# Character replacement in output folders

**URL:** <https://community.mp3tag.de/t/character-replacement-in-output-folders/18927>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [April 28, 2017, 9:22am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/character-replacement-in-output-folders/18927 "2017-04-28T09:22:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nutcracker](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/nutcracker/32/4900_2.png) [@nutcracker](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/nutcracker)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 9:22am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/character-replacement-in-output-folders/18927/1 "2017-04-28T09:22:03Z")

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When tagging is finished, I use an action to rename the folder containing the audio files according to "artist - album" mode. The problem arises when certain characters (in my case the character ":") cannot be used in folder names. Is it possible to automatically replace ":" by (for example) ";" when renaming the folder? Example: I have an album of the artist "Dexter Gordon" titled "Homecoming: Live At The Village Vanguard". How can I replace the ":" with ";" in the output folder name i.e how can I name the containing folder as "Dexter Gordon - Homecoming; Live At The Village Vanguard"?

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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:** [April 28, 2017, 9:37am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/character-replacement-in-output-folders/18927/2 "2017-04-28T09:37:13Z")

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You can use

```
$validate(%artist% - %album%,;)

```

as format string (more description can be found at [Mp3tag Help – Scripting Functions](https://docs.mp3tag.de/scripting).

Kind regards  
– Florian

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nutcracker](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/nutcracker/32/4900_2.png) [@nutcracker](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/nutcracker)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 11:51am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/character-replacement-in-output-folders/18927/3 "2017-04-28T11:51:59Z")

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Thanks a lot! It worked just fine!!

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**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, 12:26pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/character-replacement-in-output-folders/18927/4 "2026-02-09T12:26:48Z")

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