PackRat, the desktop companion to Backpack, has been updated to version 1.7. This update fixes image update issues for all users (including PowerPC folks), and improves page rendering time thanks to a change in the libraries powering the software.
For slightly more information, check out the blog announcement.
As you may or may not be aware, StoryMill is one of my favorite tagging applications (I love writing fiction, and for years StoryMill has been hands-down the best solution for keeping myself and my writing organized). Since its update to version 3.0, however, StoryMill has been a bit more pricey, which makes it harder for me to recommend to Average wanna-be-a-novelist Joe.
However, from now until August 18th, 2008 StoryMill is on sale for $29.95 through the Mariner Software online store (both boxed and digital download versions). This is about a 60% discount (reg. $49.95 for boxed, $44.95 for digital download), so if you’ve been thinking you need a better tool for getting your fiction out of your head and onto the page give StoryMill a look-see.
Both Yep and Nifty Box received very minor updates late last week. Yep 1.8 adds Italian localization and resets the trial period (even if you’ve run through your free trial before you can try it again). Nifty Box 1.2.1 fixes a bug in 1.2 that would sometimes cause Nifty Box to use 100% CPU on Leopard.
Neither software offers release notes, although if you’re interested in details about the Nifty Box bug you can find those in the 1.2.1 blog announcement.
Leap, possibly the best file system tagging solution around, has been updated to version 1.1. This version introduces an Italian localization, the option to search everywhere (including Library folders), better file name searching, better searching for partial tag matches, speed improvements, improved Spaces support, support for Services (you can select an item in Leap and it will be available to items in the Services menu), a new “Search in Leap” service, a “only show these documents” menu item, better handling for pasting into the tags field, and “other bug fixes”. Ironic Software’s descriptive release notes strike again.
Personally, I’d just as soon take my Services menu out back and put it out of its misery, but hopefully the generically described speed improvements and bug fixes will make Leap that much more useful despite the new features not being all that exciting. For more information about Leap or to download the software, head over to the Leap homepage.
Nifty Box, one of those pieces of software that straddles the line between file system tagging and a file library, has been updated to 1.2. The big addition to 1.2 is Applescript support, allowing you to access items in the Nifty Box library or tag files automatically (there’s even an extremely helpful rundown of examples available; wish other developers were so kind).
Although I haven’t played with Nifty Box much, my impressions of it are that it’s not a terribly robust system, but offers a far superior searching speed to Spotlight when it comes to file system tagging. Nifty Box is in many ways a precursor to Leap, but one with an interface more inspired by file libraries like EagleFiler or Together.
MarsEdit, the trimmed down blogging software from Red Sweater, has been updated to version 2.2. This version introduces AtomPub support, customizable image markup using MarsEdit’s standard macro language, and significant performance improvements for launch time (along with a few other minor changes). The image markup in particular is a godsend; no more deleting width and height tags for every image and adding a custom class or two. Set it up once, and you’re good to go.
For more details about the update, see the blog announcement.
EagleFiler recently underwent several updates in quick succession recently. 1.3.6 improves memory usage and speed when using Capture with Options, fixes some small memory leaks, improved the French localization, and included a number of other small fixes. 1.3.7 fixed a faulty bugfix in 1.3.6 that was causing memory leaks and crashes. 1.3.8 fixes a regression that was keeping Firefox from working.
For more details on 1.3.6 (the only release with much going on), see the blog announcement.
Default Folder X, a great piece of software and particularly interesting for its helpfulness in home-grown tagging systems, has been updated to version 4.0.7. This minor update includes a fix to allow Spotlight keyword saving in Word 2008 save dialogs, a fix to make sure the recent folders list works in Word 2008 dialogs, and numerous other small bug fixes.
For more details and to download the new version, see the release notes.
MailTags, one of my favorite and most-used tagging plugins, has been updated to version 2.2.1. This minor version bump includes the ability to undo tag edits, a improved stability, and some bug fixes including a fix for an issue where tags were not being included in replies and forwards.
For more information and to download, visit the MailTags release notes.
Hazel, a program for automatically doing any number of things to files on your Mac, has been updated to version 2.2. This version includes the ability to create patterns for matches, the ability to embed AppleScripts or shell scripts directly into your rules, relative date matching, and much more. For details, see the release notes.
Hazel is one of those one-of-a-kind pieces of software that can be amazingly helpful if you take the time to set it up but may at first glance seem too esoteric to be worth downloading. Admittedly, I have never taken the time myself yet, but particularly if you are trying to create a file system tagging workflow Hazel could be an essential part of making sure that all your files get tagged and sorted as you create them without having to expend a lot of effort along the way. Hopefully sometime in the near future I’ll be able to play with it and provide a bit more specific advice; for now, though, you should definitely be aware of the possibilities of Hazel if you’re trying to automate your tagging tasks.