# Left right gets same thing. Format value "YEAR" $right(%year%,4)
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/left-right-gets-same-thing-format-value-year-right-year-4/66811
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [December 11, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/left-right-gets-same-thing-format-value-year-right-year-4/66811 "2024-12-11T18:52:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ianwat](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ianwat)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/left-right-gets-same-thing-format-value-year-right-year-4/66811/1 "2024-12-11T18:52:19Z")
Bought some new music
For some reason they have put the year of the album and the song together.
So 2020\\2005 for a song from the 2020 album that was release in 2005 2020\\1990 for an 1990 song on the same album.
So I ran
Format value "RELASETIME":%year%
Format value "YEAR" $left(%year%,4)
Gets 2020.
Hah says I.
Just this then.
Format value "YEAR" $left(%year%,4)
Get 2020
Hah says i!
Format value "YEAR" $right(%year%,4)
2020 Returned...
So please help this idiot understand why left 4 and right 4 are returning the same thing please?
and I know I could just do a replace 2020\\ with nothing and do it anyway, but I'm trying to learn the regex more.
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/left-right-gets-same-thing-format-value-year-right-year-4/66811/2 "2024-12-11T18:55:28Z")
The 2 `\\` indicate a multi-value field - 2 fields of the same type.
See the extended tags dialogue Alt-T
You would have to merge the fields first
> **[Merge Duplicate Fields – Mp3tag Documentation](https://docs.mp3tag.de/actions/merge-duplicate-fields/)**
>
> Documentation on the Merge Duplicate Fields action type that can be performed as Quick Action or as reusable workflow from Action Groups. Mp3tag is the universal Tag Editor.
or address each field separately with $meta(year,0) and $meta(year,1).
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### Author:  [@ianwat](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ianwat)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/left-right-gets-same-thing-format-value-year-right-year-4/66811/3 "2024-12-11T19:00:38Z")
As always, many thanks for your excellent and timely advice, I'll go and have a look !
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/left-right-gets-same-thing-format-value-year-right-year-4/66811/4 "2025-01-10T19:01:10Z")
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