# UNC in cover path imported via Text file - Tag to field value is missing leading backslashes
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [August 16, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445 "2025-08-16T19:44:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@apollo13](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/apollo13)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/1 "2025-08-16T19:44:32Z")
When I use Quick Actions to import cover images from the tag field %CoverImagePath%, I get an error that the cover file cannot be accessed if the path is a UNC instead of a local address. Am I doing something wrong? The path looks like this:
\\192.168.0.56\d$\Music\_Ref\Cover\Album\_cover.jpg
There are no issues opening a playlist containing UNC paths and updating the tags from a text file in which the MP3 files are UNC paths.
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### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/2 "2025-08-16T22:13:36Z")
I just tried it.
The first problem I get: I can not enter a value into a field called `COVERIMAGEPATH` that starts with two backslashes like `\\192.168.123.123`
Are you sure that you have
`\\192.168.0.56\d$\Music\_Ref\Cover\Album_cover.jpg`
in your COVERIMAGEPATH?
Please show us a screenshot from Alt + T with that content.
Importing a cover from an UNC path (manually entered) in the Action works fine in my environment:
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### Author:  [@apollo13](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/apollo13)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/3 "2025-08-16T23:43:52Z")
You are correct. Thank you for alerting me to this.
I used Convert: Text file - Tag to populate the tags. Although the leading backslashes are in the source text file, MP3Tag dropped them when importing the tags.
Here is the relevant line from the text file. The CoverImagePath value is the last column.
^|State Azure|Stillness|Stillness||2025||||\\192.168.0.56\d$\Music\Misc\State Azure--Stillness.mp3|\\192.168.0.56\d$\Music\_Ref\Cover\Stillness.jpg|$
Here is a screenshot after I imported the tags. The leading backslashes survived in the path column but not in the CoverImagePath column.
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### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2025, 8:20am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/4 "2025-08-17T08:20:25Z")
You can set the two missing backslashes manually for your 'Import cover from file' Action like this:
`\\%COVERIMAGEPATH%`
My own tests show that this works fine.
> [@apollo13](#):
>
> There are no issues ... updating the tags from a text file in which the MP3 files are UNC paths.
That's not entirely accurate, as you said yourself.
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### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2025, 8:47am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/5 "2025-08-17T08:47:33Z")
Mp3tag is using the double backslash `\\` as separator for multiple values in tag fields. So if you're importing something like `\\server\share` via **Text file - Tag** , Mp3tag detects two values — one empty, one `server\share` — and imports the one which is not empty.
The correct workaround to the issue you're observing is manually adding the two missing backslashes to the format string at importing covers as described above.
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### Author:  [@apollo13](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/apollo13)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/6 "2025-08-17T12:56:30Z")
Thank you for the explanation, Florian. Manually adding two backslashes to each file is rather cumbersome when tagging files in bulk. An escape character that would allow a backslash to be read as part of a field would be nice. Mapping the network drive is another alternative.
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### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/7 "2025-08-17T12:58:30Z")
> [@apollo13](#):
>
> Manually adding two backslashes to each file is rather cumbersome when tagging files in bulk.
This is not what I meant. Instead, I was referring to
> [@LyricsLover](#):
>
> You can set the two missing backslashes manually for your 'Import cover from file' Action like this:
> `\\%COVERIMAGEPATH%`
>
> 
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/unc-in-cover-path-imported-via-text-file-tag-to-field-value-is-missing-leading-backslashes/69445/8 "2025-09-16T12:59:20Z")
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