Tags → Mpeg¶
Open File → Options… → Tags → Mpeg to control ID3v1, ID3v2, and APE tags in MPEG-family audio. This policy also serves raw AAC and TTA through OpenTag's format adapters. An AAC stream inside an MP4/M4A container instead uses MP4 tags.
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A file can hold several independent tag blocks with conflicting values. Check what is read before choosing what to write or remove. Try a copied file before changing a library-wide policy.
Read¶
All three reading switches default to on. OpenTag displays one enabled, present tag type, in this priority order:
| Priority | Switch | Reads |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | APE | APEv1 or APEv2. |
| 2 | ID3v2 | ID3v2 metadata. |
| 3 | ID3v1 | The older fixed-size tag. |
If a higher-priority enabled type is absent, the next present type is used. Contents are not assembled field by field from all three. For example, a file with an APE title and a different ID3v2 title shows the APE title while APE reading is enabled. Disabling APE reading reveals the ID3v2 view; it does not remove APE from the file.
The file's technical tag information identifies present/read tag types. When diagnosing another player's different result, inspect that information rather than assuming the visible value is the only stored value.
Write¶
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| ID3v1 | On | Write the limited legacy tag. Long text, extra fields, Unicode outside its character repertoire, multiple values, and artwork cannot all be represented. |
| ID3v2 | On | Write the richer ID3v2 tag using the selected revision/encoding. |
| ID3v2 only if ID3v1 too small | Off | When both ID3v1 and ID3v2 writing are enabled, create ID3v2 only if needed. An existing ID3v2 tag is still updated. |
| APEv2 (also updates an existing ID3v1 tag) | Off | Write APEv2, upgrading an existing APEv1 tag. If an ID3v1 tag already exists it is updated too, even when the explicit ID3v1 writing switch is off. |
At least one write type must remain enabled. Saving synchronizes written types from the displayed field set, so enabling a second type is not a promise to preserve a conflicting hidden tag independently.
When ID3v1 is too small¶
OpenTag checks more than text length. Artwork, custom fields, multiple values, a user-defined genre, and characters outside Latin-1 require ID3v2. In the inspected implementation, title/artist/album fit only within 30 characters; comment space is 28 characters when a track is present, otherwise 30; year must be four digits; a track must fit its legacy positive byte value. A TRACK value containing a total, such as 3/8, needs ID3v2 to preserve that text.
| Metadata in a file without ID3v2 | With conditional ID3v2 writing |
|---|---|
| Short title, artist, album, four-digit year, standard genre | ID3v1 may suffice. |
| Same fields plus embedded front cover | ID3v2 is needed. |
Same fields plus MOOD=Reflective |
ID3v2 is needed. |
| Existing ID3v2, even if values would fit ID3v1 | Existing ID3v2 is updated. |
ID3v2 version and encoding¶
| Choice | Use and tradeoff |
|---|---|
| ID3v2.4 UTF-8 | Unicode in ID3v2.4. Choose when all consuming players support this revision. |
| ID3v2.3 UTF-16 | Default. Unicode in ID3v2.3; a practical compatibility choice for older consumers that support Unicode but not v2.4. |
| ID3v2.3 ISO-8859-1 | Legacy non-Unicode output for a device that specifically requires it. Characters outside Latin-1 are written as ?, so names in other scripts can lose information. |
Changing this setting affects future writes; it does not convert every loaded file immediately. Keep Unicode unless a known consuming device requires another format, then test its actual display on a copy.
Remove¶
ID3v1, ID3v2, and APE removal all default to on. File → Remove tag… removes the selected types that exist. Saving also removes a checked type when it is not written. Thus disabling Write APEv2 while leaving Remove APE enabled can remove an existing APE tag during an ordinary save.
If every Remove switch is off, the remove command reports that no types are selected. Disabling Read alone never requests deletion. A type left unread and unwritten is retained only if the removal policy also leaves it alone.
Mp3tag's original reference specifically couples ID3v1 removal with removal of a dependent Lyrics3 tag. OpenTag has Lyrics3-aware raw-stream layout handling, but this guide has no verified equivalent guarantee for every MPEG removal path. Do not use the ID3v1 checkbox as a general Lyrics3-cleanup promise.