For me, the shortcut key works 95 percent of time. The tricky part for a new user is finding the method that's most comfortable and sticking with it until its routine. I spent considerable time on this because it's an important attribute for a tool that is all about capturing and managing files. Some might say there are too many options, but I think this is a strength. There are clearly plenty of options for importing files and folders. If no library is open, EagleFiler will ask you to open one, and then you can click the Import button to send the file to that library". From the developer: "This works whether or not EagleFiler or a library is open. Note that this will only work if you already have an open library. The other way is to right-click on an item and choose the 'EagleFiler: Import' option from the OS X Services drop-down menu. Per a suggestion in the EF user manual, you can optionally create an alias of this folder in the dock for quick access. The next time you fire up EF, the app will import the items. This is a special folder in that EagleFiler doesn't need to be running for you to add files. You'll find this special folder wherever you choose to store your EF files (one per every library you create). One way we haven't covered is the special 'To Import (Library Name)' folder created by EagleFiler. There are yet a couple of other ways to enter data. It doesn't add the item as a discrete entry in your library. You just need to remember that this embeds the file in an existing document. It is, however, useful to drag a file to the application window if you want to embed an image, video, text or whatever into an existing rich text document. it's easy to drop the file in the wrong place). I think this method is clumsy and prone to error (i.e. I don't care for the drop-stuff-right-in-the-app method. How do you decide which method to use? It depends on how much you care about where your file goes and if you want to add metadata to the file at the import stage. You can also add an item by invoking a keyboard shortcut. For starters, you can drag any file or folder and drop it on the application window, on the dock icon, or on an optional EagleFiler 'drop pad' that sits on your desktop. You can add items in a wide variety of ways. Capturing DataĮagleFiler captures pretty much anything: documents, images, audio, video, individual emails or entire mailboxes, chat transcripts, bookmarks, text clippings, folders containing multiple items, and more. Let's start by taking a look at how you get your files into the application.
While it's easy enough to start using right away, a few trips to the 125-page user manual are necessary to start using it well. I found that it does this job quite well, but it does take some getting used to. And it allows you to create multiple libraries of information so that, for example, you can manage your personal and work files separately.ĮagleFiler puts all of these tools together in a single, familiar interface that aims to place the focus of your effort where it should be: on doing work with your documents, instead of working to find your documents. It also gives you a place to store items that aren't as easy to manage in the Finder like archived Web pages, important Emails, and notes. It provides an integrated way to more easily manage metadata (tags, labels, notes) for the files you import. It's very easy to get your documents into EagleFiler via a system-wide one-click shortcut. However, this tool sets itself apart in many useful ways. Like these Apple tools, EagleFiler allows you to store, label, tag, sort, and find documents and media. It is, at heart, a power tool.Īt first blush, EagleFiler may appear to be little more than an alternative to using the Finder and Spotlight.
While I don't think EagleFiler is as visually appealing as some of the other offerings out there in this genre, I think it more than makes up for it in utility.
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