# Drop-down shows all Genres instead of Genres in selected files
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [June 27, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849 "2013-06-27T13:43:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@deckard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/deckard)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/1 "2013-06-27T13:43:48Z")
Select multiple files from multiple artists/albums, etc.
In the Tag Panel, if you select the drop-down arrow next to artist/album/track/year/comment, etc., it only shows the current values of those fields in the selected files.
However, if you click the drop-down next to Genre, it shows all available Genres instead of only the genres of the selected files.
Is this intentional?
---
### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/2 "2013-06-27T13:56:08Z")
I don't see that behavior in the Genre drop-down. If I select a group of files with one genre, then I see that genre, plus and in the list. If I select a group with multiple genres, then only and are in the list.
Perhaps it's dependent on the file type, but I see this with both Mp3 and FLAC files.
---
### Author:  [@ryerman](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ryerman)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/3 "2013-06-27T14:15:04Z")
> [@deckard](#):
>
> Select multiple files from multiple artists/albums, etc.
>
> In the Tag Panel, if you select the drop-down arrow next to artist/album/track/year/comment, etc., it only shows the current values of those fields in the selected files.
>
> However, if you click the drop-down next to Genre, it shows all available Genres instead of only the genres of the selected files.
>
> Is this intentional?
I don't know if it is intentional or not, but unlike JJ Johnson, I **do** see this behaviour for MP3 and FLAC.
---
### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/4 "2013-06-27T14:34:14Z")
I see now why it's different.
Under File \> Options \> Genres I have 'Show only user-defined genres' ticked and my user-defined genre list is blank. A couple of reasons to do this: You can't define more than one genre by using a drop-down box - you have to type at least a part of the entry anyway. And I find it much faster to simply enter the genre manually than use drop-down.
As to the behavior that you see, yes, I'm sure it's intentional.
---
### Author:  [@deckard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/deckard)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/5 "2013-06-27T16:29:48Z")
Thanks for the replies.
The "Show only user-defined genres" is good if you don't want to see a giant list, but I still don't see what's already in use by the selected files.
I guess I was just expecting the Genre field to work the same way as the others by default.
Typical example for me:
- 2 albums selected.
- One with Genre as "Electronic", the other "Electronica".
- Want to change them all to be Electronic.
- Select all, click Genre, expect to see Blank, Keep, "Electronic" or "Electronica".
I know I could type it in, but I like being able to see what's actually in use, particularly when many more files are selected at once.
This is obviously not critical, but perhaps another option in setup?
---
### Author:  [@Oblio](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Oblio)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/6 "2013-06-28T01:38:51Z")
Workaround: add a second Genre field to the tag panel
[/t/4689/1](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/4689/1)
When saving, the value in the second field takes precedence over the first. This effectively disables the original genre field dropdown.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/drop-down-shows-all-genres-instead-of-genres-in-selected-files/14849/7 "2026-02-09T12:24:33Z")