Adding tags to your photos, especially within your file system, helps organize and easily find them later. Here's how to add tags to photos using Windows File Explorer.
Adding tags allows you to categorize your images with descriptive keywords, making searching and filtering much more efficient than relying solely on file names or folders.
Step-by-Step Guide to Tagging Photos in Windows
The process for adding tags to your photo files directly through Windows Explorer is straightforward. Follow these steps:
H3: Select the Photos You Want to Tag
First, navigate to the folder containing the photos you wish to tag.
- Left-click on a single photo to select it.
- To select multiple photos, press and hold the Shift key while clicking on the first and last photo in a contiguous range, or press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking on individual photos to select non-contiguous files.
H3: Access Photo Properties
Once your photos are selected, you need to open their property details.
- Right-click on any of the selected images.
- From the context menu that appears, click on the Properties menu item. This will open a new window showing details about the selected file(s).
H3: Go to the Details Tab
Within the Properties window, file information is organized into different tabs.
- Click on the Details tab. This tab displays metadata associated with the file, such as camera information, dimensions, and editable properties like title, subject, and tags.
H3: Enter Your Tags
You will find various fields that you can edit.
- Click on the Tags field. A text field will appear, allowing you to input your keywords.
- Type your desired tags in the text field provided.
- Practical Insight: You can typically separate multiple tags with a semicolon (
;) or a comma (,) depending on your Windows version and settings, but often a semicolon works reliably. For example:vacation; beach; family; 2023.
- Practical Insight: You can typically separate multiple tags with a semicolon (
After entering the tags, click Apply or OK to save the changes to the photo file(s). Your tags are now embedded within the photo's metadata (specifically, the IPTC or XMP metadata standards often used for images), making them searchable via Windows Explorer's search bar.
