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How do you tag (or even organize) your files?

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sword:
I should probably have mentioned that the quotes came from 'smeraldo' August 11, 2009 08:47:24, who seems to have raised the topic again. Sorry for any confusion, J-Mac.
Yes, it is the way I tag. I'm one of those who got bogged down with too many tags early on and settled on the simple system of adding a small number of tags to the filename.
Cheers, Robert

J-Mac:
OK - Thanks Robert. Maybe I was just sleepy but when I first read your post I couldn't quite get my head around it!

Jim

smeraldo:
thank you sword for your answer
I might not completely understand all the details so far, but it is definitely very interesting

All pages/data gathered with FireFox, organized in RTF, JPG or BMP and sent to temporary formatting folders
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure that my understanding of this is the correct one, it is maybe a language issue or a "my brain" issue, but if you'd like to gimme a little explanation, feel free to do it

and this is interesting too
I'm one of those who got bogged down with too many tags early on and settled on the simple system of adding a small number of tags to the filename.
--- End quote ---

sword:
   
smeraldo,

Original:   
Re: How do you tag (or even organize) your files?
« Reply #52 on: Today at 04:11:39 AM »

"if you'd like to gimme a little explanation, feel free to do it '...gathered...organized...sent to temporary formatting folders...' "
and "and this is interesting too 'adding a small number of tags to the filename' ".


Reply:

Short:
Save all with a unique name. Add section numbers or 'types'. Format. Add notes, summaries and tags. Transfer to sections for processing.

Details:
All searches and sessions get saved by a filename that is a number, representing the date. Today (August 20, 2009) is 9820. This number remains wherever the file is moved or whenever it is edited. Today's first session gets an 'a' tacked on and an optional 'type' such as 'S' for search or 'section' such as '33' for (gthgly) [gather genealogy]. All files [ about fifty in two weeks] are saved to partition 'E:" and a brief list of keywords is added at the top of the file. Every couple of weeks these files are saved to CD and, for about sixty percent of all files, that is all that is done. File summaries are made about every two weeks as well, where filenames and keywords are collected and saved in a file named by date range, M, to date range such as 9726M9708. For the more valuable files I add paragraph numbering of the clips, some section number to the filename and usually a brief summary before saving to 'E:'. The best of these files get edited with highlighting and notes before saving to 'E:'. Only about five percent of the best files get a tag added to the filename. The files with section numbers and tags are moved to one of two other boxes for the interesting processing in Wordperfect, Publisher or OneNote and the information is put in tables, outlines or charts for easier analysis. The folder layout on these boxes is numerical: 1 [for pln/plan], 11 [plnorg/plan organize] and the numbering is deeper, such as1511[plan interests art watercolor]. I don't need the section numbers or types any more so a 'quality' number is added to the front of the filename before saving. The end result is something easily read, like an outline, easily searched [find and list files with the tag "plnhow" containing the name "photoshop"] and easily changed or moved, since they are by number. I end up with something like a reference manual or 'how-to' for topics and interests.
The main thing is that the system is easy to use, read or search and can be implemented in any application because the file names have the same components and the summary information is the same in FireFox, saved files, WordPerfect and all other applications.
This might look quite complicated but it can be simple and easy to use. Setting up the folders is the hardest part. Then save, add type or section to the name, format, tag and use.

Reply:

Short:
Tags are folder name combinations added to important material to aid searches.

Details:
For me, interests and projects change a lot over time. I needed a tag system that did not change [too hard to remember]. Since the general layout of folders remains constant, I use the 'parent folder name' plus 'child folder name' for the tag. I add this to the end of the filename for the best files. Most are self-explanatory and easy to remember, such as 'plnhow' for plan how. Currently I'm using 'gthsrc' [gather search] and 'fnfppl' [file information people] a lot. There are usually about ten or twelve tags that get used a lot. Later, after the files get processed and put in an outline of folders [see above], I can view the files because they are in the right sections and tagged and have a value added to the front of the filename. Tips about formatting WordPerfect macros can be found under section 5211 [5=tip, 2=fmt, 1=wpr, 1=mac] and the filename is usually of the form 6B9820aStipfmt. I find it easy to change the 'value' of the information by changing the first number in the name [ 6=excellent, 7=good, 8=fair, 9=poor]. B means 'best' and it is one of several optional 'types' A-J [A=easiest, B=best...H=portable...].

sword

Armando:
The problem with 1- using numbers like this 2- single letters, etc. is that it's very hard to find/filter or do some batch changes.
I can do batch changes, and rename 1000s of files with regular expressions because all fields are clearly and uniquely delimited. Yes, to have a manageable system like that, each data field must be uniquely delimited, and tags too must be in a format that's unique (searching for a single number or a for a word would give 10s of thousands of results on my computer; however searching for one of my special tags will always bring the right files -- each tag is unique and can't even be found as a part of a word or number)

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