Filed under: Software, Features, Reviews
Leap 1.0: a peek under the hood
Some applications remind me of cars. For example, most Java based applications are Volkswagen Things as they're useful in certain situations, but horrifying (or hilarious) to look at. But once in a while you get a Jaguar XJS: a beautiful exterior that doesn't bely its underlying power. That, and you frequently have to spend some time at the mechanic. Leap by Ironic Software – makers of Yep – just hit 1.0 after a long stint in beta. It's my current Jag.
We covered the beta, but here's a quick review. Leap is a Spotlight interface which, once you get used to it, causes a fundamental shift in the current paradigm of file management. Prior to finding Leap, I had already been using a homegrown, Spotlight-based file management system. The strategy – based on a tagging system – requires a far smaller folder hierarchy and allows for much faster location of related files in a project. Leap both complements my system and elegantly replaces a lot of its kludgier functionality.
By combining full Spotlight search capabilities with a tagging system (that writes to Spotlight comments), Leap makes file location a breeze and allows for easy association of files within a project. It can function like Finder, showing all files in a single directory, if that's what you need at the moment. The "Go Deep" search can display every file in every sub-folder of a project. The results can be filtered by criteria such as file type, location, date, keywords and other metadata, allowing for quick searching and tagging. It can also display a traditional list format, but the icon view with Loupe function and Quick Look integration makes browsing as elegant as any program I've tried. And, of course, a tag cloud view – and the ability to choose tags from a sidebar to narrow the search – makes all that tagging work worthwhile.
All of that being said, Leap still has some bugs despite its 1.0 status. I've been subjected to freezes fairly frequently, but the random crashing that plagued the beta seems to be cured. As far as features go, I wish there were an easy way to exclude parameters from a query. I'm also wishing for the ability to select multiple file types during a search using a ?-click rather than defining custom file type groups. But the interface, as it stands, is friendly and elegant once you get the basic concepts down. And nitpicking aside, it does elegantly accomplish everything I've been doing in a more manual fashion.
Leap is now selling for $59. You can buy Leap and Yep as a bundle for $69, and previous owners of Yep can get Leap for $39. That works for people who got Yep in a bundle as well. You can download a trial copy from Ironic Software and take it for a spin.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vinod Ponmanadiyil said 8:17AM on 3-03-2008
$59?! - Last week I paid that amount for VMware Fusion.
Said that, Leap looks very functional and beautiful.
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Marco said 8:57AM on 3-03-2008
The car is spelled Volkswagen, not Volkswagon ;o)
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Brett Terpstra said 9:36AM on 3-03-2008
Fixed, thanks :).
BLUEFROG said 10:10AM on 3-03-2008
Just to add to the kudos… I've been beta testing Leap (and Yep before that) and the developers are two of the most reponsive I've ever dealt with (I beta test as a hobby.)
You're right about the paradigm shift. Leap is a new view into our files that many people may not quickly understand. 20+ years of hierarchical filing systems and a lot misinformation about tag based workflows is a huge hill to climb. But a nice thing about Leap is it accepts both methodologies. The ideal situation is hierarchical and non-hierarchical systems where they are appropriate and Leap easily allows for both.
A great piece of software (with better things to come,I'm sure!)
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Thomas said 1:23PM on 3-03-2008
Finder would be a lot better at finding things if they allowed you to add more metadata to files as you save them. Being able to add spotlight comments and colour labels when you create a file would be a great start. If you have to save from within an app, then go to the file, then add those items, well chances are you won't. I wish more apps would somehow take advantage of colour labels, not sure how, but there must be some way to take advantage of them.
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BLUEFROG said 4:22PM on 3-03-2008
Thomas:
I agree 100%. Part of the problem with tagging is it's not fluid. (That's exactly why most people embracing a tag-based workflow are photographers who have tons of metadata generated FOR THEM on-the-fly! Look at EXIF and IPTC and see how much your camera generates!!)
There are some partial solutions but none is as quick as people would like. But keep an eye on Leap… there may be a viable solution coming out of this camp. It's a great piece of software!
(P.S. this is not a paid endorsement 8^). I have been beta testing it and I know it's not perfect yet but it's pretty amazing so far.)
Ian Beck said 2:08AM on 3-04-2008
Hey Thomas:
You should take a look at Default Folder X:
http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/
It lets you add Spotlight comments (and more) to a file as you're saving it. Amazingly handy if you're rolling your own file system tagging thing. You just stick a bunch of &tags in the comments as you save the file, and never have to worry about it again. Vastly improved workflow.
Thomas said 10:38AM on 3-04-2008
I tried Default Folder X, I just didn't like the way it integrated with the save window, I know they'r effectively tacking it on top and it's probably the best they can do but I just didn't feel comfortable using it, for want of a better word. Of course, this sort of thing should be native so that everyone can start using it.
Ian Beck said 10:37AM on 3-03-2008
I posted a more in-depth look at how tagging and searching works in Leap 1.0 yesterday on Tagamac if folks are interested. I agree that the price is a bit high, though.
http://tagamac.com/2008/03/leap_second_look/
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Kimberly Beattie said 1:22PM on 3-03-2008
I've been playing around with the beta of Leap and find it very useful in some circumstances. But after looking at both Leap and Yep, I am left with a question. If I have Leap, is there any need for Yep? Isn't Yep just a file specific (pdf files) version of Leap?
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BLUEFROG said 4:11PM on 3-03-2008
Kimberly:
Yes, there is overlap between the two. In fact, Leap is born out of the thought that,"If Yep is so good with PDFs, I want Yep for all files!" I'm not privy to what the developers lifespan for Yep is (though it is under active development).
The clincher for me (I actively use both) with Yep is its internal PDF viewer. I am managing almost 3,000 PDFs all tagged and I like not having to fire up Preview or Acrobat toread them. Since PDFs are such a ubiquitous format for reference Yep seems to be perfectly suited for this niche.
Todd Sieling said 12:05PM on 3-03-2008
It looks pretty cool; I'm not sure it's $59 cool, but I'm looking forward to playing with it a bit.
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Mo said 5:40PM on 3-03-2008
I wonder if this fills the criteria of my challenge:
http://nevali.net/2007/09/wanted-a-good-mac-ui-developer/
Time to find out!
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Mo said 5:55PM on 3-03-2008
The answer would be… no. Nice use of Spotlight, but it tries to be too clever whilst ignoring the obvious simple stuff.
Why can't I pick from any available spotlight attributes to use in column view, or have iTunes “browse mode”-style browsing of two or three attributes (e.g., kMDMusicalGenre, kMDItemAuthors, kMDItemAlbum).
Couple that with the ability to bookmark particular “views”, and you've got all of the browsing functionality of any “iTunes-like” application, all rolled into one: support Quick Look (which Leap does, it's worth noting), and you're sorted.
BLUEFROG said 6:08PM on 3-03-2008
Mo:
I think you may be missing the target audience. kMD queries are NOT a layman's tool. While I agree that raw queries should be added (and I imagine they will be, in good time), Spotlight's menu item doesn't allow for it either (which I've always found strange.)
Leap DOES have the ability to Bookmark particular views and this is one of the less discussed but very cool options in the app.
It may not be exactly what you want right now but keep your eyes on it. It may become just what you're looking for.
Mo said 3:53AM on 3-04-2008
@BLUEFROG:
Yes, the kMD… constants shouldn't be exposed to the user, but they all have friendly names which *should*.
What's wrong with having “Genre”, “Album”, etc, available as column choices in column view?
(The less said about Apple's own Spotlight UI choices the better, I think)
mark said 7:15PM on 3-03-2008
"And, of course, a tag cloud view...makes all that tagging work worthwhile."
Did the tag cloud view survive to v1.0? The developer already pointed out to me a few features that were removed (like the blue, iTunes-like, source list, featured in the demo movie).
Now I can't find the tag cloud. I've asked the developer about this, as well, but I have yet to receive a reply.
Are you seeing a tag cloud in 1.0? Or was that comment based upon using the beta?
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BLUEFROG said 7:36PM on 3-03-2008
Mark:
There is still a Tag Cloud in Leap 1.0 but it is different than the demo movie. The tags are not visually distinguished by size and they are in the first pane (the Filter Pane) instead of the second one.(Using size as a marker is something that was removed fairly early in the betas.)
Join up on the support forum and make a request if you want. The developers are awesome and they keep an eye on the boards pretty regularly.
mark said 3:08PM on 3-04-2008
Thanks. I believe the differing sizes are actually required, in order to call it a "cloud." :-) I like Leap, and I own a license, but think it was far more attractive, visually, prior to removing the tag cloud and the source list. I'm disappointed by those changes. And yes, I've actively been providing feedback. Thanks again.
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BLUEFROG said 2:13AM on 3-07-2008
Mark:
Just wondering if you have tried NiftyBox? It's got some nice tag cloud visualizations. Nice, little known tagging app.
If you haven't, check it out at: http://www.nifty-box.com