Extended tags¶

Use Extended tags… to see fields that are not on the tag panel, edit separate values and work with cover art. Open it through View → Extended tags… or Alt+T with files selected. Alt is ⌥ Option on macOS.

For one file, the heading identifies its filename and available tag type. For a selection, the heading gives the number of files. A field's values can contain several lines without becoming several separate field values.

Add a practice field and save it¶

Select one copied practice file and open Extended tags….
Choose ＋ Add field.
Enter COMMENT as the field name, or choose it through the ► helper. Do not add a second COMMENT row if one already exists; edit that row.
Choose ＋ Add value, then type Checked for the catalogue in its value box.
Choose Keep changes. Back in the main window, the change is pending.
Choose File → Save tags (Cmd+S / Ctrl+S) to write it.
Reopen Extended tags and confirm the saved value.

Keep changes stages text-field edits; it does not itself write all tags. Until saving, Edit → Discard pending changes can discard staged field edits. Keep an original copy and inspect the actual errors after a save.

Read a selection without overwriting differences¶

Suppose two selected files have these values:

Field	Paper Boats	North Pier	Dialog state
`ALBUM`	`Harbour Lights`	`Harbour Lights`	One shared value is shown
`TITLE`	`Paper Boats`	`North Pier`	Mixed values — keep existing values
`ARTIST`	`Juniper Vale` plus `Mira Solberg`	`Juniper Vale`	Mixed separate-value lists
`COMMENT`	`Reviewed`	Absent	Mixed, because presence differs too

An untouched mixed row preserves every file's own values. It is not a request to clear the field. Editing its values instead supplies one new value list to every selected file. For example, entering one ALBUMARTIST value can deliberately standardize the selection, while editing TITLE would replace each track's distinct title.

A mixed state compares whole value lists, including their order. Two files with the same names in a different value order can therefore be mixed. Choose a smaller selection to investigate a difference rather than typing over it merely to make the indication disappear.

Separate values and multiline text¶

Use ＋ Add value to add another value to a field. Each value has its own textarea and remove × control. Enter within a textarea starts another line in that value. Two lines in one lyrics/comment value are different from two ARTIST values.

For a duet credit, keep Juniper Vale and Mira Solberg as two value boxes when the format/workflow supports separate artists. The multi-value explanation shows why typing a semicolon into one box does not necessarily create two stored values.

Remove field removes the whole row from the intended result. Removing all its value boxes also requests field removal. A remaining value box containing empty text is a different input; the target tag format determines how an empty text value survives saving. Inspect the saved result.

Rename a field while retaining each file's values¶

Edit the FIELD name without changing its value boxes. A name-only edit uses each file's original values, even when the row is mixed. For example, rename a custom SESSION_NOTE field to SESSIONNOTES:

File	`SESSION_NOTE` before	Rename to	`SESSIONNOTES` after
`01.flac`	`Early take`	`SESSIONNOTES`	`Early take`
`02.flac`	`Final take`	`SESSIONNOTES`	`Final take`

The old field is removed from each file, and its own value becomes the new field's value. If the values are edited as well, the edited list replaces the originals instead. Do not rename into a field already listed in the dialog: duplicate field identities are rejected for review.

Field identities use case-insensitive ASCII names, so a second artist row is not another independent field beside ARTIST. Native field spelling can remain specific to each file. Field names and mapping explain how names reach tag formats; a visible custom name is not a promise that every player will display it.

Copy, cut and paste fields¶

Right-click a field row outside a value textarea, or focus the row and use Shift+F10. Copy field retains the field name and its separate values in OpenTag's field clipboard. Cut field additionally marks the original row for removal. Paste replaces a matching field's values, or adds a row when the field is absent.

Copy/Cut are unavailable for a mixed row because no single common value list represents all selected files. Inspect one file or make an intentional common value first. The field clipboard is separate from copying all tags, ordinary selected text and image clipboard contents. See context menus for the controls.

Step through individual files¶

The << and >> buttons appear when one file is being edited. They move to the previous/next row in current file-list order and change the main selection to that file. A filtered or sorted view changes that sequence; the buttons are disabled at its ends.

The treatment of changed fields follows Options → Tags → Save mode at extended tag dialog:

Mode	When navigating away from a changed file
Keep changes pending	Default. Stage the current field edits and move to the neighboring file. Save them later from the main window.
Ask	Choose Save, Don't save, or cancel the question to stay on the current file.
Ignore changes	Leave the current dialog edits unapplied and move on.
Save changes	Stage and write the current changed fields before moving; a reported save error keeps the issue visible.

The separate Save tags when using arrow-keys/single mouse click preference can also write pending changes as selection changes. Check both settings before relying on navigation as a read-only inspection workflow.

Closing the dialog does not undo edits already kept by an earlier navigation or written by a save mode. To discard unsaved work, inspect the main window's pending changes. To reverse a recorded disk operation, inspect its Undo label. Neither is a substitute for an original copy.

Covers use a different confirmation path¶

The cover section has Add cover…, Remove cover, Extract cover… and its ⋯/right-click menu. It uses the same selection summary as the tag panel. Cover actions can write immediately; field Keep changes is not a general confirmation or rollback for artwork operations.

Working with covers explains direct cover commands versus the Manage covers… dialog's OK write step. Supported image-file drops onto the dialog's cover area target that area; dropping elsewhere can have a different meaning. Extraction creates an external image instead of removing the embedded one.

Gotchas¶

Confirm the heading and selected-file count before replacing a shared field.
Leave mixed rows untouched to preserve differences; a blank-looking mixed indication is not an empty text value to fill automatically.
A field rename and a value replacement have distinct effects. Start with copied files when reorganizing custom field names.
A formula typed into a value textarea is ordinary metadata text; this dialog is not the Tag → Tag format-string evaluator.
Unsupported tag fields, provider access or format limits can prevent a later write. Check actual saved tags and errors, not only the dialog view.