# Title Tag - no "Format string(s)"
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/title-tag-no-format-string-s/10809
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [September 13, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/title-tag-no-format-string-s/10809 "2010-09-13T22:44:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@baius](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/baius)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/title-tag-no-format-string-s/10809/1 "2010-09-13T22:44:04Z")
I'd like to firstly say hi to MP3TAG. I have been an avid user for quite a while.
I'm using the latest version, which as of writing is 2.46a. (Edit:)I am using Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, if that matters.(/Edit)
I have an 8-disc album/compilation with a total of 83 tracks. I have successfully been able to go through each album and give track numbers of 101, 102, ..., 201, 202, ..., 809, 810 and discnumbers of 1, 2, ..., 8. For reference, I was also able to change - for all files - the album artist to a single entity.
I used Wild Rename 2.15 prior to opening the compilation in MP3TAG to give the files names like:
Xxx\_XX 1a 101.mp3
Xxx\_XX 1a 102.mp3
...
Xxx\_XX 1a 809.mp3
Xxx\_XX 1a 810.mp3
(X: capital; x: lower-case.)
I was hoping to replicate/duplicate the filenames (without ".mp3") into the Title field.
So I Ctrl+A, go into title and type:
- %filename%
- %\_filename%
- Xxx\_XX 1a %track%
- %artist% - %album% - $num(%track%,2) - %title%
(The latter was a TEST - I copied and pasted directly from the manual, due to paranoia.)
Instead of getting "Xxx\_XX 1a 101.mp3" (etc) I literally get "%filename%" or "Xxx\_XX 1a %track%" inside of the track with no _personalisation_, as it were, for individual files.
I tried going through Alt+2 thinking FORMAT STRINGS are something you can only enter there. (Surely not!?)
Nevertheless, I can't get the titles to receive the right formatting. **Format strings are literally pasting in**! Why??
I'm sure people far more clever than I am would have picked this up if it were a bug, but it's happening to me nonetheless. Could somebody either:
1. tell me what _I am doing wrong_!
2. establish this as a bug...
Please ask me more questions if I (more than likely) haven't made myself clear.
---
### Author:  [@dano](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/dano)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/title-tag-no-format-string-s/10809/2 "2010-09-14T05:29:59Z")
You cannot use format strings in these tag input fields.
You can use Alt+2 and enter %title%
---
### Author:  [@baius](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/baius)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/title-tag-no-format-string-s/10809/3 "2010-09-14T07:37:43Z")
> [@dano](#):
>
> You cannot use format strings in these tag input fields.
>
> You can to use Alt+2 and enter %title%
**dano** , you are a genius. Thank you.
It's so obvious now! Why couldn't I see it before!?
Alt+2 copies the filename to a tag, and I was trying to use the tag %filename% - uh, duh...
Anyway, this obviously is not a bug. (I shall now go and find a rock to crawl under and be embarrassed.)
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/title-tag-no-format-string-s/10809/4 "2026-02-09T12:22:33Z")