Batch tag remove

[Manusan42]

If I see this correctly there is only a batch apply of tags possible at the moment. By experimenting with tags I thought I could remove them or rename them, which is now really frustrating as I have to remove multiple tags from many videos one by one.

This could just be implemented like on the detail tab with a cross on hover in the batch mode view.

[whyboris]

Thank you for this Issue 🤝 I think your suggestion is the best way to implement the "delete all instances of particular tag" feature.

You are correct that currently there is no way to rename or remove multiple tags at once. It is not a big challenge to do with code, but it's a bit tricky to include in an intuitive way with a beautiful UI (user interface).

As you suggest, I think while in batch mode it may make sense to allow users to delete a tag - just like in the details tab. I wouldn't want the ability to delete a tag from every video without entering some sort of an "edit" mode (in this case batch mode) 😅

Renaming seems doable too, but I guess I'd have to add a right-click option (and maybe a modal) which is a bit annoying. It feels like quite a lot of work for a feature that only a few people would use sometimes 🤔 perhaps there's a simple work-around for renaming once deleting becomes available: filter to view all videos with particular tag, add a new tag to it, delete old tag.

I think deleting is something I'll add, renaming is something I'll avoid at least for now 🤝

[RedAero]

I just want to add: there is a lot of missing functionality regarding mass updating of tags in general, and I think this is a very, very key feature for a program like this. Things like mass adding and removing via the filtered view is a start, but standard multi-selection with Ctrl and Shift needs to be added too, as well as the aforementioned modification of tags on a selection. Perhaps a checkbox-style selection mode could be implemented instead of the current icon - it's not really the expected iconography when making selections.

EDIT2: Only now, a day later, did I accidentally realize that the tag icon is dynamic, and that batch mode allows you to select multiple videos individually, not just all. So the functionality is there, mostly, it just needs a more intuitive UI: CTRL+Click (and CTRL+A) enters batch mode, puts a big empty box smack in the middle of every thumbnail, with a ticked one in the one(s) selected, and reveals a detailed batch menu below, with buttons for select all, select none, invert selection, etc.

Also, as a new user, I found the flow for adding a new custom tag very confusing. I expected to be able to select a number of files using ctrl+A (while filtered), then simply type a tag into a text field and press OK or something, adding the tag to all the selected files. Instead, I have to add a tag first, then select the files, then click the tag from a menu - this isn't as intuitive in my opinion. Especially since there is no dedicated tag manager screen or any indication where one might go to add a tag in the first place. I ended up picking an individual file from the selection, right clicking to the details screen, and adding the tag there.

For reference or inspiration, you could look at the UI of other programs/applications that use tags heavily, like expense tracking tools (I use Wallet by Budgetbakers for example). In my app of choice, when adding a record of an expense, there is a plus button to add a tag to the record, which brings up a a list sorted by frequency (this is already present, which is excellent!), and then if the tag isn't there a further plus button in the tag selection screen which can be used to create a new tag with its name and color (idea?). When editing multiple records, the interface is the same: a plus icon to add a tag from a list, another plus to add a tag to that list. I found this setup very intuitive, personally. The use case is really very similar given how many people end up switching expense trackers and importing their previous expenses, leading to a lot of effort re-tagging everything.

EDIT: PS: It just occurred to me, also missing is the ability to mass-rate files. Given that the rating is basically a different sort of 1-5 tag, most functionality that applies to tags should naturally be extended to ratings.

[whyboris]

Thank you RedAero for all your comments! The bit of history here is that this app was started as a personal project for me. Then it seemed good enough that I could polish it and share, which I did. Then people seemed to like it and started requesting features. I never once used (or intended to use) manual tags, but because it was such a highly-requested feature I added it. Because I don't use tags I don't have the intuitive feel about what is common/expected, and so the tags feature is still in its infancy. The software is 3 years old and I'm sure it will mature over the coming years.

Thank you for the detailed comments - this is what helps me (and others who join in to help) make the software better. ❤️

[Manusan42]

I guess it's more a video launcher but a management/categorizer tool. But I like the simplicity and the modern UI and of course the cheap price.
As soon the batch tagging is a bit more refined (and yes, for a start I'm happy to have the batch remove), this app has exactly the set of functionality I need (not less not more) and I'm happy with that.

I tried some other tools. I don't want programs which present a movie-database, I only want to manage my stock clips.
These ones seemed fitting but had some major downsides:
This one seemed the most mature: https://videocataloger.com/ but with 200$ way too expensive.
https://www.videonizer-soft.com/ a bit cheaper, but the UI is horrible and unnecessary complex (not user friendly).
https://www.tagspaces.org/ does a great job with tags, but a bad one with previews and video format support.

[zett42]

Batch tag removal would be very very welcome! It's so easy to misclick a tag in batch mode and not feasible to manually remove a tag from hundreds of clips. This is the one thing that really bothers me with this otherwise great app.

Tag renaming would be nice to have, but is not so important to me.

[whyboris]

Related: #859 & #770

[whyboris]

Relevant PR: #807