# Joining actions into a single action
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [June 2, 2025, 6:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723 "2025-06-02T18:10:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@reddwarf4ever](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/reddwarf4ever)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 6:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/1 "2025-06-02T18:10:17Z")
I have an action to change tracks from 1/11 2/11 etc to
01,02 etc
Plus one to rename the filename based on if track exists or not, is it easy to join to actions together, thanks
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/2 "2025-06-02T18:19:45Z")
Why don't you use the suggestion in
> [@Rename files if track number is there or not](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/rename-files-if-track-number-is-there-or-not/68672/2):
>
> Of course not. The filename is something for the file system to manage the files. The only requirement for a filename is to be unique and obey the syntax rules. Try 1 action of the type "Format value" for \_FILENAME: Format string: [%track% -]%artist% - %title% See also the documentation:
and the advice from
> [@Find files with missing TRACK](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/find-files-with-missing-track/68703/7):
>
> Instead of the plain %track% use $num(%track%,2)
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 6:24pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/3 "2025-06-02T18:24:41Z")
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> is it easy to join to actions together
You can add as many Actions in an [Action Group](https://docs.mp3tag.de/actions/#action-groups) as you like.
But there is no dedicated process to "join" two existing, separated Actions into 1 new Action Group. You need to copy & paste the ones that should run one after the other.
---
### Author:  [@reddwarf4ever](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/reddwarf4ever)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/4 "2025-06-02T19:06:39Z")
remove spaces
replace with regular expression
Field: \_TAG
pattern: ^(\s)+|(\s)+$
Replace With:
move -The- artist field
replace with regular expression
Field: \_TAG
pattern: ^The, (.\*)
Matches with: $1,The
change track to single digit
format value
TRACK
$num(%track%,2)
Write filename based on if track exists
\_Filename
[%track% -]%artist% - %title%
have 4 actions can these be added to an action group, use different fields
pattern: ^(\s)+|(\s)+$
^The, (.\*)
Matches with: $1,The
$num(%track%,2)
[%track% -]%artist% - %title%
thanks
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/5 "2025-06-02T19:13:57Z")
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> Field: \_TAG
> pattern: ^The, (.\*)
> Matches with: $1,The
I doubt that this action changes a lot of files. I know only very few that have a "The" followed immediatly by a comma.
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> change track to single digit
> format value
> TRACK
> $num(%track%,2)
Do you really want to remove the total tracks from the field TRACK or do you want to use the single track number only to modify the filename? If the latter is the case, then you do not need this action.
But modify
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> [%track% -]%artist% - %title%
to
[$num(%track%,2) -]%artist% - %title%
And in general, a look at the documentation is highly recommendable:
> **[Actions – Mp3tag Documentation](https://docs.mp3tag.de/actions/)**
>
> Documentation on Quick Actions and Action Groups that covers replace text, case conversion, tag to tag conversion, duplicate field handling, batch cover import/export, and more. Mp3tag is the universal Tag Editor.
---
### Author:  [@reddwarf4ever](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/reddwarf4ever)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/6 "2025-06-02T19:44:25Z")
As you haven't seen my digital record collection, you wouldn't know if many of my tracks have The, 😕
All I needed to know is if I can add all 4 actions to one action group
I e. Remove trailing & leading spaces
Adjust track from 2/11,3/11 etc to 02,03 etc.I Need the tracks written this way
Move The, in the artist field to the correct position
Finally re create the filename, having had all the previous actions implemented
Thanks
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/7 "2025-06-02T19:49:24Z")
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> All I needed to know is if I can add all 4 actions to one action group
Yes.
Try it - much better than repeated questions without progress.
---
### Author:  [@reddwarf4ever](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/reddwarf4ever)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/8 "2025-06-02T21:57:07Z")
That's not very nice is it, Thanks for nothing 😡
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2025, 10:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/9 "2025-06-02T22:53:45Z")
@reddwarf4ever Please understand that most of the community members here offering support are users volunteering their time and knowledge. We all do this freely but the expectation when you ask for help is to at least try the suggestions. If they don't work to meet your needs, reply with what you wanted and what you got.
Frustration starts to creep in on both sides when questions get repeated and the answers have already been posted.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2025, 6:07am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/10 "2025-06-03T06:07:59Z")
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> That's not very nice is it,
You are not really cooperative IMHO.
You have got 2 suggestions (by @LyricsLover and me) and instead of telling us what you have tried or where you got stuck you ask the original question
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> is it easy to join to actions together
again
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> actions can these be added to an action group
So I see a repetition of the same question but no progress.
I think that the best results can be achieved in an iterative process in which each side adds a little more information based on the previous exchanges.
In the context of MP3tag one iteration is certainly to try the suggestion to see if it yields the expected results and if not then state in which respect expectation and result do not match.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2025, 6:17am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/11 "2025-06-03T06:17:11Z")
> [@reddwarf4ever](#):
>
> change track to single digit
> format value
> TRACK
> $num(%track%,2)
>
> Write filename based on if track exists
>
> \_Filename
> [%track% -]%artist% - %title%
On a footnote:
If you treat a non-existing TRACK number with $num(%track%,2) you get as result "00" in the field TRACK.
So the check with the square brackets when writing the filename will never start with the data from ARTIST but use the data from TRACK which now could be "00" as the previous action just set it.
If you want to cater for files without data in TRACK to get a special filename, then I would leave out the action to modify TRACK directly and use the suggested
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> [$num(%track%,2) -]%artist% - %title%
to write the filename.
Another footnote:
As you say that you have a lot of files with "The," as leading string may that be as it is.
But I assume that there are a lot of files with an ordinary "The " (without the comma) at front - and these files will not be treated as the pattern does not match.
Is this intended?
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/joining-actions-into-a-single-action/68723/12 "2026-02-09T12:30:23Z")