Over the years, I have acquired a lot of files on my (Windows) PC containing battle maps, adventures, NPCs, and other gaming-related resources.
I have this idea of software that can assign tags to each file and then let me search for tags, file names, and/or contents.
Google's Picasa did a good job - but it's been discontinued and (I think) was only for images.
Does anyone know of something that might fit the bill here?
An example of how I'd like it to work: The software would look and feel a little like Windows Explorer. But with a search bar that lets me type in words or phrases. Once I type something, it will show me thumbnails of each matching file. Then, I could double-click a file to open it. (Or perhaps it could be smart enough to show me a preview of the file - if it's a known format).
Over the years, I have acquired a lot of files on my (Windows) PC containing battle maps, adventures, NPCs, and other gaming-related resources.
I have this idea of software that can assign tags to each file and then let me search for tags, file names, and/or contents.
Google's Picasa did a good job - but it's been discontinued and (I think) was only for images.
Does anyone know of something that might fit the bill here?
An example of how I'd like it to work: The software would look and feel a little like Windows Explorer. But with a search bar that lets me type in words or phrases. Once I type something, it will show me thumbnails of each matching file. Then, I could double-click a file to open it. (Or perhaps it could be smart enough to show me a preview of the file - if it's a known format).
Thanks.
Could you not just name the files properly? That way you can use Windows Explorer (which has a search bar, by the way, in top-right and literally lets you search by file name, file content, meta data, and file type. You can also use views, filter and sorts to more easily view the thumbnails in the order you want.
Since Windows Explorer can already do what you describe, it may be better to just use that instead of third party stuff?
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I use XYplorer, which is sort of like Windows Explorer on steroids. A lot of steroids. It's fast, heavily customizable and has: multi-tabs split-view tags ratings color coding customizable file type icons one click or hover media preview branch view (show a "flat" view of every file in a folder and any files within recursive sub folders in a single list with one click) scripting search by: name, size, file type, date, file content*, tags, attribute, exclusion, etc. the list goes on (and on and on)
*Have an NPC named Sir Spittletoad, but you can't remember in which document or folder? Go to the top folder you want to start with, enter the text (w/ wild cards and/or regular expressions if you want) and just check "Contents" as the search type and it will find and list the name and location of every document that contains the fearless "Sir Spittletoad", and you can open it with a single click. You can also use multiple search parameters. You could search for only PNG files of your beloved Sir Spittletoad created after May 18th, 2019 that are smaller than 2.1 MB.
having did this exercise about 15 years ago, keep in mind that when XYplorer goes the way of most software programs (and it will), you'll switch to something else which may or may not recognize all those tags....so in a few years i'd say there's a decent change you'll be back to where you are now. I'd suspect that XYplorer uses proprietary tags.
having did this exercise about 15 years ago, keep in mind that when XYplorer goes the way of most software programs (and it will), you'll switch to something else which may or may not recognize all those tags....so in a few years i'd say there's a decent change you'll be back to where you are now. I'd suspect that XYplorer uses proprietary tags.
For what it's worth, I've been using XYplorer for at least 15 years now, and it's been actively maintained and updated for longer than that. I'm not saying it's going to be around forever, just that it's been around a long time and has a very large and active user base. It's also possible to create reports as csv, txt, etc. to output file details, tag info, etc. (Disclaimer: I don't work for or know the developer, I'm just a long time user who has become an ardent fan.)
For what it's worth, I've been using XYplorer for at least 15 years now, and it's been actively maintained and updated for longer than that. I'm not saying it's going to be around forever, just that it's been around a long time and has a very large and active user base. It's also possible to create reports as csv, txt, etc. to output file details, tag info, etc. (Disclaimer: I don't work for or know the developer, I'm just a long time user who has become an ardent fan.)
Thanks to those of you recommending Windows Explorer and its Tags feature. However, I'd really want to tag things like Word docs and PDFs - so I don't think that's going to cut it for me.
And as to the proprietary nature of XYplorer (and other such third-party software), don't lose sight of the fact that even Microsoft has dropped features over time.
Besides, in ten years' time, we'll all be playing D&D 6.5 and won't care about any of our 5e files... :-)
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Over the years, I have acquired a lot of files on my (Windows) PC containing battle maps, adventures, NPCs, and other gaming-related resources.
I have this idea of software that can assign tags to each file and then let me search for tags, file names, and/or contents.
Google's Picasa did a good job - but it's been discontinued and (I think) was only for images.
Does anyone know of something that might fit the bill here?
An example of how I'd like it to work: The software would look and feel a little like Windows Explorer. But with a search bar that lets me type in words or phrases. Once I type something, it will show me thumbnails of each matching file. Then, I could double-click a file to open it. (Or perhaps it could be smart enough to show me a preview of the file - if it's a known format).
Thanks.
Google Drive? Combined with Google Photos for images?
Could you not just name the files properly? That way you can use Windows Explorer (which has a search bar, by the way, in top-right and literally lets you search by file name, file content, meta data, and file type. You can also use views, filter and sorts to more easily view the thumbnails in the order you want.
Since Windows Explorer can already do what you describe, it may be better to just use that instead of third party stuff?
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I use XYplorer, which is sort of like Windows Explorer on steroids. A lot of steroids. It's fast, heavily customizable and has:
multi-tabs
split-view
tags
ratings
color coding
customizable file type icons
one click or hover media preview
branch view (show a "flat" view of every file in a folder and any files within recursive sub folders in a single list with one click)
scripting
search by: name, size, file type, date, file content*, tags, attribute, exclusion, etc.
the list goes on (and on and on)
*Have an NPC named Sir Spittletoad, but you can't remember in which document or folder? Go to the top folder you want to start with, enter the text (w/ wild cards and/or regular expressions if you want) and just check "Contents" as the search type and it will find and list the name and location of every document that contains the fearless "Sir Spittletoad", and you can open it with a single click. You can also use multiple search parameters. You could search for only PNG files of your beloved Sir Spittletoad created after May 18th, 2019 that are smaller than 2.1 MB.
XYplorer looks promising. I'll give it a whirl - though it looks like there will be quite a learning curve.
Thanks!
as said above, this exact feature is available in file explorer on windows:
Then go to list view, right click the top and make tags visible.
Only seems to work with .jpg files, not .png, so may or may not be of use to you!
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having did this exercise about 15 years ago, keep in mind that when XYplorer goes the way of most software programs (and it will), you'll switch to something else which may or may not recognize all those tags....so in a few years i'd say there's a decent change you'll be back to where you are now. I'd suspect that XYplorer uses proprietary tags.
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For what it's worth, I've been using XYplorer for at least 15 years now, and it's been actively maintained and updated for longer than that. I'm not saying it's going to be around forever, just that it's been around a long time and has a very large and active user base. It's also possible to create reports as csv, txt, etc. to output file details, tag info, etc. (Disclaimer: I don't work for or know the developer, I'm just a long time user who has become an ardent fan.)
thanks
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Thanks to those of you recommending Windows Explorer and its Tags feature. However, I'd really want to tag things like Word docs and PDFs - so I don't think that's going to cut it for me.
And as to the proprietary nature of XYplorer (and other such third-party software), don't lose sight of the fact that even Microsoft has dropped features over time.
Besides, in ten years' time, we'll all be playing D&D 6.5 and won't care about any of our 5e files... :-)