# Sort Artist colum in File List

**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/sort-artist-colum-in-file-list/70232
**Category:** Mac
**Created:** [November 25, 2025, 9:08am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/sort-artist-colum-in-file-list/70232 "2025-11-25T09:08:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 8

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### Author: ![DjSurda](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DjSurda](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/DjSurda)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/sort-artist-colum-in-file-list/70232/8 "2025-11-28T00:37:13Z")

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> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> You define a field to which a value should be written. To get an existing value, you set a format string where to find it. In your case with ARTIST it gets the contents from all possibly existing fields of the type ARTIST and displays them separated by `\\`. This string then gets written back to the target field, in this case %ARTIST%.  
> For the sorted artist it would be  
> Value: `$meta_sep(artistsort,\\)`  
> Field: %artistsort%

> [@MotleyG](#):
>
> Here is my definition.
> 
> ![image](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/3X/c/3/c31bf9add7d206a23df5de72374dafa2f79a858f.jpeg)
> 
> For the value, using the $meta formula gets all multi-value tags fields with that same name, using the defined separator.

Ok, Thank you, I understood both of you.

What I don’t get is:

- Does the user tell the software to gets the contents from all possibly existing fields of the type Artist by the “code” `$meta_sep(***,\\)` where \*\*\* is the name of the field? How Is supposed I should know/learn this code? (this code is not listed here [Format Strings and Available Placeholders](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-strings-and-available-placeholders/51688) )  
While asking you & cheecking again the documentation I found what seems to be the answer: [Format Strings and Available Placeholders](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-strings-and-available-placeholders/51688) , is not?

so %\*\*\*% is a placeholder & $meta\_sep() & \\ are script functions.

Just curious, do you know this code before starting using MP3tag?  
It is based in a common computing code/language or users must learn when starting to use the software?

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_[View the full topic](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/sort-artist-colum-in-file-list/70232)._