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Replace

Use Replace for literal text changes: underscores to spaces, an unwanted word, or a consistent spelling. The search text is not a regular expression; . means a dot and * means an asterisk.

Make a replacement

  1. Save pending edits and select a few copied files.
  2. Choose Actions → Actions (Quick)…, then Replace.
  3. Choose a Field, enter Original string and Replace with, then set the two comparison options.
  4. Choose Apply action and check the changed fields.

Add the same settings to a group when the change will be repeated.

Setting Meaning Initial value
Field A field name or supported target below TITLE
Original string The literal text to find; cannot be empty Empty
Replace with The replacement text; leave empty to delete matches Empty
Only as whole word Restrict the match to whole words as defined below Off
Case-sensitive comparison Distinguish upper- and lowercase search text Off

All occurrences are replaced in each value of the chosen field. Unmatched values stay unchanged. The replacement is literal too: $1 is text here, not a captured group.

Worked examples

Field Original string Replace with Before → After
TITLE _ One space Low_Tide → Low Tide
ALBUM (Deluxe) Leave empty Harbour Lights (Deluxe) → Harbour Lights, with a trailing space
TITLE Live Concert LIVE at the Pier → Concert at the Pier when case sensitivity is off
ARTIST & and Kofi & the Tidewater Band → Kofi and the Tidewater Band

Enter the actual spaces around & and and; do not type quotes. For deleting a suffix and its preceding spaces, use the regex action with a pattern that includes those spaces.

Whole-word matching

Only as whole word accepts a match at the start or end of a value, or next to whitespace or one of these punctuation characters:

. , ; : ! ?

A hyphen, underscore, slash or parenthesis does not count as that boundary. For example, a whole-word search for Live can change Live! but leaves Live-Version unchanged. Use regular expressions when a different word boundary rule is needed.

Special targets

  • _TAG changes every tag field.
  • _ALL changes every tag field and the filename stem.
  • _FILENAME changes the filename stem, keeping the audio extension.
  • _DIRECTORY changes the containing folder name.

The replacement can therefore have wider consequences than the field list suggests. Keep a folder backup when using a naming target, and avoid changing a directory merely to fix tag text.

Gotchas

  • Quick-action settings are remembered. Check them before each run.
  • Literal replacement does not trim the result. A deleted word can leave double or trailing spaces.
  • Changes are saved when the action runs. Check operation errors and the Edit → Undo label rather than assuming the whole batch is atomic.