Q: I hate the new tags in Mavericks, need coloured folders!!

Doug-H1955 wrote:

Actually, there doesn't need to be a demand for a tweak. All we need is someone with the talent to produce one who ALSO finds the loss of Lables as an issue worthy of dealing with.

Yes, some apps and views show the old labels, so remnents exist now in the OS views of some Apps, but don't count on it to still be there in the x.1, x.2 etc releases (it will most likely be removed).  To get labels to be viewed in Finder would requilre a hack of Finder (tags are stored in the files extened attribute).  The proper way to get colored labels is using an App (i.e. Pathfinder) that uses the first xttar in the file for it's display.

Tweaks and Hacks will only cause problems down the road (rememeber unsanity haxies?)  So, either wait for Apple to address user requests, or use Pathfinder.

To learn more on how Tags are implemented, see: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/9/#tags-implementation

If the demand is not there to sell it on a profitable basis, then why would anybody develop another hack and give it to you for free? Just buy Pathfinder.

Pete

That's not what they want.  They don't want another "Finder" (i.e Pathfinder) , they want a program to bring labels back to Finder.  They don't understand that that would require a hack of Finder (not something that shoud be done).

I don't know why Apple dropped Labels and I think that they will bring labels back, but that could take up to a year.  (there are more pressing issues to fix in Mavericks)

Understood. They also want someone else to create a third party app to bring back their labels and so it fast and for free. I agree. Why hack the finder? It will cause even more third party issues than so many are already having every time they upgrade their system.

Cheers

Pete

Go visit Thingiverse.com. People are creating all kinds of things that anyone can take advantage of without looking for financial gain. If I could do it, I would and I'd let everyone have it for free.

You can't get what you're asking for without a Finder hack (unless that is what you want -- is that what you want?), or a Finder replacement (which already exists)

We all know there are Finder replacements. No more need to suggest them, What we want is colored lables back in Finder.  Since the labels and the tags seem to be using the same color code markers, I think it probably can be easily turend back on if someone knew what they were doing.  True it may be locked inside of Finder right now. Aplle could likley turn it on in 2 seconds but an infinder Tweak may be harder. Then again, Xtrafinder shows color lables in the sidebar of Finder, so maybe something can still be done outside Apple. Remember in Pathfinder etc, the tags are show as colored folders and visa versa already. So it's very close in operation.

Apple - Mac OS X - Feedback

I like the tags.  And I liked the old labels. Personally, I would like to have both functionalities.

I sometimes wonder if the Apple doesn't force us to try the new idea for a few versions, and collect feedback, before re-instating popular functionality.

What you're asking for cannot be done by a 3rd Party without a hack of Finder or a FINDER REPLACEMENT SUCH AS PATHFINDER

Read what I said earlier, including Tags implementation

You keep insisting that this could "easily turend (sic) back on if someone knew what they were doing"  That is just not true without a hack of Finder.  This is not what you should want.  Apple needs to be the one to "turn it back on"  Please send your request to: Apple - Mac OS X - Feedback

A finder hack would be a fine (and required) stopgap until Apple (hopefully) restores Labels to the system.

Unless you work for Apple and have in depth knowlege of the Finder code, you are just summising. I'm not so sure you are correct, but unfortunately you probably are but there are lot's of examples of Tweaked Finder things such as color icons that were also removed. Of course I want Apple to turn it back on, but my point was labels is very close to tags and must share some of the same code. I agree with Tracy above, we should be able to have either/or both.

.  You don't have to be color-blind to have a hard time distinguishing between light yellow and orange dots next to file names.   The colors need to be far more intense to be distinctive.

.  The colored bars behind file names are far easier to see than the colored dots because they have more area on the screen. Positive identification of file priorities or classes is much  faster with bars than with dots.  The colored folders of earlier Mac OSs were even easier to see.

.   A graphic designer may consider the new look to be more modern; however, "form follows function" is an old adage that has never been truer.  In this case, Apple has it backwards.  The colors associated with files are functional, not "eye candy".

.  Consult some human factors experts.  They will tell you in a flash that the colored bars (or folders) are preferable for getting real work done.  And isn't the Mac the computer that is supposed to be easier to use?

With all due respect, a few colors isn't a good way to organize files for real work. That's why it hardly ever got used. You get so much more with just the name for a color, let alone all the other possibilities of tags and/or other extended attributes. And you can still use "green" for a label/tag, find it, sort on it, etc. Granted it has just that annoying dot instead of a line of color (except in Path Finder, which I use), but that's easily remedied by just buying Path Finder. Or maybe something else.

I do wish, that being said, that Apple had just left labels alone, not that they got used much. Adding them as a subspecies of tags was a disservice to the people who did use them, and now I doubt anyone will have any incentive to create both a new labeling technique and a way to move those labels (which are now sort of a special tag) over. And now they have intruded on my tags, which I find as annoying as posters here find them necessary; I'd like them to be gone entirely forever from my system. But Apple should have given us the choice; I agree with you there.

I'm pretty sure that making tags or lables, either way, wasn't inteneded as the visual aid that some of us used "color labels" for. Maybe Apple didn't realize the depth of this use. I wonder if this is even on their remote radar?

I think you're correct. As a file attribute, i.e. as a way of adding clues or metadata to a file, seven colors are extremely limiting. The other kinds of metadata that have been in common use for a long time, like keywords, tags, IPTC data, exif data, etc etc are far more flexible, extensible and useful. Not to say that a few colors weren't for some people, but they really shouldn't have been mashed up. I suspect that what Apple intended was to just ditch labels forever, and they may have thought they were doing you a favor by rolling them into tags, where you can still use them. As far as I can tell the only loss is how the color is displayed in some views.