Customize file-list columns¶
Choose View → Customize columns… to decide what the file list displays, which values can be edited there, and how each column sorts. A column can show a computed value while editing a different underlying field, or can be read-only. Changing a view definition does not convert the audio format.
Add an editable recording-code column¶
- Select a copied practice file whose ISRC field contains the invented
practice value
QZABC2400003. - Open View → Customize columns… and choose New.
- Set Name to
Recording codeand Value to%isrc%. - Set Field (empty = read-only) to
%isrc%. Leave Sort by (empty = value) empty and Numeric (sort numerically) off. - Set a suitable width, such as
140, and keep its visibility checkbox on. - Inspect the active-file preview, then choose OK to save/apply the layout.
The header says Recording code, its value comes from ISRC, and the editable field is still ISRC. Merely naming a column ISRC would not establish that connection. Canceling the customization dialog leaves its unconfirmed layout edits unapplied.
Understand Name, Value, Field and Sort by¶
| Control | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name | Literal header text. Required; it is not evaluated as a format string. |
| Value | Required display format string, using placeholders/functions. |
| Field (empty = read-only) | One writable field placeholder, or empty for a read-only column. It is not a write-back formula. |
| Sort by (empty = value) | Optional sort format. Empty uses Value as the sort key. |
| Width | Column width, constrained to 24–4,000 pixels. |
| Alignment | Left, Center or Right text alignment. |
| Numeric (sort numerically) | Compare leading numeric values before the text fallback. |
For these examples, the practice file has:
| Field | Value 1 | Value 2 |
|---|---|---|
ISRC |
QZABC2400003 |
(absent) |
ARTIST |
Juniper Vale |
Mira Solberg |
TITLE |
Paper Boats |
(absent) |
| Name | Value | Field | Sort by | Displayed result | Sort key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Recording code |
%isrc% |
%isrc% |
(empty) | QZABC2400003 |
QZABC2400003 |
Credits |
$meta_sep(artist,' + ') |
%artist% |
$lower(%artist%) |
Juniper Vale + Mira Solberg |
juniper vale |
Upper title |
$upper(%title%) |
(empty) | %title% |
PAPER BOATS |
Paper Boats |
The Credits column explicitly joins separate ARTIST values for display. Its editable target remains ARTIST, and sorting uses its first artist lowercased. The Upper title column is read-only because Field is empty; its uppercase display does not silently uppercase the stored TITLE.
A Field entry accepts a tag placeholder such as %isrc%, plus the special
filename targets %_filename% and %_filename_ext%. Technical properties
such as %_bitrate% cannot be written there. Scripting functions, several
placeholders or literal surrounding text are not valid Field targets.
To calculate and save a new metadata value, use
Tag → Tag or
Format Value instead.
Sort and alignment rules¶
Click a header to sort its configured sort key, and click it again to reverse the primary direction. Shift-click adds/reverses a secondary key. The file-list guide explains ordering and how it feeds numbering and positional imports.
Numeric sorting reads a leading number; empty/nonnumeric values sort before valid numbers in ascending order, with text comparison resolving ties. Enabling Numeric changes Left alignment to Right; disabling it changes Right to Left. Alignment can then be chosen independently, and Center is not forcibly replaced by that toggle.
A display like %_length% can use a numeric technical value as Sort by
when its formatted clock text is not the desired sorting representation.
Use actual information placeholders from the
placeholder reference; a custom tag named
LENGTH is not a measured duration.
Add, duplicate, move, hide or remove¶
- New adds a column after the current one, initially using ISRC.
- Duplicate copies the current definition into a separately identifiable column. Give it a useful name and review its editable Field.
- Move up / Move down change column order. Headers can also be dragged directly in the file list; dividers resize them.
- A checkbox next to a column name shows or hides it. Keep at least one column visible.
- Remove deletes the column definition, not the file's metadata. A removed column's sort criterion is removed too.
- Reset to defaults replaces the draft layout with the built-in columns; review it and choose OK only when that reset is intended.
Right-clicking a header or using the View menu's column list offers quick visibility controls. Those quick changes apply and persist directly; check reported errors. The customization dialog instead collects layout edits until its OK step. Auto-size and divider double-clicks fit widths to measured listed content within limits; long lists are sampled, so some values can still need manual widening.
Save, load and import a layout¶
Save configuration… writes the current dialog's column layout to a JSON file. It can export a valid draft before OK; canceling later does not remove that external file. Load configuration… fills the customization dialog from a supported layout. Review it, then choose OK to apply it.
The picker can also import a user-supplied Mp3tag columns.ini. Review the
reported imported/skipped items and the resulting expressions; unsupported
settings are not a promise of identical appearance or behavior.
A column-layout file contains the layout and sort configuration. It is separate from backing up audio tags or saving the whole application configuration through the File menu.
Gotchas¶
- A correct-looking preview does not make an invalid Field writable. Check display Value and edit target separately.
- Hiding a column does not erase its tags, and removing it does not remove the metadata from a file.
- A custom column can require context-dependent functions. In particular, column-name/value functions need a supplied column context and cannot be used to recursively evaluate the column itself.
- Large expressions can make previews/sorting more expensive than a plain placeholder. Start with one field and add formatting in small steps.