HappyTexas wrote:
I type much faster than auto-fill invades. As you know, Mavericks now saves each tag in a list whether the user wants the tags list or not. Let's say the tags I want to use are catamarran, yacht, and tug boat. And, no, I do NOT want to save them. Not a single one. Not now, not ever.
I tried what you describe with my simple 7-tag value list. For a test doc I was saving I typed: anew1 and watched what Mavericks did. Yes, when I assigned that value to my doc, it added that value to the Finder list of values.
So, yes, if you use your "catamarran" and "yacht" and "tug boat" values (associate them with a file) then Mavericks will save (remember) those values and will offer them again as you start typing in the tag area in the future. And, yes, I hear you say you don't want Mavericks to do that but ... <sigh> that's just the way this appears to work.
So, for my next test doc I started typing "a" I saw these two new tag values offered up (along with the one from my original set of 7 that begins with "a"). But I do NOT see any other bizarre offerings from Mavericks -- no "gibberish". Are you saying that you see terms offered up, as you type tag values, that are NOT on the master list you see in Finder Preferences? If you do, that would suggest some different issue to be pursued.
HappyTexas wrote:
As I try to type catamarran (as desired), Mavericks throws in all the gibberish it's created and stored from previous invasions.
Can you clarify what you mean by "previous invasions"? I could not replicate any case where Mavericks presents anything other than some label value that it has saved from a previous usage of mine on some document.
Next I investigated what would happen were I to REMOVE those newly-created values from the Finder Preferences tag value list. I checked first to confirm that my test document had those two tags assigned; it did. Then I deleted these two values from Finder's list. I got a warning that each would be removed -- and was also cautioned that the value(s) would be removed "from 1 item" (i.e., my test doc). I continued with the "Delete Tag" action for each of the two new values and then (as expected) when I checked the test doc it had NO tags assigned.
IOW, the tags system is (wanted or not) enforcing a kind of "referential integrity": once a tag value is in use, it must exist on the master list; however, being on the list does not ensure that the value is actually used anywhere, i.e., if "gibberish" gets added, even in error -- typing fast -- it must be explicitly removed. It is not killed off with the disappearance of its last usage.
HappyTexas wrote:
I can either waste a considerable amount of time deleting all the unwanted auto-filled gibberish and then confront it all again as I fight my way through tagging for yacht and tug boat or I can give up on maintaining the efficient file system I've used for years. I give up long before the tags get accurately typed because I think it's just plain stupid to wrestle with an illiterate robot....
I would not expect that, once deleted, the "unwanted auto-filled gibberish" would appear as you type. Once cleaned up, you should not need to "confront it" again.
However, if your Finder's master list is indeed lengthy you might try an experiment: pick one letter (say, "y" for your "yacht" case) and delete all unwanted entries from Finder's list that begin with "y". Then start typing "yacht" into a document's tag area and see what values are suggested. It would be interesting to hear what results you find.