# Any way to see character encoding in ID3 tags?
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [July 27, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202 "2007-07-27T04:01:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@paulgj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/paulgj)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/1 "2007-07-27T04:01:07Z")
Hello,
is there any way to tell what type of ID3 encoding a file has? I have a file that is listed as ID3v2.3 in the properties window but would like to know if it is UTF16 or ISO-8559-1 (or any other possible types UTF8?)
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
-Paul
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### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/2 "2007-07-27T05:33:53Z")
Hi Paul,
it's available via %\_id3v2\_character\_encoding%
Kind regards,
Florian
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### Author:  [@paulgj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/paulgj)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/3 "2007-07-27T05:42:17Z")
Thanks for the quick reply Florian, you are the best! 🙂
> [@Florian](#):
>
> Hi Paul,
>
> it's available via %\_id3v2\_character\_encoding%
>
> Kind regards,
> Florian
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### Author:  [@laserfan](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/laserfan)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/4 "2007-07-27T14:15:27Z")
I can't seem to get this to work--am I doing it right:
1. File - Options-Tag Panel-Add New field..
2. Paste %\_id3v2\_character\_encoding% into field
3. Give it a name "Char Encoding"
4. See it's been added but it's always blank no matter what mp3 I click on
Having trouble with a media player and would like to get everything straight. What am I doing wrong here?
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### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/5 "2007-07-27T14:23:31Z")
No, it's for the columns!
[https://docs.mp3tag.de/customization/file-list](https://docs.mp3tag.de/customization/file-list)
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### Author:  [@laserfan](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/laserfan)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/6 "2007-07-27T14:49:12Z")
Oh, my, that was quick! Thanks dano, I knew I was squirrelled-up somewhere...been fiddling with messed-up ID3s (from iTunes & MusicMatch etc) for many hours and not thinking straight.
Got it!!! It works!!! Mp3tag is the best!!!
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2025, 11:02am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/any-way-to-see-character-encoding-in-id3-tags/5202/7 "2025-11-10T11:02:59Z")
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