Export

Export creates a text file from selected audio files: a spreadsheet, track list, HTML catalogue or another report. An export configuration is the template that describes its contents. The output file is the finished report; an .mte file stores a reusable template. Export does not convert audio.

Save pending tag edits, select the files, then choose File → Export… (Ctrl+E; use Cmd+E on a Mac). Export uses the selected files in file-list order unless the template sorts them. The current desktop workflow requires local files; provider-document selections can disable the operation.

If Show selection dialog is off in Options → Export, the command runs the saved configuration immediately. Turn that option on again to edit the template or output choices in the dialog. The steps below assume the dialog is enabled.

Make the first report

1. Select the Text configuration.
2. Set Export file name to an absolute path in a practice folder, such as C:\Reports\tracks.txt on Windows or /Users/you/Reports/tracks.txt on a Mac. Browse… chooses a location without writing the report yet.
3. Leave Append data and Create one output file per off.
4. Choose Export. The configuration and preferences are saved, then the report is written. Existing output is replaced unless append is on.

For selected files with ARTIST = Juniper Vale and titles Paper Boats and Lanterns on the Water, Text writes one artist/title line per file. Open the output in a text editor to inspect its actual contents. The catalogue lesson builds a report in small steps; the template language explains the commands.

Manage configurations

Select an item under Export configurations to edit it. Export template is a multiline editor. Changes remain when switching configurations within the dialog, but Cancel does not save those edits.

Control or shortcut	Result
New	Create a configuration and enter its name
Duplicate	Copy the selected configuration with a distinct name
Rename, F2, or a second separate click on its selected name	Edit its name; Enter or leaving the name field keeps it, Escape cancels
Double-click a configuration, Enter, or F4	Focus its template editor
Remove	Remove the selected configuration when the library is saved
Import .mte…	Read a template file into a new configuration
Save configurations	Save templates and preferences without exporting; keep the dialog open
Export	Save configurations and preferences, then write the report

Names must be nonempty and distinct without regard to case. Use Legacy import encoding (optional) when an imported .mte contains non-Unicode bytes. This controls reading the template, not encoding the report. A Unicode BOM identifies the template's encoding; valid UTF-8 is read as UTF-8. Other legacy text uses the selected/system ANSI codepage, with Windows-1252 as the fallback on macOS and Linux.

Saved configurations have .mte files in the configuration folder's export subfolder. OpenTag discovers other readable .mte files copied there. Keep a backup before editing shared configurations externally. A template made for another application still needs syntax and output checks; its extension alone does not establish compatibility.

Choose a name and encoding

Export file name accepts a format string. A relative name uses the first selected audio file's folder as its base; an absolute name chooses a separate location. Fields in a name use the first row of the output group, so the name should identify the group rather than an arbitrary track.

Choosing a configuration prefills a literal $filename default. $filename(html) changes export.txt to export.html; $filename(tracks.cue) supplies that filename in the current output folder. With /lists/export.txt currently shown, $filename(sub/report.csv) supplies /lists/sub/report.csv. A rooted name supplies its own destination.

When that argument contains placeholders, functions or quoting, choosing the configuration clears the name field so the renderer can evaluate it for each output group. For $filename(%EXPORT_NAME%,utf-8) with EXPORT_NAME = report.csv, leaving the field empty produces report.csv, not out.report.csv. Type a name after choosing the configuration to override it deliberately.

Leave this field empty to use $filename(...) from the template. A nonempty dialog name overrides the template's name while leaving its encoding choice in effect. For example, $filename(csv,utf-8) chooses a .csv default but does not replace an explicitly entered report.txt name.

%_workingdir% and %_workingpath% refer to the folder the file list was last changed to, not necessarily the first audio file’s folder. They are available in report text and output-name expressions.

Use UTF-8 for new reports. Set Write BOM under Options → Export when the receiving program needs a byte-order mark. It applies to UTF-8/UTF-16, not ANSI. Don't create directories rejects destinations whose parent folder does not exist; clear that option to allow folder creation.

Append or replace

Append data adds the entire rendered report to an existing output file. It does not merge headers, JSON arrays, HTML documents or CSV columns. Appending a header repeats it. The destination must already use a compatible encoding; append does not transcode earlier contents. A new BOM is suppressed when appending to a nonempty file.

Use replace while designing a report. Export writes are not tag edits and are not restored by tag-edit undo. Keep outputs separate from audio and other files you need to retain.

Create one output file per group

Enable Create one output file per, then set Partition format. OpenTag evaluates this ordinary format string for every selected file. Equal text values belong to one report; different values produce different reports. Grouping is case-sensitive: Harbour Lights and HARBOUR LIGHTS differ.

For a report per album, %albumartist%|%album% works when those fields reliably identify the album. Fill missing album artists or choose a deliberate fallback. A separator avoids confusing AB + C with A + BC; values containing that separator still need care.

The output name is evaluated separately for every group. For example, %albumartist% - %album%.txt distinguishes reports in one folder. A fixed report.txt would repeatedly target the same path, so OpenTag rejects the collision. Each partition starts with fresh template variables and totals.

For a report in each audio folder, partition by %_folderpath% and name the output %_folderpath%report.txt. Alternatively, use Ctrl+Shift+E (Cmd+Shift+E on a Mac). Per-directory export temporarily replaces the saved partition. A plain or relative name is placed under each audio folder. An absolute output folder keeps that folder and mirrors the selected folders' relative layout below it. Check destinations when files span different roots or drives.

Open results and troubleshoot

Options → Messages can offer to open a finished report with its associated program. With several reports, select a written file; Show in… reveals its location. The offer is separate from whether export succeeded.

Symptom	Check
Export disabled	Select local files, save pending edits and wait for the current operation
Only one track appears	Put repeated content inside $loop(...) and $loopend()
Blank lines appear	Literal line breaks are output; place control commands deliberately
Partition collision	Make the output name differ for every group, including missing-field groups
Parent folder missing	Create it or clear Don't create directories
Incomplete report	Review file errors; several output files are not one transaction
Accented characters look wrong	Check output encoding and the receiving program's import setting, separately from .mte import encoding

See CSV for spreadsheet import and the template gallery for ready-to-edit reports.