Apologies if this is not the news to some… But I just discovered that it is possible to edit ID3 tags for various music files directly from the “File Properties” dialog of Windows XP.

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What are ID3 tags anyway?

In a nutshell, ID3 tags are pieces of data, stored inside MP3, WMA or WAV files, that provide such information as song title, artist name, album name, release year, genre etc. Most software and hardware players will automatically extract those tags and display them on the screen while the song is playing. Pretty cool, huh?
What if you recorded your own song and want others to know its title and your name when they play it on their players?

How to add ID3 tags using File Properties dialog in Windows XP?

1. Save your song in MP3 format using your favorite sound editor.
2. Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, browse to the location where you saved your file.
3. Right-click on the MP3 file or press ALT+ENTER to open its properties.
4. Click on the “Summary” tab or press CTRL+TAB to reach this tab via keyboard.
5. By default, you can enter song title and comments only, however, if you activate the “Advanced” button, many more options become available.
6. Go through each item in the list and, when you want to edit any one of them, simply press F2 and enter the desired information; press ENTER to confirm.
7. After you are done with all the items, tab to the “Apply” button and activate it to save your information as ID3 tags inside this MP3 file.
8. Press OK to dismiss the dialog.

As always, I hope this was useful to some. And, if yes, please rate this entry. :)