already overwhelmed with the one-step merge page (and I can totally understand that). 
Sorry, I was only trying to help. They say they are adding five disks in total. So I was thinking ahead.
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Oh OK, nice!
I didn’t get that.
@Landlubber you should wait to have added all 5 discs and then only you merge them, no?
Because each merge edit will take 1 week, you will never end or it will be less simple if you don’t do it with a single edit.
I tried again. The goal is to merge Disc 02 into Disc 01. Actually, the goal is to combine the two discs in a single release without any more references to disc numbers. FYI, this album has only 2 discs.
Merging two discs should not be this hard. In my experience, computer software is a nightmare without clear instructions, preferably with examples. And database software is worse nightmare than word processing software.
Is there a way for me to reply to you and Ivan in the same email?
Ok super: Edit #97614677 - Merge releases is good!
Now you should also merge the 2 release groups and remove Disc 01 from the target release and release group titles.
(I did these 3 edits, open for review and vote)
Kia ora (hello) Landlubber!
If something was confusing in the guide you followed, let us know how we can improve it, specifically! Or even make a wiki account and get stuck in. New eyes are invaluable.
I am making a series of short tutorial videos to cover actions like this, merges is on the list. Hopefully it will cover your issues, but most likely it will need some finessing via input from new users as well.
A bigger item on the to-do list is to better surface help and documentation items in the interface, but that may take ‘some time’ yet, as it’s probably connected with a planned redesign.
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Hello, aerozol,
I found the How To instructions for merging releases confusing because of some apparent contradictions. For example, do the Disc 01 and Disc 02 labels in the release titles disappear automatically, or must the user do something to accomplish this? What I suggest is that the instructions go step by step with examples showing data entered in the appropriate box or boxes. I mentioned some of this earlier in the chain. Try not to send users to some other page for additional information. Try not to have too many situations in the rule. For example, Release Merge has a two-disc rule followed by a rule for cases where a third disc needs to be merged with the other two. I seem to recall another rule after those. I also commented about the YouTube videos earlier in the chain.
Thanks Landlubber - I meant specific changes, not feedback.
e.g. replace X (text) with Z. Or add Z here.
If you think there’s a better format to do the whole thing in, then I would sign up for a wiki account (or a YouTube account) and “be the change” 
The tutorials I have in the pipeline don’t have any background music, for what it’s worth, but I’m certain they wont suit everyone perfectly, unfortunately.
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