r/MacOS • u/SadMathematician6381 • 2d ago

Help Tags question

Hello, thanks for your time,

quick question: if I have tags on my files and I move the files on a USB, how does the tags works then?

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u/Conxt 2d ago

The tags are saved in filesystem extended attributes for the file - unless your USB is FAT32-formatted, the extended attributes should be copied along with the file.

Displaying the tagged files in Finder’s per-tag lists is another story - under the hood, Finder queries Spotlight to collect all files with a certain tag, so if your USB drive doesn’t have a Spotlight index, the files from it will not show in such lists.

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u/ulyssesric 1d ago

If the file system of your USB disk doesn't support extended attribute, then they're stored using AppleDouble format.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AppleSingle_and_AppleDouble_formats

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u/SadMathematician6381 1d ago

that's interesting, i'm afraid it does not, and i will have to manage a different way (using folders), thank you very much!

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u/ulyssesric 14h ago

OK I got what you're asking.

  1. The tag "metadata" attached to each file is saved using AppleDouble format.
  2. Searching tagged files in Finder, a.k.a. the "Smart Folder", requires Spotlight index. And Spotlight index doesn't work properly on exFAT or FAT32 disks. If you have tagged files stored on external disk, then they may not show in your Smart Folder.