How to enable tags for unsupported files on Windows 10
Tagging is an efficient, and rather underused method for organizing files. Windows has never given it much importance and done little to highlight them. As far as Windows is concerned, users ought to use file names or file extensions to look for their files. Another shortcoming with tags on Windows 10 is that not all file types are supported. You will see tags for an MP4 file but not for a PNG one. Here’s how you can enable tags for unsupported files on Windows 10.
Tags for unsupported files
You must know the file extension of the file that you want to enable tags for. To find the file extension, right-click the file and select Properties from the context menu. The General tab will show you what the extension is.
In order to enable tags for unsupported files on Windows 10, you need to download a free, open-source app called FileMeta. Make sure you download the correct one i.e., 32-bit or 64-bit for your system. Install the app and run it.
In the list of file extensions, locate the file extension that you want to enable tags for. Select it and in the column on the left, open the ‘Choose a profile of editable properties’ dropdown and select ‘Simple’. Next, click ‘Add File Meta Handler’, and then click ‘Restart Explorer’.
That’s all you need to do. To view the tags, or add them, open File Explorer and look for the file that you want to add tags to. Right-click it, and go to the Details tab. Somewhere on this tab, you will see ‘Tags’. The field may appear further down the list of attributes but it should be there.
If you need to enable tags for multiple unsupported files, you can select them from the list by holding down the Ctrl key when you click a file. Make sure you restart Explorer or the changes will not be applied.
To undo the change, run this app again and select the file types that you want to remove the tags for. Click the ‘Remove File Meta Handler’ button in the column on the left, and restart File Explorer.
You’re free to add and remove the tags attribute whenever you want however, disabling and enabling tags may result in them being lost permanently. It’s possible that the data is written to the file and simply hidden after you disable tags but that may not necessarily be the case. Be careful with your tagged files.
