Finder tags work best in a text-editor project as a second layer, not as the filing system itself. Keep chapters in chapters, research in refs, and artwork in images. Then use tags such as Needs Review and Complete to describe a temporary state across those folders.
This separation protects source identity. Removing a tag should never make you wonder whether a file is a chapter or a reference, and completing a chapter should not require moving it to a new folder that may break project links.
Let folders answer “what is it?”
A folder role should remain true for most of the project. A chapter stays a chapter during drafting, revision, and proofreading. A research note remains a reference even after its facts have been checked. These stable categories belong in the tree structure.
A tag answers a different question: what should happen next? Needs Review can apply to a chapter, an image, or a source note. Complete can mark an item that no longer needs attention. Keeping those meanings separate prevents a growing maze of folders named Draft, Revised, Final, Final-2, and Approved.
Begin with two states
More statuses are not automatically more informative. Start with Needs Review and Complete. Before adding Drafting, Revising, Proofing, and Recheck, ask whether each label leads to a distinct next action. If two labels produce the same action, one is probably enough.
Rune Studio exposes Finder tags in its project file tools. A tag can be changed from file actions, while the separate Finder-style file browser includes a tag sidebar and supports applying more than one tag without closing the menu after each choice.
In a hands-on check, a reference file received the tag “要確認” (Needs Review). The tag list showed that name with a purple marker, and the tag remained after closing and reopening the workspace. The target folder was collapsed in the captured file-tree view, so the badge on the individual file row was not independently observed.
If the row badge is not visible
Do not conclude that the tag disappeared because one compact view does not show its badge. Expand the containing folder, inspect the file’s tag action or information, select the tag in the separate file browser’s sidebar, and compare the result with Finder if needed.
The verified result here is persistence and visibility in the tag list. It is not proof that every file row displays a badge in every tree state. For that reason, do not make color alone the approval signal. Read the tag name or inspect the file information when the decision matters.
Use tags at the edges of a work session
At the start of the day, select one Needs Review item and first confirm that it still lives in the correct structural folder. Complete the actual review, then change the tag only when no further action is required. If work must continue later, record a brief reason in the manuscript or project note; a generic tag cannot explain whether the missing step is citation review, typo checking, or image replacement.
At the end of the day, the goal is not necessarily zero tagged files. The goal is that every remaining Needs Review item has an understandable next move.
Avoid moving files merely because their status changed
Moving a completed chapter into a Complete folder can affect relative links or the chapter choices used for EPUB output. Leave the file in its structural home and update only its tag. Reserve file moves for genuine changes of role, and inspect references before performing them.
Nor should an exact purple shade or Finder sorting order become part of the workflow. Appearance can vary with system settings. The readable tag name should carry the decision, with color serving only as a quick visual hint.
Try the method on one copied reference file. Apply Needs Review, reopen the workspace, and verify the tag through the list or the file browser sidebar. Rune Studio provides this local Finder-tag integration, but it does not replace cloud collaboration or a team issue tracker. The current file-management features are described on the product page.
Define how each file type leaves Needs Review
The same tag can have different completion rules. A source note leaves Needs Review after its citation and passage are recorded. A chapter leaves it after the change is made and reread. An image leaves it after the image and manuscript description agree. Write those rules in a project note rather than trying to encode every nuance as another color.
If a tag is removed accidentally, folder identity and the note still allow recovery. That resilience is the reason tags should remain a secondary status layer instead of the project’s only record of work.
