Program layout

Summary

File details

Whether a file has an ID3 tag or not can be seen in the second column of the filelist, called 'ID3' as shown in the picture below. If the file has an ID3 tag then the contents can be seen if you scroll to the right in the filelist.
The filelist showing the ID3 tag versions in the second column
The editing of ID3 tags has been divided into two areas. The first area is for entering data manually and the second area is for entering data automatically.

Entering data manually

The area for manual entry can be seen in the picture below and as it already is self explaning, this is the area which is used most for entering data into the ID3 tag.
Area for manual entry
If there is a field filled with unwanted data then you can use the adjacent X button on the right of the field to erase the field quickly. In case of multiple fields for an entry (like date for example), all fields will be emptied and only the first field of te series is enabled for entering data. After you entered data in the first field, the second becomes available for entering data and so on.
The fields for Track, Date and Comment comprise of multiple entries of data. For the Comment field, a description is needed to fill the actual commentary (a description is only mandatory in the ID3v2 tag). If you fail to give a description, the comment will not be stored.
When you have selected one file, the program will act different than if you would have selected multiple files. With a single selected file you will only be changing the current selected file. When you change some text, the changed field header will turn green to indicate the text has been altered.
When multiple files are selected, checkboxes become available to select what data you want to copy/change to all the selected files. When you select checkboxes of the fields to be copied the header fields will turn green to indicate these are ready to be copied.
In both above situations, the 'Change' button will become available to copy the data of the green field header to the ID3 tag.

Entering data automatically

The area for automatic entry is done by the selected format as shown in the picture below. This is a pre-set format and will be used to fill the ID3 tags automatically.
Selected format which will be used for automatic entry
The pre-set formats are used in combination with the context menu that pops up when you hover with the mouse cursor over the filelist and when you click the right mouse button. The context menu contains functions to automatically enter data according the selected format you see in the drop-down box.
At the time of installation the program comes with 4 pre-set formats. You can delete/change/add any combination you like in the format builder. The format can contain sections from the filename as well as sections from upper directories.
The format builder shows up if you hit the button on the right side of the format box.
Format builder to create pre-set formats to choose from
Use of the format builder is self explanatory. With the available sections 'Folder' and 'Unused' you can build a structure like a directory tree. That is, if you have a particular song of an album stored on your harddisk like this:
C:\My Music \A Split Second \Neurobeat \01 - Rigor Mortis.mp3
then your structure would look like:
\Artist \Album \Track - Title.mp3
Although there is no limit in the amount of 'Folder' or 'Unused' sections you choose, it would be wise not to make it too long, because you would loose the oversight.
The way you can work with these pre-set formats will be explaned on the page
Editing ID3 tags.
After entering data manually or automatically, the 'Change' button will become available to finalise the change to the tag. This change will only be done in memory. After hitting the 'Change' button, the 'Save' button will become available to save the changes to the actual file. You should only use the 'Save' button if you are completely satisfied with the changes made to avoid repeatedly saving the same files over and over again. If you are not satisfied with the results so far then you can go back by hitting the 'Undo' button. However, this will take you back to the very beginning of all changes.
Saving ID3 versions
Before saving the files you can choose which versions of the ID3 tags you would like to include in the mp3 file. The ID3v1 is supported by every player or music editor you can find but it also is a little outdated. The default is saving both versions. They do not conflict and contain the same information if possible.