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How to quickly open a file's tag field?

Anonymous
2022-08-14T03:26:06+00:00

For the last few years I've had a daily need to tag documents and files. Most of the time I've done this with a macro that clicks Alt-Enter to open a file's property window, then the series of keypresses needed to navigate to the Tags field and render it capable of text input.

For whatever reason, 20 minutes after logging onto my computer today the Alt-Enter shortcut to open the Properties window has completely stopped working. I can't figure out how to fix it, and finding the answer online is proving insanely difficult.

The Properties key on my keyboard followed by the R key still work to open the Properties tab, but no matter how I make the macro it won't navigate to the correct field I want.

Is there a way to either:

a) Fix the Alt-Enter shortcut

b) Rebind the intended result of the Alt-Enter shortcut to another set of keys

c) Use some other key combination to open the Properties tab directly to the Tags field?

Thanks.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Accessibility

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  1. Paulo GM 63,705 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-08-15T11:25:13+00:00

    How about enabling the Details pane in File Explorer? That should enable you to edit some info on the pictures. Would that help?

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-08-15T10:15:59+00:00

    It's not so much me wanting to check information, I want to add tags to a large volume of photos each day and any cutting down on clicks or mouse movement would honestly, over time, save me a surprising amount of headache.

    I need to add the tags to individual files one at a time because each photo has difference from the others, but having the tags makes them a lot easier to find. Say I have photos of a holiday at a beach, I can dump all the photos in one folder for that holiday but I can tag who appears in the photos, or the time of day or subject of the photos. Selecting multiple and applying a tag to all at once only goes so far if I want them to be as searchable as possible.

    But wanting to be more specific means I need to open the tag field many times to get through a set of files, and at the moment I have to rely on a keystroke macro to cut it down to one key combination (that sometimes fails for reasons unknown to me) instead of just being able to hit a Windows-level keyboard shortcut and opening directly to the field I want.

    I know it's a very niche situation but since I only learned about Alt-Enter a year ago I was hoping there was a more precise way to quickly open the Properties>Details tab I was unable to find.

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  2. Paulo GM 63,705 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-08-14T12:29:32+00:00

    Since the issue is caused by the game, you may report it to them to fix the issue. In the meantime, make sure that the game no longer runs when you're done to make the keyboard shortcut function again.

    May I ask what you're checking in the Details tab? Maybe there's another workaround for you to check them.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-08-14T11:43:57+00:00

    Neither of those were working while I had the problem, but I think I worked out what was causing the issue.

    Rebooting would fix it, but opening Civilisation V would hijack several Windows-level keyboard shortcuts for some reason, even when those keys had no function in the game. I initially thought it was a Windows issue because I had played the game for two weeks without this issue until this morning, when it started out of nowhere.

    So my immediate issue has been fixed, but I'm still hoping there's a shortcut I'm unaware of that opens the properties window directly to the Details tab, if not directly to the tag field, or if there's somewhere in Windows I can go to make that a custom shortcut. That would save me some trouble with making macros.

    Thanks.

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  4. Paulo GM 63,705 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-08-14T04:46:12+00:00

    Hi Soeroah2, I am Paulo and I'd like to help.

    Does it work when you press Ctrl + Alt + Enter on a file? Another alternative is to right-click and then press R to open the File Properties.

    If it doesn't work, check if Sticky Keys is disabled. Go to settings > Ease of access > Keyboard > Toggle off "Use Sticky Keys"

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