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Filed under: iLife, Software, Productivity

Keyword Manager updated for iPhoto '08

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Aug 19th, 2007



While I wasn't exactly dying without Keyword Manager in iPhoto '08 just yet, thanks to its new built-in keyword abilities, I am nonetheless relieved to see that my favorite iPhoto keyword plug-in for power users has just been updated for the latest version. While the major new feature in Keyword Manager v1.3 is of course iPhoto '08 compatibility, I have noticed what I believe is a new, dedicated Keyword Manager button added to the controls in the lower left of the iPhoto window (or has that been there all along? I've always just used the keyboard shortcut to invoke it so I never looked down there). Also on the new features list is slightly better performance when selecting many photos, an updated UI for the Keyword Manager windows to match iPhoto '08's new Adjust palette UI, and updates to the Danish translation of the plug-in. It is also worth noting that Keyword Manager still works with iPhoto '06 as well.

A demo is available from Bullstorm Software, while a license costs $19 USD (or €19).

Tags: iPhoto, iPhoto 08, Iphoto08, Keyword Manager, KeywordManager, keywords, tagging, tags

Filed under: iLife, Software, Features, Productivity

iPhoto '08 does tagging right

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Aug 8th, 2007

I've been waiting (impatiently) for a tagging UI like this to come to iPhoto for some time now, and I'm generally happy to say that iPhoto '08 finally does tagging well (for the sake of this post, however, I'll be using the terms 'tags' and 'keywords' interchangeably, since iPhoto refuses to adopt the web 2.0 terminology). If you display keywords beneath your photos (View > Keywords or shift-command-K), you can simply click below your photo in that field (even if it doesn't have any keywords yet) and begin typing. iPhoto will attempt to auto-fill from your keyword library, or it will add new keywords you create on the fly.

For keyword ninjas this still might not replace powerful plug-ins like Keyword Manager, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for the general iPhoto user. Since it's barely been 24 hours, Keyword Manager understandably hasn't updated yet, but I don't find myself gasping for breath without it. Thanks to this improvement and others which I'll explore, iPhoto has gained respectable features that finally allow users to manage their library with the power of tags. Read on to see what else is new with iPhoto's keyword features.

Continue reading “iPhoto '08 does tagging right”

Tags: iPhoto, keywords, mangement, tagging, tags

Filed under: iLife, Software, Productivity

iPhoto Keyword Assistant and Manager plugins updated

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Mar 15th, 2007

The two major keyword plugins for iPhoto have both been updated recently. First up is everyone's favorite free alternative, Ken Ferry's Keyword Assistant which we've covered in the past. This new 1.9.4 version adds a panel with tag keyword auto-completion, and it can also alphabetize the keyword list.

Next is Keyword Manager, a shareware plugin for iPhoto that brings some more robust features to the table for seriously serious iPhoto keyword junkies. New in version 1.2 is:
  • Copy and paste keywords between photos
  • Jump directly to next untagged photo
  • Fixed crash bug in Dutch version
  • Minor stability bugs fixed
  • Japanse localization
  • German localization
  • Chinese localization
A demo is of course available, while a single license to Keyword Manager is $19 from Bullstorm Software.

Tags: assistant, bullstorm, iphoto, ken ferry, KenFerry, keyword, keyword assistant, keyword manager, KeywordAssistant, KeywordManager, keywords, manager, tag, tags

Filed under: iLife, Software, Cool tools, Productivity

Keyword Manager 1.1 adds major keyword management features, more

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jan 28th, 2007



Keyword Manager from Bullstorm scored a license purchase from yours truly the day we found it, and the feature-packed iPhoto keyword plugin recently had an unassuming but handy upgrade to v1.1. Clicking on the "What's New?" heading at Bullstorm's site reveals a strong list of new features, including:
  • Address Book auto-completion
  • Share keywords between photo libraries
  • Alphabetic sorting of keyword lists
  • Preferences windows
  • Built-in software update
If you've been looking for an easier-to-use and more powerful way to wrangle your iPhoto library, I highly recommend giving Keyword Manager's full-featured demo a try. One of its most useful features, besides highly streamlining the tagging/keyword assigning process, is its ability to filter keywords in a search. This is something iPhoto is sorely lacking, but Keyword Manager makes it easy to pick keywords to both search for and exclude. This feature alone is easily worth a good portion of the plugin's $19 USD (€19 in Sweden and EU) for a single license.

Tags: add on, AddOn, iphoto, keyword, keyword manager, KeywordManager, keywords, plugin, tag, tagging, tags

Filed under: iLife, Software, Productivity

Keyword Manager for iPhoto

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Nov 20th, 2006


For as long as I can remember, Ken Ferry's Keyword Assistant has been the only iPhoto plugin (at least, AFAIK) for adding some real power and, dare I say, "tagging" to iPhoto's keyword system. Now there's a new kid on the block by the name of Keyword Manager, and it definitely brings some interesting features to the table. Keyword Manager uses two separate windows that both have their own keyboard shortcuts for toggling visibility. The first is a Quick Assigner window (pictured on right) which, as you might guess, allows you to quickly tag add keywords to your photos. It offers keyword completion (via a slick drop down menu) and support for multiple word keywords. The second panel (on left) is a very nice Keyword Manager, allowing you to organize keywords in a hierarchy to help keep your organization in check. Naturally, since both of these panels have their own keyboard shortcuts, you can call them even when in iPhoto's full-screen mode. All this is done with a very nice iPhoto Adjustment Panel-like UI.

Now Keyword Manager is pretty impressive, but I think they're reaching just a little too high by charging $19 for a plugin, especially in light of Keyword Assistant being free. I think $14.99 would hit the sweet spot for a plugin like this, but then again, I admittedly haven't plunged into organizing my increasingly sprawling iPhoto library yet, so YMMV.

[Update: Commenters Jools tipped us off to promotional codes at VersionTracker that drop the price to $12 in the US or €12 in the EU: VT-542U845 (US) and VT-542E845 (EU). No word on how long those codes are good for, but that's a much more reasonable price in my book.]

Keyword Manager is available from Bullstorm, and a demo is available which allows you to assign keywords 75 times before requiring a license.

Thanks Bernt

Tags: iphoto, keyword, keyword manager, KeywordManager, keywords, management, manager, managing, tag, tagging, tags

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Internet Tools

MailTags 1.2.1 available, 1.3 to feature IMAP syncing

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Apr 6th, 2006

Dave Caolo posted about MailTags last August, but in case you're unfamiliar: MailTags is a fantastic plugin for Mail.app that allows you to both tag your messages and create iCal todos right from within Mail. MailTags' abilities go far beyond simply adding a few keywords though; you can also set projects, categories and priorities for messages and use all this new metadata to create a far more robust organizational system than simply filing messages in a 'todo' folder. Once MailTags is installed, a whole new set of search and rule criteria (such as due date, project, keyword and more) are baked into Mail.app for running searches or creating Smart Mailboxes and rules. It's a pretty amazing plugin, and I urge you to check out Scott Morrison's Indev site for the full details on everything MailTags is capable of.

While MailTags 1.2.1 issues a host of bugfixes but no serious new features, I found out about it from this Hawk Wings post in which Tin Gaden states that MailTags 1.3 will have a new feature many users have been wishing for: IMAP tag syncing. So if you use Mail.app and MailTags on more than one Mac, you can soon keep your tags, as well as (I'm hoping) projects and priorities all in sync.

With all that said, go take MailTags for a spin. It's donationware, so show Scott some PayPal love for the hard work he's putting into this most excellent of plugins.

Tags: app, email, emails, keywords, Mail, Mail.app, MailTags, messages, plug-in, plugin, productivity, program, projects, tagging, tags, todo, todos

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