Underscores in every file name

[jlsohio]

I just upgraded to the paid cd ripper subscription. I have ripped 3 cd's so far. They all have underscores at the end of the file name. I did not have this issue with the free trial version.

[Spoon]

See:

https://forum.dbpoweramp.com/forum/dbpoweramp/cd-ripper/337430-ripping-tmp-files-instead-of-wave-files

[jlsohio]

OK, I tried writing to a new folder, but it did not work. The file name is adding 4 underscores to the end of each file. (name column) I'm ripping to a FLAC file.

[jlsohio]

Thanks Spoon — I tried ripping to a completely different folder (not Music, not monitored), but the issue persists. Every file still ends with four underscores. This only started after upgrading to the paid CD Ripper subscription. The free trial version did not add underscores.

I’ve confirmed:
- My metadata is clean
- My naming string is clean
- My character replacement table uses * to remove restricted characters
- I’ve disabled all DSPs and tag manipulation
- I’ve tested multiple CDs — all show the issue
- I’ve tried ripping to a local folder with no monitoring — same result

It looks like the underscores are being added during the final file write or rename step, possibly as a fallback when the filename ends with a restricted or invisible character. Can you confirm if this is a known behavior in the paid version? And is there a way to disable it?

[Spoon]

You can enable the filename column in CD Ripper.
Give an example filename it is writing so I can see where the _ are being placed.

[jlsohio]

Update: I’ve isolated the underscore issue further.

When I use a simple naming string like [track] - [title], the filenames are perfect — no underscores. But when I add [album artist] as a folder component (e.g., [album artist]

\[track] - [title]), the underscores return. I’ve confirmed the ALBUMARTIST tag is clean (no trailing spaces, punctuation, or invisible characters), and the folder name appears normal. Yet dBpoweramp still appends underscores to the filename during multi-track rips.

This suggests the issue is happening during folder creation — possibly in the sanitization or fallback logic when building the folder path. The underscore seems to be injected even when the folder name is valid, and it gets carried into the final filename.

Let me know if this is a known behavior or if there’s a workaround. I can provide screenshots or logs if helpful.

[jlsohio]

Update: I’ve confirmed the underscore issue is triggered by any folder component in the naming string — not just [album artist]. Even using [album]

\[tracknum] - [title] causes underscores to appear. The tag values themselves are clean, so the fallback rename logic seems to be misfiring during folder creation. When I rip using only [tracknum] - [title] into a flat folder, the filenames are perfect. This confirms the issue is tied to folder path generation, not metadata or filename construction. Hope this helps narrow it down.

[Spoon]

Using macOS? you should use '/' not '\'

[jlsohio]

Thanks — I’m on Windows, so I’m using backslashes for folder paths. The issue happens even with valid folder names like [album] or [artist]. For example, using [album]

\[tracknum] - [title] produces filenames like:

01 - Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll__.flac

The tags are clean, and the folder names are valid. The underscores seem to be injected during folder creation, even when no illegal characters are present.

[Spoon]

After ripping, right click on that file '01 - Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll__.flac' dBpoweramp >> Edit ID Tags
What is the [title] tag stored?

[Spoon]

Also post your full naming string

[jlsohio]

for some reason i entered tracknum instead of track. I can't get it removed from the naming box. I entered the correct string in the dynamic naming block but it's not overwriting the naming block. I uninstalled the software, removed the dbpoweramp key in my windows registry and reinstalled the software. it appears to be working correctly now despite the tracknum is still in the naming block.

[Spoon]

Title is not always unique, ie the same disc can have the same title twice, hence the need for track number