pathakam

Q: Color labeled folders?

I used to be able to color code each folder in Finder in Mountain Lion. It was such a useful way to clearly mark folders for different usage. Now, using colored tags in Mavericks is not nearly the same thing. Those tiny colored dots don't really stand out. Is there a way to restore the ability to actually color code folders? Why would you change a good thing. And, even if you do, please give the user a choice about it. Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Oct 23, 2013 7:57 AM

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Q: Color labeled folders?

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  • by peterleary,

    peterleary peterleary Oct 23, 2013 4:16 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Peripherals
    Oct 23, 2013 4:16 PM in response to pathakam

    Yeah, I'm loving mavericks generally but this is a real pain.

    Coloured folders were one of my favorite things about finder, the dots are no where near as visible. I hope they give us the option to have this feature back at some point, it was really handy...

  • by mi.po,

    mi.po mi.po Oct 24, 2013 3:07 AM in response to pathakam
    Level 2 (225 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 3:07 AM in response to pathakam

    Already did +1 on the same topic -  I do share your pain. This is very very unexpected and painful drawback.  I know I will have a difficult time adopting to this. To me its everything but easy to read.

    One quick look at my desktop and I knew what are my urgent folders and which are not. Now, the dots are very difficult to see and even tgheir position is ankward. . . bad decision apple...

  • by Eakster,

    Eakster Eakster Oct 25, 2013 2:33 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 25, 2013 2:33 PM in response to pathakam

    I can't stand the dots, my whole way of organizing was with color folders and easy look to see them.

    Now with the color dots, I over look most of the time.

    Please bring this option back.

  • by nigmia,

    nigmia nigmia Oct 26, 2013 6:12 AM in response to Eakster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 26, 2013 6:12 AM in response to Eakster

    The new Tags are hard to notice, and I also wonder about their usefulness. I'd rather the old Labels had been left in place, as an option alongside Tags.

    I used Labels regularly to draw my attention to files and folders, and to check off stuff as I worked (I'm a List view kind of guy).

    Tags don't work as well, I think, because they're hard to see.

    Labels jumped out at you, which is what, for me, made them so useful.

  • by Marianco1,

    Marianco1 Marianco1 Oct 27, 2013 6:36 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 2 (229 points)
    Oct 27, 2013 6:36 PM in response to pathakam

    Labels are far more useful for the visually oriented and the visually impaired users.

     

    The Tags use dots so small they are hard to see.  Further, the Finder can only show 3 tag dogs which OVERLAP - making it furher harder to see the color of the tags.

     

    They should NOT have gotten rid of Labels.  Instead, they should have used a new or unusued metadata field in the Finder for implementing tags for those who want it. 

     

    Otherwise, I hope someone can write a hack to bring back labels.

  • by alysha88,

    alysha88 alysha88 Oct 27, 2013 7:41 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 27, 2013 7:41 PM in response to pathakam

    I agree. I am so disappointed with the new tags. I have folders organised for each of my different uni subjects and now instead of just clicking the colour I have to read each of the folders.

  • by eri pawa,

    eri pawa eri pawa Oct 29, 2013 1:40 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 29, 2013 1:40 PM in response to pathakam

    I also agree. I cannot believe how ridiculously hard it is to see these tiny dots, especially if you are in column view and have a wide spaced columns (in order to accomodate some long file names). I find it almost unusable for the purpose of easy recognition of marked folders and files.

    What a giant step back in usability just for the sake of having it be different from the previous OSs.

    LAME!

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Oct 29, 2013 2:34 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 7 (24,073 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 29, 2013 2:34 PM in response to pathakam

    I agree that visually tags aren't as in your face as labels were. For me that's a good thing because I hated the way labels colored folders. PathFinder is a Finder replacement that colors tagged items the way Finder used to. It is a bit expensive for just restoring colorful folders but...

     

    I actually like tags a lot (and not because they aren't in your face) because it is possible to apply more than one tag to a file/folder.

  • by Crispin Bates,

    Crispin Bates Crispin Bates Oct 29, 2013 4:48 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 29, 2013 4:48 PM in response to pathakam

    I agree with most of the posters in this discussion: tags are often unusable since they are invisible in list view if you have some long file names (as most of us have), and in icon view they just don't stand out as well as labels. This is a problem not just for the 'visually impaired' but for anyone over the age of 50. I predict that many people will never use use tags and we will have just lost a useful feature (labels) that was part of many people's work routine. It would be really helpful if we could have a setting in preferences, like the 'bold' feature in iOS7, that could restore coloured folders for those who want them.

  • by chester-copperpot,

    chester-copperpot chester-copperpot Nov 8, 2013 3:56 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 8, 2013 3:56 PM in response to pathakam

    There simply should have been an option... and option to switch between the tag "dots" and the previous full row colorization. This would have made everyone happier.

     

    (Yes, I know with full row colorization you could only have one color at a time instead of three... but so be it, because basic visibility is more imporant to a lot of people than multiple tag colors)

     

    The list view problem (the one with the dots not being visible way off to the right) is paramount. Again, this can very simply be solved by putting the tag dots on the LEFT of the filename instead of the right. This would also make the dots more easy to read and compare.

     

     

    Someone also please suggest this to Apple if you feel the same. Put the dots on the LEFT! I think it would make Mavericks a much better experience for us all.

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Nov 8, 2013 4:38 PM in response to chester-copperpot
    Level 6 (11,118 points)
    Video
    Nov 8, 2013 4:38 PM in response to chester-copperpot

    Please leave feedback about this for Apple. It is the only sure way of making sure your opinion is known to Apple.

    Use this link to give feedback:

     

    http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

     

    Thanks!

     

    MtD

  • by johngoodman6,

    johngoodman6 johngoodman6 Dec 10, 2013 1:35 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Dec 10, 2013 1:35 PM in response to pathakam

    I just finished upgrading to Mavericks about ten minutes ago and was horrified that my labels had become tiny dots! I want my Labels Back!

    John

  • by chester-copperpot,

    chester-copperpot chester-copperpot Dec 10, 2013 5:32 PM in response to pathakam
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 10, 2013 5:32 PM in response to pathakam

    I use Mavericks easily 12-18 hours a day, six day a week.

     

    If the dots absolutely must stay, without an option to switch back to full-color labels, it should be easy to do this one adjustment: Allow the tags/dots to reside in their own column, like every other detail of a file (name, location, size, etc)... then the column can be positioned on the left, the right, or whever the user likes.

  • by Crispin Bates,

    Crispin Bates Crispin Bates Dec 10, 2013 7:37 PM in response to chester-copperpot
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 10, 2013 7:37 PM in response to chester-copperpot

    I agree absolutely with Chester-copper pot. Dots in their own column would surely be a perfectly feasible compromise. As they are at present, on the right in list view, they are quite illegible. Meanwhile I am using Magic Folders to brightly colour those top priority folders that most urgently need attention, although this is fiddly by comparison with labels.

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