Export Cover to File¶
Use Export Cover to File to copy embedded pictures to separate image files. Exporting leaves the pictures embedded in the audio. It does not resize or convert the image data. This action works with local files; action groups are not available for provider documents yet.
Write a front-cover file beside the album¶
- Select copied practice files and save pending edits.
- Choose Actions → Actions (Quick)…, then Export Cover to File.
- Set Output filename format (extension is added) to
folder. - Set Export covers of type to Front Cover.
- Leave Export duplicate covers off.
- Choose Apply action, then inspect the album folder.
For a reusable workflow, create the action in Actions → Actions… (Alt+6; ⌥ Option on macOS). A new installation includes the unchecked Examples → Save front cover as folder image group for this task.
A JPEG front cover becomes folder.jpg. A PNG becomes folder.png.
A relative output path is resolved beside each audio file. The extension
comes from the picture's actual format, not the audio file's extension.
Settings and naming examples¶
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Output filename format (extension is added) | Format string evaluated per audio file |
| Export covers of type | All cover types, or one role such as front or back |
| Export duplicate covers | Whether to attempt exports of repeated image content at the same requested destination |
| Output format | Embedded picture | Output name |
|---|---|---|
folder |
JPEG | folder.jpg |
cover.jpg |
PNG | cover.png |
%album% with album Harbour Lights |
JPEG | Harbour Lights.jpg |
Vol. 2 |
JPEG | Vol. 2.jpg |
An existing matching image extension is kept; a different recognized
image extension is replaced. A suffix such as . 2 in the last example
is part of the name, so the image extension is appended.
When several pictures in one audio file qualify, later pictures receive
numbered names such as cover (1).jpg. The suffix follows the position
among matching cover types, including earlier covers skipped as duplicates.
Appending another embedded cover and exporting again keeps the first image
and writes the new one to its numbered name. Prefer a type filter when
one front cover is wanted rather than every embedded picture.
Use \ to create literal folder components on every platform. Ordinary
tag values have separators and reserved filename characters cleaned.
%_folderpath%, %_path% and %_workingpath% retain native path components,
including a backslash inside a macOS or Linux folder name. See
placeholders and
format strings.
Understand duplicates and existing files¶
With duplicate export off, OpenTag skips a picture when the same image bytes remain in an output for the same requested name after this action finishes. This is useful when every track in an album contains identical artwork. Reordering or replacing embedded pictures exports a repeated image again when a later numbered write would overwrite its only output.
Different pictures aimed at the same name are not duplicates. Nor does
enabling duplicate export create a unique name for every track. Use a
per-track expression such as %_filename%-cover when every track needs
its own output file.
An existing destination with identical image bytes stays unchanged. A different image is replaced. Export duplicate covers controls repeated images in this run; it does not prevent replacement of existing files. An export that only finds identical images does not add an undo step.
Use Edit → Undo (Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z) in the same session to restore a replaced image or remove a new image created by the action. Redo recreates those images. Empty output folders can remain. Keep backups of images to retain beyond this session and inspect the available undo operation.
When recording undo, OpenTag checks the retained snapshot budget before copying an existing output. On macOS and Linux it also checks the journal's free-space reserve; that reserve check is unavailable on Windows. If the capture cannot fit, the export warns and leaves that destination unchanged. A later failure to retain the completed operation produces an undo notice; check which operation is actually available before relying on Undo.
When two selected files export different images to one name in a run, the later file gets a warning and the first image stays. A file can replace its own earlier output after another action changes its cover, including returning to an image exported earlier. A different file's equal-image no-op does not take ownership of the output name.
On macOS and Linux, exporting to an image symlink replaces the link entry; its target file stays unchanged. With the undo step available, Undo restores the original link and Redo restores the exported image. If link undo cannot be prepared, the action warns before replacing it. Dangling output links are refused. A later folder move carries output ownership and undo capture with the image; repeated exports retain the snapshot from before the first replacement. An export back into the old folder after a rename is tracked separately. Undo removes those later images and only their tracked empty parent folders before moving the album back. Extra files in that recreated folder are kept; if they block the move, Undo reports the obstruction and attempts to restore the side-file changes it had already made.
Output aliases that would replace an input audio file are refused. A warning does not stop the file's remaining actions or later groups. Inspect all warnings and earlier successful writes before repeating the group.
Gotchas¶
- Running the same export again can encounter files created by the first run. Duplicate detection for a run is not a disk cleanup policy.
- Pictures of different roles may contain identical image bytes. A type filter makes the intended export clearer.
- An audio file without a qualifying picture produces no image for it.
- Undo covers this action's created and replaced images. Other external exports use their own write/undo rules; it is not a general cleanup tool.