Tutorial - Discover TagFlow !

By reading this tutorial, you will discover the basic features of TagFlow, learn how to organize your files with the concept of tags and much more ...

Introduction

Preface

This tutorial show the basics of TagFlow in its beta. The features described here are not exhaustive, some will be improved and others will be added later.

In this tutorial, we will describe a very simple use case with animals pictures. However, note that TagFlow is designed to handle any type of file.

Installation

If not yet done, go to this page to download TagFlow.

Windows : double-click the .exe installer that was downloaded to your Download folder.
Mac : double-click the .dmg file that was downloaded to your Download folder and drag the TagFlow app to the Application folder.

First launch

Windows : the application opens automatically after installation.
Mac : go to the Applications folder and double-click the TagFlow icon.

In both cases, the following window appears :

Authentication window

Authentication window

The first step is to indicate your contact information for your enrollment in the beta program. Your email address will be used exclusively as part of the TagFlow beta and you will be able to unsubscribe at any time and leave this program.

When done, click "Next" and learn about some important information about TagFlow and the beta. After a few seconds, you can start using TagFlow !

Ready to start !

The introductory phase is over and you get the main TagFlow window.

Main window without files

Main window without files

You are now ready to organize your documents with TagFlow and its concept of structured and intelligent tags !

Main window

Before adding files to TagFlow, discover the important elements of the main view of the application !

TagFlow Main Window

TagFlow Main Window

Search bar

The most important element of the application is the search bar :

Search bar

Search bar

It contains: the search field used to enter the tags to be searched and the button which allows you to add files to TagFlow. We will learn more detail about these two elements and their operation further in this tutorial.

Navigation bar and view options

Just below the search bar is the navigation bar that also contains the display options :

Navigation bar with view options

Navigation bar with view options

The left part shows the current search that corresponds to the displayed files. This means that all files displayed in this window contain the tags shown after "Path". If all files contain one or more common tags, these tags will be seamlessly added to the search.

To the right are the display options with in order :

  • The number of files that match the current search.
  • The field used to sort the files (here "NAME"). The available options are: name, modification date, and size. A simple click on the name of the current sort (here "NAME") go to the next sort field.
  • The presentation option represented by the or button allows you to choose how to display the list of files. The available options are: list or gallery.
List of files displayed as a list

List of files displayed as a list

List of files displayed as a gallery

List of files displayed as a gallery

List of files

The third and last part of the main window contains the files that correspond to the search made in the search field. We have already seen that there are two views to display our files: list and gallery. In the list view, the columns respectively represent the name, tags, size, and modification date of the file.

There are still other features available for these views, but let's add some files first.

Add files

Now that you know the interface of the main page, let's go back where we left off and add some files.

Selecting files

To add files, click the button which is located at the top right of the main window. It is also possible to go through the "files" menu, then select the "add files" item.

If you are on a Mac, a popup that allow you to select files and/or folders opens. If you're on Windows and Linux, you get the following window and must follow one more step :

Selection window for files to be added

Selection window for files to be added

To select the files you want to add, you have several options :

  • Use the button to select files.
  • Use the button to select folders.
  • Drag the files/folders to the defined area.

All these steps can be replaced by dragging the files/folders you want to add directly to the main window !

Common Tags

After selecting the files/folders you want to add, you can add tags to them. The first tab allows you to add tags that will be common to all files.

Add Window - Common Tag Tab

Add Window - Common Tag Tab

Two mechanisms have been used to simplify the sorting of files when adding :

  • As soon as you type a character in the field, all tags that match this character are displayed.
  • Once you have entered a tag and have already organized other files in the application, TagFlow will intelligently offer you other tags to add.
Proposal of tags according to the existing ranking

Proposal of tags according to the existing ranking

In this case, some of the files you have already add to TagFlow have the animals tag.

To further simplify the organization of your documents and to simplify as much as possible the addition, the characteristics of each file (such as size, type, modification date, etc.) are transparently added to the system !

Advanced features

In case you add files while the search field of the main window is not empty, TagFlow suggests you to add this search to common tags.

Proposal to add the tags of the current search

Proposal to add the tags of the current search

Here, we assume that animals and rabbit were in the search field when you started adding files.

Tags by folders

This tab is only displayed when more than a folder is selected.

In the next tab, you can add specific tags to all files that are in a folder.

Add Window - Tags by folder Tab

Add Window - Tags by folder Tab

Add Window - Tags by folder Tab with automatic tagging

Add Window - Tags by folder Tab with automatic tagging

To simplify adding large amounts of files, it is possible to automatically tag files based on their folders names. To do that, simply use the .

Files preview

The last tab shows the corresponding files and tags that will be added.

Add Window - File Preview Tab

Add Window - File Preview Tab

You can remove files from the list using the button or adding any with the button.

When you are done, click on the button to validate the addition of the files !

Adding in progress

Once you have launch the add, you are redirected to the main window and an indicator on the progress of the addition appears above the search bar.

Progress indicator on the current addition

Progress indicator on the current addition

When all the files have been added, you will receive a notification and the new files will automatically appear in the file list !

If you want to know more about how TagFlow is managing your files, you can go to the frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Advanced features

We have already seen that it is possible to search with special tags. There is still much more to discover !

In writing ...

Go further

  • Navigate through the application menus and try out all the features.
  • Right-click on the list of files in the main view and explore the offered actions.
  • ...