How to search/replace tags from one column to another

Rellwood · 09-04-2021, 06:20 PM

Is there a way to move tags from one column to another - not copy, but move and delete from the original column?

I tried to do search replace on my tags column to another tag column, but it just ends up copying all the tags from the first to the second.

I used search/replace

Basically I have a "characters" column I wanted to populate from various other columns and then remove those tags from their original columns. When I tried to use the regex function in search replace to move "Vampires" from tags into "characters" it ended up moving all my tags from tags into characters.

What am I doing wrong? I understand that maybe "moving" the tags (erasing the tags after copying them into the other column) isn't a single process, but simply copying ONE tag from one column to another shouldn't have ALL the tags moving.

theducks · 09-04-2021, 06:57 PM

Bulk Mode Metadata Edit: S&R
2 steps
1: copy tag to new home (<put the REGEX here. (keep1), (target2), (keep3)>)
2: Delete the source field \1,\3 (you are really dropping \2 )

Rellwood · 09-04-2021, 07:47 PM

Lol...I am so embarassed that I am not sure exactly how to do this.

I know I should have figured out these things by now, but I think I do things the really hard way because I am not as literate in coding as I should be by now.

So..exactly what am I supposed to do?

theducks · 09-04-2021, 08:04 PM

The first copies the second capture to the target (Mine is #usertags)
The middle capture offered a List (the Bar), but it could be a single tag value

The Second removes the second from the original
BACKUP ... TEST
Bulk mode can make a BULKy mess

09-04-2021, 06:20 PM	#1
Rellwood Library Breeder (She/Her) Posts: 1,237 Karma: 1937891 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Fullerton, California Device: Paperwhite 2015 (2), PW 2024 (12 GEN), PW 2023 (11 GEN), Scribe (1st)	How to search/replace tags from one column to another Is there a way to move tags from one column to another - not copy, but move and delete from the original column? I tried to do search replace on my tags column to another tag column, but it just ends up copying all the tags from the first to the second. I used search/replace Basically I have a "characters" column I wanted to populate from various other columns and then remove those tags from their original columns. When I tried to use the regex function in search replace to move "Vampires" from tags into "characters" it ended up moving all my tags from tags into characters. What am I doing wrong? I understand that maybe "moving" the tags (erasing the tags after copying them into the other column) isn't a single process, but simply copying ONE tag from one column to another shouldn't have ALL the tags moving.

09-04-2021, 08:04 PM	#4
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,932 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	The first copies the second capture to the target (Mine is #usertags) The middle capture offered a List (the Bar), but it could be a single tag value The Second removes the second from the original BACKUP ... TEST Bulk mode can make a BULKy mess Attached Thumbnails

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09-04-2021, 06:57 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,932 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Bulk Mode Metadata Edit: S&R 2 steps 1: copy tag to new home (<put the REGEX here. (keep1), (target2), (keep3)>) 2: Delete the source field \1,\3 (you are really dropping \2 )

09-04-2021, 07:47 PM	#3
Rellwood Library Breeder (She/Her) Posts: 1,237 Karma: 1937891 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Fullerton, California Device: Paperwhite 2015 (2), PW 2024 (12 GEN), PW 2023 (11 GEN), Scribe (1st)	Lol...I am so embarassed that I am not sure exactly how to do this. I know I should have figured out these things by now, but I think I do things the really hard way because I am not as literate in coding as I should be by now. So..exactly what am I supposed to do?

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