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Punakea
1.3.1
1.3.1
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Name: Punakea
Rating: 3.7 (5 reviews)

22 May 2013

Tag your files and bookmarks.

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Overview

Punakea is a little app trying to help you cope with the day-to-day struggle of managing your files. Designed to complement Spotlight, it allows you to tag your files and bookmarks, freeing you of the strict hierarchy of the Finder's folder structure.

A "tag" is like a keyword. Tags can help you to group files which have something in common. You can assign as many tags as you wish to each file.

With its sidebar, it's always accessible with just a flick of the mouse, just drag and drop without any hassle. The tag cloud gives you a perfect view of all your tags.

Additional features:

Global hotkey to invoke the tagger
Automatically manage your files on your harddisk
Import your existing folder structure to tags
Integrated with all major OS X browsers to tag your bookmarks
Use Spotlight to search for your tags
Filter your tags by file type
Fully compatible with other OpenMeta tagging apps

What's new in Punakea

Version 1.3.1:

Fixed Open With menu when in thumbnail view
Fixed crash when clicking on menubar item

Punakea for Mac Old Versions

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48 Reviews of Punakea

Carsten-Langrock

13 February 2012

Version: 1.2.1

Most helpful

I agree with the people who commented on the switch to the App Store. That's a pretty shitty move by the developers, especially since the app hadn't seen any updates in a long time. No wonder they are lowering the price to $10. I would look at other OpenMeta taggers. Somebody said that they could have called it version 2 and be done with it. Sure, if they had added any significant features. Only minor work has been done to get it to comply with the App Store rules, not more. The 1.2.1 version of the app is essentially the same as the 1.1.6 one, hence the similarity in version numbers. I paid for the app, but will not "upgrade", not even for $10. I'd rather spend extra cash on a new tagger.

(8)

Tachy0n

18 February 2019

Version: 1.3.1

Just a warning that the download is for an uncompiled folder. To get it to work you will need to use Xcode to create the app.

(0)

I've used Punakea for a couple of years now – and it's an important part of my workflow. What Punakea does good and does right – it's simple & fast. Say you have a file on your desktop – just drag it to the Punakea panel and Punakea store your file with the tags you add and remove it from the desktop. Even if you have your Punakea folder on an external hard disk. It doesn't get much easier to store a file... or find it again. No need to dive down an endless hitachi of files and folders – search through the MacOS Sportlight or Punakea.

(0)

Slarkin

28 April 2012

Version: 1.2.3

I paid $12.95 on 2.2.2011 as a MacUpdate Promo. Now for a simple update from version 1.1.6 I must pay $14.99 at the Mac App Store. This is a rip off! I will never do business with this software company again! There are better options.

(5)

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I don't think it is such a bad thing that the developer is charging again for this product at the MAS. The product was priced quite low to begin with and was even almost being given away in several bundle deals. I do however take huge issue with the fact that the software has turned into vaporware. HoudahSpot is continually been adding welcome new features while Punakea has just been sitting there. Getting a powerful app is a much bigger deal to me then how much I pay for it.

(4)

Carsten-Langrock

13 February 2012

Version: 1.2.1

(8)

bobembry

13 February 2012

Version: 1.2.1

Beware of people who treat their customers and early adopters badly — not a good sign for the future.

(8)

Mezz

12 February 2012

Version: 1.2.1

Wow, paid for it this past August; now I have to pay for it again...with no upgrade path?!

(5)

AVOID AT ALL COSTS, AFTER RECENTLY WASTING $25 NOW THEY WANT $10 MORE FOR A SIMPLE UPDATE (BY MOVING TO APP STORE AS THEY ONLY WAY TO UPDATE). AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE. I'M DELETING THIS APP AND WRITING OFF MY $25. TRY TAGS INSTEAD, A MUCH BETTER MORE EFFICIENT APP WHICH DOES THE SAME THING.

(5)

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F451

12 February 2012

Version: 1.2.1

When you go to update Punakea, the updater simply gives you this sole option: VERSION 1.2.1 (BUILD 1786) - FEB 10, 2012 Punakea is now exclusively available on the Mac App Store. Follow this link to proceed to the App Store. The update mechanism you are currently using is no longer supported. Future Punakea versions are now MAS only, including v1.2.1.

(0)

I bought Punakea early after it came out of beta and was available for purchase. I'd used Leap and wanted a tool with similar functionality and wanted to support a startup company. Punakea was lightweight and I thought good initially. That said, I found quickly that it can't (for me) handle more then 2 or 3 tags attached to too many files and/or too many files of one tag (I would have it crash when trying to tag 40 or so PDFs or when I was removing tags, it would often crash). I did email the developers who were as helpful as was possible; but my issues continued. I have removed Punakea, all related files and re-installed it, no change. Also, there were numerous times where I would remove a tag, then quit the application and go back a week or two later to find the tag back. This and the fact that for my usage pattern, Punakea isn't want I wanted, has lead me to remove Punakea and continue to search for a potential replacement. Sofar, the best I have found, it the Finder's SmartSearchs; they aren't perfect and not as nuanced, though the Finder doesn't crash on me and I can find files faster then I could with Punakea (also, having to maintain the org structure of the tags was a pain). It wasn't right for me; but might be for another.

(2)

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Stike

30 September 2011

Version: 1.1.6

This app is currently crashing right away when launching, when it says "updating tags folder" or somethingsomething. I sent an eMail to support yesterday. Lets hope this bug is getting fixed soon.

(0)

While a nice idea, in practice it has flaws and limitations. Notice that it includes a "Rebuild Database" command in a pull down menu by itself. That is because Punakea does not play well with other taggers nor metadata in spotlight. Also notice the punakea folder it places within the Documents folder, it is filled with hundreds of aliases used to image the tag browser, not a good practice and depends too much on spotlight's indexing to update, and gives misleading results (like indicating tags that don't' work, not updating tag name changes and so on). It is quite primitive in my opinion with an elegant interface which does not update very well. Too many deficiences for $25!!

(2)

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Nice idea and will probably prove very useful, but I wish I could get the developers to recognize my serial number (purchased through the latest MUPromo). Still tells me the serial number is invalid! So I'm stuck in Trial Mode ...

(1)

Macupchris

02 August 2011

Version: 1.1.6

To Punakea's developers, hoping that they are reading this during the Mac Promo: - Lion compatibility? - Future upgrade plans (seeing that there have been some unhappy MacUpdate customers recently who bought software on Mac Promo, only to be hit by a paid upgrade a few weeks later) ? Thanks for taking the time to reply!

(0)

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I purchased this great app a few years ago and am still using it today. I love the way it allows you to drag a file directly into the sidebar (which stays hidden until you need it) and then tag it with one or more tags. Makes tagging fast and convenient.

(0)

This is a fantastic application, it makes finding and managing files so so easy, I really love the linked cloud style of working through the tags to narrow down the file you want. The only downside is that it doesn't work for files which are stored on a network drive (such as an Airdisk), if this functionality was added It would be 100% perfect.

(0)

Pik80

15 April 2011

Version: 1.1.5

No more PowerPC support? :( Does Punakea rely on Snow Leopard features now?

(1)

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This could be a nice app for all my tagging. If only it was doing a better job when tagging imap based mail. Instead of tagging the mail it makes it's own references by creating weblinks which are saved in a separate folder. Therefor it shows op in searches with spotlight with the tag: prefix. But is out of the scope of mail.app. Tags, Meta, Tagoman al do a better job when it comes to tagging mail.

(0)

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Pik80

05 April 2011

Version: 1.1.4.1

Punakea doesn't seem to detect InDesign Book files most of the time. Frustrating. Spotlight can detect the same file within seconds.

(1)

So far the best tagging program on the Mac. The Finder should definitely be replaced by something like this. Using folder hierarchies in 2011 is unbearable. That being said some of the Finder's feature set needs to be brought over to Punakea. Punakea doesn't have smart folders only tagging groups. Tagging groups are nice but there needs to be more advanced search criteria as well. Punakea also lacks the Finder's copy and paste as well as multiple ways to view a file. I really how clicking on a tag brings up similar tags so that you can keep applying related tags to narrow down your search results. I think it would be better if the applied tags were located closer to the search box this would make it more obvious that those tags have been applied. Several times I have tried to search for more tags and not get results not realizing that it was trying to add on to the current tag grouping instead of starting over with a new search. The orange back button should be located in the search box like it is in safari. Too many documents are vaguely categorized as just "documents" when they should be categorized as "InDesign Documents" or "Illustrator documents" like how it is done in Leap. Punekeas way of labeling files is to put it into a drop box for you to tag later. This solution kind of works but when you go to move them out of the drop box later on it is too difficult to remember which documents have been tagged and which haven't. Perhaps a better solution would have been to adopt the way unprocessed files work in LittleSnapper. Overall a promising program that will no doubt be the way that all file navigation programs will work some day. Apple needs to take note of this rather then making so many small evolutionary updates for their very dated file navigation system.

(3)

Pik80

12 March 2011

Version: 1.1.4.1

Cut, Copy, and Paste are always grayed out for me. Does anyone know why that is?

(1)

Punakea is something that OS X should have baked into it. And if you get Punakea, it's behavior is such that it melts into to OS. Just my opinion, but I really think it's a solid app. I hope they continue development far into the future! nudge-nudge...

(2)

Levelbest

02 February 2011

Version: 1.1.3

I must have tried this long ago as the demo I just downloaded "has expired". I am a Leap user although I am backwatered in version 2.0 with Leap now at 2.5. I would support Punakea as I cannot get Leaps developers aware of where they lost me so there is the possibility of switching. Still, Leap has been pretty good overall. The part I dislike so strongly in Leap that I am wondering about in Punakea (but cannot test) is that Leap now uses the "cloud" view for showing large findings of tags. From the screen shot, so does Punakea. My brain prefers a vertical list, not a cloud all mashed together with different sized words. Really and truly, hate that.

(2)

I just bought this and found out they use eSellerate for license key management. I really wish I had known that before I purchased Punakea -- if I had known, I never would have paid for this product.

(3)

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Klasse Programm, vielen Dank! Noch eine Bitte: Es wäre prima, wenn man Punakea nur von der Menüleiste aus bedienen könnte. Also ohne das Programm im Dock haben zu müssen. Herzliche Grüsse

(1)

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Don't see it ... Where is Quicklook?

(0)

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This is a promising application with an excellent tag cloud. But the lack of quicklook or other forms of preview limit its usefulness to me. (I understand that may be coming soon). Also, I would like to see the ability to display search results for all sort of files (not just imatges) in different views. i.e as lists or as scaleable icons. Finally, it would be nice if there was a preset for "applications" for the file type so I could more easily manage those. With all of this, Punakea could be a real killer application. Without it, its just a very promising concept.

(2)

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Used it since the early beta days, and have never looked back. Punakea has completely changed the way I organized my files on my Mac. Go give it a look and try.

(2)

Great looking application, great concept. Frustratingly it does not work. The forum does not give a clue as to why.

(1)

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This is a sad day for Tiger users.

(3)

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Wow Punakea is a great app, even at this early stage. If TagBot doesn't work for you, I would highly recommend Punakea. It would of course be best if Apple supported tagging in OS X directly through "get info". Having said that, I am hoping to see Punakea supporting .txt .doc .rtf and other file types at some time in the future. Tying Punakea into Yojimbo, EagleFiler, Yep, Bookdog, etc. would be one of my priorities (if I was the developer) as well. I haven't really figured out how to tag browser bookmarks yet. I assume Punakea only supports individual bookmark files so far?

(2)

Punakea is looking very good. Up until now I've been using TagBot, which I like a lot, and have around 1500 files already tagged. One feature that TagBot has is to import existing file tags. This is a big time saver if you have an existing tag scheme so a suggestion would be to add this feature. Also the ability to change the tag prefix from a '@' to a '&' would be great.

(1)

This is a wonderful program. It gets a simple idea right and there is nothing better than tagging your files. This last version is crashing sometimes when I try to tag many files at once, but nothing major. Highly recommended.

(1)

Eventhough this is only a 0.2.3b release, this is already a wonderful application, and one that shows a lot of promise! Use it all the time.

(0)

This is quite a nice little program. It is lacking some features still, and the fact that it moves files even if you change your mind and decide not to tag them is a major nuisance. (I've mostly trained myself not to do that at least.) One pain is that it does not let me rename bookmarks when dragging them over. I need to bookmark them in Safari first, then "show all bookmarks" and drag over the correct one. If I could assign a name when tagging it, I'd never even use Safari's bookmark feature. The extra step is a bit annoying. The interface makes too great a use of hiding things until you need them I feel... it took me a few minutes to figure out all of the features. This is fine (maybe even desirable) while Punakea has so few features, but as this grows, it may become a liability -- We'll see! I've had it crash once, but only once. Finally, some way to group tags would be nice, but is not necessary at this point.

(0)

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ok, i managed to find the side bar, it took me a while :-) but i still could not manage to get my pictures on external drive visible in punakea browser. i actualy can see the tags in spotlight comments, r u sugesting that i might have a spotlight problem? dam i just want it to work. the strange thing is that if i tag the pic that's siting on a laptop hard drive the pic is visible in the browser. im puzzled???

(0)

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and just to add that i cant see the sidebar :-(

(0)

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this app is great, just what i need to keyword hundred's of photos that i have. but in punakea browser i cant see the photos that i keep on my external hard disk's. they apear in tager but when i want to look at them in the browser they dont show and i have to force quit the app. the app is great but maybe it has the problem with files on external drives... or is it just me. anyway any help is very much apreciated. macbook pro 10.4.8

(0)

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This is defenitely a time saver. A must-have as QuickSilver etc. You can drag most types of files to it and quick input keyword tags for future search. Its keyword tags in fact are stored as bulit-in spotlight comments. So you can also search files through spotlight! Awesome. It keeps your files categorized perfectly! Better than any other similar products on the market. And it is free!

(0)

This is a great, great app. I've been waiting for this in the back of my head for a long time. Some features I would like to see: - there are many people who have been using Quicksilver to tag files. Punakea is better at it, but the best would be for them to play along - for me to be able to tell Punakea to look in the comments field in certain folders for words prefaced by an operator (I use &) and add them to the tag cloud - also inspired by Quicksilver - in order to get Spotlight to only bring up items that are tagged with a word, not all documents that contain it, I would like an option to have all tags prefaced by an operator. - it would be awesome to at some point have del.icio.us integration Anyway, great app!

(0)

A nice piece of software, a nice addition to Spotlight. I love the tag cloud. Giving a review would be unfair because clearly Punakea is still in its infancy. But this looks very very promising. Thumbs up! BTW, I wonder why the developers named this app Punakea??? (oh well, why not...)

(0)

- I set Punakea to 'manage tagged files' in the Preferences. Then I dropped some files into the Punakea tag window, *but*, without giving them any tags. Here's where the odd behaviour began; it actually moved those files into the 'handled tags folder', irregardless whether I had set any tags or not (which I didn't in this case). Best would be to implement a confirmation doalog for this, I think. * yes, this is a bit odd, definitely made its way on our todo list :) - I couldn't delete tags in the tag cloud. * goto view->manage tags (or press cmd+shift+t), then you can select tags and delete them with the red minus - I can't drop files from Finder onto the Punakea application icon (would be neat). * thanks for the feedback, hadn't thought about that before, would be a nice additional way to get to the tagger - Good luck with the development, nudge:nudge! Thanks! :)

(0)

Punakea looks very promising. I'll definitely keep an eye out for the progress on this application! I'm waiting with my review rank right now, as it is a little rough around the edges, which is reasonable for an app in its early stages to be. Here are some of the things I noticed at the first glimpses: - I set Punakea to 'manage tagged files' in the Preferences. Then I dropped some files into the Punakea tag window, *but*, without giving them any tags. Here's where the odd behaviour began; it actually moved those files into the 'handled tags folder', irregardless whether I had set any tags or not (which I didn't in this case). Best would be to implement a confirmation doalog for this, I think. - I couldn't delete tags in the tag cloud. - I can't drop files from Finder onto the Punakea application icon (would be neat). Good luck with the development, nudge:nudge!

(0)

This app rocks, finally a tool to help you organize your stuff and never loose control of your files. Thumbs up :)

(0)