Tagging and Commenting Files

Hello all ...

I am wondering if this is possible ...

I have a rule-set that goes into a folder, searches through the various sub-folders, and copies out specific file types from the sub folders. The folder structure will be from a camcorder memory card. The individual files are copied to another folder, and organized by Hazel into Date/Type/ folders

As part of the copy process I wish to add metadata to the files, using Tags and Comments commands in Hazel.

How can I add the name of the TOP FOLDER as a Tag on the individual files ?

(The TOP FOLDER in this example ... is the first Sub-Folder in the folder that´s been monitored by Hazel. There will only be one TOP FOLDER present at any given time)

Using Dynamic Tags .. I am hoping to create a Tag that goes something like ... This file was copied from memory card "xxxxx"

Kind regards Nils M Alexandersen

No good way to do that now unless the files are always the same number of folders deep. If that is the case, you can try nesting conditions, using "the enclosing folder" as the target each time to work your way up to the top level folder. Otherwise, you'll need to use a script.

I am considering adding "monitored folder" to the list of attributes, but that would be the folder Hazel is monitoring, not the folder underneath it that you want to use.

Thanks for your reply

Just an idea for you to consider ...

Would it be a useful feature to add a couple of "memory locations" to the mix ...

Lets imagine that the user has a number of "memory locations" available to him, and that these locations are available globally across rules and monitored folders.

A memory location could store file attributes, like name, date created ... and so on...
Just like a multi-slot Clipboard really ....

There would then be a "Add to clipboard nr x" attribute, and a "Paste from clipboard nr x" attribute.

This would make it easy to move File attributes between rules, and even between Monitored folders.

Example:

The first rule in the list (Go into sub-folders rule) could copy the name attribute of the folder to the clipboard
The forth rule in the list (the rule that actually copies out a specific file type) could paste that name attribute into i.e. Comments or Dynamic Tags for the files.

Any thoughts ?

Kind regards, Nils M Alexandersen

Possibly though it could also get a bit complex. Also, I think it's best to focus on the problem. If you come up with more cases that can't be done, post here as sometimes a different common solution will come to light.

Thanks a lot for your response.
I have another example for you

To understand why this is a problem, I better explain the real-world scenario.

I work in Broadcasting, and have done a lot of work with Media Asset Management systems. After cameras went from tape/disc to Solid State memory cards for storage, the ingest process has moved away from dedicated professional operators, to (basically) the assistents in the editorial staff. These guys are often not technically trained at all, and as you can imagine things often goes wrong.

Video productions rely on consistency to make the "machine" run smoothly. With regards to camera files, it´s always a good idea that they are placed in the correct folder. If they are not, the amount of emergency phone calls and emergency emails is unbelievable.

When you ALT + drag&drop a memory card onto disc, the copy/clone gets a Date Modified stamp = "the moment the process started". This is just fine if the memory card(s) gets copied on the same date as the recording.

The Life happens, and for some reason the assistant don´t copy the cards on the same date as the video shoot. He grabs a beer and forgets about it, or gets sick, or his mother gets sick, or ........

Well ... Back in Hazel .... we are doing something like this ...

We need to copy the memory card clone to another disc for backup.
We need a folder structure on the backup disc that´s like: Disc Name/Projects/Project Name/Memory Card Backup/Date of Recording/

Because the editorial assistent has copied the card on a date on a date different from the actual video shoot, the name of the "Date of Recording" folder will be "wrong". (not "recording" date, but "when the assistant actually got to do it" date.

Why is this a real problem ? Because Editorial is creating written reports "on location", specifying (among other things) the name of the memory card been used in the camera, and of course the date. These reports are later issued to all members of the production crew, including Assistent video editors, Video editors, VFX, Color correction, Graphics department, Audio post production, Video Post producers ... and so on

When these written reports don´t match with whats on the disc, all hell breaks loose ....

But .... There is a way to solve this, and the solution is found a couple of folder levels down on the memory card clone.
The actual video files on the memory card still retains the original creation date from the video shoot.

Remember the file path : Disc Name/Projects/Project Name/Memory Card Backup/Date of Recording/ ?

I need a way to make the name of the "Date of Recording" = "Date Created on the actual media files" buried folders down on the media card itself.

basically it boils down do ...

* Been able to get hold of a file attribute
* Hold on to it for some time
* Re-use it later.

I have limited experience with Hazel.
I have not found a way to extract the "Date Created" of a file buried inside sub-folders in a folder, and use that information to create a subfolder with the "Date Created name" inside another folder somewhere.

Maybe there is a way to achieve this. In that case ... please let me know.

Kind regards, Nils M Alexandersen

One trick is to capture what you need and put it in the comments. You can then extract it out of the comments later when you need it. Would that work for you?