John, your post about how to choose tracks to fit nicely on a CD shows that you have done a lot of research on the subject. I think, though, there may be a simpler way.
If you take a look at the CD-Recordable FAQ on this page:
http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq01.html#S1-5
you will see that a recordable CD will commonly hold either 74 or 80 minutes, translating to 650MB and 700MB respectively. (More specific information can be found at
http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-6 )
Knowing the amount of space required for 74 minutes (650MB), you can determine if your chosen tracks will fit by:
1. go to the file folder/directory in your file browser
2. highlight the tracks you want to record (hold down Ctrl key while selecting each track with the mouse or Ctrl-A for all of them)
3. right click on one of the highlighted items
This will bring up a menu; choose "Properties". Look at the size of the selected files on the display that pops up. If the total will fit on your CD, you are all set! No need to install any programs or run a separate batch file.
It seems you are using Nero Express' My Audio CD to display the selected tracks. In their wisdom to make things "foolproof", Roxio has chosen to display the audio tracks by time, rather than size (although changing this may be an option for the program.) In the end, the total size of the files is what matters. Time notwithstanding, they will still have to fit on the CD and those are written byte-by-byte until the disk is full.
However, if "time" is important to you, then the programs you're using seem to fit your needs.
(By the way, see
http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq02.html#S2-29 for the background behind why the standard length of CDs is 74 minutes long!)
Looking forward to the final list! Thanks Gitchigumee!