Introduction
TagSpaces PRO is a product based on the Community Edition with some features added on top. A detailed overview of these features can be found in this section. TagSpaces PRO is intendet to be used by users which have already used the community edition and are expecting the advanced features offered by the PRO version.
Saving tags in sidecar files BETA
As alternative to saving the tagging information in the file names, TagSpaces PRO offers saving this kind of meta information in a sidecar files located in a hidden .ts folder. This option can be activated in the settings of the application as shown in the following screenshot.
Note: Please note that by default the
.tsfolder is hidden only on OSX and Linux operating systems, on Windows folders with dot in front of their name are not hidden by default. Setting these folders as hidden on Windows can be achieved manually or with script if needed.
After the activation, the application will created for every tagged file an extra file having the same file name as the source file but with the additional JSON extension. For example after tagging some files in some of your file locations you will have a similar file structure.
~ location (with your files)
├── subfolder
│ ├── .ts
│ │ ├── file1.jpg.json
│ │ └── file2.pdf.json
│ ├── file1.jpg
│ └── file2.pdf
├── .ts
│ ├── file3.png.json
│ └── file4.docx.json
├── file3.png
└── file4.docx
The main advantage of this solution is that the name of the files is not altered by tagging and there is theoretically no limit in amount of tags you can add to a given file. However it has the following drawback. If you move or rename tagged files in TagSpaces it will take care of the sidecar file, which will also renamed or moved in the appropriate folder. But if you move or rename this file in an external applicaiton, you have to move or rename the sidecar files by hand. The same hold true for the deleting a file from an external file manager. It will not automatically delete the sidecar file in the .ts folder.
Note: If you want to have the files located in the
.tsfolder synched with some cloud service such as Dropbox or Google Drive you have to enable the synching of hidden folders and files.
Generating persistent thumbnails BETA
In perspectives supporting showing of file previews like Grid and ImageSwiper, TagSpaces PRO is generating thumbnails for the visible files in the perspective. Currently the application tries to generated thumbnails for the following files types:
- Images: PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, SVG, WEBP
- Videos: WEBM, OGV, MP4, M4V
- Notes: HTML
- Audios formats: MP3 (with embedded thumbnail)
- Ebooks: EPUB (with integrated cover image)
- Archives: ZIP (it just takes an image found in the archive)
- Office Documents: PDF, ODT, ODP, ODS, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX
In comparison to the community edition which generates thumbnails (only for PNGs and JPGs) on every opening of a folder, the PRO version persists the generated thumbnails in the .ts folder located in every folder you browse with it. This feature significantly accelerates the browsing of folders containing many files. The thumbnail generation can be activated in the PRO tab of the application settings.
Advanced search
The advanced search dialog in TagSpaces PRO contains two more search features:
Search by file type
In the file type dropdown you can specify a group of files you want to search. The following file type groups are supported:
- Pictures: JPG,PNG,GIF,… (query shortcut t:picture)
- Documents: PDF,ODF,DOCX,EXL,… (query shortcut t:doc)
- Notes: MD,TXT,HTML,… (query shortcut t:note)
- Audio: OGG,MP3,WAV,… (query shortcut t:audio)
- Video files (WEBM,OGV,MP4,… (query shortcut t:video)
- Archives (ZIP,RAR,TGZ,7Z,… (query shortcut t:archive)
Note: You can use the query shortcut for a given file type directly in the search box, without opening the advanced search dialog. So for example the search query
t:audio coldplaywill give you all audio files containing the word coldplay.
Search history
For quick access TagSpaces PRO keeps a history of your last 15 search queries in a list. This list can be cleaned by selecting the last item in it called “Clear search history” in it.
Text extraction and full text search ALPHA
After activating the text extraction checkbox in the settings, TagSpaces PRO will try to extract the text content of files you are currently browsing. This text content is saved in the hidden .ts folder and is considered later by the search. Since this is a early experimental feature, please don’t relay only on ly on it.
These file formats are currently supported:
- Notes: HTML, MD, TXT (extracts the text content)
- Office Documents: PDF, ODT, ODP, ODS, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX (extracts the text content)
- Images: JPG (extracts Exif and IPTC informations)
- Audios formats: MP3 (extracts id3 information)
- Ebooks: EPUB (extracts the text content)
Warning: Please note, that this is still a very experimental functionality which on directories with many files, may lead to freezing of the application.
Description to folders and files and tagging folders
TagSpaces PRO gives you the ability to add tags and a description to every file or folder used with the application. These information is managed in the properties areas for files and respectevely folders. The these properties ares can be opened the same way, by clicking on the button, which can be seen on the following screenshot.
The unified interfaces offer File information (1) including File path, Size, File name (as it appears in the file system, including tags), and Last modified date, while the Directory information (2) is currently limited to Directory path.
Underneath the read-only information bit, you can manage tags on both folders (3) (PRO) and files 4, and add a folder (5) or file description (6) (PRO). Folder and file descriptions also support markdown syntax.
Hint: Adding and editing folders tags and descriptions, along with file descriptions are only available in TagSpaces PRO. The community edition supports only displaying existing descriptions for both files and directories, and also directory tags in a read-only format.
Technically TagSpaces PRO created a sidecar file called tsm.json in the hidden .ts folder of every folder. This file contains the folder tags and description.
~ location folder (with your files)
├── subfolder
│ ├── .ts
│ │ └── tsm.json
│ ├── file1.jpg
│ └── file2.pdf
├── .ts
│ └── tsm.json
├── file3.png
└── file4.docx
Geo Tagging
Geo Tagging can be use to add geo coordinates as a tag to any kind of files. It is usefull to connect your photos or other documents with a geo location. This can be usefull for planning you vacation or next trip. In order to use this feuature you have to use the smart tag geo-tag. When you apply it to a file, the dialog shown on following screenshot will appear. Here with the help of the OpenStreetMap and you can select any location somewhere in the world. It’s geographic coordinates will be converted to latitude and longitude, so for example the tag -17.8114561+29.0917969 will symbolize latitude in decimal degree of 17.8114561° S and longitude of 29.0917969° E.
Deleting files to trashcan
In the setting of TagSpaces you can activate a checkbox “Move deleted files or folders to trash bin”. Aftet activating it, all files deleted in TagSpaces will be send to the Trash, Trashbin or Recylce bin depending on your operating system. From these locations, you files can be easily recovered in case of a unintended deletion.
Signed Installers for Windows and Mac OS X
Under Windows and OS X we are providing installer for TagSpaces PRO, which are signed with modern certificates.
