Many of you may already know this, but you can tag files in Spotlight  
by doing CMD + I on the file. The info panel will come up and there's  
a section called Spotlight Comments. Whatever you put in there will  
be added to the search criteria.

I took an MPG I shot that had the file name MOV03797.mpg and then  
added a comment "Rutherfurd twins movie" in the comment field. When  
the sucker indexed in a couple of seconds, a search for "Rutherfurd  
twins movie" returned ONLY that file.

Very nice.

Now, wouldn't it be cool to have an app that can do group tagging?  
Some Finder hack that allows you to select multiple files and add  
tags to all of them.

Anyone know if this exists?

The thought of being able to do Del.icio.us-like tagging to files in  
Tiger would be very, very cool.

On May 16, 2005, at 5:43 AM, Anthony Baker wrote:

Kirk

It's not an app, but it helps you tag a lot of files at the same time
using simple Automator scripts.

And with Smart folders, you could make "Projects", "@work" etc. lists.

if you use Quicksilver (and you should be afterall. :) make sure you've
got the File Attribute Actions plugin installed.

select the file(s) you want to custom tag
invoke QS
CMD G (loads the selected file(s) to QS)
tab
set comments
tab
enter spotlight comments you wish to tag with
enter

list looks maybe a bit involved, but if you're used to using QS, it's
all of about 1.5 seconds worth of time.  Plus, it makes tagging
multiple files at once a breeze.

I'm with you, tagging ala del.icio.us/flickr/etc is what I'm all about.
 I've been using this for about a week since I stumbled across it.
works like a charm!!

In fact - take it a step further.  I've got a SmartFolder setup to look
for anything with a very specific SpotLIght comment.  (mytasks)
So anything I tag with mytasks ends up in that folder no matter its
actual location.  That way I can get at all my currently important
files in once useful place.
updating the spotlight comments and removing the mytasks tag removes it
from the folder.  NIce!

--jw

On May 16, 2005, at 1:55 PM, quiksan wrote:

If you hold down the option key while selecting Get Info in the  
Finder (or CMD+OPT+I),  you get an info box which shows info on the  
currently selected item. If you leave it collapsed so only the  
Spotlight Comments (aka Comments) field is visible, it provides a  
nice little palette to add comments.

Brilliant!

Thanks, Quicksan.

On May 16, 2005, at 12:55 PM, quiksan wrote:

1. Control-I for the info dialog
2. Tab twice
3. Enter comments
4. Control-W to close the info dialog

I appreciate that you can tab in the info dialog, hence no mouse or  
trackpad touching is necessary. You could even combine this with the  
QS tip to use QS to get info. At least then you're using the same  
interface for entering comments. (Yes, QS is necessary for a  
selection of multiple files. Individual files, however, are faster  
with just the finder.)

I just wish I had the option to add comments in the save dialog.  
*That* would be the killer for me.