Restoring library with 'pedia_md_c'?

[Parasiticus]

My computer crashed, and the only thing I managed to save from CDpedia were a lot of 'pedia_md_c'-files. Exactly as much of the entries I had in CDpedia before the crash. Everyone of these files are a few hundred KB. Can I do anything with these files to restore the library I had, or do I have to start with the tedious task of adding the cd's (I was about to enter the 3500th CD...) from scratch?

[Nora]

Sorry to hear about your computer trouble. The pedia_md_c files are Spotlight files and yes, you can use them to restore your database. This is not ideal as they only hold basic information about your entries but after you've restored the basics you can go in and use the little gear button in the edit window to do advanced searches for the entries (or use the 'Get advanced info' feature on batches of entries).
To restore your data, hold down the Option key and click on the Help menu in CDpedia to reveal a hidden 'Import Spotlight' command. Choose that and the program will start to import the pedia_md_c files.

[Parasiticus]

Luckily the advanced information is just a few clicks away. Nora, I want to thank you for your answer/solution! I've restored about 95% of the library I had within 10 minutes, instead of a few days what I dreaded last night when the crash occurred.

[sjk]

This could be considered a warning that it's time to seriously consider investing in a backup solution before losing any data you can't afford to.