EagleFiler 1.9.14

I know next to nothing about EagleFiler but this post got me to read a little about it. I presume there are many EagleFiler users in this community (?), so I’d be grateful if one or more of you could outline the pros / cons of using EagleFiler as opposed to simply storing files in a folder structure online (e.g. DropBox) or on my HD.

Thanks in anticipation.

Developer here. Others can chime in with their experiences, but here’s how I think of it. First, with EagleFiler everything is still stored in regular files/folders. So you can still do everything the same way you were before, but it adds a layer on top to make things easier and more powerful:

• Lots of ways to import, i.e. quickly create new files based on which Web page you’re viewing, or which text is selected or printed in another app, or just pressing a hotkey to bring up a window and start typing. You can optionally add tags or choose the folder at the time of capture.

• Aside from files/text, it can import e-mail from a variety of apps and convert it to standard formats. Some people do this for safe and efficient long-term archival and search. Others like to mix individual e-mails in with the files/projects they’re related to.

• Once you have stuff in EagleFiler, there’s a three-pane interface so you can view/edit files directly, without having to open/close/save in separate apps. You can also quickly create new files of different types in the current folder/tag where you’re working.

• There are a variety of ways to add more information to your files (tags, labels, rich text notes, attachments) and different ways to find them (search, tags, smart folders), which may sound similar to Spotlight but work better.

We have a feature list with more information, and I’m also available to answer any questions that you may have.

This is how I use EagleFiler. I have ancient emails from VAX/VMS and Unix elm saved in EagleFiler as well as more contemporary email from Apple Mail and Barebones Mailsmith. It has been very useful for archiving email.

Hey Michael. So I think I want to start using EagleFiler, but it seems to be one of those tools where the sum of its features adds up to an overall experience that I just can’t quite wrap my head around. I’ve looked at the docs on the EF site, including the screen caps, but what I’d really like is a video review showing it in action. Are you aware of one? I’ve searched on YouTube, but I only found stuff from like 10 years ago, which I wouldn’t trust to do justice to the current version of the product. Thanks.

I’m not aware of a newer video. Both macOS and EagleFiler look a lot different now than 10 years ago, but the older one should still be good for getting the gist of how the pieces fit together. There’s also some documentation on the basics, as you mentioned. One of the challenges with explaining a more open-ended sort of tool is that there are so many different ways that people use it. Some people only do e-mail stuff or only PDFs or only note-taking; others use it almost like a Finder replacement, with most somewhere in the middle. Some people tag and organize everything; others just dump stuff in and find things via search. There’s a free 30-day trial if you want to take it for a spin.

Jeff. I’m with you on this about a recent video. I (previously) subscribed to a service called ScreencastsONLINE which is geared specifically to Macs, and has fairly substantial video library of how-to-videos on plenty of Mac software. I’ve just checked and they do have a 2017 video on EagleFiler - I might take a look later.

ScreencastsONLINE has a 7 day trial period. Perhaps this might help?