# Extract and reformat date
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/extract-and-reformat-date/7922
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 12, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/extract-and-reformat-date/7922 "2009-02-12T19:52:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kaokulk](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/kaokulk)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/extract-and-reformat-date/7922/1 "2009-02-12T19:52:22Z")
This should be straightforward, I just don't understand the syntax of the scripting language yet...
In the field "Comments", I have text like this...
"Debuted on 12/25/1980 on the Top 100 charts."
I want to extract the date and reformat it in the Date field like: 1980/12/25.
So it's a question of finding the first, second, and third slashes, something like:
Date = "(2 positions left of first /), then a "/", (between the first and second /), then another "/", (then 4 positions to the right of the last /)"
So how do I write that line?
---
### Author:  [@DetlevD](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/DetlevD)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/extract-and-reformat-date/7922/2 "2009-02-13T08:23:36Z")
> [@kaokulk](#):
>
> ... In the field "Comments", I have text like this...
> "Debuted on 12/25/1980 on the Top 100 charts."
> I want to extract the date and reformat it in the Date field like: 1980/12/25. ...
Assuming the comment tagfield always contains a valid date string of format mm/dd/yyyy, then you may use the following actionsgroup to isolate and reformat the date string (tagfield DATE is saved as YEAR).
Begin Actionsgroup **TEST**
Action #1
_Actiontype 5:_ **Format tag field**
_Field:_ **DATE**
_Formatstring:_ **%comment%**
Action #2
_Actiontype 4:_ **Replace with regular expression**
_Field:_ **DATE**
_Regular expression:_ **^.+?(\d{2})/(\d{2})/(\d{4}).+?$**
_Replace matches with:_ **$3/$1/$2**
[\_] case sensitive comparison
End Actionsgroup **TEST** (2 Actions)
DD.20090213.1022.CET
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:21pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/extract-and-reformat-date/7922/3 "2026-02-09T12:21:23Z")