Finder tags durable after iCloud transfer?

[joema2]

Finder tags don't seem to survive after iCloud Drive upload/download between two Macs running Mojave. Is this expected? Is there any way to transfer tagged files between two Macs via the internet and have the Finder tags persist?

 

[joema2]

Finder tags don't seem to survive after iCloud Drive upload/download between two Macs running Mojave. Is this expected? Is there any way to transfer tagged files between two Macs via the internet and have the Finder tags persist?

I couldn't get Finder tags to persist after upload/download to iCloud, but it seems to work on DropBox -- if using the DropBox macOS app on both ends, not the web interface.

I installed the DropBox app, selected a single sync folder, within System Preferences>Privacy & Security, granted the DropBox app access to Accessibility (the install dialog prompts for this). I repeated this on another iMac, both running macOS 10.14.4.

Then I added some Finder tags to a local file on one Mac, copied the file to the local DropBox sync folder, it was automatically synced up to DropBox on the cloud and down to the 2nd iMac's local DropBox folder. All Finder tags were intact, including both "color tags" and alphanumeric tags.

 

[Ritsuka]

Tags sync between my Macs/iPhones/iPads with iCloud. I don't know what's wrong on your Macs.

 

[joema2]

Tags sync between my Macs/iPhones/iPads with iCloud. I don't know what's wrong on your Macs.

It's not the Macs, it's Finder tags are not supported or maintained when using iCloud drive from Safari. This is similar to DropBox. For Macs using iCloud you must drag/drop to/from Finder, not Safari. With DropBox you must drag/drop to/from Finder, not Safari -- otherwise Finder tags are not maintained.

If either computer on either end uses iCloud Drive or DropBox from Safari, the Finder tags are stripped out.

It might seem logical since they are "Finder" tags, but copying the same tagged files to/from DropBox or iCloud Drive using Terminal works -- the tags survive the trip.

 

[MacGizmo]

It's not the Macs, it's Finder tags are not supported or maintained when using iCloud drive from Safari. This is similar to DropBox. For Macs using iCloud you must drag/drop to/from Finder, not Safari. With DropBox you must drag/drop to/from Finder, not Safari -- otherwise Finder tags are not maintained.

If either computer on either end uses iCloud Drive or DropBox from Safari, the Finder tags are stripped out.

It might seem logical since they are "Finder" tags, but copying the same tagged files to/from DropBox or iCloud Drive using Terminal works -- the tags survive the trip.

Why in God's name would anyone copy files from one Mac to another using Safari?

 

[joema2]

Why in God's name would anyone copy files from one Mac to another using Safari?

If someone sends a DropBox link for uploading files, people will often click that link. Likewise in collaborative work, people often receive download links for DropBox, which is often handled through the browser. DropBox (and other cloud storage providers) have both web-based and app-based interfaces.

Normally you assume that file data (and metadata) integrity is the same for the provider's web-based interface vs an app-based or Finder-based interface. In fact some cloud providers only have cloud-based interfaces. Sometimes the difference between the two isn't clear, e.g, Google's new "Backup and Sync" app simply hands you off to their web interface.

In the specific case of Finder tags, they are only supported by using Finder or terminal upload and download to/from DropBox or iCloud, not by the web interface.