# Making multiple words into one TAG (Filename-Tag)
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [May 23, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347 "2006-05-23T05:11:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kcnew](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/kcnew)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/1 "2006-05-23T05:11:19Z")
QUESTION 1 - How can I condense multiple words into ONE tag when there's no special character identifying the end of the desired tag?
# =========== EXAMPLE
FILENAME:
Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead D03\_01.mp3
Convert/FILENAME-TAG
Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead D03\_01.mp3
FORMAT STRING:
%artist% - %title% %discno%\_%trackno%
RESULT
Artist: Tom Clancy
Title: Eaters
DiscNo: of the Dead D03
TrackNo: 01
We can tell MP3Tag how many digits to use when writing numbers - $num(%field%,2) - but is there a way to tell Mp3Tag to grab the next "x" number of WORDS when creating a TAG from a FILENAME?
$word(%title%,4)
# ===================== QUESTION #2 - Removing the letter "D" from %discno%
Using the same example, how can I get the "D" to be removed from D03\_01?
%discno%\_%trackno% results in
DiscNo: D03
TrackNo: 01
when what I want is
DiscNo: 03
TrackNo: 01
Thanks so much.
---
### Author:  [@Sebastian\_Mares](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Sebastian_Mares)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2006, 10:28am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/2 "2006-05-23T10:28:06Z")
Use these actions for question 1:
Action #1:
_Action type:_ **Guess values**
_Source format:_ **%\_filename%**
_Guessing pattern:_ **%artist% - %title%**
Action #2:
_Action type:_ **Format value**
_Field:_ **DISCNUMBER**
_Formatstring:_ **$mid(%\_filename%,$sub($len(%\_filename%),4),2)**
Action #3:
_Action type:_ **Format value**
_Field:_ **TRACK**
_Formatstring:_ **$mid(%\_filename%,$sub($len(%\_filename%),1),2)**
Action #4:
_Action type:_ **Replace with regular expression**
_Field:_ **TITLE**
_Regular expression:_ **D\d{2}\_\d{2}$**
_Replace matches with:_
[] case-sensitive comparison
---
### Author:  [@kcnew](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/kcnew)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/3 "2006-05-23T17:11:43Z")
Sebastian - Thanks so much for your help. Unfortunately, I can't get it to work due to my (obviously) being one of the non-binaries. I really do appreciate your help and have explained here what I did, what happened, and finished with begging you for help in determining where I'm going wrong in trying to decipher exactly what the $mid... formatstring is supposed to do. I realize this is well beyond the call of duty, but I thought I'd throw it out there. I completely understand if you can't, or don't want to answer. I can hire a tutor - it's not your job to lead the blind.
After I spent HOURS getting all these colors in this post (yours was SOOO easy to read!!) I think I may have hit upon a reason it's messing up, but I had to give up because at a glance, it doesn't look like my discovery would explain why I'm getting the result TRACK = f. There's no "f" in "Lie Down With Lions" so I'm lost.
I can work on it, and this is probably terrible, horrible no-good protocol, but I just spent so much time creating this post, I'm going to go ahead and run it away, hoping that you, or someone, can enlighten me on where I'm going wrong.
**EXAMPLE**
FILENAME: **Ken Follett-Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20.mp3**
TRACK: **1** (For some reason, the TRACK tag for each of the 20 files is shown as "1")
# **FIRST ACTION** Action type: **Guess values** Source format: **%\_filename%** Guessing pattern: **%artist% - %title%**
**RESULT**
Artist: **Ken Follett**
Title: **Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20.** (\<-period is included)
# ========== **QUESTION**
Wouldn't the following achieve the same result **_without_** the period at the end?
Action type: **Format value**
Field: **FILENAME**
String: **%artist%-%title%**
================
**SECOND ACTION**
Action type: **Format value**
Field: **DISCNUMBER**
Formatstring: **$mid(%\_filename%,$sub($len(%\_filename%),4),2)**
**RESULT**
Artist: **Ken Follett**
Title: **Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20.** (\<-period is still included)
Discnumber: **f** (Should be "01")
==================
So it's the $mid... formatstring that's messing up, right? I'm trying to understand exactly WHAT it does, so could you please look at my logic (below) and tell me just how clueless I am?
# ============== **WHAT I THINK HAPPENS IN $mid(%\_filename%,$sub($len(%\_filename%),4),2)**
**$len(%\_filename%)** - Returns the LENGTH of the FILENAME [Ooh ... I'm just proofing my post, and I'll bet the problem is that %\_filename% should be %\_title% !!]
**QUESTION:** Does **$len** use characters (space, hyphen) to count LENGTH? If so, **$len(%\_title%)** would be returned as **7**.
**$sub((7),4)** - SUBTRACTS 4 from 7 - resulting in **3**
**$mid(Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20,3,2)**
Mp3Tag describes the $mid formatstring as follows:
$mid(x,n,i) - First i characters of text x, starting at character n.
I interpret this to be
**i = 2**
**x = Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20**
**n = 3**
which I interpret as
The first **2** characters of **Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20** , starting at character **3**.
Which would be **Li** in "Lions", but my return is a lower-case **f** and nothing else.
---
### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/4 "2006-05-23T21:05:56Z")
Sebastian made you an example for the filename **Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead D03\_01.mp3**
Now you suddenly have the filename **Ken Follett-Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20.mp3** that really has a different structure - it cannot work 
So if you want to understand the stuff you must exercise it on the first filename or else you will end up very confused (as you did 😉 )
So here's _$mid(%\_filename%,$sub($len(%\_filename%),4),2)_ applied to the first filename:
%\_filename% -\> Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead D03\_01
$len(%\_filename%) -\> 38
$sub($len(%\_filename%),4) -\> 34
That makes:
$mid(%\_filename%,34,2) -\> From _Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead D03\_01_ go to position 34 and return the next 2 characters
Result: 03
---
### Author:  [@kcnew](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/kcnew)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/5 "2006-05-24T00:05:49Z")
DANO:
**OMG ... you are RIGHT!** What was I thinking???? I can't believe that I didn't even THINK of that ... all I saw was that there was no SEPARATOR between the TITLE and the TRACK and throughout all the hours I spent trying to figure it out, the fact that there were two different TITLES never entered my mind. I can only offer the explanation that I was so intent upon figuring out the formatstrings and sub-structures that I had blinders on and thought of nothing else than **$mid, $sub** and **$len.**
I'm so sorry. I feel like such a fool, which, of course, is exactly what I am. Maybe I can blame it on being old, which I also am.
Thanks for your kindness in responding though. I'll work on it, but after the disastrous results of my earlier attempt, I think it's best that I take a break from it right now.
---
### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2006, 6:44am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/6 "2006-05-24T06:44:18Z")
I'll give you an easier approach:
It's easier to rename the filename first a little bit so you have a clear seperation between title and track-/discnumber
So this 2 actions will just insert a hyphen so you can use the convert tool without problems
**Ken Follett-Lie Down With Lions 01 of 20.mp3**
becomes
**Ken Follett-Lie Down With Lions-01 of 20.mp3**
Convert format string
%artist%-%title%-%track% of %discnumber%
**Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead D03\_01.mp3**
becomes
**Tom Clancy - Eaters of the Dead-D03\_01.mp3**
Convert format string
%artist% - %title%-D%discnumber%\_%track%
Action #1:
_Action type:_ **Replace with regular expressions**
_Field:_ **\_FILENAME**
_Regular expression:_ **\s+(\d\d\s+of\s+\d\d.mp3)$**
_Replace matches with:_ **-$1**
[] case-sensitive comparison
Action #2:
_Action type:_ **Replace with regular expressions**
_Field:_ **_FILENAME_**
_Regular expression:_ **\s+(D\d\d\d\d.mp3)$**
_Replace matches with:_ **-$1**
[] case-sensitive comparison
You can also download the actions to save the typing. The action includes **everything** , not only the file renaming.
The .bat file will open the right folder where you need to put the .mta file.
BTW there's a tool from Sebastian to show the actions as we did:
[/t/2584/1](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/2584/1)
[kcnew.zip](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/a/a3078869c8f7e670b06c55c7af1ac93d14cd81f8.zip) (447 Bytes)
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/making-multiple-words-into-one-tag-filename-tag/3347/7 "2026-02-09T12:19:45Z")