# placeholders in Filter?
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [March 21, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603 "2014-03-21T23:45:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/1 "2014-03-21T23:45:46Z")
Does anyone have a list of the placeholders available in Filter?
Though [https://docs.mp3tag.de/filter](https://docs.mp3tag.de/filter) says Filter allows format string, the format string page it links to [https://docs.mp3tag.de/scripting](https://docs.mp3tag.de/scripting) makes no mention of the filter, and I can find no list of what placeholders are supported in the filter.
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@chrishirst](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrishirst)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2014, 11:25am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/2 "2014-03-22T11:25:57Z")
Click the [**►**] button at the right hand side of the Filter: input to be presented with a list of them.
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/3 "2014-03-22T21:09:59Z")
Thanks. I find that custom fields' placeholders that do not appear on that list are also accepted. Workaround: add to Tag Panel.
Florian, some suggestions:
- Mention that button and list in the manual
- Make that list include all custom fields too. Else mention the workaround above
- Make that list preserve the case of custom fields - this enhances readability
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### Author:  [@DetlevD](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/DetlevD)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/4 "2014-03-23T06:30:10Z")
> [@chrisjj](#):
>
> ... suggestions: ... \* Make that list include all custom fields too. ...
Please elaborate ... at which moment resp. how often should the "custom field" pick list be updated?
And ... are you of the opinion, that the pick list should contain all user defined tag-fields, at any time?
DD.20140323.0830.CET
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/5 "2014-03-23T10:43:13Z")
> [@DetlevD](#):
>
> how often should the "custom field" pick list be updated?
The program should update it whenever required to keep it always up-to-date.
> [@DetlevD](#):
>
> And ... are you of the opinion, that the pick list should contain all user defined tag-fields, at any time?
Yes.
One might instead say that it should contain only the fields of the currently selected tracks, as does e.g. the Extended Tags the dialogue box. But I think most useful would be for it to contain the fields of all the loaded tracks.
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### Author:  [@chrishirst](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrishirst)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/6 "2014-03-23T11:24:15Z")
> [@chrisjj](#):
>
> Thanks. I find that custom fields' placeholders that do not appear on that list are also accepted. Workaround: add to Tag Panel.
Have you saved the mp3tag configuration so your 'custom fields' are available for ALL files and the mp3tag UI.
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 11:36am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/7 "2014-03-23T11:36:25Z")
> [@Chris Hirst](#):
>
> Have you saved the mp3tag configuration so your 'custom fields' are available for ALL files and the mp3tag UI.
Um, no. My custom fields are available for all files and the mp3tag UI where required (e.g. Extended Tags) regardless.
FAOD, by 'custom field' I mean only a field for which mp3tag does not specifically document a placeholder. e.g. my %fidelity%, as opposed to e.g. %artist%.
I add a field to the mp3tag only where e.g. I need it to appear in a tag panel field or a track list column.
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### Author:  [@chrishirst](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrishirst)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/8 "2014-03-23T14:16:51Z")
But do you save the configuration after doing so??
All my "custom fields" AND the internal variables (%field\_name%) are available in ALL the picking lists.
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### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/9 "2014-03-23T21:52:31Z")
Any field name is permitted in a filter, whether it exists in your files or not. So why would you need custom fields included in a drop down list? Anything that isn't an information field (prefixed with an underscore \_) is interpreted as a field name.
The information fields in the filter drop down list are pretty much all covered on this help page:
[https://docs.mp3tag.de/customization/file-list](https://docs.mp3tag.de/customization/file-list)
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/10 "2014-03-23T22:08:13Z")
> [@Chris Hirst](#):
>
> But do you save the configuration after doing so??
No. Mp3tag automatically saves and reloads it.
> [@Chris Hirst](#):
>
> All my "custom fields" AND the internal variables (%field\_name%) are available in ALL the picking lists.
Thanks. Checking again, now I find it is variable e.g. the track list contains two custom fields:
but the pick list shows only one:
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/11 "2014-03-23T22:10:59Z")
> [@JJ Johnson](#):
>
> why would you need custom fields included in a drop down list?
For the same reason the other fields are in the list. Facilitation of error-free entry.
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### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/12 "2014-03-23T22:42:53Z")
You don't see them in the Extended Fields? I do.
FWIW, I'd never even think to use the drop down lists to enter a filter. Correct entry of field names is the least of the challenges when entering a filter. One thing I vehemently dislike about Mp3tag's filtering interface is that a bump of the mouse's scroll wheel means that you lose the expression that you were entering, as it scrolls to a saved filter expression in _that_ drop down list.
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/13 "2014-03-23T22:54:45Z")
> [@JJ Johnson](#):
>
> You don't see them in the Extended Fields? I do.
As I reported above, I see some but not all. I think it depends on past operation sequence, perhaps (but not just) the way the tracks are loaded.
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### Author:  [@chrishirst](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrishirst)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/14 "2014-03-24T11:32:56Z")
> [@chrisjj](#):
>
> No. Mp3tag automatically saves and reloads it.
> ...
I've always found making an explicit save and restarting mp3tag ensures that it does.
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/15 "2014-03-24T13:25:54Z")
Which save command is this?
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### Author:  [@DetlevD](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/DetlevD)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/16 "2014-03-24T15:14:42Z")
> [@chrisjj](#):
>
> Does anyone have a list of the placeholders available in Filter? ...
Does anyone know how to reduce the ever growing picklist to the really needed field names?
How to clean the picklist from all the experimental tag field names?
DD.20140324.1714.CET
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### Author:  [@chrishirst](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrishirst)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/17 "2014-03-24T17:44:01Z")
> [@chrisjj](#):
>
> Which save command is this?
File -\> Save Configuration ...
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### Author:  [@chrisjj](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/chrisjj)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/18 "2014-03-24T17:53:42Z")
> [@Chris Hirst](#):
>
> File -\> Save Configuration ...
Help: "This function saves all settings and configuration files to a single zip file for backup purposes."
Well, I'd be surprised if that would affect the pick list, but trying it now....
No effect. I.e. still the TEST3 field in one of my tracks is missing.
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### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/19 "2014-03-24T19:55:03Z")
> [@chrisjj](#):
>
> Help: "This function saves all settings and configuration files to a single zip file for backup purposes."
>
> Well, I'd be surprised if that would affect the pick list, but trying it now....
>
> No effect. I.e. still the TEST3 field in one of my tracks is missing.
Have you ever entered TEST3 as the field name in an action? Mp3tag doesn't get those field names from metadata that it reads from files, it gets them from user input. I just tested using a quick Format Value action with a made-up field name. Then I went to the filter drop down lists and it was immediately available in the Extended Fields.
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### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/placeholders-in-filter/15603/20 "2014-03-24T20:03:31Z")
> [@DetlevD](#):
>
> Does anyone know how to reduce the ever growing picklist to the really needed field names?
> How to clean the picklist from all the experimental tag field names?
I thought this has been discussed here fairly often. You can pull up a Format Value (Quick) action (or any other action with a Fields drop down list) and click the right-arrow next to the drop down arrow. Select 'Reset fields...' from the menu and confirm. Looks like it removes any custom/experimental field names from all lists.
To selectively prune the list it looks like you may have to do it one field name at a time. Pull up the same quick Format Value action, enter a field name (or select it from the picklist) and then either click the right-arrow and select 'Remove field' from the menu, or use Shift+Del.