ID3v2 Options

Default Tag

From this drop-down list choose the default version of ID3v2 tag to be created when a new ID3v2 tag is formed.

Padding

Since most ID3v2 tags occur at the beginning of a file, extra tag space, or "padding," is usually added at the end of a tag's data section to allow for the addition of more data later without requiring the potentially time-consuming process of lengthening the file to make room for it. Padding can be set to 2 Kb, 4 Kb, or none. Library Clinic will not extend the length of a file unless a tag update requires more tag space than is currently available between the start of an existing tag and the end of any pre-existing padding. When a file must be lengthened, enough padding is added to round up file length to the nearest 2048 byte or 4096 byte file-length boundary, if padding is set to 2 Kb or 4 Kb, respectively. Note that FLAC tags also will use this setting to determine how much padding to include in a tag.

Compression

Enable: Check this box to enable the compression of ID3v2 tag data before it is written to a tag. Tag fields are examined on a field-by-field basis as tags are edited and updated. If compression will result in a space savings, the data are compressed before it is written to the tag. For the great majority of tags, enabling this feature will produce either no or only negligible savings in tag storage space. The data in most tag fields is quite small already, and tag sizes are usually padded-out to a multiple of 2 or 4 kb anyway. Notable exceptions can occur when, for example, a tag contains a non-compressed image type, such as a BMP, or contains a lengthy Comment, Lyrics, or other text field, or a large encapsulated object. Bear in mind that not all tag readers are capable of reading compressed tags, so enabling this feature could possibly render the compressed portions of your tags unreadable elsewhere.

You can have the tag data for only specific files compressed by selecting the desired files in the Main Editor, then choosing "Compress ID3v2 tags" in the "Edit" section of the Main Menu (or by choosing <Alt-F1>).

Preserve: Check this box to have Library Clinic keep the compressed data it finds in a tag in a compressed state when the tag is updated (even if the Enable option above is turned off). When disabled, compressed tag data are rewritten as uncompressed data when a tag is updated. This option is automatically turned on when Enable above is turned on, and cannot be turned off while that option is active.

Tag compression is only applicable to tag ID3v2 tags versions ID3v2.3 and above.

Unicode

Enable: When checked, new or updated tag text is stored in MP3s as Unicode UTF-16 encoded data rather than plain ASCII text. You can have tag data converted on demand between Unicode and ASCII by choosing "Convert ASCII tags to Unicode" or "Convert Unicode tags to ASCII" in the "Edit" section of the Main Menu. Only selected MP3s are converted if one or more Main Editor rows are highlighted, or all are converted if no rows are selected. Choice of text encoding is applicable only to MP3s; WMA tag text is always encoded in Unicode UTF-16BE, OGG and FLAC tag text is encoded in Unicode UTF-8, while VQF and MP4 is in plain ASCII.

Preserve: Check this box to have Library Clinic keep the Unicode MP3 tags it finds encoded in Unicode UTF-16, even if the Enable option above is turned off. This option is automatically turned on when Enable is turned on, and cannot be turned off while that option is active.

Default Language

Certain ID3v2 tag frames can have language descriptor codes associated with them in order for tag readers with a need for this information to determine which language a particular tag field is written in. Choosing a language from this drop-down list tells Library Clinic that this is the language you typically write in, and that you would like to have the program automatically assign the descriptor code for that language to all new Comment, Lyrics, or other fields as they are created. A drop-down list identical to that appearing here also appears in respective sub-editors for Comment, Lyrics, and Commercial frames License fields. Whenever one of these editors is executed, its own default language selection is automatically set to "mirror" the selection you make here. When a tag is loaded into an editor, and there has been no descriptor already assigned to its language field, the default language chosen here is automatically applied (see topic Comment Editor for a more detailed discussion of this behavior).

Default Currency

Ownership and Commercial Frames contain product price fields, and prices are always stored together with an international code identifying what type of currency the price is given in. When entering a price in the Commercial Frames Editor without having first selected a currency type for it on the editor itself, the currency specified here is automatically associated with the new price entered.

When a price field has been selected for display in the Commercial column of Editor 2 (the choice of which field to show is made on the Commercial Frames Editor itself), the price field becomes directly editable in the main Editor by selecting its cell contents and typing in a new value. Normally the new price keeps the old Currency type that was first assigned to this field. However, if an empty cell is given a new price, the new price automatically becomes associated with the Default Currency specified here. To change it, use the Commercial Frames Editor to select a different one.

Remove empty frames while loading

Some tag editors may leave empty ID3v2 tag frames inside a tag, even though the data they contained was removed. Such frames are wasteful of tag storage space and can impact tag reading speed to a small degree. Check this option to have empty frames automatically removed as tags are being read during a folder scan. This process may lengthen the tag-reading process slightly, so it is recommended that it not be left on indefinitely.

Remove private frames while loading

For Media Player users. Some tag reading programs are not able to process ID3v2 tags that contain Private Frames. Check this option to have Private Frames automatically removed as tags are being read during a folder scan. This process may lengthen the tag-reading process slightly, so it is recommended that it not be left on indefinitely.

Include v1 genre index in v2 genre

The technical specification for the ID3v2 genre field allows for the inclusion of a corresponding ID3v1 genre list index number, when one exists, in addition to and preceding the genre name itself. Some tag readers. however, are not able to parse genre names correctly when this type of format is used. Check this box to have ID3v1 genre index numbers included with ID3v2 genre names; uncheck it to have only genre names placed in ID3v2 genre fields.

Store Artist after Orch/Band

For iTunes users. Atypical of other tag readers, iTunes will pull data from the Album Artist field (sometimes referred to as the "Orchestra/Band" field) and display it in the Artist column, if there happens to be no Artist data present in the tag. Even if both the Artist and the Album Artist fields contain data, iTunes will still display Album Artist instead of Artist if the Album Artist frame is not physically located ahead of the Artist frame in the tag. Checking this option instructs Library Clinic to restructure a tag in two ways in order to coerce iTunes into keeping Artist and Album Artist data separate: 1) If there is no Artist data present in a tag, but there is Album Artist data, an empty Artist frame containing no actual text is added, and 2) tag frames are arranged in a tag such that the Album Artist frame is always located ahead of the Artist frame, if both frames are present in the tag. When this option is enabled, the setting "Remove empty frames while loading" above is overridden for the Artist field.

Force ASCII picture format

For iTunes and MusicMatch users. Some tag reading programs capable of displaying artwork or pictures in tags are not able to show pictures that are stored in Unicode-compliant form. By default, Library Clinic installs a picture using text encoding that is in keeping with that used in the rest of the tag itself; that is, an ASCII-formatted picture frame is installed in a tag that uses ASCII text encoding, while a Unicode-formatted frame is installed in a tag that is Unicode encoded. Check this option to have Library Clinic always install an ASCII-formatted picture frame, regardless of whether the tag itself is ASCII or Unicode.

Apply unsynchronization

Check this box to have "unsynchronization" applied to a tag's contents when it is saved or updated. The purpose of unsynchronization is to make ID3v2 tags compatible with older hardware and software that is not ID3v2 "tag-aware" (this feature should not be enabled for any other reason). Tag data can sometimes contain units of data that may appear as audio synchronization data to "unaware" software or hardware. This, in turn, can cause unpredictable behavior or noise when the file is edited or played. When "unsynchronization" is applied, these potentially problem-causing data units are converted to benign, non-conflicting units that cannot cause these types of problems. Tags which have had unsynchronization applied, however, should be edited only with tag editors (such as this one) that are capable of detecting unsynchronization and reversing it, as needed, as they are read and before they are altered again.

ID3v1 Default Tag

Choose the default version of ID3v1 tag (ID3v1.0 or ID3v1.1) that will be created when a new ID3v1 tag is created. Note that the "Track" field is not supported in ID3v1.0 tags, and if a tag is at version ID3v1.0 when a track is added it is automatically promoted to version ID3v1.1 to accommodate the addition, regardless of the selection made here. Technically, when an ID3v1 tag that contains no track number is updated, the space normally occupied by a track number is filled with zeros when the option is set to "ID3v1.1." When at "ID3v1.0," the track number area is filled with space characters.

MP3 Processing Options

By default, Library Clinic makes only a cursory examination of files for determining their audio characteristics when loading. While this maximizes the tag-loading speed, files that are defective in some way, or that do not conform to expected structural standards, can be misread to produce inaccurate file specs (bitrates, sample rates, playtimes, etc.). Each of the processing options below is designed to improve the reading accuracy of aberant files, but each will also add some additional overhead to the tag-reading process.

Process Xing-less VBRs: Check this option to enable additional processing of VBR (variable bitrate) MP3s that are found to have no Xing header. Typically a VBR file without an Xing header will have the correct encoder identified in the ID3v1 Encoder column but will show an incorrect Bitrate and Playtime, since the file will be perceived as a constant bitrate file. Most VBRs contain an Xing header in front of a VBR header, from which their VBR status, bitrate, and playtime can be easily acquired. Without this, specs must be obtained by "stepping though" a file frame-by-frame to compute them. The additional overhead for this option depends upon the mix of encoding types being loaded.

Search for headerless VBRs: Check this option to enable a search for VBR (variable bitrate) MP3s that contain neither an Xing header nor a VBR header. Typically a VBR file without either of these headers will be misidentified as a CBR (constant bitrate) file, usually of type FhG or Blade, and will show incorrect bitrate and playtimes. Searching for this type of defect involves partially stepping through many CBRs to verify audio frame-by-audio frame whether they are VBR or not. When found to be VBR, a file is stepped all the way through to compute the bitrate and playtime. A brief search is also performed at the bottom of a file for the appearance of an encoder ID. A VBR identified in this way and that has no encoder ID found will have the encoder listed as "Unknown" in the ID3v1 Encoder column. The file will show a correct bitrate and playtime, however. Enabling this option typically adds noticeably to the tag-reading time. Leaving it enabled indefinitely, therefore, is not recommended.

Validate CBR specs: Check this option to enable testing and validation of CBR (constant bitrate) audio specifications found initially for MP3s. By default, and to maintain the greatest tag-loading speed, Library Clinic examines only the very first audio frame in a CBR MP3 to determine its audio characteristics, and the results are not checked for accuracy. Usually this is sufficient, but occasionally a first audio frame will be defective or malformed in some way, often because the encoder that produced it got off to a shaky start. When this happens, inaccurate audio specs are reported (bitrates, sample rates, playtimes, etc.). Enabling this option brings to bear some "second look" processing to better ensure that a representative audio frame is used to compute audio specs. Also enabled with this option is an end-of-file search for a Lame CBR encoder ID, since files with no clear encoder markings at their beginning typically default to being identified as Fraunhafer encodes otherwise. The additional overhead added by this option is usually modest.