first I noticed that there is a problem with Mp3Gain and MP3Tag. After working with MP3Gain Mp3Tag did not show tags any more.
So I made a research in the forum and learned that this problem occurs, because MP3Gain writes Ape v2 tags and if the Mp3Tag MPEG-option "Read Ape Tags" is enabled, MP3Tag does not show them.
I also learned that you can delete all Ape Tags, if you configure your options menu (delete section) and tell MP3Tag to remove all tags.
So if you want to see your tags again you have either to get rid of these Ape tags or you have to disable Ape-reading in the options.
But there is a serious trap in MP3Tag and I was caught:
If you have some files with these MP3Gain-Ape-Tags and Ape-Read is activated, you only see these ape tags in the extended tag menu. If you have marked a lot of MP3s and if there are some of these within the marked area you will not even notice this because there are a lot of other tags listed in the extended tag menu.
If you decide to remove these listed ape tags in the extended tag menu, MP3Tag removes all tags in theses MP3s. So I got rid of the tags of some hundred files and was only able to get back Artist, Track and Title, because I named the files this way.
It's not a bug and explained in the help file and numerous times in this forums. It's simply how Mp3tag prioritizes display of the various tag formats -- if you don't need APEv2, just disable reading of APEv2. If you only want to remove APEv2 tags, make sure that removing of ID3v1 and ID3v2 is disabled. Only tags that are displayed are written to the files -- depending on the settings at Options > Tags > Mpeg.
Well, removing of ID3v1 and ID3v2 is disabled.
How shall somebody know that enabling displaying Ape-Tags and removing these ape-tags in the extended tag menu removes all tags?
I can see nothing in the help file that describes this behaviour.
I can confirm this behaviour and would say this is a bug.
DD.20100223.2328.CET
Having Tagread(TagTypes) = "ID3v2.3 (ID3v2.3 APEv2)" and APE in Mpeg section set to nothing at read, write, remove still displays APE values in the extended tag view and I can remove APE tags (really APE tags?) under this setting.
DD.20100223.2335.CET
Removing all APE tag fields in extended tag view causes the Tagread(Tagtypes) = "(APEv2)".
Are these entries of type APE or are these entries simply copies from the APE tag into the ID3 tag view? It is rather confusing.
Did you refresh after disabling "read ape"?
After a refresh my mp3gain-ape-tags they are not shown anymore.
If you have set nothing at read and don't refesh you can chose these ape tags to remove. There is obviously action after this. If you then enable "read ape" and refresh they are shown again. You can chose to remove them again and again but they still keep showing up in the exteded tag menu.
I cannot reproduce what you're describing. Mp3tag reads and displays tags in ID3v1 < ID3v2 < APEv2 priority (as stated in the help file). Tags from different versions are not merged.
If you want to delete certain APEv2 fields only, disable writing of ID3v1 and ID3v2, read the tags, remove the fields and save your changes.
Having a file containing one ID3 tag field and one or two APE tag fields.
Switching for and back between the states including F5] refresh after each switch looks ok as expected.
Now having APE view, being in read/write/remove mode.
Modify Mp3tag/Tools/Mpeg to enable ID3 to read/write/remove mode and disable all APE checkboxes.
Do no refresh.
Open advanced tag view.
Remove all displayed APE fields, press Ok.
TagType displays the lost of ID3 tag (unrecoverable).
Maybe I'm not the most objective person to judge here but I think it's pretty obvious. What happens is that the tag is not re-read and the contents of the APEv2 tag are still what Mp3tag considers as the tag of this file.
Are you suggesting that Mp3tag should automatically refresh after changing the tag reading preferences?
Now at this point Mp3tags behaviour is ...
... displays the user the content of the previously activated APE tag, and let the user edit the APE tag fields so that he can remove all APE tags.
... In the moment when the APE tag field list is empty, then Mp3tag removes the newly activated ID3 Tag completely and removes all APE tag fields and holds the empty APE tag.
This is worse behaviour.
How to avoid such situation?
First thought is ... to force a refresh when leaving the Mpeg resp. the Tools dialog.
This would be the save way, almost better than loosing all tag field content ... if this helps in general. Look into the code and "isolate" the two lists, so that they cannot interfere with each other.
but I think it's pretty obvious. What happens is that the tag is not re-read and the contents of the APEv2 tag are still what Mp3tag considers as the tag of this file.