# Ampersands in Tag Panel field names

**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [July 27, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474 "2018-07-27T06:05:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![d2b](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@d2b](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/d2b)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/1 "2018-07-27T06:05:19Z")

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...in the names of the fields that were formerly above the horizontal line that separated the 'fixed' fields from the others. These apparently were not written as the field name for the corresponding values when tagging a file, and it is simple to remove them using the "Edit Field..." tool.

While it's not even a minor problem in practice, it is a bit messy.

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### Author: ![ryerman](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ryerman/32/5285_2.png) [@ryerman](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ryerman)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2018, 6:43am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/2 "2018-07-27T06:43:26Z")

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It won't hurt to remove them, but the ampersands are included on purpose.  
See here: [User-defined tag input fields](https://docs.mp3tag.de/customization/tag-panel)

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### Author: ![Zerow](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/zerow/32/11379_2.png) [@Zerow](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Zerow)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/3 "2018-11-10T13:23:16Z")

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I would rather have that ALT+ activate and deactivate the defined tag field instead of to just switching focus to such field  
  
  
I know that for some time we have the ability to more quickly activate and activate fields in the Tag Panel [with a right click menu activated when the click is performed within the Tag Panel]. But nevertheless if I could even more quickly [with a defined shortcut] turn off some field that happens to be a multiline, then I could have such tag field be turned off 99.9% of the time- thus saving space. I would use it for all those fields that I need to see very rarely- because I tend to turn off what I do not need as I always want to preserve / optimize the precious space, so that I can see as much of data / files as I can on a single screen without the need for scrolling

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### Author: ![Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/florian/32/5759_2.png) [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/4 "2018-11-10T13:35:14Z")

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> [@Zerow](#):
>
> I would rather have that ALT+ activate and deactivate the defined tag field instead of to just switching focus to such field

This is not going to happen (also not via an option).

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### Author: ![Zerow](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/zerow/32/11379_2.png) [@Zerow](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Zerow)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/5 "2018-11-10T14:00:05Z")

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Even if some other combination of function keys was utilized for such shortcut?

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### Author: ![MrSinatra](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mrsinatra/32/5574_2.png) [@MrSinatra](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MrSinatra)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2018, 10:36am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/6 "2018-12-10T10:36:20Z")

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> [@ryerman](#):
>
> It won't hurt to remove them, but the ampersands are included on purpose.  
> See here: [User-defined tag input fields](https://docs.mp3tag.de/customization/tag-panel)

i'm totally lost. see my screenshot. 1. are these not the default tag panel values mp3tag has on a fresh install? if so, not "user" defined, b/c i, the user, didn't do them, right?

and 2. aside from that, i read your link, but i'm too thick to understand it. why are there ampersands randomly in the setup for these default fields? what purpose do they serve, esp if they can be removed without harm?

 ![46](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/6/64f0c94dba385bf4a83a4a4e728d4173e02b006d.png)

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### Author: ![LaurenBacall](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@LaurenBacall](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LaurenBacall)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2018, 11:43am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/7 "2018-12-10T11:43:51Z")

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As per the linked help article the ampersand defines the letter that will select the field when the `Alt` key is also pressed. Eg: `&Year` means pressing `Alt + Y` will select the Year field, when the Tag Panel is focused, since the `&` is placed before `Y`.

Removing the ampersands simply removes the Alt hotkeys.

As for whey those fields are called 'user defined' it's since the default fields are now customizable. Until the more recent Mp3Tag versions the default fields couldn't be customized. All of them now are (which is nice to have) including the default Alt hotkeys which are now exposed to the user.

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### Author: ![MrSinatra](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mrsinatra/32/5574_2.png) [@MrSinatra](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MrSinatra)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2018, 11:58am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/8 "2018-12-10T11:58:59Z")

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that completely clarifies it, thanks.

might be an idea to include a note on that prefs dialog explaining they make those fields hotkeys.

loved you in "the big sleep" btw!

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### Author: ![LaurenBacall](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@LaurenBacall](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LaurenBacall)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/9 "2018-12-10T12:11:56Z")

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> [@MrSinatra](#):
>
> might be an idea to include a note on that prefs dialog explaining they make those fields hotkeys.

Alt hotkeys can also be added to Action names for quicker access in the same manner, as another useful tip. That's where I first learned of their use.

> [@MrSinatra](#):
>
> loved you in "the big sleep" btw!

😉

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### Author: ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2023, 7:43am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/10 "2023-12-28T07:43:25Z")

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A post was split to a new topic: [Ampersand to create tag panel shortcuts](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersand-to-create-tag-panel-shortcuts/63229)

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### Author: ![Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/florian/32/5759_2.png) [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2023, 10:06am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ampersands-in-tag-panel-field-names/42474/11 "2023-12-28T10:06:15Z")

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