How do I add "tags" to PDF and txt files?

I got it, I got it!!!

Install pdf shell tools:

http://www.rttsoftware.com/shelltools.html

With pdf shell tools installed you can also edit pdf metadata in explorer!!!

My current understanding is as follows: The missing thing to show/edit pdf metadata in explorer details view and in the bottom pane is a "property handler" for the pdf file format. Read about it here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc144129(28VS.85)29.aspx

I had (and I assume the other people with the same problems in this thread) had a pdf-ifilter installed which allowed to show pdf metadata in a search result. I think the metadata shown when selecting "organize by: e.g. name" is also taken from the index, that's why it works without the property handler.

A shame microsoft makes me waste my time on such things instead of providing support for the most widely used document format. Look at apple, they had no problem providing full support in their OS for pdf. This makes me think of the apple ads. Its exactly like this.

The tags are handled by 3rd party shell extensions.  The operating system itself does not provide tag functionality.  So if you want TXT and MP3 files to have tags, you have to program the tagging mechanism first.

Although it would be cool if the OS did it natively.  Isn't that what the old WinFS file system was supposed to do, but it never saw the light of day?

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Okay,

I am mostly satisfied with many of the answers given here and some of my own reasearch - but not fully satisfied :)  Although I have marked some posts as answers, I hesitated because there is still more conversation possible and maybe someone out there has better answers yet.

The best proposed answer seems to be the PFD Shell Tools (3rd party option which costs more money) in connection with buying Adobe Acrobat (which I could get cheap as a student - sorry to anyone who does not get a discount)

The problem with PDF Shell Tools is that it is not yet compatable with 64 bit systems (I have had e-mail contact with the publisher).  It sounds like this will be fixed in the near future (Good News).

In Adobe Acrobat, I am able to add "keywords" in the properties section and then search those keywords in places such as "windows search".  For example, if I have a PDF keyworded with "blue", I can type in the Windows Search "Tags: blue" and then that document, and any other document with "Blue" in a tag or keyword will show up.

Another nice thing is that If I want to browse by keywords in my folders I can click on a folder and hit the drop-down "Arrange By" then select "Tags" then all my tags in that folder (even in subfolders) will show up (this includes Word, Pub., Excel, and PDF, ect.)

I am still dissapointaded that Windows 7 makes us use 3rd party options for something that seems to be their responsibility.

Nevertheless, I am very please with all the research in this thread.  Props to all!  Thank you!

Another solution is to try the free tool PDF XChange Viewer...in this case also all the pdf metadata are displyed at Windows Explorer, but you can not alter them using the Explorer's interface. The nice thing with PDF XChange Viewer is that it allows commenting inside the browser...

Hope this helps..

Dimitris

PDF shell tools and Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended 9.3.1 worked for me fine....the only problems I found so far is that I can not add categories and comments ...I can alter via Windows 7 interface only the following (which are enough for me): title, author, subject and tags for Windows 7 keywprds for  pdf properties. You can have a look here...

http://dimitrios-spyrou.net/WindowsExplorerandpdftags.aspx

Good luck to all

PS Do not try to understand the filenames or the folder structure.....it should all be Greek to you since I am from Greece and they are real Greek!!!

Tadaaam! I got it! (sort of)

Strange behavior, but at least we can work with pdf metadata (Mattvanh: .txt metadata is not editable, as their purpose is to occupy the less space possible and be useful in any OS. It sucks that you could do it in XP and not now. Still, although it will take some time now, if you still want to use .txt for some reason -I just use them to add notes about a folder organization- you can add any keyword to the file name or the file content, maybe preceded by a "#" so that you can have all of them listed searching for that "#" symbol -or, of course, convert them to Word or pdf files-. I know is not the same. If you want further paper and notes and coding organization you could try software like Atlas.ti or NVivo).

For pdf: First make sure that the folder whose properties (metatags) you want to display are included in a library, and see that folder as a library; e.g. if the folder is in "username/MyDocuments/Papers" don't open the folder clicking on "username" then on "MyDocuments" then on "Papers", instead, if you want to see that particular folder, click on Libraries then MyDocuments, then Papers. You can add that folder as a Favorite or send a link to your Desktop, but always from the Library view.

Now (this is the key issue) when seen a Library or any subfolder as part of it, you'll see that on the top-right side of the window it says "Organize by" (it is not the "Organize" that you can see on the top-left in the light-blue bar, but on the top-right of the white side). The Default is to have it organized by Folder, which for some "unreason" doesn't display the pdf  metadata (it does display Office soft metadata). But, if you click there and organize it by any other criteria you will see all the metadata of the pdfs!

You may want choose "name", if you want the display to be similar to a folder organization -just that all subfolders will be included-. And make sure your are displaying all in Details View, which is the ones that displays the columns that include the metadata we are referring to. The metadata is just displayed there as columns, not in the bottom pane (Details Pane) which it does display Office, MP3, MPEG-4 and maybe some others. The only way to edit that metadata for pdfs is opening the pdf in a pdf writer/editor like Adobe Acrobat Pro (not the free Adobe Acrobat Reader!) although some documents could have restricted the option to edit those properties (same as with any other editing abilities), but in my particular case those are exceptions.

The metatags you can edit are "Tittle", "Author", "Subject" and "Keywords", which are the ones that Adobe Acrobat Pro allows to edit by File>Properties>Description. The aditional, advanced metadata is not indexed. To see these properties as columns (again, in Details View) you can right-click on a column and select them so that they are added to the view. As you need the library, it works just in Windows 7. Windows Vista, disappointingly, wasn't able to display pdfs metadata on my experience (but I'm not using it anymore since long ago). Windows XP was able to display them in any folder using Details View, without need of a Library. Still the library organization allows you to see same authors or labels together which is very useful as you can see them as a list. You can use "subject" for journals or any other thing you want to classify and compact this way.