# How to Replace Illegal Characters Upon Writing Tags to Filename
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [December 9, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397 "2014-12-09T12:28:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ragtag](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ragtag)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/1 "2014-12-09T12:28:14Z")
Hi Everybody,
I have scoured the Mp3tag Scripting Functions, but cannot get this right: I want to replace the "illegal" Windows characters such as (:, ", ?, /, \*, |) and so forth, with any character of my own choosing, not just blank spaces. Can someone please help me with a script do just that? Also, how do I set it up so that **every time** Mp3tag writes the tag to filename, the illegal characters are replaced with my own?
Thanks for your assistance.
PS. I want to retain the "illegal" characters in the metadata.
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### Author:  [@stanman](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stanman)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/2 "2014-12-09T14:09:07Z")
Look [here](https://docs.mp3tag.de/scripting/#string-functions) under "Remove invalid characters from file name/file paths".
In Mp3tag go to Convert \> Tag - Filename and use the $validate command in the format string.
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### Author:  [@ragtag](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ragtag)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/3 "2014-12-09T14:41:35Z")
Thanks, I saw that, but did not know how to apply it.
On second look, I've got it. 🙂
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### Author:  [@stanman](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stanman)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/4 "2014-12-09T14:45:17Z")
This is the one I use $validate(%artist% - %track% - %title%,\_)
It replaces invalid characters with an underscore \_.
Edit: Ok, I just saw your edit.
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### Author:  [@ragtag](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ragtag)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/5 "2014-12-09T14:49:26Z")
Thanks again, stanman. I have to learn to read more carefully. Sorry for the bother.
Command: $replace(string,from,to) or $replace(string,from1,to1,from2,to2,...)
Example: $replace(%artist% - %album% - %track% - %title%,\_,-)
This example replaces all underscores with dashes. _You can provide additional pairs of from/to as parameters._
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### Author:  [@Hg201](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Hg201)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/6 "2022-06-29T01:34:11Z")
This is what I use:
```auto
$replace(%title%,",”,<,«,>,»,:,﹕,/,／,\,＼,|,¦,?,？,*,¤)
```
Enjoy!
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-replace-illegal-characters-upon-writing-tags-to-filename/16397/7 "2022-07-29T01:34:14Z")
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