# How to hide file extensions?
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 15, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698 "2026-02-15T22:27:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/1 "2026-02-15T22:27:45Z")
Hi all,
can someone explain me how to completely hide the file extensions?
It’s very annoying when I’m renaming my files to be supper precise not to remove the extension by accident.
Thanks in advance,
Nikola
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/2 "2026-02-15T22:33:23Z")
> [@promix](#):
>
> not to remove the extension by accident.
Has it ever happened to you and if so with which function.
AFAIK MP3tag never accidently changes the extension unless you tell it to do so explicidly - and then a hidden extension will not save you.
Try `%_filename%` for the column definition in which you see currently the extension.
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/3 "2026-02-15T22:49:24Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> `%_filename%`
Yes it happened so many times, that’s why I’m asking.
I don’t even see the reason to have the extension in this list.
What do you mean by column definition over here?
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 6:32am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/4 "2026-02-16T06:32:39Z")
Yes, that is the right place.
Substitute all the `%_filename_ext%` with `%_filename%`
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### Author:  [@poster](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/poster)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/5 "2026-02-16T07:07:35Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> AFAIK MP3tag never accidently changes the extension unless you tell it to do so explicidly - and then a hidden extension will not save you.
I think that only manual editing in the column can be meant and this way it is not possible to change the extension. Even if you change "filename.mp3" to "filename.mp4" or only change "mp3" to "mp4" the extension keeps unchanged. The result you see will be "filename.mp4.mp3".
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### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 7:30am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/6 "2026-02-16T07:30:06Z")
> [@poster](#):
>
> Even if you change "filename.mp3" to "filename.mp4" or only change "mp3" to "mp4" the extension keeps unchanged. The result you see will be "filename.mp4.mp3".
I can confirm this, see also [here](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/datei-erweiterungen-konnen-in-der-file-liste-nicht-wie-erwartet-umbenannt-werden/70566).
The behavour is also valid if you try to remove the extension. In my tests, it was not possible.
@promix How do you remove the extension (please describe it step-by-step to reproduce it).
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/7 "2026-02-16T22:26:30Z")
Yes, that is working.
However it’s not the most convinient if I may say.
Would be nice if there’s a disable option.
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/8 "2026-02-16T22:27:25Z")
I use to work really fast, and these kind of things are just annoying while slowing down a bit. It’s working as you are describing, but not that it couldn’t be more easier.
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/9 "2026-02-16T22:38:59Z")
I see that you reacted to @poster and @LyricsLover - now I am eager to know whether you tried
> [@How to hide file extensions?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/4):
>
> Yes, that is the right place. Substitute all the %\_filename\_ext% with %\_filename%
as that is the way to disable the display of the extension.
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/10 "2026-02-16T22:52:23Z")
Actually no, I was always anxious to not to screw the file. 😂
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2026, 6:37am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/11 "2026-02-17T06:37:48Z")
What do you expect
> [@promix](#):
>
> to screw the file
if you change the display in MP3tag?
Also, you have not yet told us which steps in your workflow lead to modified extensions (which AFAIK is not possible to get with a plain edit).
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/12 "2026-02-22T01:12:04Z")
I would honestly love if there is a possibility to turn off the extensions in Mp3tag… Sometimes, I want to copy / paste the (Original Mix) or (Extended Version) at the end of one song to another and it’s very tricky not to copy .mp3…
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2026, 3:24am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/13 "2026-02-22T03:24:52Z")
The answer was already provided by @ohrenkino here.
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Substitute all the `%_filename_ext%` with `%_filename%`
Change the column settings for filename without the extension and you will be good to go.
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2026, 7:28am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/14 "2026-02-22T07:28:56Z")
> [@promix](#):
>
> Sometimes, I want to copy / paste the (Original Mix) or (Extended Version) at the end of one song to another
The tool of choice would be Convert\>Tag-Filename - this would under guarantee make sure that the extension is not touched.
Try Convert\>Tag-Filename with e.g.
Format string: `%_filename% (Original Mix)`
You still have not said whether you applied the suggestion and
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Substitute(d) all the `%_filename_ext%` with `%_filename%`
in the column definition
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/15 "2026-02-24T22:53:20Z")
@ohrenkino Honestly I have no Idea how to do that, and if it can solve this behaviour..
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 6:47am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/16 "2026-02-25T06:47:46Z")
You have shown the column definition in your own post here:
> [@How to hide file extensions?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/3):
>
> Yes it happened so many times, that’s why I’m asking. I don’t even see the reason to have the extension in this list. What do you mean by column definition over here?
There you see for Value and Field `%_filename_ext%`.
Replace that with `%_filename%` (without the `_ext` at the end) and then there should not be a visible extension in that column.
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 8:13am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/17 "2026-02-25T08:13:47Z")
I guess I'm dumb or my layout is completely different, anyway I can't find the fields you're showing..
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 8:24am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/18 "2026-02-25T08:24:43Z")
I took the screenshot from your post - so I thought that you already had had a look at the column definition.
In the filelist, right-click on a column header and select `Customize columns ...`
That should open the dialogue to set the column definitions.
Select the entry for filename - as you did before, when you took the screenshot from post no. 3
and modify the settings for Value and Field as described.
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### Author:  [@promix](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/promix)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/19 "2026-02-25T10:04:40Z")
Amazing! Thank you very much mate! 🍻
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-hide-file-extensions/70698/20 "2026-03-04T10:04:53Z")
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