# REGEX to find YEAR in given string **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [December 14, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522 "2021-12-14T15:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/roland/32/8001_2.png) [@Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Roland)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/1 "2021-12-14T15:53:23Z")
I want to format the year (YYYY) from a string. `$regexp(abc123197588trs,'^.*((19|20)(\d\d)).*$',$1)` returns **1975** as expected. `$regexp(ab0244,'^.*((19|20)(\d\d)).*$',$1) ` returns **ab0244**. What's wrong? ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/2 "2021-12-14T15:55:58Z")
> [@Roland](#): > > ab0244 Does not match as you have "02" instead of "20". ---
**Author:** ![Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/roland/32/8001_2.png) [@Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Roland)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/3 "2021-12-14T15:57:36Z")
If there is no match I expect to get no string back. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/4 "2021-12-14T15:58:00Z")
no, if there is no match then the original string is returned ---
**Author:** ![Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/roland/32/8001_2.png) [@Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Roland)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/5 "2021-12-14T16:01:04Z")
Oops! How to find a valid year (YYYY) in a string with no specific structure/content? ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/6 "2021-12-14T16:05:12Z")
I don't understand. Finding a valid year would then depend on the regular expression to return nothing if the pattern does not produce a hit? I find it actually as some kind of safety measure: if you have a non-matching expression, you don't loose data. So you could apply another expression to yield better results. > [@Roland](#): > > How to find a valid year (YYYY) in a string with no specific structure/content? If you have no structure in a string ... then I don't think that anyone would find anything like a "year" (and a spcificly a valid one) in that string. Could you explain a little more, please? ---
**Author:** ![Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/roland/32/8001_2.png) [@Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Roland)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/7 "2021-12-14T16:13:49Z")
I try to fill the tag YEAR. When performing an automated action and the field YEAR is empty I would like to scan \_dirname or \_filename for a valid value. Doing so I don't know if $REGEX will find something useful and leave the YEAR untouched when no match is given. ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/8 "2021-12-14T16:17:36Z")
I am always a friend of filters. With those you can leave out all the files that may lead to surprises - and I think that filling the year like that will happen once in the lifetime of a file. So it does not have to be the omnipotent action that takes into account all possibilities. A filter like `%_path% MATCHES \d\d\d\d AND %year% MISSING` Should display all the candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/roland/32/8001_2.png) [@Roland](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Roland)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/9 "2021-12-14T16:37:14Z")
**Thank you ohrenkino for your suggestíon.** It solves this issue in a specific situation. But in my case it is only one of 20 (or more) automated steps. So the solution that I need is, to know if there is a number within a range from 1900 to 2099 in a string. If so I can use $REGEX alone. Otherwise I have to check the returned value again if it fits in the given boundaries. ($num(string,4)) + $ifgreater(a,b,x,y) + .. If the found number is not in the given range YEAR must be reseted. Seems too complicated, is there no easy way to do this? ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/10 "2021-12-14T16:41:55Z")
you could test for the returned string with $num() - if that is 0 (which means there are leading non-numeric characters) then you could do more processing. Still, I wonder why it has to be so complicated? Why devise 20 steps (or more) in 1 go - with a lot of thinking and trial and error going into it - instead of simple, dedicated actions that perform just one task. And I can define the einvironment and see which is the action to take. But here, everybody is the smith of his own workflow... ---
**Author:** ![system](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/c/ce7035d426cb755a7916793326d23b465222a407.png) [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2025, 7:48am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/regex-to-find-year-in-given-string/55522/11 "2025-03-01T07:48:30Z")
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