Author Topic: Looking for Files with APE Tags  (Read 3502 times)

phred

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Is there an easy way to search for, and find, all tracks that have APE tags? I know how to get rid of them once found, but apparently there are hundreds. And they seem to be causing an issue with my Logitech Music Server.

Thanks.
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The Incredible Boom Boom

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CTRL + F, then setting ".Ext is 'ape'" not working?

phred

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CTRL + F, then setting ".Ext is 'ape'" not working?
a) CTRL + F takes me to the search box (top left) where there are no options. It's possible I remapped it. What's the default action for CTRL + F?
b) I tried a Custom Search (should -this- be CTRL + F?) and there is no ".ext".
c) ".ext" is file extension. The files I'm looking for are all MP3 and have APE tags embedded. And that's what I'm looking for. So searching for ".ext" isn't going to help. Unless I am misunderstanding what you're suggesting.
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phred

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Maybe this one: https://help.mp3tag.de/options_ape.html
That looks promising, Vincent. Thanks.
I'm in the middle of a 38k track scan right now, so I will test it later today.

All my tracks have ID3vx tags. In addition, some have APE. I found and removed the APE tags from about 200 tracks yesterday, but I'm not convinced that's all there were. From the looks of your link, I see that I can (probably) remove the APEs in one operation. But I'd like to see how many there are (might be) before I start deleting. Do you know if that can be done. I have MP3TAG installed, but haven't used it in years. I should probably update it before doing anything e lse.
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vincent kars

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phred

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Me too  :)
Can't help you on this one.
I'll give it a shot later and report back.
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hiccup

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Does it happen that there is a commonly present ape tag in these files that is not present as an id3 tag in these files?
Then you could use that specific tag as a filter?

sveakul

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But I'd like to see how many there are (might be) before I start deleting. Do you know if that can be done. I have MP3TAG installed, but haven't used it in years. I should probably update it before doing anything e lse.

After you update mp3tag, set it up so that it will read all tags but erase only APE tags (when instructed):



Then add your music folders to it with "Tag" as one of the columns;  sort by Tag, and you can see everything with an APE tag.  To delete them all, select all and choose File/Remove Tag;  all the APE tags will be removed (be sure you set up your options first to erase ONLY APE tags!!).  The third file in the image shows an mp3 with both ID3v2 and APE tags, prior to deleting the APE tag.

Last Edit: April 07, 2021, 08:06:15 PM by sveakul

frankz

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I've been following along.  FYI I didn't have a tag column by default I had to add it under Customize Columns (Name: Tag Value: %_tag% Field: %_tag%)

sveakul

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Yep, thanks for pointing that out, I've had some stuff there so long I can't remember whether I added it or it came "stock."

Edit: FWIW my Tag column's value is constructed as %_tag_read%[ (%_tag%)] ;  the reason lost in time
Last Edit: April 07, 2021, 07:54:42 PM by sveakul

frankz

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Go with sveakul's column values I barely know what I'm doing on the more advanced mp3tag stuff even though I use it almost every day.

The Incredible Boom Boom

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CTRL + F, then setting ".Ext is 'ape'" not working?
a) CTRL + F takes me to the search box (top left) where there are no options. It's possible I remapped it. What's the default action for CTRL + F?
b) I tried a Custom Search (should -this- be CTRL + F?) and there is no ".ext".
c) ".ext" is file extension. The files I'm looking for are all MP3 and have APE tags embedded. And that's what I'm looking for. So searching for ".ext" isn't going to help. Unless I am misunderstanding what you're suggesting.

Oops. I think I saw "APE" and stopped reading. I don't remember remapping the Custom Search hotkey, but the default could very well be something different.

To add onto @sveakul's instructions, in you MP3TAG, you can F3 to filter tracks and use %_tag% HAS "ape" (if I remember correctly) to grab the ones that have APE tags.

phred

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Does it happen that there is a commonly present ape tag in these files that is not present as an id3 tag in these files?
Then you could use that specific tag as a filter?
The few that I paid attention to yesterday, while deleting the APEs from about 200  tracks, had "MINMAX" or something like that. I think they all related to replay gain. Your suggestion is a good one, but sveakul gave some good pointers on MP3TAG's use and I'm loading 36,397 tracks into it right now. I'll report back later.
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phred

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After you update mp3tag, set it up so that it will read all tags but erase only APE tags (when instructed):
Thank you.

Seemingly this is all I needed to get started. The existing version of MP3TAG wasn't as old as I thought it would be- mid-2020. But I'm using the latest now and in a quick test before loading in my entire library, the tag column already was present and showed ID3 and APE tags in a few of the small sample files I loaded.

It has now loading in 9000 of 36,397 and I will look very carefully before I pull the trigger. Apparently there are more tracks with APE files that Logitech Media Server didn't choke on yesterday. Full report to follow later.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
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