# Tagging from folders and files
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 17, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716 "2017-02-17T20:04:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@garethsnaim](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/garethsnaim)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/1 "2017-02-17T20:04:59Z")
Hello all
I have a harddrive of music which has no tags all in wav.
However the folders are structured very carefully and concisely like this:
Folder ‘Artist’ \> Folder ‘Album’ \> Files ‘Track Number’, ‘Track Name’
Is there a way in MP3 Tag to apply tags by extracting information from that layout? I am struggling with the folders bit.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/2 "2017-02-17T20:11:46Z")
See the FAQs, for the Converter, e.g.:
[/t/8016/1](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/8016/1)
---
### Author:  [@poster](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/poster)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/3 "2017-02-17T20:19:08Z")
Define an action group with 3 subsequent actions:
1.
Action Type: Format Value
Field: \_PARENT\_DIRECTORY
Format String: %artist% **or** %albumartist%
1.
Action Type: Format Value
Field: \_DIRECTORY
Format String: %album%
1. Action Type: Guess values
Source Format: %\_filename%
Guessing Pattern: %tracknumber%, %title%
**Edit:
These actions are wrong. I leave this posting as I wrote it because this is necesaary for understanding the next postings in this thread.
The corrected actions are written further down in posting #8.
[Tagging from folders and files](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/18716/8)**
---
### Author:  [@garethsnaim](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/garethsnaim)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/4 "2017-02-17T20:59:22Z")
> [@poster](#):
>
> Define an action group with 3 subsequent actions:
>
> 1.
>
> Action Type: Format Value
> Field: \_PARENT\_DIRECTORY
> Format String: %artist% **or** %albumartist%
>
> 1.
>
> Action Type: Format Value
> Field: \_DIRECTORY
> Format String: %album%
>
> 1. Action Type: Guess values
> Source Format: %\_filename%
> Guessing Pattern: %tracknumber%, %title%
Ah thanks for this, it makes so much sense I got super excited, but alas it refuses to work.
So below is how the files appear in MP3tag
And here is how it is in explorer
So it looks like your naming convention should work and I believe thats how I have set it up but no dice, I run the group and MP3tag just says 0 files changed.
Thanks for your help so far.
---
### Author:  [@garethsnaim](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/garethsnaim)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/5 "2017-02-17T21:03:27Z")
Here is the action group as I set it up
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/6 "2017-02-17T21:21:00Z")
> [@garethsnaim](#):
>
> ...
> However the folders are structured very carefully and concisely like this:
>
> Folder ‘Artist’ \> Folder ‘Album’ \> Files ‘Track Number’, ‘Track Name’
> ...
Try the Convert\>Filename-Tag function with
%artist%\%album%\%track%, %title%
You will see in the preview if the pattern matches.
---
### Author:  [@garethsnaim](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/garethsnaim)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/7 "2017-02-17T21:33:15Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Try the Convert\>Filename-Tag function with
> %artist%\%album%\%track%, %title%
>
> You will see in the preview if the pattern matches.
Oh my god that worked perfectly I am so happy thank you!
I have a naim audio server which ripped this lot to wav but with no usuable tags and I thought all was lost!
---
### Author:  [@poster](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/poster)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2017, 5:48am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/8 "2017-02-18T05:48:43Z")
> [@garethsnaim](#):
>
> So it looks like your naming convention should work and I believe thats how I have set it up but no dice, I run the group and MP3tag just says 0 files changed.
Sorry about this and that my posting led to confusion. I mixed it all up.
Maybe it was really too late yesterday or I am getting old. 😉
Here is the way you have define the actions:
1.
Action Type: Format Value
Field: ARTIST **or** ALBUMARTIST
Format String: % \_parent\_directory%
1.
Action Type: Format Value
Field: ALBUM
Format String: %\_directory%
1. Action Type: Guess values
Source Format: %\_filename%
Guessing Pattern: %tracknumber%, %title%
The third action is based on your information in the initial posting that the tracknumber-information in the filename has ", " as a delimiter from the title-information.
But your screeenshots show that the delimiter is " - ".
So the third action has to be:
1. Action Type: Guess values
Source Format: %\_filename%
Guessing Pattern: %tracknumber% - %title%
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:26pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/tagging-from-folders-and-files/18716/9 "2026-02-09T12:26:40Z")