Tools menu¶
The Tools menu contains built-in metadata/container utilities, the tool configuration command and any external programs you have defined. A built-in utility writes through OpenTag's supported file path; a named external tool starts another program with its own behavior and completion rules.
Choose a workflow first
Use built-in utilities for stored tag/layout cleanup, or external tools for executable paths, parameters and selection scope. Neither route is an audio repair guarantee.
Fixed menu items¶
The current built-in items appear in this order:
| Item | Result | Scope and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Remove tag types… | Choose ID3v1, ID3v2 and/or APEv2 blocks to remove | Writes selected supported local files when Remove is chosen; explicit types are independent of Options' Remove switches |
| Strip chapters MP4… | Remove the applicable MP4 chapter structure | Whole-file immediate operation; normally confirms file/chapter count and leaves freed boxes |
| Remove unsupported fields… | Remove ID3v2 frames OpenTag does not display | MP3/AAC/AIFF/WAV applicability; dialog explains applicable/skipped counts |
| Optimize… | Normalize FLAC padding or reorganize MP4 layout | FLAC/MP4 applicability; writes only when a change is needed |
| Configure tools… | Open the Tools Options editor | Saves definitions/preferences through the Options dialog; opening it does not launch a program |
The four built-in utilities have no dedicated shortcuts displayed in this menu. The file-list context menu also groups them under Utils. Context placement does not turn them into actions or change their write/recovery scope.
Read tag removal before erasing a metadata block. Remove unsupported fields… is not a command to delete every custom field, and Optimize… does not re-encode audio or promise every player will read it. Chapters explains why stripping a parent file's chapters is different from editing one displayed chapter title.
Configured program entries¶
Saved tool definitions are appended after the fixed items, separated from them. Each displays its saved Name and launches that definition. With no definitions, the menu explains that none exist and points to Configure tools…. Removing or reordering a definition changes this generated part of the menu; it does not install/uninstall the executable.
The first ten definitions display Cmd+1 through Cmd+0 on macOS or Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+0 on Windows/Linux. The tenth uses 0. Later tools remain available by menu selection without a displayed digit shortcut. Reordering changes which definition owns each numbered slot. These are tools' shortcuts, not the Alt-digit converter shortcuts.
For example, with a saved tool named Inspect track, choose Tools → Inspect
track to run it. Its Path, Parameter and per-file checkbox determine
what is prepared; the menu name is not a shell command. A custom toolbar may
reference the same saved name while displaying a different button label.
Distinct tool names make those references easier to maintain.
The Default tool (double-click in the file list) setting is separate from menu ordering. A chosen definition follows its current-selection/per-file rules on a row double-click. No action currently falls back to Extended tags in OpenTag; it does not make double-click inert. See tool configuration for that deliberate distinction.
Selection and availability¶
Utilities require an applicable selection and supported mutation access. Selected pending edits must be resolved first; the unavailable-command reason can say Save pending changes first. Mixed-format utility selections may skip formats outside that utility's list. An applicable count is not a count of successfully rewritten files.
Chapter rows are not independent audio files. Supported whole-file utilities can act once on their underlying parent, while cue-sheet track rows have narrower field-editing scope. Provider documents and restricted sources follow additional access/mutation rules. Do not use the presence of a familiar menu label as proof that every desktop operation is supported there.
Named external tools require the desktop/local launch route and a selection. Their disabled entries can show a reason. Unlike built-in cleanup, a tool launch does not save pending tag-panel values first. If the other application should read those changes, save deliberately before running it. A hidden selected row can still be a target; review selection before batch launching.
With per-file launching off, the tool runs once for the first selected file. With it on, it prepares one launch per selected file, asks above ten targets and rejects a per-file request above 100. The 99-definition limit is different from that runtime target limit. Program launch and final task success are also different: Started does not report final exit status or prove that another program opened one window per file.
Error and recovery scope¶
Built-in utilities can partially complete and can have limited/unavailable session Undo. Check their result, errors and current history notice. An external program's edits and outputs are outside OpenTag's general Undo contract. Canceling or closing an Options dialog does not reverse a program that already started.
Use copied files for a new definition and retain independent backups before removing data. The Undo guide distinguishes recorded local writes, side images, pending edits, unrecorded file operations and external outputs.