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Encyclopedia
Labels in Mac OS
are a type of seven distinct, colored parameters of metadata
that can be attributed to files, folders and disks in the operating system. The labels were introduced in System 7
and were kept until the release of Mac OS 9
. Mac OS X
versions 10.0, 10.1 and 10.2 lacked the attribute, which was reintroduced in Mac OS X version 10.3, though not without criticism.
The labels in Mac OS X
let the user give colored
backgrounds to System items in three different types of views, through the action menu applicable to the selected icon.
In the older pre-Mac OS X versions the choice of a color would cause the icon to completely wash itself out in that color, losing some distinct traits in the process. The new label feature here applies color only to the background of file names. When a labeled item is selected in Mac OS X column view, a colored dot after the name indicates the label.
There is a choice of seven colors, which cannot easily be exchanged for other colors. The names of the colors however can be changed at will, to represent categories assigned to the label colors (both label colors and names can be customized in pre-OS X systems, however; Mac OS 8 and 9 provided this functionality through the Labels tab in the Finder Preferences dialog, while System 7 provided a separate Labels control panel). Labels in OS 9 and earlier were specific to an individual install; Booting into another install, be it on another mac or different disk would show different colors and names unless set identically.
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
are a type of seven distinct, colored parameters of metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
that can be attributed to files, folders and disks in the operating system. The labels were introduced in System 7
System 7
System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...
and were kept until the release of Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
. Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
versions 10.0, 10.1 and 10.2 lacked the attribute, which was reintroduced in Mac OS X version 10.3, though not without criticism.
The labels in Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
let the user give colored
Colored
Colored is a term once widely used in the United States to describe black people and Native Americans...
backgrounds to System items in three different types of views, through the action menu applicable to the selected icon.
In the older pre-Mac OS X versions the choice of a color would cause the icon to completely wash itself out in that color, losing some distinct traits in the process. The new label feature here applies color only to the background of file names. When a labeled item is selected in Mac OS X column view, a colored dot after the name indicates the label.
There is a choice of seven colors, which cannot easily be exchanged for other colors. The names of the colors however can be changed at will, to represent categories assigned to the label colors (both label colors and names can be customized in pre-OS X systems, however; Mac OS 8 and 9 provided this functionality through the Labels tab in the Finder Preferences dialog, while System 7 provided a separate Labels control panel). Labels in OS 9 and earlier were specific to an individual install; Booting into another install, be it on another mac or different disk would show different colors and names unless set identically.