The final word on Labels?
Michael Ulrich
back is Labels.
SNAX comes to mind as a solution to use labels in X, but it doesn't
fixes all problems:
- It's a different application than the finder. I'd like to see and
change labels whenever I work in the finder
- It doesn't work inside file dialogs. In OS 9 I could mark the good
stuff with a color and find them easily in any programs "open file
dialog".
I've now found a way most of these things could be reinstated without
help from Apple (because, honestly, they don't seem to care...)
Basics
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OK, here it goes. According to the idea, labels are saved in two
different places at once:
1. A custom icon for the file is generated that looks exactly like the
original one, but is colored
2. The name of the label is added to the comment field. The field may
already contain something, so this may be added at the beginning or
the end of the normal comment - whatever the user decides. Typical
comments could be
"Essential"
"Hot - This doc copied from Fred"
"Martha liked this most - Project 1"
Usage of labels consists of two parts: Seeing labels and changing
labels.
First: Seeing labels
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The colored labels can be seen with any application, including the
finder and all file dialogs, because all these apps display custom
icons.
To see the label-text of a single file, the user can use "get info"
and see the text of the label inside the comment box.
To see the label-text of a full folder of files, the user can switch
into list view and let the comments column be displayed.
To sort by labels, the user can sort by comments in the list view.
Note that for seeing labels, you don't need a special application.
Plus a problem OS9-labels had is now less awkward: if you customized
the label texts in OS9, then labeled stuff and then moved this stuff
to another machine, the customized labels were gone. Here you can
still see the customized label name in the comments field.
Second: Changing labels
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To change labels, an application is needed. I can think of two kinds
of apps to do this:
1. A drag and drop application over which you can drop your files. You
are then asked to chose a label, the app changes the icon and the
comment and then automatically quits
2. A menu extra (one of these icons to the right side of the menu bar,
text to the clock). You just select a few icons, then open this menu
and see all available labels as entries. Choose one and you're done.
This is very close to what labels were before, but I'm not sure if
it's possible to implement this.
These applications also need some preferences, of course, where you
can set the colors and the label-texts. Furthermore, you can select
here if you want the label text be added to the front or the back of
the comment field.
What could be part of the package would be a label converter that
imports your OS9 labels.
Technical programming stuff: When you change the label a second time,
don't color the already colored custom icon - use the standard icon
again. The coloring algorithm in OS9 was very good in adding just a
touch of color, not drowning the icon in a thick layer of paint - it
would be cool if the colored icons still look nice afterwards. The
menu extra would ideally hide itself when you're not in the finder.
The apps should show you if there's already a label by parsing the
comment field.
Additional Possibilites
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This new tool doesn't has to limit itself to the 7 labels currently -
imagine having 15 or 20 labels - pretty cool, wouldn't it? :-)
We can even do more than just coloring - imagine a label that adds no
coloring but a small symbol to the icon, like an exclamation mark or a
smiley. I guess that such Icons would look particularly good in the
higher resolutions OS X offers.
Risks
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This thing is no perfect cure.
We can't label an item that already can a custom icon (we could
actually, but then we couldn't let the user go back to the custom icon
without label or change it a second time). Everybody has to decide
this by himself. I for my part use custom icons only on the harddisk
icon. Other might also use it on folders, but if you put a custom icon
on a folder, you have also "marked" it someway, so you might not have
such a big urge to label it, as well.
You can't sort by Label _and_ Comment for the same file. I don't know
how many people use both sorting methods in OS 9 *at the same time*.
You might both methods simultaneously to overcome the "7 labels
limit". If this is the reason, you would have no problem here, because
the tool might have more than 7 labels.
You might be thinking about multiple labels: One file is "project 1"
and "hot" at the same time. While this is interesting, it's also a lot
more complicated for the user to understand and I prefered having a
simple tool.
Now...
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What do you think about this app? Cool or boring? Other feedback?
Ideas?
Who goes forward and creates this little app? It doesn't sound too
complicated to me and would add a ton of usefulness to OS X.
Michael
Richard Bensam
Actually, the ultimate -- or at least penultimate -- word on using labels in
OS X can currently be found at http://www.unsanity.org/ courtesy of the same
wonderful folks who have already made the Apple Menu useful again. ;-)
RAB
Michael Ulrich
Thanks for pointing this out :-)
Michael