# Convert date data without editing all files
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [August 6, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979 "2021-08-06T04:00:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@GerrySeely](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/GerrySeely)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/1 "2021-08-06T04:00:19Z")
I have all my mp3 titles edited with MP3Tag editor, but when I put in the date I entered it as 070421 for July 4, 2021 and I would like to change it to 20210704 since the dates in the format I have always used doesn't sort properly. Is there any way to strip the last 2 digits from the date and then add the 2021 year to the front of the date? I really don't want to have to go in and individually change all almost 60,000 titles.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 4:30am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/2 "2021-08-06T04:30:24Z")
You could use an action of the type "Replace with regular expression":
> [@GerrySeely](#):
>
> 070421
Search string: `(....)(..)`
Replace string: `20$2$1`
-\>
> [@GerrySeely](#):
>
> 20210704
Are you sure that you do not have any files dating back to the 19-hundreds?
---
### Author:  [@GerrySeely](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/GerrySeely)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/3 "2021-08-06T17:11:18Z")
I have every Top 40 song since "Rock Around The Clock" so YES
I understand I would have to change the numbers.
---
### Author:  [@GerrySeely](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/GerrySeely)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2021, 4:22am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/4 "2021-08-07T04:22:34Z")
How do I just strip the year from my date column ie: change 070421 to 0704
---
### Author:  [@GerrySeely](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/GerrySeely)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/5 "2021-08-07T04:23:52Z")
I have another column with the year in it anyway so I don't need the last two digits for the year.
---
### Author:  [@poster](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/poster)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2021, 5:38am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/6 "2021-08-07T05:38:35Z")
To have a column with a special content and to modify tag-content are different things. You can define the view of your columns yourself and you can even define in the column-view that only 4 digits are displaid.
So I would not change a regular content of a tag-field just to see it in a special view in the columns but modify the column-view.
`View->Customize columns`
What do you call a "date-column"? Which tag-field is it?
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/convert-date-data-without-editing-all-files/53979/7 "2021-08-07T06:38:41Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Search string: `(....)(..)`
Replace string: `$1`