# Filter for capturing "the" inside a field
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [August 1, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716 "2023-08-01T21:23:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@trejder](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/trejder)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716/1 "2023-08-01T21:23:16Z")
Sorry for asking, but regexp was always very problematic for me, and [from what I have learnt so far](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-expressions/10080/4) regexp is the only way to achieve what I am looking for.
What I basically need is a _Filter_ field expression that finds "the":
- Respecting case, so "The", but "the" no
- In any field (`%_tag%`?)
- Only as a separate word, so "The" yes, but "There" no
- Only inside the word, so no "The" in the beginning, so "Thanks for The memory" yes, but "The Show Must Go On" no
Using [an example filter](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-expressions/10080/4) I managed to go as far as `title MATCHES (?-i)The`, so matching only first condition. I am failing on the following one.
I would also like to take a chance and ask, how to escape certain characters (namely "/") in tags? Because next to finding all "The", I would also like to find all files that has "Funk / Soul" as a genre. Thank you!
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716/2 "2023-08-01T21:32:00Z")
%\_tag% returns the tag version found in the file.
I doubt that \_ALL is available for filters. So you would have to address each field separately, e.g.
`%title% MATCHES " (?-i)The "`
To filter for `/` use
`%genre% HAS /`
Or are you looking for `\\`?
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716/3 "2023-08-01T22:19:46Z")
Filter can be like this;
`* HAS β the β`
(Check that the leading and trailing spaces before and after βtheβ are included)
Note this is not a case sensitive filter, however that can be managed during the replace action below.
Then use the Action (Quick);
Field: `_ALL`
Original: `The`
Replace with: `the`
(Again both the original and replace words need to have the leading and trailing spaces)
Make sure you confirm the case sensitive check box if this is desired.
Note this will apply the action to all fields including filename.
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2023, 6:08am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716/4 "2023-08-02T06:08:29Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> I doubt that \_ALL is available for filters. So you would have to address each field separately, e.g.
> `%title% MATCHES " (?-i)The "`
I correct that:
The `*` would act as an \_ALL for the fitler, so the filter could be:
`* MATCHES " (?-i)The "`
The approach using the wildcard for any field leads to a lot of hits - and you have to have a fairly solid confidence that MP3tag does it right.
I would still prefer a more dedicated filter that shows only the hits with matches in a specified field.
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### Author:  [@trejder](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/trejder)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716/5 "2023-08-02T20:18:32Z")
@[ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino) && [MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG) Thank you for all the tips and an ultra-fast answer.
This is _exactly_ what I was looking for. Thank you, thank you. Kudos!
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/filter-for-capturing-the-inside-a-field/61716/6 "2023-09-01T20:18:46Z")
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