32GB of storage can hold about 4,700 JPEG files (assuming they're about 7MB each).
Most computers have a lot more storage space than this, so they can quickly end up with tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of files. Keeping things organized can be challenging, but there are ways to make things easier.
Windows file tagging is ideal for this. You can use tags to get things into order, making your life much easier. In this guide, we'll cover how file tagging works and the ways that you can implement it.
Keep reading for everything you need to know!
How File Tagging Works
Tags are keywords you can use to create an organized file structure on your computer. You can then search using these tags to find specific files or folders. Windows file tagging offers a lot of freedom, so you can set your system up to meet your personal needs.
The more files you have on your computer or network, the more useful tags can be. Names for files are ideal for short descriptions, but you can use tags differently.
They can describe how you intend to use the file, or you can use status tags such as "in progress" or "complete." You could also use a tag like "upload" for any files to upload to a cloud storage service such as Google Drive.
A single file can only be in one location at a time—but it can also have as many tags as you'd like. While the standard folders system within Windows Explorer is useful, it's somewhat limited. Tags allow you to improve your file organization strategy so you can locate various files in different locations that all have the same tags.
Note that Windows Tags and Office Smart Tags are two different things.
Tagging Best Practices
Tagging offers freedom and flexibility that's incredibly useful. With that being said, there are certain things you can do to make sure things are as efficient as possible.
Creating a Tagging System
You want to establish a system from the start and stick to it. The first step of your file organization strategy should be to set your high-level file manager tags. These are fairly general and allow you to split your files into critical categories.
A blog website, for example, will likely want to group blogs by significant categories such as tech, automotive, lifestyle, home, etc. From here, more specific tags can be used to split things down further.
At this point, you may always want to set some status tags to meet your needs better. This can be ideal for tagging email messages, for example, with things like "Pending," "Reply," "Done," and "Ignore."
Be Consistent
When creating a tagging system, you don't want to change things up as you go; otherwise, everything will quickly fall apart. A typical example where people mess up here is with plurals—you shouldn't have some files tagged "Invoice" and others "Invoices," for example.
Think about whether you'll capitalize tags or have them all lowercase. You may also want to use symbols and characters. Remember that the simpler you keep things, the easier it will be to manage.
Keeping tags to 2 words or less is good practice. For longer tags, it sometimes makes more sense to divide them. "Q3 Spending Report," for example, could contain two tags; "Q3" and "Spending Report."
If you end up with a lot of tags (10 or more), you may want to create a master list. You can keep track of everything and delete the tags you no longer need.
Use Tags With Folders
It's often easiest to use tags and folders to keep things in order better. Folders make things more organized visually, while tags make locating various files of a specific type easy.
What Should You Tag?
You can use tags with more than just documents. Windows file tagging makes it easy to organize all file types and folders.
Tagging Photos
If you have a lot of pictures, it can take forever to find a specific one. You can tag each photo by things like date, location, subject, the people in it, and more.
I, Michiel, deleted Tagging Notes and Emails. Can you please undo these deletions.
Tagging Files
Most people only use names for files, and while this serves to describe individual documents, it doesn't help with grouping. You can tag all files, including Word documents, Powerpoints, videos, spreadsheets, and more. Tagging new files as you create them will ensure your system always remains organized.
Windows File Tagging
If you want to keep things in order on your computer, Windows file tagging is the way to go. It will help you save time, and you'll always be able to find whatever you're looking for.
Tagging for Windows is a File organizer for Windows that makes it easy to tag any files on your system. Visit our download page to get started for free today.