# Deleting Redundant/Old Data Out Of File Names

**URL:** <https://community.mp3tag.de/t/deleting-redundant-old-data-out-of-file-names/61996>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [August 31, 2023, 12:01pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/deleting-redundant-old-data-out-of-file-names/61996 "2023-08-31T12:01:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/deleting-redundant-old-data-out-of-file-names/61996/2 "2023-08-31T12:19:08Z")

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> [@dec](#):
>
> but i can't work out just where (what MP3Tag function) i can use wild cards

Do you remember this thread?

> [@How to edit a text string with wild card chars?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-edit-a-text-string-with-wild-card-chars/61397):
>
> so say i have a Duration/Length text string like this ... (0345min) as you can see, it is missing its separator (i accidently deleted it when i did a global replace of '\_') now if i could use normal wild cards that would be quite simple replace ??min) \> -??min) but it seems that i can't use wild cards, and i find no mention of 'wild cards' so .. if i CAN use wild cards (w/o Regex), what is the correct syntax? if i CAN'T use wild cards, what can i do? i assume only a Regex express…

and for

> [@dec](#):
>
> the length from the start is of course highly variable: and also the length from teh END (due the differing data)

Do you remember this at least two threads:

> [@How to Cutright from a char str: can't get it work](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-cutright-from-a-char-str-cant-get-it-work/61389):
>
> Picard just automatically just trashed all my File Names and added rubbish at the end of each file name without so much as a say-so. it did other damage as well, but i am/have fixed most of that. i have worked out that the last valid string at the end of every file name is "(NORM)" see attached example so i want to truncate the file name from that to the rhs end of file name but do you think i can work out a way that actually works! i played with $left and $cut right and $strstr, but i coul…

and

> [@Odd STRCHR Error](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/odd-strchr-error/61310):
>
> i found a whole lot of files w/o Artist, for some reason, although it is in Filename, and fortutiously has a '-' separator but i cannot get $strchr (with Cutright) to play nicely to extract the Artist precisely from Filename it seems quite weird. if i use Cutleft it extracts the rest of the Filename string exactly if i use Strrchr, it makes no difference ie it cuts to exactly the same place (meaning that there is only one in the string) but Cutright cuts to a completely different position t…

**So what exactly have you already tried and where don't you get the expected result?**

For the speciality with the [square brackets](https://docs.mp3tag.de/format/#characters-with-special-functionality) the documentation says:

 ![image](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/e/e9dda68f8aea10f79c2f7628e612c2ac5c0fd96f.png)

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_[View the full topic](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/deleting-redundant-old-data-out-of-file-names/61996)._