# How to apply a filter **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [February 21, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945 "2020-02-21T14:55:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mville/32/9437_2.png) [@mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/mville)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/1 "2020-02-21T14:55:28Z")
How do I apply a filter if I have Auto-apply filter disabled? The auto-apply behaviour with Auto-apply filter enabled, when trying to enter complex filters with a large library, can be very annoying. Also, can we have an option to turn off auto-apply when scrolling thru filters in the filter history OR auto-apply the filter on the filter history drop-down close event? ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/2 "2020-02-21T16:11:22Z")
Press Enter to apply the filter ---
**Author:** ![mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mville/32/9437_2.png) [@mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/mville)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/3 "2020-02-21T16:20:50Z")
Pressing _Enter_, doesn't always work. ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/4 "2020-02-21T16:25:46Z")
If it works sometimes and sometimes it does not it would be interesting to find out where the difference is. What do you mean by "does not work"? ---
**Author:** ![mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mville/32/9437_2.png) [@mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/mville)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/5 "2020-02-21T16:29:08Z")
_does not work_ = filter is not applied, file list is not updated. Pressing _Enter_ appears to be inconsistent. ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/6 "2020-02-21T16:30:25Z")
Could you give an example of a filter that works and one that does not? Please note that you sometimes have to wait a while before the file list is updated, depending on the number of currently loaded files. ---
**Author:** ![mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mville/32/9437_2.png) [@mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/mville)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/7 "2020-02-21T16:48:37Z")
Like I said, the behaviour appears to be inconsistent. I had a situation where I cleared the filter box, pressed _Enter_ and nothing happened. Perhaps, as you say, I didn't wait long enough. I'll keep an eye on this and post next time it occurs, with an example. ---
**Author:** ![mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mville/32/9437_2.png) [@mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/mville)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/8 "2020-02-21T18:29:09Z")
I have just entered the following in the filter: %title% MATCHES "(\x28|\s)on(\x2c|\s)" I then pressed _Enter_ and nothing happens (no file list update). Eventually, I cleared the filter and pressed _Enter_. Still nothing happens. Finally, I selected %title% MATCHES "(\x28|\s)on(\x2c|\s)" from the filter drop-down history and THEN the file list updated as expected. Looks to me as though MP3Tag filtering is getting confused, at some point. ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/9 "2020-02-21T19:06:18Z")
I tried filters with different expressions, some from the list, some entered directly and also your example filter. I had 397 files loaded in MP3tag. All filters I entered manually or directly were activated immediately after I pressed enter, the file list showed the updated list. When I selected a filter from somewhere down the filter history list then this filter was applied at once without the need to press Enter. That may be the difference. ---
**Author:** ![mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/mville/32/9437_2.png) [@mville](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/mville)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/10 "2020-02-21T19:46:45Z")
Yes, currently I am seeing the same behaviour as you describe when manually entering %title% MATCHES "(\x28|\s)on(\x2c|\s)" and _Enter_ is pressed. However, on the occasion that I posted that nothing happened when I manually entered %title% MATCHES "(\x28|\s)on(\x2c|\s)" and pressed _Enter_, this shows an inconsistency and/or bug in MP3Tag when trying to apply a filter. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/c/ce7035d426cb755a7916793326d23b465222a407.png) [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-apply-a-filter/47945/11 "2026-02-09T12:28:27Z")