How to Tag Files in Windows 10

Add tags to files to make finding them easier in Windows 10

By
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Writer, Editor, Fact Checker
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Gulf Coast Community College
Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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Updated on October 18, 2021

What to Know

  • Right-click the file and select Properties. On the Details tab, select Tags to add your tags, separating each one with a semicolon.
  • Alternatively, open File Explorer and select View > Details Pane on the ribbon. Select the file, then select Add a tag in the Details pane.
  • To search for tagged files in the File Explorer, enter tag: followed by your keyword in the search bar to the right of the window.

If you have tons of files stored in Windows, you know how hard it can be to find the right file when you need it. Fortunately, you can tag supported files in Windows 10 with one or more relevant keywords to make it simple to find them using Windows File Search.

Not all files stored in Windows can be tagged. Tagging is only supported on images, documents, and videos. And, in some cases, even some supported file types may not allow tagging.

How to Add Tags to a File in Windows 10

Although it's not intuitive to tag files in Windows 10, it's also not difficult once you've walked through it a few times. There are two ways to find and use the file tagging capabilities in Windows 10: from the Properties Window and from a file's Details Pane.

Search results for a Windows 10 tag search in File Explorer.

How to Tag Files in the Properties Window

By default, the Properties Window is hidden in Windows 10. To find the Properties Window and tag your files, use these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer.

  2. Navigate to the file you want to tag and right-click it.

  3. In the menu that appears, select Properties.

    the location of the Properties option location shown on a selected file.

  4. In the Properties window, select the Details tab.

    The Details tab in Properties.

  5. On the Details tab, double-click the Tags line to add one or more tags, separating each one with a semicolon.

    add tags in the Properties Window.

  6. Press Enter when you've finished adding tags to apply them to the file.

  7. Click Apply to save your changes.

    Selecting Apply.

  8. Click OK to close the Properties window.

    Selecting OK to close Properties.

You can select multiple files to tag them all at one time.

How to Tag Files in the Details Pane

By default, the Details Pane is also hidden in Windows 10. To access it take just a few clicks:

  1. Open File Explorer.

  2. Navigate to and select the file you want to tag.

  3. On the Ribbon, select the View tab.

    Selecting the View tab.

  4. From the View Ribbon, select the Details Pane.

    Windows File Explorer window with the Details Pane open.

  5. In the Details Pane, click Add a tag and type the tags you want to assign to the file. Remember to separate tags with a semicolon.

    Selecting Add a tag.

  6. When you're done, press Enter or click Save to assign the tags.

You can select multiple files to assign the same tags to all of them, all at one time.

Once you have tagged your files, moving them to another computer or an external hard drive that uses a different file system than the one on which the files were tagged could cause the assigned tags to be erased.

Search for Tagged Files in Windows 10

Once you've added tags to your files, searching them becomes easier (and faster) because you can use a specific search string to find the tags you've created. To search for tagged files, in the File Explorer, use the search bar to the right of the window and use this search string: 

tag: your keyword

Replace your keyword with the name of the tag you're trying to find. The search results should return only files that contain the specified tags.

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