# Non-ascii tag cleanup
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [January 18, 2026, 11:59am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525 "2026-01-18T11:59:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sugargenius](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/sugargenius)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 11:59am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/1 "2026-01-18T11:59:52Z")
I'm trying to create an action or group of actions to cleanup non-ascii characters in tags. I started with simple 1 to 1 replacements like:
[#0]
T=5
F=ALBUM
1=$replace(%album%,\u2010,-)
This worked on
File: E:\flac\Ted Nugent\Free-for-All\Ted Nugent - Free-for-All - 07 - Light My Way.flac
Album: 'Free-for-All'
Character: '-' Code: U+2010 Category: DashPunctuation
However it doesn't work when I use the $replace function with multiple pairs like this:
[#0]
T=5
F=ALBUM
1=$replace(%album%,\u2010,-,\u00b4,',\u2026,...,\u00e0,a,\u00a0, ,\u2022,\*,\u00f1,n,\u00ed,i,\u00df,ss,\u00fc,u,\u2014,-,\u00c0,A,\u00f8,o,\u00f3,o,\u00e1,a,\u00dc,U,\u00bf,,\u00fa,u,\u00fb,u,\u00e8,e,\u00d7,x)
[#1]
T=5
F=ARTIST
1=$replace(%artist%,\u2010,-,\u00b4,',\u2026,...,\u00e0,a,\u00a0, ,\u2022,\*,\u00f1,n,\u00ed,i,\u00df,ss,\u00fc,u,\u2014,-,\u00c0,A,\u00f8,o,\u00f3,o,\u00e1,a,\u00dc,U,\u00bf,,\u00fa,u,\u00fb,u,\u00e8,e,\u00d7,x)
[#2]
T=5
F=ALBUMARTIST
1=$replace(%albumartist%,\u2010,-,\u00b4,',\u2026,...,\u00e0,a,\u00a0, ,\u2022,\*,\u00f1,n,\u00ed,i,\u00df,ss,\u00fc,u,\u2014,-,\u00c0,A,\u00f8,o,\u00f3,o,\u00e1,a,\u00dc,U,\u00bf,,\u00fa,u,\u00fb,u,\u00e8,e,\u00d7,x)
[#3]
T=5
F=TITLE
1=$replace(%title%,\u2010,-,\u00b4,',\u2026,...,\u00e0,a,\u00a0, ,\u2022,\*,\u00f1,n,\u00ed,i,\u00df,ss,\u00fc,u,\u2014,-,\u00c0,A,\u00f8,o,\u00f3,o,\u00e1,a,\u00dc,U,\u00bf,,\u00fa,u,\u00fb,u,\u00e8,e,\u00d7,x)
What am I doing wrong?
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:02pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/2 "2026-01-18T12:02:19Z")
What do you get as replacement? Nothing? A wrong character? An error message?
> [@sugargenius](#):
>
> What am I doing wrong?
In order to help you recognise what's wrong and how you can fix it, we would need to see real examples. Could you please show us a [screenshot](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/hints-for-asking-support-requests/56190#p-168842-use-screenshots-to-exemplify-the-issue-2) of what is currently happening for you?
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:04pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/3 "2026-01-18T12:04:38Z")
> [@sugargenius](#):
>
> ...b4,',\u202...
If I see that correctly, you have the ' which is a special character in the list and which has to be escaped (or treated in an action of its own). So right now, you have an opened list but not a closed one.
You can test format strings in Convert\>Tag-Tag.
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:09pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/4 "2026-01-18T12:09:02Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> You can test format strings in Convert\>Tag-Tag.
@sugargenius
You can open this AniGif in a new browser tab to see it at a larger size.
---
### Author:  [@sugargenius](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/sugargenius)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/5 "2026-01-18T12:15:20Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> you have the ' which is a special character in the list and which has to be escaped (or treated in an action of its own). So right now, you have an opened list but not a closed one.
Bingo! That was the problem. How do I escape that?
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:18pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/6 "2026-01-18T12:18:52Z")
> [@sugargenius](#):
>
> How do I escape that?
From the documentation about [special characters](https://docs.mp3tag.de/format/#characters-with-special-functionality):
> ... If you want to output this character please mask it with an extra one `''`.
---
### Author:  [@sugargenius](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/sugargenius)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:18pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/7 "2026-01-18T12:18:55Z")
when i use a single long $replace like:
1=$replace(%albumartist%,\u2010,-,\u00b4,',\u2026,...,\u00e0,a,\u00a0, ,\u2022,\*,\u00f1,n,\u00ed,i,\u00df,ss,\u00fc,u,\u2014,-,\u00c0,A,\u00f8,o,\u00f3,o,\u00e1,a,\u00dc,U,\u00bf,,\u00fa,u,\u00fb,u,\u00e8,e,\u00d7,x)
it fails. Nothing is changed. When i put each replace as a separate action:
[#0]
T=5
F=ALBUM
1=$replace(%album%,\u2010,-)
[#1]
T=5
F=ALBUM
1=$replace(%album%,\u00b4,')
[#2]
T=5
F=ALBUM
1=$replace(%album%,\u2026,...)
[#3]
T=5
F=ALBUM
1=$replace(%album%,\u00e0,a)
They all work except for the u00b4 action because i didn't escape it correctly
---
### Author:  [@sugargenius](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/sugargenius)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/8 "2026-01-18T12:27:34Z")
Thank you! From now on Iām going to start here first instead wasting hours with copilot
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/9 "2026-01-18T12:30:36Z")
Good idea š
Please mark the best answer as the solution by clicking on the tick symbol ā below the relevant answer.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/non-ascii-tag-cleanup/70525/10 "2026-02-17T12:30:58Z")
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