# Importing txt file with track numbers **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [January 31, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146 "2022-01-31T15:26:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/1 "2022-01-31T15:26:10Z")
Hi, I have a folder with about 4000 flacs not having the tracknumber or year in the tag. I have a txt file with the colums artist, title, track, year. I've tried to import this with convert textfile - tag, but get the feedback that each line can't be parsed. Can you advize me? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/2 "2022-01-31T15:42:12Z")
> [@Cees](#): > > I've tried to import this with convert textfile - tag, but get the feedback that each line can't be parsed. > Can you advize me? Not until you show us the first couple of lines of the text file. The rule is: MP3tag counts the unique separators and then inserts the bit of data that is found between each separator in the field that you have named as mask when starting the converter. You have to use the same separator for the input mask as can be found in the text source file. For each piece of data that you do not want, enter %dummy% in the mask. ---
**Author:** ![LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/3 "2022-01-31T15:56:42Z")
> [@Cees](#): > > I've tried to import this with convert textfile - tag, but get the feedback that each line can't be parsed. And to be sure that you import the track number and the year to the matching song in your list of 4000 FLAC files, you should ensure to have the filename or fullpath in your txt file. Very similar thread from 2 days ago: [Is this a sorting bug? - #6 by Simos\_Sigma](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/is-this-a-sorting-bug/56113/6) ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/4 "2022-01-31T16:02:03Z")
H, thanks for your quick reply. I have the following lines in my txt file divided by tabs. In the format string I have: %\_Filename\_flac% /t %artist% /t %title% /t %track% /t %year | Bestandsnaam | Artiest | Titel | Track | Jaar | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 10CC - Donna | 10CC | Donna | 1004 | 1973 | | 10CC - Dreadlock Holiday | 10CC | Dreadlock Holiday | 115 | 1978 | | 10CC - Feel The Love | 10CC | Feel The Love | 3883 | 1983 | | 10CC - Good Morning Judge | 10CC | Good Morning Judge | 3041 | 1977 | | 10CC - I`m Mandy Fly Me|10CC|I`m Mandy Fly Me | 1342 | 1976 | | | | 10CC - I`m Not In Love|10CC|I`m Not In Love | 144 | 1975 | | | | 10CC - Silly Love | 10CC | Silly Love | 4517 | 1974 | | 10CC - The Things We Do For Love | 10CC | The Things We Do For Love | 1615 | 1976 | | 10CC - The Wall Street Shuffle | 10CC | The Wall Street Shuffle | 534 | 1974 | | 1910 Fruitgum Company - Simon Says | 1910 Fruitgum Company | Simon Says | 3403 | 1968 | ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/5 "2022-01-31T16:05:26Z")
The txt file is in the same directory as the flacs ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/6 "2022-01-31T16:08:24Z")
> [@Cees](#): > > In the format string I have: %\_Filename\_flac% /t %artist% /t %title% /t %track% /t %year The separator has to be a printable character. So the TAB is not the optimum. Esp. as it cannot be addressed with /t. Then you have to leave out everything that is neither separator nor data - I see the column headers ... they shouldn't be in the file when you open it with the converter. The fieldnames should match actual fields unless you really want to create a user-defined field - so it should be %\_filename\_ext% and not > [@Cees](#): > > %\_Filename\_flac% The filename has to be a full filename with extension.. Also, watch out that the separator is correct to the letter - here I see "space /t space" as separator. Is this also the case in the data or is there no leading and trailing space for the data? And finally: even the last field > [@Cees](#): > > %year should be written in correct syntax: %year% with opening and closing %. ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/7 "2022-01-31T19:25:07Z")
Hi, it is starting to work because of your good support. I only have still problems with all tracks that have a ' or a & in the title or artist name. Is there something I can do to resolve this? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/8 "2022-01-31T19:31:26Z")
Where do you have the problems? I just imported this data `Don't do this|Ham&Eggs|Pop` into %title%|%artist%|%dummy% and it did not cause any error messages or leftout data ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/9 "2022-01-31T19:46:09Z")
Hi, the following data was causing a problem: Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good.flac (and all other artists/songs with a ' ) Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson - Valerie.flac (and all other artists/songs with a & ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/10 "2022-01-31T19:54:42Z")
I've just tried it with a full path for %\_filename\_ext% `d:\\Music\Ambient Diary.Two - 1998\Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good.mp3` and that worked ---
**Author:** ![LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/11 "2022-01-31T20:03:43Z")
@Cees: If you can show us your used format string and two or three lines from your txt file, we can better reproduce your problem. Please enclose both in Backticks/Gravis, they [look like this](https://unicode-table.com/en/0060/): ` ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/12 "2022-01-31T20:10:39Z")
Hi, I have a text file with about 4600 entries for the same amount of flac files and about 3600 work fine. Only the files with a 'or a & (and there are many I now know) do not work after repeatedly trying. I use the € as separator. I first used the ,. When I used that all songs with a , also went wrong.The below entries fail because of the '. Filename€track€Year Bachman Turner Overdrive - Lookin` Out For #1.flac€2026€1976 Bachman Turner Overdrive - You Ain`t Seen Nothing Yet.flac€516€1974 ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/13 "2022-01-31T20:19:02Z")
I now see that my cpoying into this textbox leaves out the '. E.g it should be lookin', not lookin. It should be Ain't not Aint. The same ' is causing the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/14 "2022-01-31T20:21:45Z")
One additional question to make it clear. Can I send you my text file? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/15 "2022-01-31T20:21:48Z")
As far as I can count > [@Cees](#): > > Filename€track€Year has 2 € > [@Cees](#): > > Bachman Turner Overdrive - Lookin` Out For #1.flac€2026€1976 Bachman Turner Overdrive - You Ain`t Seen Nothing Yet.flac€516€1974 has 4 - so I would say that the mask does not match. Then I assume that the alleged apostrophe is none but is an accent. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 8:23pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/16 "2022-01-31T20:23:15Z")
> [@Cees](#): > > One additional question to make it clear. You can send a PM. But I doubt that this will change a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/17 "2022-01-31T20:24:00Z")
Bachman Turner Overdrive - Lookin` Out For #1.flac€2026€1976 is one flac. `Bachman Turner Overdrive - You Ain` t Seen Nothing Yet.flac€516€1974 is the second flac ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/18 "2022-01-31T20:30:50Z")
I think that the problems to show the filename properly arise from the accent which should have been an apostrophe. It should be: `Bachman Turner Overdrive - Lookin' Out For #1.flac€2026€1976` `Bachman Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.flac€516€1974` But in fact you have the accent from top left to bottom right in lookin' and in ain't But I tried it with both - and so I think that either the filename or that what you have taken down as filename in the text file don't match. ---
**Author:** ![Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Cees](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Cees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/19 "2022-01-31T20:49:18Z")
Hi, you were absolutely right. I replaced all `with ' and all worked. In one file it was a` and in the other file it was a '. Now still the & sign in artist or title is a problem. Any suggestions? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146/20 "2022-01-31T20:52:05Z")
as I said previously: I tried > [@ohrenkino](#): > > `Don't do this|Ham&Eggs|Pop` > into > %title%|%artist%|%dummy% and it worked ... [Next page](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/importing-txt-file-with-track-numbers/56146.md?page=2)