Newest version. Just downloaded and installed it.
Ripped a cd for flac files. out of 9 tracks, only one has proper tags, name, track number, title, artist name and album name. When I use Windows explorer to tag 8 tracks Windows 11 won't allow it!! This was never an issue with mp3 files. So, I decided to use mp3tag, a program I used way back to tag mp3 albums properly.
I launched mp3tag, dragged the folder that held 9 flac files. Each column showed the data I want. In this order......file name, # number, title, artist, album, tag, path, year.
I select (highlight) all 9 tracks and click 'Save' icon on upper left corner. When I check the original folder that have those 9 flac files with missing data, they are still the same.
I know I am forgetting something. But, what is it? I simply forgot what I did in the past.
Please help this senior citizen! Thank you. I tried to read some help files.I couldn't find the solution. Thanks.
What do you expect to be saved?
To rename a file based on tag data, see
See here:
Now I assume that the WIndows Explorer is the test bed? Not a good idea for flac.
What does MP3tag show?
Not sure why some files are show it and others don't, but you want to do a Convert | Tag > Filename. Put your desired attributes in the percent symbol, with your desired delimiter in between. I use this:
%artist% - %album% - %track% - %title%
For a result of e.g.
Metallica - Master of Puppets - 01 - Battery
The page ohrenkino linked to has all the information you should need to get started. I highly recommend reading through all the documentation when you have a chance. Even if you don't remember how to do all the things mp3tag can do, knowing that it has powerful options will let you come back later to figure out how to do more advanced tagging, if needed.
If you only have a few albums to do, or if you can select all at once in mp3tag, then doing it through the Convert menu will be fine. If you anticipate needing to do it for multiple albums over time, you'll want to set up an Action and probably set it up with a keyboard shortcut. This will allow for quick application of standardized filenames.
Not at my pc so I can't remember the exact steps, but poke around and you should be able to figure out what you need.
You can set up multiple Actions and Action Groups for different needs, for example a compilation album might have a different filename pattern.
This is a bit off-topic.
Regarding your example Filename-Structure: I would recommend the folowing order: %albumartist% - %album% - %track% - %title%
That is because some albums contain Songs with different %artist%-Tags but probably the same %albuartist%-Tag.
using your example could lead to the following order in file explorer:
Aha - Controller of Dolls - 02 - Take on You.flac
Metallica - Controller of Dolls - 01 - Accumulator.flac
Metallica - Controller of Dolls - 03 - The Person That Should Be.flac
That's a great point, and why I use several; that's my standard. For compilation albums I use
albumartist - album - track - artist - title
which keeps the files in the correct order. For multi disc albums I insert CDx in the appropriate spot to allow for all the songs to be in one folder while retaining the playback order.
I also have them in a couple of groups - one just renames the files, while the other group renames them and moves them into an albumartist folder, and adds the file type to the end of the album folder name, eg
Metallica/[1986] Master of Puppets [FLAC]/{filename as described above}.flac
I have each one assigned to a keyboard shortcut via the Actions, and at this point it's pretty much muscle memory to rename. I'm going through my music collection and, as most of my files are already tagged, it's just a few keystrokes to number and rename. Deciding on which file for the cover art takes the bulk of the time, usually.
Yeah i just tried to make it as close to your example as pssible while showing what i meant. I personally just use folders for Albumartist and Album C:\Users\%User%\Music\%Albumartist%\%Album%. If there are no more than one song per album i don't use the "Album"-Folder. And then i am using %Track%. %Title% for the most part.
The trick is to be consistent no matter what. One song or many on an album, these are just placeholders for the location in the file system anyhow. Fill in your tag data and this won't let you down.
I use Albumartist\Album\Discnumber-Track Title every time.
Hi everybody; thanks for all the responses.
Few things:
I'd like to keep track names short. Nothing but track number and title. I don't want to see artist name - album name - track number - title.
Way too long for my inexpensive Chinese made portable mp3 players. the reason is when a new song starts, title starts scrolling from right to left on the tiny screen and it stops in the middle before I see what the name of the song is in case I want to see it. Very annoying and I know good quality expensive players have much better UI. My old iPod and bunch of Sandisk players did not have this problem.
Anyhow, second reason is I keep tracks in albums in separate subfolders. So, the first track is 01 train.mp3 (or FLAC), the second 02 Citizen soldier.mp3 and so on. I added numbers because some players won't sort them by title. Instead, they use name with extension. and, they are always sorted alphabetically. That's terrible. I prefer the way the artist intended.
Since all the album songs are kept in their folder named after performer's name-album name the relatively short names are fine to me. Then I keep the subfolders (albums) in folders named after the artist. When I use mp3 players or use micro SD card in my phone I select folders. Pick any performer. All the albums I ripped are sorted in subfolders. Otherwise, scrolling 400-500 albums is a time consuming nightmare.
Coming back to my original question...
Just like I said, I drag the album songs into mp3tag's work area. the columns show everything is sorted nicely. Name, track number, title, artist name, album name.
To me, this info is enough. When I create subfolders I always add release date. So, it looks like this:
UFO-1971 Flying.
If I have 25 UFO albums that is at the top.
This method works for me and I won't change it.
Back to mp3tag. When I click convert and select the option I want, a small Window opens and shows the progress super fast and closes it. But, when I check the desktop folder showing the tracks I just moved to mp3tag, no changes. Missing tags are still missing. That's what confusing to me.
Where am I messing things?
Thanks for reading.
Which convert function is that?
Screenshots really help a lot.
Hi; Today's report....
I saved troubling flac files on thumb drive from Windows 11H laptop. Copied them on a different laptop with W 10H. Was curious what windows explorer would to when I tried to add info. Nope. still the same. explorer won't let me do it.
So, I downloaded latest mp3tag to this old laptop. Still same problem.
Let me know what I am doing wrong...
I open mp3tag, drag the flac files into right panel. I select all flac files in there. I click 'convert' first, then 'file name-tag'. 4 options available. preview and OK are grayed out. Cancel and help only options to select! I delete what is in the box and click tiny right arrow next to it. I select track and title. Click OK. A small window pops up and shows it is writing for all the tracks. I check the folder on desktop, No change.
I also tried using 'tag Sources' and 'Musicbrainz'. Entered artist and album name. It looked great. Name, title, # numbers and so on.
Here's my question.. What comes next? Which button do I click to make flac files on desktop look the same?
On your last screenshot you use the Mp3tag Convert "Filename -> Tag".
You try to import your current
001. Calibre.flac
with %track%%title%
but it should be
%track%. %title%
(a dot and a space separates the two values in your filename).
The two field names used, track and title, will appear filled with the value in the direct preview window as soon as they match your filename structure.
I'm not sure what you want to achieve:
Do you want to see the TITLE content for your example tracks #1, #3, #4 and so on in Windows Explorer?
Or do you want to see another form of TITLE content (for example without leading tracknumber?)
If you want to rename your filenames with your already filled field content - including a tracknumber - you can use Convert Tag -> Filename.
The procedure is similar, choose the Format string for the filename you want to see, for example:
$num(%track%,3). %title%
Good morning; I appreciate your fantastic response.
When I clicked the right side arrow next to box twice %track%%title% appeared. I tried space-space between. It didn't work. I never thought 'dot and space'. I will try it today.
My first screenshot shows how everything is sorted by Explorer. All of my mp3 albums and FLAC, too. When I needed to edit mp3 tracks many years ago, names did not have numbers. I used properties with Windows. Then, I discovered mp3tag program. My ipod and first Sandisk mp3 player sorted them the way artist intended. The players I started buying over the years (inexpensive but efficient Chinese products) would sort them alphabetically! So, I used a great free program called Renamer and added numbers (to names) to hundreds of folders.
I personally don't care what titles look like. Either the original title with a number in front of it or just the original title. The names should have numbers though.
Is it possible to strip album art from FLAC files with Windows? Some are saying Windows can not edit those files if album art has too much data. I am assuming without art tag, I could easily edit them with Windows properties. that's my hope.
Typing these words with my Chromebook. Later, I will go down to my basement and work on my project with my Windows laptop. Thanks again.
I would agree if it were a hassle to save tags correctly. But why not do it right if it can be done without any additional effort? The track number should be in the TRACK field, and only the title should be in the TITLE field, unless the player in use only uses the TITLE field for sorting.
For a decent player, file names shouldn't really matter. Instead, it should sort and group according to other criteria in the tag fields. That doesn't mean that there are still a few players that rely on the file name.
Why is it important for you to use the Windows Explorer to tag your files if you have the better suited Mp3tag installed?
I would never use Windows Explorer for tagging, because I know from painful past experience that it's extremely problematic for that purpose. Removing embedded covers just to use Explorer really doesn't make it any more useful.
No.
But Mp3tag can do that easily.
(Note that this cannot be undone unless you have saved every cover art image elsewhere!)
- Load your FLAC files into Mp3tag.
- Select all the FLAC files you want to remove the covers from.
- Right click on the cover window at the bottom of the Tag Panel in the lower left corner of Mp3tag.
- Choose Remove Cover
- Save your change with Ctrl + S or click on the blue floppy disc menu icon.
Done.
Thank you LyricsLover and Poster;
I appreciate your time.
This is my thought process. strip the cover from FLAC album. (as I said before tiny screen does not show much art. I never look at and admire it.) Hoping I can select FLAC files (not tagged properly), open properties and add whatever I need to add. Very simple thing to do.
My ancient ipod and most Sandisk players I purchased years ago died on me. I got many years out of them. No regrets. Amazon has dirt cheap Chinese players and super expensive high quality players. As a senior citizen who uses mp3 players only when I take the dog to walk or yard work a $300 player does not make any sense. Give me a 30 dollar player with good battery life and a decent UI I am happy. I understand and accept their shortcomings. Pretty much all sort files in albums alphabetically. Add numbers and you get what you prefer.
Still typing on Chromebook. See you guys.
If LyricLover's suggestion does not help I am thinking rerip the CDs with wav format and convert them into FLAC as long as tagging is proper. I am curious how they will turn out.
Hi again, I used LyricLover's suggestion...
%track%. %title%
(a dot and a space separates the two values in your filename).
Same result. I am unable to save changes (new tags). The desktop folder still shows some tracks have missing information.
Well, before I tossed the towel I tried something else.
I ripped the same cd with WAV format. The tracks have the correct name with extension .wav and nothing else. I dragged them into mp3tag, and highlighted them. Clicked tag sources/musicbrainz. Filled the boxes with artist and album name. The columns showed all the proper tagging. I clicked save. Went back to WAV folder . The files looked great with all the info. I opened my free converter (freac), put the wav files in there, changed the format to flac and converted them.
Now, I have all the tracks with flac extension and the rest (track numbers, title, album name, artist name) is shown. I opened (listened) couple with VLC. They sounded awesome.
I imagine somebody with vast mp3tag experience will find a better (faster) solution. But, I can live with this.
Thanks everybody.
