Tagamac

This is not a sale to miss! For the weekend of March 29th and 30th, 2008 only Leap is on sale for 50% off its list price from MacZot (ends up being about $30), and since its price is the main downside for the software I strongly recommend you check it out.

Despite my first impressions, Leap is the most exciting file system tagging app on the market and provides a great way for new users to get into tags (since it uses current folder hierarchies to supplement your tags). I’ve posted a bit more of an in-depth look at the strengths of Leap in the MacZot comments if you need more convincing. Incidentally, Leap was also updated to version 1.0.4 yesterday, but the update didn’t add much (just a couple of bug fixes).

Leap, currently the most likely piece of software to entice me into file system tagging, was just updated to version 1.0.3. This minor version increase includes better memory handling for some searches (particularly “Go Deep” searches), support for the new Office 2008 file types, the ability to create folders by right clicking in the Locations panel, and a number of small bug fixes and UI improvements.

For more information, see the release notes in the program’s auto-updating, or download it for the first time from the Leap homepage.

At long last MailTags 2.2 has emerged out of beta and is ready for general consumption. MailTags 2.2 is Leopard-only, free for all registered 2.x users, and offers significant improvements over 2.1, including new support for tagging RSS feeds in Mail, tagging Mail notes, and a new extensible architecture under the hood that should allow either Indev or third parties to extend MailTags’ functionality in interesting ways.

If you’ve never tried MailTags, I highly recommend it. MailTags is one of those rare programs that can become an irreplaceable part of your workflow during its trial period, and is not to be missed for anyone for whom email is a central part of their productive workday. For more details about the 2.2 release in general, see the MailTags homepage, the general release notes, or the detailed release notes.

Code Collector Pro received a minor update to version 1.2.1 at the end of last week. This minor version increase fixed a problem where snippets that weren’t set to be shared were posted on CodeCollector.net along with a couple of other bug fixes and a new “Add snippet from clipboard” toolbar button.

For more information, see the 1.2.1 blog announcement or the release notes.

Yep, the file library for people with huge collections of PDFs, was updated yesterday to version 1.7.7. This minor update includes better Leap – Yep integration, a memory problem on Leopard when scrolling through large thumbnails, new backward and forward keys (‘[' and ']‘ respectively), a new “interleave” feature when combining PDFs, and “a few other fixes” (according to MacUpdate).

To download the latest version, you can use Yep’s auto-updating or download it from the Yep website.

Code Collector Pro, the tag-based snippets organizer, has been updated to version 1.2, and along with this version the developer has released CodeCollector.net, an online service that allows you to share and sync your favorite code snippets with others (for free!). This version also reintroduces a free “lite” version of the program that doesn’t offer tagging or a number of other advanced features. As of version 1.2, Code Collector Pro now allows you to lock individual snippets to prevent editing, adds drag and drop support to other apps, and introduces some new interface elements to make sorting and using your snippets easier.

For more details, please see the 1.2 blog announcement, Code Collector Pro release notes, and of course CodeCollector.net. Code Collector Pro costs €20 to register. Although the tagging interface in Code Collector Pro is a little bit clunky (you have to use an Inspector-style window to adjust the metadata for any given snippet), this is still an exciting application for anyone who needs to keep track of common code snippets or share them with others.

EagleFiler, my personal favorite file library, has been updated to version 1.3. This is a pretty hefty update with a slew of bug fixes and minor new features. Some highlights: you can now “capture with options”, allowing you to set a variety of metadata when you capture something (instead of forcing you to go back over everything after the fact); Quick Look is now used to display files that EagleFiler doesn’t understand (in OS 10.5 only, of course); an Untagged folder has been added to the Source List (hallelujah!); EagleFiler can now capture from Address Book, Flock, Pages, OmniGraffle, and others (and has improved capture in several applications); and a bunch of other stuff like improved speed/efficiency, less RAM use for large libraries, better Applescript, more frequent checks on the To Import folder, and much, much more.

For the full release notes and a direct link to the download, see the EagleFiler 1.3 blog announcement. This is definitely a worthy version bump to an application that’s already great, and I highly recommend downloading it soon if you’re using EagleFiler.

StoryMill, my favorite creative writing software that incidentally features tagging, is on sale today March 7, 2008 only for $24.95 at MacZot (50% off the boxed price). This is a great deal; if you’re a fiction writer, I highly recommend taking a look at StoryMill.

People inevitably end up comparing StoryMill to Scrivener, but they’re really very different tools. Scrivener uses the metaphor of a 3×5 index cards and then makes you create your own structure. StoryMill uses the metaphor of scenes within chapters, and provides a structure, which for me at least makes writing easier since I spend less time worrying about how to organize things. StoryMill’s timeline feature is also the only one of its kind in creative writing software at the moment. If you’re a writer, this isn’t a sale you want to miss.

Together, the file library formerly known as K.I.T., has been updated to version 2.0.8. This minor update includes the option to automatically launch Together at login coupled with the option to hide Together’s library window on launch, improved performance in numerous areas, and a number of helpful bug fixes and minor UI enhancements. If you find yourself running Together constantly in the background so that you can collect your info and notes in one place, this is a good update to download.

For the full story, see the Together release notes. As always, Together is OS 10.5-only.

Yep, the PDF tagging file library from the makers of Leap, has been updated to version 1.7.6 today. This minor update fixes a Leopard TWAIN bug, a problem where Yep would sometimes stop saving tags if Leap was installed, and a number of other small fixes. Additionally, the trial period has been reset, so if you’ve used up your trial and want to give Yep another go, you’re in luck!

As is common for Ironic Software, there are no release notes available unless you download the program or auto-update, although some details are available via MacUpdate. Yep is $34, or $10 when purchased with Leap (for a total cost of $69).