The following is a partial list of EagleFiler’s features, so that you can
quickly see how it works and how it’s unique:
- General
- Easy to install: just drag and drop a single application file.
There’s no need to install a database engine, plug-ins, or script
files to integrate with your other applications.
- Easy to use, with a familiar three-pane interface—lots of power,
without lots of cluttered options.
- Makes efficient use of RAM and disk space.
- AppleScript support, for automation and integration with other
applications.
- Importing
- Can import any kind of file. EagleFiler has special support for
displaying most common formats, and it can use Quick Look to
display the others.
- Just press a hotkey while in another application, and EagleFiler
will intelligently import the Web page, mailbox, or file that you’re
currently viewing.
- Import from any application by printing and choosing Save PDF to
EagleFiler or by saving a file into EagleFiler’s To Import
folder.
- Automatically import scans by setting your scanner software (Fujitsu
ScanSnap recommended) to save its files in the To Import folder.
- There are many other ways to import (e.g. drag and drop, services)
so you can choose whatever’s easiest for the task at hand.
- Automatically detects duplicate files to save disk space and help you
see what’s already been imported.
- Mail
- First-class support for archiving e-mail. EagleFiler understands the
content of messages and treats them as mail rather than as text or RTF
files.
- Import the selected mailboxes or messages from Apple Mail simply
by pressing a hotkey.
- EagleFiler retains the full message data, including attachments,
read/flagged/replied status, and MailTags, so nothing is lost when
moving mail into EagleFiler.
- Speed up your mail program by moving older messages to EagleFiler.
- Messages are efficiently stored using the standard “mbox” format
and can be imported back into any mail program if desired.
- Can display messages as plain text (with colored quote levels and
clickable links) or as HTML.
- Organization
- EagleFiler supports multiple libraries, stored wherever you want (hard
disk, iDisk, USB drive, iPod, etc.).
- You can open more than one library at a time, and more than one window
per library.
- Files can be organized with folders and tags, both of which can be
nested.
- Editing
- Create a new file with a single button or keypress and immediately
begin typing. There’s no need to open a new window or go through a
Save dialog box.
- RTF and text files can be edited from within EagleFiler.
- For other types of files (e.g. Word, Pages), just double-click to open
them in your favorite editor. The changes are automatically saved back
into the EagleFiler library.
- Storage
- Your data and notes are stored in regular files using standard formats
(RTF, PDF, Web archive, mbox, etc.), so there’s no lock-in or risk
of database corruption, and it plays well with Time Machine.
- Uses MD5 checksums to verify the integrity of all files in the
library.
- Metadata (tags, titles, source URLs, etc.) goes into a Core Data
SQL database for reliable storage and quick access.
- EagleFiler automatically backs up the metadata and notes
to XML property list files. In the rare event that the
database file becomes damaged, you can import the files
into a new library, and EagleFiler will build a new
database and reconstruct all the metadata.
- Can copy tags into the Spotlight comments field to make them
searchable and accessible to other applications.
- Encryption
- Libraries can be encrypted with AES-128 for secure, password-
protected storage.
- Encrypted libraries are stored using Apple’s disk image technology,
so their contents are accessible on any Mac, whether or not EagleFiler
is installed.
- The entire library contents—including the metadata, indexes, and
temporary files—are encrypted. Unencrypted data never touches the
disk.
- In other respects, an encrypted library works just like a regular one.
It’s still fully searchable, and the files are still accessible to
other applications (once you’ve entered the passphrase).
- Search
- EagleFiler uses its own optimized indexes so that you can search the
contents of your library faster than with Spotlight.
- You can do exact searches across individual fields (title,
filename, notes, tags, from, to/cc) as well as searches across the
entire file contents.
- Searches can use phrases, wildcards, Boolean AND/OR/NOT, and grouping.
- Matching search terms are highlighted in the document contents and in
the records list.
- EagleFiler reads most files itself, so it can index text that
Spotlight wouldn’t see (e.g. Skim notes attached to PDF files). It
automatically takes advantage of third-party Spotlight importer
plug-ins to support custom file formats.
- Since the files and notes are stored out in the open, they’re also
searchable with Spotlight (for when you want to search your entire Mac
at once), without the need for stub files in the Caches/Metadata
folder.
- Metadata
- For each file, EagleFiler records the document title, author/from, and
source URL.
- You can assign tags (a.k.a. keywords). Tags can have abbreviation
symbols and colors, and they can be nested.
- Each file or mail message can have notes, which can include rich text,
clickable links, images, and tables.
- Each file can have a colored label, which also shows up in the Finder.
- You can copy links to EagleFiler records and paste them into notes or
RTF files, or into other applications.
- When importing via the capture key, EagleFiler can preserve
metadata (e.g. tags, notes, titles, URLs) from the source application.
This is often higher fidelity than using that application’s own export
feature.