On Tue, 5 Sep 2017 00:09:57 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote:

It has come up specifically for MP3 files, duration column, but several
others are showing blank too.

Yes, we know how to turn on and off various column headings. No, I don't
think it's an ID3 tag: when played (e. g. in WinAmp), the duration shows
up fine. But in the My Music folder, in Windows Explorer (Windows 7, 64
bit), the Duration column is blank.

I've googled it a fair amount: apart from repeated people telling me how
to turn on the column headings, and a few mentioning the ID tags (which
are for things like composer, artist, etc. - duration of an mp3 file
isn't something you could forget to fill in, it's intrinsic to the file,
like pixel dimensions for a .JPG), nobody seems to have a solution for
the problem, though plenty of others have the problem.

(Well, I say nobody: some suggest using SFC and/or a repair install, but
[a] I tend to think of those as variations on the helpdesk "reboot your
machine" {and I've never had SFC fix a problem anyway}, [b] it doesn't
really tell _why_ the problem occurred even if it does fix it.)

Showing MP3 duration in Windows Explorer seems such a simple thing!
Terry,

It is simple if you choose the correct property to display. To see the property name, right-click on an MP3 file and choose the Details tab. You will see Length shown, but not Duration. For MP3 files you should add Length to your columns in Explorer.