# How do you deal with mixed libraries (MP3 + M4A + FLAC + etc) and differing standards?
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [December 17, 2020, 3:57am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241 "2020-12-17T03:57:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@swept1](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/swept1)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2020, 3:57am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241/1 "2020-12-17T03:57:32Z")
Basically I've run into something when dealing with the following tags:
- Release date
- Disc number & total number of discs
- Track number & total number of tracks
Per each standard these appear to be dealt with as such:
- FLAC
- MP3 (ID3v2. **3** )
- M4A (MP4)
It seems rather annoying to have to manually conform to each standard to ensure proper tags. For those who have libraries with different kinds of files, how do you attack this?
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2020, 5:48am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241/2 "2020-12-17T05:48:11Z")
I think that MP3tag can handle all these different incarnations.
So it is not really true that you
> [@swept1](#):
>
> have to manually conform to each standard to ensure proper tags
MP3tag does that for you.
So, I assume, it is really down to the player to cope with the various tag types.
In general: the more data you save the better is the chance that the player will actually display some of it.
Missing data cannot be displayed.
---
### Author:  [@swept1](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/swept1)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241/3 "2020-12-17T18:21:12Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> MP3tag does that for you.
i originally wrote out a long detailed answer but i think i can handle it more simply by asking you:
does your music library have mp3s, m4as, flacs? if yes, how do you handle tagging release date (including month & day), disc number (& total discs) and track number (& total tracks) in mp3tag? if not, how _would_ you?
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241/4 "2020-12-17T18:45:41Z")
Yes, I have.
And MP4s
Any date longer than YEAR is put in RELEASETIME - and YEAR filled with just 4 digits
For tracks and discs I use the numbering assistant or the format 1/10.
MP3tag then adds the data as it should be
---
### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-do-you-deal-with-mixed-libraries-mp3-m4a-flac-etc-and-differing-standards/51241/5 "2020-12-17T19:09:16Z")
Maybe as a second input to your question: I'm using foobar2000 as my player, which is very customizable. Your range of freedom might vary if you want or need to use another player.
As an example, I'd configure the Tag Panel to use the following fields:
- `TRACK` and `TOTALTRACKS`
- `DISCNUMBER` and `TOTALDISCS`
- `YEAR`
Since FLAC/VorbisComments prefer `TRACKTOTAL` and `DISCTOTAL`, I'd add corresponding mappings via "Options \> Tags \> Mapping" (next to the existing one for `DATE` and `TRACKNUMBER`)
| Tag | Source | Target |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VorbisComment | TRACKTOTAL | TOTALTRACKS |
| VorbisComment | DISCTOTAL | TOTALDISCS |
Since ID3v2 usually has the totals in `TRACK` and `DISCNUMBER`, this configuration creates two custom text fields `TOTALTRACKS` and `TOTALDISCS`. I'd find this acceptable, especially because I could use the separate fields to create a combined one (if necessary).
Since you've mentioned ID3v2. **3** , but [already noticed](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/id3v2-3-year-tdrc-not-working-with-mutagen/51207) that Mp3tag is flexible w.r.t. the YYYY restriction of the TYER frame, I'd put the data here. MP4 and FLAC are also fine with that.
This is only an example, but would create a configuration you can use for the mentioned file types without distinction of the actual file type when filling the fields. All under the premise that you use a player that is flexible enough to display the data.