Comments on: ♦ Creating a Simple 26-Piece Filing System

By: Jonathan Barrett

Jonathan Barrett — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:27:15 +0000

This seems cumbersome to me. If you’re going to use search, why subdivide by notional name? Surely just a “reference” folder would do?

By: Jeroen Sangers

Jeroen Sangers — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:29:42 +0000

As for file tagging, you might want to look at the tagging feature of QuickSilver. It places your keywords with a prefix (usually &) in the comments of the file. Once again, Spotlight will find all files with a certain tag for you.

By: Arjun

Arjun — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:08:06 +0000

@Ben

I tried several tagging systems and of course, this is a problem I am very aware of myself. I did however settle on filing it in an alphabetical system for two reasons:

Search has become advanced enough to rely on.
A file can only be in 26 different places (A-Z). If I want the file to be in more places at once, I use Aliases (Shortcuts).

That way, I can be independent from any additional software, and it works for me.

@Jay

Thanks, I'm looking forward to your comments again! It's been a long hiatus, and I've finally found the time again to write.

@Joe C

That sounds like a good system, and you've kept your options open by looking for export options. I personally prefer the independence from third-party software though if I can solve a problem using the tools in the OS.

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

By: Joe C

Joe C — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:58:07 +0000

I use Yep for my documents. Ive got a dropbox folder called yep_inbox.

I can dump to there from windows and mac.

From it i use Yep to tag and move documents around.

I dont follow GTD to the letter.. I use things and EVERnote for that. Its cross platform so it works for me. Since evernote exports to html and PDF, it has an escape route.

By: Rohit

Rohit — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:08:36 +0000

Arjun,

I am curious about your organisation. How do you differentiate data storage in 'Active Projects' and 'References', as is evident from your screenshot? Not just storage, but also how does your workflow function, for me to better understand this post?

By: Jay Robinson

Jay Robinson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:31:54 +0000

@Ben, I agree that tags need better support in Mac OS X. It should be as simple as, and included in, the process to name and save a file.

@Arjun, I'm glad I found your blog again! I like this series in that you focus on only the necessary elements. I'm looking forward to upcoming posts.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:24:52 +0000

I have tried a system like this, but it falls apart for me when I want to see a group of files in a couple of different contexts. Take your ebook example. Let's say that the file is one I received from a friend who recommended I read it. I'd like to indicate that the book is an ebook, and also a recommended read. In fact, it was recommended by my friend Alice. Later, I decide to use the book in a paper, and I'd like to keep all of the cited works for the paper in one folder for easy reference.

There's an application called Fresh (same guys who make Yep) that lets you tag files, and OS X has tagging support via Spotlight, but neither is cross-platform.

I haven't found a solution that allows for faceted browsing cross platform, yet.