# Can't rename directories in vm **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [December 18, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833 "2011-12-18T15:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Digitaldesi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/1 "2011-12-18T15:08:27Z")
I have been using mp3tag for a long time on windows without any problems. I have recently switched to Mac and I'm using VmWare fusion to run windows xp to run mp3tag. So far everything works, except the directory name change. I'm using %format value% on \_DIRECTORY to change the directory to %artist%\%album% or %album%, but I always get an error the the file doesn't exist. The drives are mapped to xp machine where mp3's are stores. What is the reason that I can't rename directory like I could in windows. Is this a disk format issue? ---
**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 19, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/2 "2011-12-19T16:03:52Z")
afaik are the conventions for addressing directories different in windows and mac OS: windows uses the backslash and mac os the slash. So it is now a question how good the vmware hides the path conventions. IS mp3tag the only application that causes trouble? ---
**Author:** ![Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Digitaldesi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/3 "2011-12-20T00:55:31Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#): > > afaik are the conventions for addressing directories different in windows and mac OS: windows uses the backslash and mac os the slash. > So it is now a question how good the vmware hides the path conventions. > IS mp3tag the only application that causes trouble? I have tried both backlash and forward slash, but it doesn't work. So far, mp3tag is the only application that does that. I don't have any other application to test renaming feature. I wish there was another program that could do that, but I don't know of any other. ---
**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 20, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/4 "2011-12-20T05:28:42Z")
> [@Digitaldesi](#): > > ...I don't have any other application to test renaming feature.... You could try the good ole DOS command shell and enter a command like: copy \oldpath\*.mp3 \newpath This assumes that you have a test-folder oldpath and one called newpath (manually created with the vm explorer) both right beneath the root layer. It also assumes that you have at least one mp3-file in the directory oldpath. And another thing (no, not that!): do you use relative or absolute paths? In a VMware forum I found the advice to address shared directories as network paths. (I have to ask all these questions as I do not have this setup. If you want me to shut up, tell me so) ---
**Author:** ![Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Digitaldesi)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/5 "2011-12-25T17:50:00Z")
I tried ``` copy \oldpath\*.mp3 \newpath ``` and it worked just fine. I have the shared drive mapped under a letter z: But when I try to change the name of the directory within mp3tag, it gives me error. Basically the current directory name is "Artist - Album Year" and I am trying to change it to "Artist\Album". This worked when I was using Windows as my main OS. This is the reason I posted this. I want to know is this different when using mapped drives, because as far as the OS is concerned the file exists at z:\music"Artist - Album Year" and it should be able to format it. ---
**Author:** ![Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Digitaldesi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/6 "2012-01-08T16:56:05Z")
So is this a bug or not? I can check or try more things, if needed. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/7 "2012-01-08T17:22:55Z")
> [@Digitaldesi](#): > > I have the shared drive mapped under a letter z: > But when I try to change the name of the directory within mp3tag, it gives me error. Have you tried to use the networkpath with the double-slash in front? What does the support for VMware say to accessing shared paths? As teh commands work fine with "normal" windows this hardly looks like a bug in MP3tag but like a peculiarity in VMware ... What happens if you use the converter Tag-Filename in MP3tag and relative path settings? ---
**Author:** ![Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Digitaldesi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/8 "2012-01-08T18:19:49Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#): > > What happens if you use the converter Tag-Filename in MP3tag and relative path settings? How do I change that setting in mp3tag? ---
**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:** [January 8, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/9 "2012-01-08T19:07:18Z")
> [@Digitaldesi](#): > > ... setting... This is my limited English ... sorry! I tried to express the following: if you use the converter "Tag-Filename" and enter a mask that in fact creates a relative path then this should act just like the command to create a new directory: %year - %album%\%track% \_ %title% would create a folder with the year and albumtitle plus a file with the structure track \_ title. The question is: does this work? ---
**Author:** ![Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Digitaldesi](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Digitaldesi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/10 "2012-01-14T17:54:29Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#): > > This is my limited English ... sorry! > > I tried to express the following: > > if you use the converter "Tag-Filename" and enter a mask that in fact creates a relative path then this should act just like the command to create a new directory: > > %year - %album%\%track% \_ %title% > > would create a folder with the year and albumtitle plus a file with the structure track \_ title. > > The question is: does this work? Yes! this works fine. I never thought of it this way. But I still think it is a bug when this works fine. I still can't do it using format value. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll back to tagging my music now. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/c/ce7035d426cb755a7916793326d23b465222a407.png) [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 12:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cant-rename-directories-in-vm/12833/11 "2026-02-09T12:23:31Z")