# Question about the Adjust Cover feature
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850
**Category:** Mac
**Created:** [August 18, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850 "2023-08-18T02:14:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/1 "2023-08-18T02:14:17Z")
I came across a list of numerical values associated with .mta actions, but I can't find anything on the Adjust Cover action. I'm trying to figure out what the .mta code would be assuming it's similar to Export Cover, which I also found through search and customized to my use case:
[#0]
T=13
! Export cover to file=
1=%YEAR% - %ALBUM% [%COUNTRY%] [(%DISCOGS\_RELEASE\_ID%)]
3=0|3
2=0
Appreciate any help on this
Mike
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 5:33am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/2 "2023-08-18T05:33:26Z")
Users are discouraged to edit MTA files directly.
Instead only use the editor functions available from within MP3tag.
This editor assigns the correct number.
---
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 12:13pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/3 "2023-08-18T12:13:48Z")
Truth be told, I'm keeping all actions in one document so when I upgrade macs I don't have to re-do 100+ actions from scratch, which is laborious as hell. So no one can provide? I promise not to broadcast lol. Thanks
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/4 "2023-08-18T12:25:09Z")
> [@wilcoson](#):
>
> I don't have to re-do 100+ actions from scratch
It is possible to import the actions form the PC version to a Mac.
I think that you do not create an endless number of actions of this type. So it should be possible for you to use the functions within MP3tag and then look at the newly created action and see which setting in the proper editor results in which internal code.
I still do not advise to edit the actions with other means than the MP3tag internal functions.
---
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 12:36pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/5 "2023-08-18T12:36:47Z")
> So it should be possible for you to use the functions within MP3tag and then look at the newly created action and see which setting in the proper editor results in which internal code
That's what I've done for most except adjust cover, which is the last one I'm stuck on
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 12:39pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/6 "2023-08-18T12:39:54Z")
Have you tried to import the actions from the Windows version to the Mac version?
This would be the much safer way to do it.
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### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/7 "2023-08-18T13:08:49Z")
> So it should be possible for you to use the functions within MP3tag and then look at the newly created action and see which setting in the proper editor results in which internal code
Sorry, I should've mentioned I don't have a PC, just mac. Unless that's something I can do without a PC? Thanks
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/8 "2023-08-18T13:13:08Z")
There i a section in the documentation about how to save and restore the settings:
> [@Preferences and Configuration](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/preferences-and-configuration/56296#exporting-and-importing-preferences-settings-12):
>
> You can configure many areas of Mp3tag via the preferences window at Mp3tag → Preferences… or ⌘ , General Startup Folder Here you can specify the startup behavior of Mp3tag. None starts with an empty File List. Previous starts with the folder which was loaded the last time you’ve used Mp3tag. Other… lets you choose a explicit folder that is loaded on startup. Genres Use standard genres If enabled, Mp3tag lists the standard genres in the genre field on the Tag Pane…
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### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2023, 1:35pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/9 "2023-08-18T13:35:32Z")
> There i a section in the documentation about how to save and restore the settings:
Thanks, I previously exported the settings but can't determine the action preferences/number from the data: {"compression":80,"isCropToSquare":false,"sizeMode":0,"isUseMaxSize":true,"coverType":0,"field":"","version":2,"userDescription":"","type":"adjustcover","scalingMode":0,"maxSize":500}
---
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/10 "2023-08-19T15:57:13Z")
Still looking for the MTA expression for adjust cover if anyone knows it
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/11 "2023-08-20T13:28:23Z")
Just wanted to ask you, why you're not creating the actions you need and create a backup of everything using the method outlined at [Documentation → Exporting and importing preferences settings](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/preferences-and-configuration/56296#exporting-and-importing-preferences-settings-12)?
This would certainly address the
> [@wilcoson](#):
>
> when I upgrade macs I don't have to re-do 100+ actions from scratch
I'm intentionally not documenting the internal file format of MTA actions, because it would require me to also update this documentation whenever I change something internally.
In addition, as @ohrenkino already pointed out, manually adapting those often introduces errors that can only be solved after users are contacting me via email and asking why their action produces an error message.
If you have other reasons for needing information on this implementation detail, please let me know.
---
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/12 "2023-08-21T01:32:43Z")
> [@Florian](#):
>
> Just wanted to ask you, why you're not creating the actions you need and create a backup of everything using the method outlined at [Documentation → Exporting and importing preferences settings](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/preferences-and-configuration/56296#exporting-and-importing-preferences-settings-12)?
Thanks for replying. I'm continuously tweaking actions so it's easier to revert back to a prior stable state of actions if I'm later unsatisfied with results vs having to worry about exporting every time I make a change in the event I need to re-import. Ultimately, it's your program and I respect your concerns. I'll just continue to manually add the adjust cover action to my list if I have to.
---
### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2023, 6:25am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/13 "2023-08-21T06:25:48Z")
OK, I understand and can see that you're using your collection of MTA actions as a kind of single source of truth.
Without any guarantee that this might work forever, those are the current fields for the adjust cover action:
```auto
[#0]
T=17
1=1
2=500
3=80
```
`1=` is the image type, where 0 is Original, 1 is JPEG, and 2 is PNG
`2=` is the size in pixels
`3=` is the image quality, where 100 is highest.
The macOS version has more configuration options for this action type, so you might need to adjust the action after importing, in case you want to use any of the currently macOS-only options.
---
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/14 "2023-08-21T16:12:11Z")
Much appreciated, thanks Florian! Working fine and I understand it's not guaranteed to remain as is forever.
---
### Author:  [@Arbiter](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Arbiter)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/15 "2023-08-24T19:08:55Z")
I know you have a solution, but another option is you could use Time Machine (or third party backup app) to create hourly versioned backups (or even more frequent with a third party app).That way you will have many versions of your MP3Tag preference data. Personally, I use the Hazel app to monitor the relevant directories and run a script at the intervals I choose, which creates a backup of all of the configuration data for my preferences, actions, web sources and so on.
---
### Author:  [@wilcoson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/wilcoson)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/16 "2023-08-24T21:05:22Z")
Right, Ohrenkino mentioned time machine backups earlier in the post, and that's good to know as it stores all preferences, not just the actions. Either scenario would work, but I've been tweaking my actions for several weeks and just wanted a way to save them all in one file vs doing a full restore. Might seem pointless to some, but it's the way my mind unfortunately works. Thanks
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/question-about-the-adjust-cover-feature/61850/17 "2023-09-23T21:06:15Z")
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