Leap

I have been comparing Leap and Yep for a few days and I see that they are EXACTLY the same app EXCEPT for... Yep: -convenient scanning interface with tagging -clip documents and web pages -you add files to the library (link/move is up to you) -you only view, search and manage you library files Leap: -a system-wide file browser (folder tree). Yep also has that but you can only see your library files -Go Deep mode which lets you view contents of a folder as well as its sub-folders altogether -Spotlight search right inside the app -Reveal the file in Finder or the folder tree in Leap (called Location List) -You can flag files -Leap also has a 'library' of its own. You mark files as managed and then you select view managed files. Both Leap and Yep can accept ANY file type, so don't only think that Yep is only a PDF manager. And them being so simlar in the other ways means that should you want both you can easily jump between Leap and Yep without thinking. Learn to use one and you master both. Well, what i can say is it depends on how your style of working is. If you are going to start tagging only new/important files, you are going to be dealing with a mix of tagged and untagged files. In this case Leap is a better choice. If you are like me who is going to tag every file and all my files are in one place (one tidy mess), you can just add them all into yep and start tagging. Use the GO Deep in your trial version of Leap to see them all at once. If later on I have new files i will drag them from desktop into yep when my desktop in starting to clutter up. It takes a bit more work because you have to tag ALL your files. But it benefits you in the end. And Yep is cheaper :) And you get web-clipping and scanning helps you go paperless. I have tested editing a tagged jpeg in photoshop, moving a folder of tagged files using Finder, and the openmeta tags stay, so no problem here. But if you want, the Description field below the tag box actually writes spotlight comments. Paranoid peeps may copy and paste the tags over while they are tagging a file. As for Leap vs. Pathfinder as replacement for Finder: Leap is a file-organization tool (tags and search). Pathfinder is a file-operation tool, which is e.g. f you want to let's say copy files easily you can use Pathfinder's dual pane view. They complement each other, and Finder can do both, but doesn't do well in any of them. What i hope to see improvement in Leap/Yep for now is that the user interface is too busy. It is too 'wordy' (bookmarks and status bar can get some simplifying), there are so many words in the file names, tags and folder names already. Wow, long post, i'm a wordy guy afterall :) but it clears up my mind, and hope it helps you!

Yes, this is an effective way to search documents, especially if you use tags. But Leap (and Yep) were designed around OpenMeta tagging (produced by the same developer), so beware of this big issue: Leap (and Yep) will effectively duplicate tags that have been assigned via Finder. Any time Leap or Yep accesses a file with Finder tags, it automatically adds redundant OpenMeta tags to the file, effectively duplicating the tags for that file. When you then display the tags in any list view, e.g., in Finder, there are duplicate tags displayed. AFAIK there is no way to prevent this from happening. What a mess!

I have been using Leap very day for years. It is by far the quickest way to find any file anywhere on my Mac. It allows quick filtering by file type or by customizable groups of file types. The interface is intuitive and far cleaner and more functional than the closest competitors (HoudahSpot, EasyFind). I am amazed that more people don't seem to use or comment on Leap. The app does not get updated frequently, but this has not really been a problem as it keeps working. However, I am a bit concerned with the slow/lack of responsiveness from the developer and their poor communication of status and updates.