Q: How to get label colors back on Maverick?

The opposite of left-click.

Or control-click

The use of the right part of the mouse, if the mouse has two buttons.

Apps and icons are fine as a workaround on your ouw system

But I work in a muti user multi computer envioronment where folder colors helped keep us organized.

Please NAG Apple about this.

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

This is even better: TotalFinder 1.6

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/33373/totalfinder

With many other nice features as well!!!

Just loaded Xtrafinder, which is free. Works well for colour highlights!

http://download.cnet.com/XtraFinder/3000-2094_4-75676977.html

Dear Antonin, here's my feedback to TotalFinder:

The optical annoyance still remains in TotalFinder, that those little tag-dots somewhat shine through the colored label. It's distracting. It would be great and visually cleaner if those dots simply do not appear at all (just like in Mountain Lion). Please make it an option at least.

After reading all the comments here I think there are two types of users: the text oriented users that use tags and the visual oriented users that go by labels. Those little dots are visually confusing to look at.

I don't use tags. I use labels. Only one label - max. Therefore, the dot is always in the same color as the label which is irritating because too much info.

Thanks for sharing. That ought to fix 'em!

Pete

Just would like to add some comments about Total Finder 1.6

It was working fine on Mavericks and then suddenly when I was exploring some of it's other features, it had a conniption and now will not load properly.

It sits in a loop opening as many windows as it can find, while not quite crashing but holding up Finder. I just managed to get to relaunch Finder and all is ok. I've uninstalled and reinstalled to find the same problem. Feeling a bit sick of the process, sad I paid money to BinaryAge because I got a taste of a really nice Finder.

Anyway just a warning. TotalFinder is unstable. Still waiting for a reply on their support site.

Hi,

I have been using "XtraFinder" for a few weeks now and it seems to be working ok, and the colored labels are such a relief to have back.  I think it took him awhile to get the bugs worked out.  I purchased that version but not expensive compared to having to live with those stupid tags!!!  Just google XtraFinder.  I got it from Mac Updates, but it looks like it is all over the place now.

Regards, Barbara

For me, Total Finder is much more stable than XtraFinder. Besides sporting a better interface (color labels).

Barby, I just gave XtraFinder a whirl today and it's looking good. I just need the colours and the window tabs.

ApMaX I was so happy with TotalFinder until this problem developed. Now I can't get it going. Shame.

I think I can explain, as we've studied these interface features pretty thoroughly in our lab.

It's not that tags don't have functionality (I expect there will be many people who jump in and use the functionality to their advantage, and that's great).

It's that, from an interface design perspective, Tags are designed upside down and backwards (read: ineptly).

Tags and Labels are what are called Scan and Skim devices, which are interface elements that enable us to quickly hunt through information on screen and find what we're looking for.

But Mavericks' Tags have all the wrong characteristics for effective scanning and skimming.

First, they're small relative to the content, slowing down scanning and impeding differentiation, especially with pale low contrast colours.

Second, they're not proximal to their scan targets (the file names), which slows down scanning and reduces effective perception.

Third, they're to the right (often far to the right) of their scan target (file names)  (human eyetracking in Western cultures targets top and left preferentially – scan devices at bottom or right are significantly less effective)

The overall result (and we've tested this in our lab), is that Tags have a far higher perceptual and cognitive load than labels when trying to find information on screen. (Translation: users find things much more slowly and less effectively). The bottom-up functionality that tags add is great, but it's not a substitute for rapid top down scanning.

It's not the responsility of the average user to know this (though many people who used labels have quickly found out the hard way what the problems are).

But for Apple's guys to design it this way implies that the Tags dev guys were away from class during the perception and cognition part of their (ahem) training.

So, it's great that Apple are trying to add functionality.

But it would be better if they did so without trashing other, more fundamental functionality.

It's like adding a great sound system to the car but removing the seats to make room for it.

Conversely I for one am very happy to see the limited and inflexible color label system replaced with something better.

I have posted my feedback to Apple regarding the improvement this makes and reinforcing my request never to go back to the previous simplistic system.

I assume that you have given Apple the benefit of your feedback and your preferences.

Well stated threesisty! Much better than my rant from last year:

http://www.tracyevans.name/2013/10/31/the-cognitive-need-for-osx-finder-labels/

Thanks for the informative analysis.

Yes, I agree. Fortunately for me, I had done a test upgrade to Mavericks on a non-critical MacBook Air. Once I saw what had become of labels, I decided not to upgrade my other computers. I have an extremely well functioning organizational system in place based on labels, and want to preserve that system.

I have given feedback to Apple expressing my opinion.

MtD