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Organize files using virtual folders

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jeromg:
Hi DCers,

I'm looking for a different way to organize my files (on Win7). I think what I'm looking for is a concept of virtual folders... Let me explain :
I'd like to have specific (virtual) folders, for example, for all files modified or created in the last 7/30/60 days, whereas all the files are physically organized in a (physical) folders tree.
I'm maybe considering using some kind of tags that would allow me to present files in other virtual folders (e.g. by tag).

After a quick search I could find some interesting solutions like Tabbles, but I was wondering if anyone is using or has in some way tested similar solutions...

Thanks in advance folks!

Cheers  /jerome

iphigenie:
I've been hoping for that kind of solution for a while, so curious what people find

What i want to do is avoid having to *manage* my files and folders like I have to.
In my email I have switched to a "big archive pot" and using search and virtual categorisation for finding things. This was because at some point around 2000 i was spending more time moving and reorganising email than actually processing it.
I've managed to do the same for photos and music thanks to the standard tags available there. Doesn't matter where they are

For documents, I am not there yet.
I've looked at some of the tagging options, but the amount of work of switching makes me hesitate - knowing what has worked (or not) for others would be valuable. One thing I wont do is move them all into a database like some of the document management tools do. Feels far too risky, documents need to stay in files on disk :)

Stoic Joker:
Isn't that what the native Windows Libraries feature is for? Combined with saved custom searches (grouped by date/size/etc) should make for a fairly flexible solution.

jeromg:
Isn't that what the native Windows Libraries feature is for? Combined with saved custom searches (grouped by date/size/etc) should make for a fairly flexible solution.
-Stoic Joker (September 22, 2012, 09:41 AM)
--- End quote ---

Kind of... if they worked! Maybe it's just me but the saved searches are *crap*: some files seem to be missing, the searches do not refresh as I would expect... And Windows Search syntax definitely lacks some flexibility (for me).

I've been hoping for that kind of solution for a while, so curious what people find

What i want to do is avoid having to *manage* my files and folders like I have to.
In my email I have switched to a "big archive pot" and using search and virtual categorisation for finding things. -iphigenie (September 22, 2012, 05:46 AM)
--- End quote ---

I'm trying to do the same, but it seems to be much easier to do with email than with files.

I even thought about developing something myself (using symbolic links) but I was wondering whether some better, ready-made, good options existed out there!

Cheers  /jerome

IainB:
I just thought I'd resurrect this thread by asking the denizens of the DC forum if they knew whether the apparently "broken" native Windows Libraries feature has been fixed and now works "properly" in Windows 10 - or at least "well enough" so that the concept of VFs (Virtual Folders) could perhaps be fully implemented in practice, using either (say):

* (a) Drag-and-drop, or
* (b) (ideally) nested VF categories and files being "smart-filtered" - e.g., auto-assigned to relevant VF categories depending on the text strings in their filenames.
________________________________
The (b) option could be achieved by using (say) filename tags, rather than plain text (e.g., "Filename [Tag1] [Tag2].doc" as have been described by @Armando in DCF: How do you tag (or even organize) your files?
 - and as referred to here:
Interesting you ask! I have abandoned my quest a long time ago, but I just googled tag2find, etc. and found this
https://www.tagspaces.org
It's open source -- a great thing for that type of software...
The funny thing is that it implements the same solution I implemented myself 8-9 years ago. Basically, to avoid compatibility problems, writing the tags directly in the file names, using specific tag delimiters, etc. I described my method somewhere on DC. (Wonder if someone in their team read my description of if they just reached the same conclusions after an analysis of the situation.)

After at least 8-9 years tagging my files this way, I'm still finding it convenient. Using it every single day. People laugh when they see my file names, but I smile... they don't realize that I can group files on "any" subject (or combinations of subjects) in just a few seconds... in any OS or file system.
_____________________________________
-Armando (November 25, 2016, 05:55 PM)
--- End quote ---

Related threads: (not a comprehensive list - more may need to be added later)
 - How do you tag (or even organize) your files?
 - On the lack of standardisation in "tagging" .
 - Interesting: Tag2Find, Tagging for All Filetypes for Windows
 - DiviFile from Qnomad - Mini-review
 - Program Whose Time Has Come: virtual folders, collections, file baskets...
 - IDEA: Extending Files2Folder
 - Everything Search Engine: tips, tricks, ideas and code for poweruse

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