FAQ

Q) What is an ID3 tag?
A) The ID3v1 tag is located in the last 128 bytes of an MP3 file. It includes Title, Artist, Album, Comment, Genre, Year and Track Number information. ID3v2 tags are located at the beginning of the file and can contain more information.

Q) Why do ID3v2 tags take more time to write than ID3v1 tags?
A) Version 2 tags are located at the beginning of each file. If a tag already exists and is big enough to contain your information the old one will be replaced but otherwise the file has to be rewritten. Since version 1 tags are located at the end of the file, rewriting of the file never needs to occur in order to increase the size of the tag.

Q) Why, when renaming to a name of a file, does "_copy_001" get added?
A) This helps to protect against accidental file removal, in case you mistakenly set a mask which could overwrite your music collection.

Q) Why am I not able to write tags to some files?
A) Your files are probably in read-only mode. Right-click on the files in Explorer and choose "Properties". In the "Attributes" section, uncheck the "Read-only" box. If you copy files from a CD to your hard disk you will also have to modify the read-only attribute to be able to modify tags. Make sure you are not trying to modify files on a CD or locked media.

Q) Why is the text shortened in my ID3v1 tags?
A) Version 1.x tag field sizes are limited because the tag has a fixed size of 128 bytes. Add a version 2 tag, which has no size restriction, if you require more space.

Q) Is it possible to add both ID3v1 and v2 tags in the same file?
A) Yes, this is possible. It is a good protection measure against mistakenly removed tags. However, some older programs may only read version 1 tags.

Q) What is the Abander TagControl Database?
A) You may compile a full database from your music collection (the text,comments, references, links and pictures), create your own database and download complete databases from our site. You may also back up your completed tags, create and print a full lyrics and image library, even record your notes on your favorite artists. A proprietary format, which does not require additional drivers, is used to save the databases. All databases are in a folder:
drive:\Program Files\Abander TagControl\database\*.mbd