Finder tags on iOS

Hi everyone,

I keep my documents stored in Dropbox and tag them in the Finder on MacOS. However, when I go to view the files in the Files app on iOS, the tags aren’t shown. Has anyone else experienced this or have a workaround?

Thanks in advance.
Paul

Are you running the latest macOS and iOS releases?
Does it happen when trying to sync documents with tags using f.x. iCloud Drive?

This is a Dropbox issue. They sync from one Mac to another but not to iOS. I have been back & forth with support but they say they have no plans to implement on iOS.

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Same happens with OneDrive.

You can tag a file in iCloud Drive on your Mac, and the tag will sync to your iOS devices and appear in the Files app. However, syncing tags with OneDrive (or Dropbox) doesn’t happen. I can tag a OneDrive file locally on my Mac, but the tag doesn’t appear on my iPad, in either the Files app or the OneDrive App.

I wouldn’t call it an issue, more like a feature that has not been implemented.

Relatedly, a similar thing happens with email flags (which I will make a separate post about). I have 3 email accounts running on Apple Mail. I can flag emails with different colors, but only red shows up on my PC at work (using Outlook).

Ah, I thought this was the case :frowning:

Interestingly you can use the iOS files app to tag Dropbox items there and they persist in iOS but don’t transfer back to the Mac.

I came up with an elaborate Workflow/Hazel combination to allow me to tag files on the Mac from iOS (by writing them to a text file on iOS and letting Hazel do the work) but in practice I think I’ve actually used it fewer than a dozen times.

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Like @dfay, I have battled with Dropbox over this. Dropbox supports tags on Mac and iOS, but the tags do not sync for some reason nobody can or will explain to me. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how these extended attributes do not just follow the file and why it would be so hard to implement. I am a heavy tags user, so this is a real problem for me. I have been very pleased with Dropbox for a long time, but if this issue does not get resolved I may have to look elsewhere.

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Yeah, it’s such a pain. Almost makes me want to switch to iCloud Drive 100%. The only thing holding me back is how easy it is to create shareable links in Dropbox which takes a few steps in iCD.

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Just mirror your iCloud Drive and your Dropbox folder on a Mac. Then you even have another backup of your stuff. :wink: