Copy > Paste *Only* Selected Fields Between Multiple Files

[deckard]

I searched the forum and the following appears to be exactly what I am looking for:

There is a way which you can copy just a certain id3 field from various mp3's and then paste this filed into another mp3 files?

I didn't succeed to paste just a certain field without getting all the other fields replaced. Bunch of thanks for who can help me solve this problem!

However, I was surprised to see this ability doesn't actually exist in Mp3tag.

Here is my scenario:

I have 2 sets of files from 2 identical box sets with hundreds of tracks, one lossless, the other lossy.

Each set of files has fields I'd like to keep; the lossless files have additional title info (single version, live, etc.), the lossy files have comments (Disc 1: Original Album, Disc 2: Bonus Tracks, etc.).

This is likely a fringe case, but I assumed there would be some way to do this using the normal Tag Copy/Tag Paste from one batch of files to another in the same order (which I use all the time), but it doesn't see to be available. Something like a list of checkboxes for all the existing fields in the copied tags that could pop up when you go to paste them.

There is mention of using foobar2000 for this, but I wasn't able to get that to work either (for instance, it combined all the unique comments from each file and put them in every comment field of every track). There is also mention of using Export > Import but I can't seem to get that to work either. Lastly, someone mentioned using the Extended Tags feature, but no matter what I do, nothing copied from the source files ever seems to get pasted into the destination files.

As the post I linked is from 2018, are there any other potential solutions available now?

Thank you!

[ohrenkino]

@deckard

There is also mention of using Export > Import but I can't seem to get that to work either

• You could use Edit>Copy as text ...
• Use a list of tag fields that should be copied to the new files.
• Also take care that the number and order of source files corresponds to the number and order target fields.
• Best would be if the list of tag fields has a unique separator.
• After you have exported the text, open a text editor and paste the data.
• Save the text file.
• Open Edit>Copy as text ... again and copy the format string. Close the function without executing it. This saves you do enter the whole format string again.
• Now select the target files, use Convert>Text file - tag, set the text file name and paste the copied format string with the field names.

[deckard]

OK I will try this, but I think an optional list of field checkboxes would be a pretty cool feature if possible.

Thanks again!

[ohrenkino]

Please see also this exchange:

Function to import text from clipboard into fields analogue to Convert>text file - tag

I would like to see a function that is sort of the reverse function to Edit>Copy as text ... Basically, it should work like Convert>Text file - tag: a list of fields would be required as described right now in the documenation but instead of an also necessary file name, the contents of the clipboard should be a possible source. So perhaps the function Convert>Text file - tag could be expanded to select either a file or the clipboard contents. (Admittedly, the name of the Convert function woul…

[poster]

I think this feature already exists, at least for transferring data from one file to another.

In the Extended Tag View, you can select multiple tag fields, copy them using the right mouse button, and then leave the view, select another file, and paste them to this file in the same way. Only the the marked files are copied and pasted, the others keep their content.