# Editing APE tags
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [June 7, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788 "2013-06-07T17:30:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TheChipstar](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/TheChipstar)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/1 "2013-06-07T17:30:55Z")
Hey guys,
I am trying to edit the APE tags on my MP3s, while keeping all me ID3v2.3 tags in tact.
I want to get rid of the following fields:
- REPLAYGAIN\_ALBUM\_GAIN
- REPLAYGAIN\_ALBUM\_PEAK
- REPLAYGAIN\_TRACK\_GAIN
- REPLAYGAIN\_TRACK\_PEAK
And keep the following:
- MP3GAIN\_ALBUM\_MINMAX
- MP3GAIN\_MINMAX
- MP3GAIN\_UNDO
There are no other fields in this tag.
When I try to do this I end up clearing all of my ID3 tags.
How do I keep them in tact and still remove the fields that I want?
Cheers.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/2 "2013-06-07T18:23:37Z")
Could you tell us the MP3tag setting in
File\>Options\>Mpeg?
Do you read and write V2-tags?
---
### Author:  [@TheChipstar](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/TheChipstar)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/3 "2013-06-08T02:12:01Z")
Thanks for the reply.
I don't actually know exactly how to set these, but I have tried a few combinations to try and make it work.
I thought that setting Read: to ID3v2.3 and APE and Write: to ID3v2.3 and APEv2 would work.
When I do this, it allows me to see and edit the APE tag.
But then I run this Action: Remove fields: "REPLAYGAIN\_ALBUM\_GAIN; REPLAYGAIN\_ALBUM\_PEAK; REPLAYGAIN\_TRACK\_GAIN; REPLAYGAIN\_TRACK\_PEAK", it does what I want to the APE tag, but wipes all of my ID3 tags clean.
I want to preserve all the info in the ID3 tags and remove those four fields in the first post
---
### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2013, 9:47am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/4 "2013-06-08T09:47:38Z")
Disable Writing of ID3v2 then you're only changing the APE tags.
---
### Author:  [@TheChipstar](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/TheChipstar)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/5 "2013-06-08T23:59:19Z")
I tried this by changing these:
Read:
Uncheck ID3v2.1
Uncheck ID3v2.3
Check APE
Write:
Uncheck ID3v2.1
Uncheck ID3v2.3
Check APEv2
Then I ran my action to remove the ReplayGain fields.
Then I changed them back to this:
Read:
Check ID3v2.1
Check ID3v2.3
Uncheck APE
Write:
Check ID3v2.1
Check ID3v2.3
Uncheck APEv2
But now all of my ID3 tags are gone.
---
### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 10:08am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/6 "2013-06-09T10:08:05Z")
Hm it shouldn't happen. Do you refresh the file view after changing the tag options?
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### Author:  [@TheChipstar](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/TheChipstar)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/7 "2013-06-09T18:31:23Z")
Yep, press F5 every time...
I have thought about it a bit, and I basically want to save those 3 MP3Gain fields found in the APE tag, into the ID3v2.3 tag and delete the APE tag altogether.
How would I achieve this (without wiping my ID3v2.3 tags)?
And also, how would I reverse this in the future (without wiping my ID3v2.3 tags?
I did try [this](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/965/1), but it doesn't merge the APE tag info with the ID3v2.3 tag info, it simply copies and pastes over top of the ID3v2.3 tag, leaving all the fields blank again...
Thanks heaps for your continued help guys.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/8 "2013-06-10T03:31:49Z")
AFAIK are the \*\*\*gain fields only available in the APE tags but not as MP3 fields.
So, the idea to convert the APE-only fields to MP3 fields will not work.
---
### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/9 "2013-06-10T03:59:39Z")
> [@dano](#):
>
> Disable Writing of ID3v2 then you're only changing the APE tags.
That's bizarre. I don't doubt you're right, but just so completely counter-intuitive that it screams "broken". Not a bug, but a terrible design flaw.
---
### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/10 "2013-06-10T04:08:58Z")
> [@TheChipstar](#):
>
> I have thought about it a bit, and I basically want to save those 3 MP3Gain fields found in the APE tag, into the ID3v2.3 tag and delete the APE tag altogether.
You need to export the tag info to a text file and then import it back with "Convert \> Text file - tag"
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> AFAIK are the \*\*\*gain fields only available in the APE tags but not as MP3 fields.
> So, the idea to convert the APE-only fields to MP3 fields will not work.
I don't think that is correct. The Replay gain fields from Mp3gain are normal Ape fields and can be duplicated as ID3v2 fields.
---
### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/11 "2013-06-10T04:09:30Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> AFAIK are the \*\*\*gain fields only available in the APE tags but not as MP3 fields.
> So, the idea to convert the APE-only fields to MP3 fields will not work.
But you _can_ write TXXX frames in ID3v2 tags. You can, for instance, manually write a TXXX/MP3GAIN\_ALBUM\_MINMAX field in an ID3v2 tag. So is there some way to copy an APE field to a TXXX frame of the same name? I'm guessing that the genuinely oddball implementation of the read/write settings for different types of tags in Mp3 files precludes doing this.
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### Author:  [@TheChipstar](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/TheChipstar)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/12 "2013-06-12T04:00:26Z")
So no real way of doing this aye?
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### Author:  [@TheChipstar](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/TheChipstar)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2013, 6:54am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/editing-ape-tags/14788/13 "2013-06-12T06:54:43Z")
Is there any way of having a function like that of "Options \> Tags \> Mapping" but so we can map an APE tag field to an ID3 tag field?