dijji / filemeta

Enable Explorer in Vista, Windows 7 and later to see, edit and search on tags and other metadata for any file type

File Metadata

Latest: Version 1.6 is now the recommended release. All documentation has been updated to reflect the changes, which are described fully in the release notes. The most important change is a revision to how File Meta works when a handler is already present, to allow for the fact that Windows 10 does not allow some of its built-in handlers to be substituted. I recommend reading Using the File Meta Association Manager to make sure you understand exactly what is going to happen when a handler is already present, and how to make it work for you.

In Windows XP, Explorer could see and edit metadata (for example comments or tags) for any type of file. In Vista and later, this has been possible only for certain types of file, such as Office documents, JPEGs and MP3s.

It is pretty clear that Microsoft originally intended to ship a broader capability. What this package does is wire together pieces that were built into Windows in readiness, but never joined up: it connects Explorer's ability to see and edit metadata with NTFS's support for storing property data in an annex to any file, and so allowing metadata to be added to files of any type. And because Windows Search uses the same property system hooks as Explorer, you can also search using this metadata, both in Explorer and from the Start Menu (or Search charm). That all this takes just a 19K DLL (64-bit, release build) and some registry settings tells you how close Microsoft got.

One reason why Microsoft never shipped the complete solution is that all works well when the file is moved around between NTFS drives, but the metadata is lost when a file is, say, emailed, or moved to a FAT file system. Also, if your files are still being edited, then you need to check that associated metadata is preserved on save. Some file editors, rather than update the file in place, save updates using a write-new-file, delete-original-file, rename-new-to-original strategy that loses any metadata held in the annex to the original file. You do need to be aware of these limitations, but think of being able to add metadata to txt files, pdfs, anything, editable directly in Explorer! And because XP used the same storage mechanism for the general case (see XP, Vista and File Metadata for the full story), this package will also read some metadata written under XP, hidden by a Windows upgrade, and invisible ever since . Also, to help with unfriendly editors and non-NTFS transfers, the installation optionally sets up an Explorer context menu that lets you right click on a file to export its metadata to a separate XML file, and import it again to reapply it to the original file (or indeed to a different file). If you want to backup all your metadata, then there is also a command line utility for bulk metadata export and import that works with the same XML file format.

The final element of the package is a file association manager, to manage the registry settings that turn file metadata support on (and off) per file extension and tell Explorer to allow you to see and edit the metadata for a file type. By default, file metadata will not appear for any additional extensions, you need to turn support on explicitly per extension. To protect existing functionality, the file association manager will not let you interfere where Explorer already knows how to handle a file type, it only allows you to add metadata support for file types that aren't already covered by Windows or 3rd party software.

To see how File Metadata appears in Windows Explorer, look at What you see. For the required installation steps, see Getting Started. Once you've had a go, any feedback, positive or negative, would be much appreciated.

Here is the Documentation, but if you have any problems or would like to raise a question, please open an Issue.

filemeta's Issues

Chrome Identified this as Malicious?

Why?

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9709'
Vote count: '1'

Discussion in Everything

https://www.voidtools.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6284

File Association Manager looks too complex

See review at http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/30413-file_metadata_10_beta_64-bit

The review does note that, although the Manager looks scary, what you have to do is simple. The change would be to make it look simple, too.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '8789'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '1'

Suggestion: Make Window resizeable

I have been using the File Meta Association Manager for a while on different machines. It would be more convenient if one could resize the window and move it around the screen. Please consider adding a scroll bar to the leftmost part of the GUI.
Thank you.

Where is the set-up file? like exe. or msi. file

I downloaded the zip file and unzipped it, I could not find any installation files in the folders. Can anyone tell me how to install the File Meta Association Manager?

Been experiencing crashes in Windows Explorer since installing this

I'll be back with more details once I get the time to investigate it a little.

Saving a file (.dwg) in Autocad 2013 deletes attributes

Hi

I found this software very useful! Being able to search Autocad drawings based on attributes is simply amazing but when you save a file in autocad it deletes all the attributes (ex.: Authors, Title , Subject...) of that file. I'm using Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1.

Natemipat

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9120'
Vote count: '1'

Installing property handler

Hi,

I've been trying out FileMeta and it works very nicely (once I overcame the various old versions of Visual Studio with their accompanying msvcr dlls on my computer!).

I work on s/w that generates files with a custom extension and would like to use the property handler FileMeta creates. There is an installer for this s/w and I was wondering if the only requirement to distribute the property handler to our users was to set up the registry as described in Linking to the property handler. Is that correct, or have I over-simplified it?

Secondly, does your licence permit this kind of use on a commercial product?

Thanks.

Show property display name in Association Manager

Show the display name as well as the formal property name in the Association Manager, to aid correlation with the names used in Windows Explorer

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9716'
Vote count: '2'

The disappearance of comment after editing the file

sorry i pressed the 'enter' key by accident just now.
The issue happened to .txt file after i edit it. the comment field will be empty. But the tag area is ok remaining the same as before.

btw i tested the file again....it seems it came back to work again,how strange....... i will close this issue...

Confusion: Association Manager display

The Association Manager display has a built-in confusion. The extensions with extant system-provided Handlers show Metadata properties as being editable, when they are in fact not editable, as show highlighted in this image.

Update the Association Manager to work as follows:

All selected extensions have no handler: profile combo box is enabled and profile property lists are shown.
All selected extensions have File Meta handler: profile combo box is disabled and profile for the first selected extension is shown in combo box and profile property lists.
All other cases: profile combo box is disabled and profile property lists are empty.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9385'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '1'

Patch to support “down level” or “chained” property handler

Hi Dijji,

Here is a patch for the PropertyHandler.cpp file. It modifies the FileMeta property handler so that you can optionally configure another “down level” or “chained” property handler, for each file type. When such a chained property handler is specified, the properties reported by this handler are passed through the FileMeta’s property handler, and are available in addition to any properties handled by FileMeta.

For configuration of the FileMeta property handler to use the original property handler as chained property handler, you need to set the original registered property handler from HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers.ext into HKLM\SOFTWARE\FileMetadata\ChainedPropertyHandlers.ext, and then set FileMeta’s property handler into HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers.ext as usual. You must also check the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\SystemPropertyHandlers key, and when you’re updating any file type that is listed there, you have to update this entry too, because it overrides those settings in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers.ext. You might have to take ownership and give full access to change anything in there, because by default only the TrustedInstaller principal can modify these entries.

For the functionality:
It is fully backward compatible! When no chained property handler is specified, it behaves exactly as the original version.
When a chained property handler is specified, an instance of that handler is initialized together with the FileMeta property handler instance. It is asked for an IInitializeWithFile interface; if it doesn’t support it, it is asked for an IInitializeWithStream interface, and when that is supported, the given file is wrapped into a stream (SHCreateStreamOnFileEx) for the chained property handler.
For accessing properties via index, the GetCount function returns the sum of the properties from the property store FileMeta uses and the chained property store. The GetAt function simply distinguishes based on the index if the property store of FileMeta or the chained property store is used.
For GetValue, the property store of FileMeta is queried first, and if it does not provide a property value (VT_EMPTY), the chained property store is queried for the value.
SetValue and Commit are not modified. When FileMeta is used, the chained property handler is not used to update properties. Changed properties are only stored in FileMeta’s property store.

I hope that helps. Please let me know if there are questions or more information is needed.

Btw, thank you very much for this great project. It helped me a lot, and it was very interesting to see how easy it is to get back the versatile properties for any file type, realized in NTFS ADS.

Br,
Thomas

Attachments

PropertyHandler.cpp.patch
patch.csv
Prop1.zip

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9632'
Vote count: '2'

Cannot get application to install . . . get error message every time

No doubt it's something I'm failing to recognize or do. But I cannot get this program to install on my system.

Any suggestions on what I should change to get the program to install? I'd sure like to try it out. [Windows 10 Professional]

Properties/Metadata etc - What is good for?

Hi Dijji,
I couldn't continue the disccusion in
https://filemeta.codeplex.com/discussions/663596
so I'm posting here.

Can you please give more details/references about the differences between:

2. Make the file more searchable, easier to find it.

and

building virtual folders based on the tags attached to files ... Multiple tags can be interpreted as folder hierarchies.

Explanation of HowTo for each one,
thanks, Stamimail

Metadata export does not handle Cyrillic or other non-Latin character sets correctly

If properties contain 16-bit Unicode characters, the exported XML metadata file is truncated at the property value.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '8958'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '1'

Plans for next update?

Are you planning/working on a new update? If so, when should we expect the new release, and what will it add primarily?

editing .lnk handler seems not working

I tried add System.Keywords property to .lnk

and shows nothing changed.

tried the same to .dlls and .zips and it worked

How can I have this worked?

Thanks

Error 0x800700C1

Software: File Metadata (64bit) ver1.3, Windows 7 Pro, 64bit, NET-framework 4.5.2.

Documentation/Building says: "requires .Net Fx 3.5 or later". (Anyhow I fail to install NET-3.5.)

I copied this text from a comment under Documentation/Getting Started. It exactly describes my problem

The properties are shown at the bottom of the explorer page, but after I type a new value in a field, like Title, when I select save, I get an error message: Error 0x800700C1: MyFileName is not a valid Win32 application.

I tried some different combination, uninstalled and installed again, but with no effect. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2749690 describes this error message, but I hessitate to try the recommended "Resolution".

Attachments

fmeta_1.zip
FileMetadata_part_2.zip
PropertyTest.zip
FileMetadata_part_3.zip
SuccessMyNewTag.zip
x64RedistributableSize.GIF

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9654'
Vote count: '1'

Exporting Profiles/No install

Hi, is there any easy way to export custom profiles and re-import them?
If it isn't already possible, I believe a Cmd utility would be prefered.

In the same line of thoughts, is it possible to make file-meta install free?
Obviously, the software would still make registry edits/copy its files somewhere, but wouldn't require the user to go through the install setup(or how could I setup the source code to do so?)

Images for Documentation

Access to Metadata programmitically?

Hi,

this is a very useful project. Thank you very much for your effort.
I was wondering how one could access the metadata enabled by FileMeta programmatically (via C# or even PowerShell). I have been trying to do the same via WindowsAPICodePack FromParsingName().Properties and Shell.GetDetailsOf(). The only way I was able to rethttps://filemeta.codeplex.com/workitem/list/advancedrieve the properties with their respective values was through a query of the SearchIndex.
Any hints would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dirk

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9666'
Vote count: '1'

Command line support could be very useful

Command line support could be very useful in the following scenarios:

Exporting and importing metadata from and to multiple files. This might be useful for backing up metadata, or moving files in bulk where a direct NTFS to NTFS copy is not available.
Supporting scenarios where a file editor does not preserve metadata on update, e.g. AutoCAD. Command line support could enable metadata to be saved and restored automatically before and after an edit operation.
Making File Metadata server friendly. In general, all software functions installed on a server should be accessible from the command line for administrative purposes.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9130'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '1'

Dispose() RegistryKeys

Registry keys opened in http://filemeta.codeplex.com/SourceControl/latest#AssociationManager/Extension.cs are never disposed it seems. Is that by design?
Great tool in any case.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9478'
Vote count: '1'

Command line should check extension

In the command line tool, do not export or import metadata for files whose extension is not configured with the File Meta Property Handler. This will improve consistency with the context menu, which does not appear for such files.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9334'
Vote count: '1'

Newbie would appreciate setup help or clarification

Hi,
This software looks like exactly what I'd like (fwiw, I want to be able to tag scanned pdfs of old family letters by family member). But I'm not a developer or even a GitHub user (until now), and I have a feeling I'm missing some assumption about how to install it.

In particular, when I download the FileMeta-master.zip, I don't see anything I can execute as setup, neither the conventional setup.exe nor anything else within the Setup folder that I can execute. I've also tried "cloning to GitHub desktop" after installing that software, but see no obvious way forward there either.

I'm guessing I need some other program that knows what to do with "Setup\Setup.wixproj". If so, what is it? If not, what should I do? In either case, adding a bit more explanation to your "Getting Started" page (https://github.com/Dijji/FileMeta/wiki/Getting-Started) might be useful for those of us at the bottom of the class. :)

Simple Profile for *.csv files kills Association Manager in V.1.4 beta

32bit W7

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9702'
Vote count: '1'

disables context menus for submenus/"jumplists" in start menu

Hi!

This feature is wonderful (I've already benefited from the ability to edit .pdf metadata), but I notice one side-effect: in the past, I was able to start at the start menu, go to a "nested menu" (submenu, or "jumplist"), hover the mouse pointer over the menu, "right-click" to get a context menu for a context menu for any given file, and do whatever (in this case, reach and select the "properties" menu of a file without opening an explorer window and browsing all the way there by hand); but after installing this feature (metadata editor), any attempt to right-click on ANY menu (or submenu) item collapses/closes the menu, and nothing else happens. (I can get context menus everywhere else... just not in items in the start menu or submenus, anymore.)

I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium, SP2. Any idea what's going on?

Attachments

nested menus.jpg

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9484'
Vote count: '1'

Error 0x80004005 when trying to save metadata

I am using File Metadata 1.2 x64 with Windows 7 Professional. The program seems to work fine but when trying to save metadata for a file (.txt, .zip, .dwg, etc) I get the 0x80004005. I tried to set full rights to the folder and the file in question (NTFS drive), with no success - can't save the metadata. What is the issue?

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9500'
Vote count: '2'

Properties not exported

Hello!
I've recently installed FileMeta and tried to export some properties. I've set the handle for a file type (.mp4) and tried to export props to xml, but the resulting file turns out to be empty, although the file has plenty of unempty properties specified in the profile. The only thing in the xml is /<Metafile//> (had to escape characters).

Saving a file clears its associated metadata

Hi, I'm not sure if it's a bug or if I'm missing something, but working on a document which I already attached some metadata to, then modifying and saving it, makes me unable to retrieve that info again.
It's like: if a program saves the document over the preexisting file it clears the metadata associated.
Is there a sort of "versioning" in your program that controls the document "Last modified" entry to recognise to which file it has to attach its metadata? Because that would explain saving a file then losing the preexisting metadata associated to it.
I hope I made my issue comprehensible. Thanks for your work anyway, I love this!

Improve File Association Manager usability re extensions

In the list of file extensions:

Support multiple selection
Support text search

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9217'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '2'

Unable to edit tags in MKV files under Windows 10

Any idea how to completely disable MF MKV Property Handler?

Can't see content in Preview Panel or Details for .flac or mp3

What can I do, If I can't see the content in the Preview Panel of "File Meta Association Manager" for .flac or .mp3 music files?
For other file types like .mp4 it works great (using the handler "MF MPEG-4 Property Handler"). I can see properties like System.Audio.EncodingBitrate, System.Audio.ChannelCount and others.

But for .flac or .mp3 ("MF MP3 Property Handler") the right side of your program remains empty.

Any idea how to fix that?

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9728'
Vote count: '1'

Support multi-file selection in context menu

I miss the possibility to mark multiple files and export them to metadata-filea with the same name but the extension ".metadata'. In the same way, you can do it for one file already via the context-menu in windows explorer.

Best regards!
Gerhard Waldhelm

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9454'
Vote count: '2'

Cannot find *.fb2 in the list of file extensions

Hi, could you please advise me how can I add *.fb2 extension to the list?
Thanks in advance.

0x800700C1 Error Message

This turned out to be a problem with the target machine, which was a 64-bit Windows 7 system. The 32-bit version of the Visual C++ Runtime (MSVCR100.DLL) had been copied to the 64-bit system folder (Windows\System32) at some time before File Meta was installed. This prevented the standard Microsoft C++ Redistributable embedded in the File Meta Setup installing the 64-bit version of the C++ Runtime (also MSVCR100.DLL) in System32. The failure occurred when the 64-bit File Meta Property Handler tried to invoke the misplaced 32-bit C++ Runtime.

Original report:

The properties are shown at the bottom of the explorer page, but after I type a new value in a field, like Title, when I select save, I get an error message:
Error 0x800700C1: MyFileName is not a valid Win32 application.
I am running 64 bit Windows 7 and the file is a pdf.

Attachments

Error Message.bmp
dependencies.JPG
Dependency Walker.jpg
msvcr100.JPG

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '8803'
Vote count: '1'

No metadata shown for jpg file

When I type filemeta -ec file.jpg from the command prompt in a Win 10 environmen I just see as a response. Windows shows a lot of metadata present.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9730'
Vote count: '1'

Metadata file structure

Hi,
would it be possible to explain the structure of the metadata files generated by filemeta?

What is Storage FormatID,Id=38,Type,TypeId found within the file?
I need to be able to generate my own metadata files(I want to extract metadata embedded in files and rewrite them in the ntfs metadata)
Can I just copy/paste these and simply change the value part?

<Metadata>
	<Storage FormatID="{56A3372E-CE9C-11D2-9F0E-006097C686F6}">
		<Property Name="System.Media.SubTitle" Id="38" Type="VT_LPWSTR" TypeId="31">
			<Value>Part_of-Song</Value>
		</Property>
	</Storage>
	<Storage Description="SummaryInformation" FormatID="{F29F85E0-4FF9-1068-AB91-08002B27B3D9}">
		<Property Name="System.Title" Id="2" Type="VT_LPWSTR" TypeId="31">
			<Value>FirstTier</Value>
		</Property>
	</Storage>
</Metadata>

Installation doesn't work, broke Windows Explorer

Ever since installing File Metadata for x64 on Windows 7, I am still unable to edit meta for files like txt, and Explorer is having some major issues: File deletions and folder creation are not reflected until I hit refresh, and other shell extensions (like dragging and dropping from FileZilla) do not work anymore.

Attached is a list of all of my non-MS shell extensions, as reported by ShellExView.

I'm going to uninstall Tabbles and your product, reboot, then reinstall File Metadata and see if that fixes things.

Attachments

Shell Extensions List.htm

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9387'
Vote count: '1'

Empty Comment field not available for viewing or editing on file's Properties Detail tab

Hi there,

My good old XP PC (of 10+ years) died last week and so I had to replace the hardware. Quickly I found out that I cannot edit file meta fields under Windows 10 anymore and so I was desperately looking for a way to re-enable that feature. That's when I found FileMeta and I love it. It's a life-saver.

However, I'm having a slight issue with it and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong.

I installed FileMeta version 1.5 and proceeded to extend the Property Handler for .sys files with FileMeta's using the Simple profile, then restarted Explorer from FileMeta Association Manager.

In File Explorer for .sys files I can see the added fields in the Details pane and can add and edit content just fine. The Comments field content is also showing in the Comments column that I added to the file view pane.

However, if I go into the Detail tab in a .sys file's Properties window, the Comments field does not show there if the field does not have any content.

If I add content to the Comments field from the File Explorer Detail pane and then view the fields again on the Detail tab of the same file's Properties window, I can suddenly see the Comments field and its content just fine. I can even edit the existing content from there, but as soon as I delete it (whether from the Properties Detail tab or the File Explorer Details pane), the Comments field will again not show on the Properties Detail tab (after closing and reopening it).

I can't figure out why this is happening. System.Comment is showing in all three properties sections in File Meta Association Manager, i.e. Preview Panel, Info Tip and Details tab in Properties.

The reason I need it to work in the Properties Details tab rather than File Explorer's Details pane is that I'm not usually using File Explorer, but instead a beefed up clone called xplorer2, so I rely on editing meta fields from a file's Properties Detail tab.

A workaround I found was to use a different meta field, e.g. Tags, as that always shows up on the Properties Details tab, but then I'd have to figure out how to move the pre-existing content from the Comments to the Tags field for all my files.

It would be great if someone could tell me how to make the Comments field always appear on a file's Properties Details tab or explain how to bulk-move content between meta fields.

Win7x64 - where is program?

I installed program on my Win and got nothing - no context menus, nor Explorer panels. How I can edit file comments?

Cannot assign tags on files on network drive

I installed the file association manager and added a file meta handler for the type of file I want (Matlab .mat data files).

it works fine on the C: drive, but when I attempt to add a tag to a file on the network drive (also an NTFS drive) I just get an error message box:

Apply Property Error

An error occurred when writing the property 'Tags' to the file ''

I've restarted Explorer several times, but to no effect.

Am a completely new user so apologies if there is a simple answer I've missed.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9685'
Vote count: '1'

Tip & Suggestion: Hiding and Columns

The Tip:
If someone is not able to hide the title of some property by selecting " * " from File Meta context menu, just find their corresponding file extension in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations and type a "~" where it should be the "*" and only the value of property will be visible.

The Suggestion:
We know that this wonderful File Meta allows you to customize and streamline a ton of precious information, but sometimes the infotip gets a bit messy and perhaps a column viewing option is desirable in the future. So what today can be done like this cbr file...

https://ibb.co/cMfJg9

could be like this...

https://ibb.co/emM28p

There are some programs on the internet that already do this, especially for music and photo files, as ExifInfotip here https://www.datafilehost.com/d/2b398736

... but they are for display only, are a long way from what File Meta can do.

Improve Metadata Context Menu

May I make a suggestion, on your context menu you have three entries; Export, Import, and Delete. Export should be “Export to filename.txt.metadata.xml ”, Import should be “Import from filename.txt.metadata.xml ” and Import should grayed out if a copy of “filename.txt.metadata.xml” not exist. Delete should grayed out if there are no meta data.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '8721'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '1'

Generating XML metadata for file with long name overwrites file

That happend a couple of times now and is a major issue in my view. Good thing I've always had a fairly recent backup.

It happend last to a file:
C:\Users\aaaa\bbbbbbb\ccccccc\dddddddd\eeeeeeee[77 characters].pdf

It seems to happen to all files with a file path of 129 characters, which is especially dangerous if batch generating XML metadata.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9688'
Vote count: '1'

I wonder if it can put a tag on folders？

I can't find the file extensions for folders.

From a Chinese User

Apply Property Error message

I run Windows 7 Pro (64 bit) SP1. I have uses FileMeta for several years, and find it to be of great help. I just upgraded from 1.3 to 1.5, but I am sure that has nothing to do with my problem.

I use a backup program, Macrium Reflect, which, when a backup is made, creates .mrimg files . I wanted to expand what Comments, Title, etc. they allow, so thought I would apply FileMeta.

FileMeta Association Manager lists the file extension and program correctly so I was able to set up a File Meta Handler, using a Simple profile. That portion went just fine.

When I open Properties for a specific .mrimg file, all of the items listed under Description (on the Details tab) can be modifed, so FileMeta seems to be working. But when I try to save that information, I get a 'Apply Property Error' screen, as shown on the attached file. I tried to accomplish this several times, and on 3 different .mrimg files, but always got the same Apply Property Error screen. I note that the icon on the screen is the same as Macrium uses, so the error message may be generated from them.

Have you ever seen anything like this, and if so, is there a workaround? I have not yet contacted Macrium; I thought I would start with you first.

Harry

Are metafields visible on other machines?

If I install this tool and add Comments to a file, will those Comments be visible on another machine? (For example, if I place the file on a shared network drive, will other users be able to view or edit those notes?)

2 issues

First is a crashing issue. After installing File Metadata on Windows 7 SP1 64-bit and register it for some file type, thereafter I create a shortcut to that file but delete the target. Now if I right click on a dead shortcut (whose target no longer exists) for a file type/extension for which I have added File Metadata's Property handler/context menu handler, Explorer crashes.

As soon as I unregister "C:\Program Files\File Metadata\FileMetaContextMenuHandler.dll", it no longer crashes.

Second issue is that for every file type I add to File Metadata using its association editor, it seems to automatically add an NTFS alternate data stream (:{4c8cc155-6c1e-11d1-8e41-00c04fb9386d}:$DATA) on every file of that file type in the Windows Search index. This is wrong behavior. It should only add support for reading the SummaryInfo or DocumentSummaryInfo stream - that is - whatever Property Handler to ADS mapping it has, it should only have the SummaryInfo stream. Why does it add its own ADS to every file on the HDD! Well even if it adds its own stream, it should be per-file, not for an entire class of file types. At least this should be configurable.

I added it as an experiment for .TXT files and at once all text files on my HDD had an alternate stream. I would have preferred that it only registered the property handler for TXT files and let me add the stream myself on a per-file basis.

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9171'
Assigned to: 'Dijji'
Vote count: '2'

Files created through context menu have empty alternate stream

File types with assigned FileMeta handler (checked up to v1.3) have very annoying issue: when you create file through 'New' item in context menu, this newly created file have empty alternate stream with {4c8cc155-6c1e-11d1-8e41-00c04fb9386d} name, and therefore specific icon overlay on systems with AltStreamOverlay shell extension installed.

Thank you for great software!

This work item was migrated from CodePlex

CodePlex work item ID: '9653'
Vote count: '1'