Tags and automatic organization

Viewing tags in your library uses files.read. Creating tags/rules and applying tags requires tags.manage; changing tags on existing files or applying rules to existing files also needs files.update. Automatic background filename/OCR rules remain saved configuration and keep running after a role grant is removed; edit or remove those rules explicitly to stop them. Ask an administrator to review your roles if the relevant action is unavailable.

Tags let a file belong to several topics without duplicating or moving it. A screenshot might have Website, Bug report, and Release 2 tags while staying in its project folder.

Tags, automatic matching rules, and tag names belong to your account. They are not listed on public file pages or shared folders, and they do not change file access or URLs. People with audit.read can see recorded tag names, IDs, and change metadata in the instance audit log; account organization is not hidden from that administrative history.

Labels add context to your library without changing where a file lives.

Labels add context to your library without changing where a file lives.

Add a tag to a file

1. In Files, open the file menu and choose Edit tags.
2. Search for an existing tag, or type a name to create one.
3. Wait for the current assignments to load, then select the tags you want. Changes save as you make them.

Tag names can be up to 40 characters. Use short names that will make sense when you see them on a file card, such as Invoices, Design, or Reference.

The editor reads current assignments before showing checked, unchecked, or mixed tags.

The editor reads current assignments before showing checked, unchecked, or mixed tags.

Tag several files together

Choose Select, select individual files or Select visible files, and open Edit tags. Flare first refreshes the selected files’ details, including files outside the visible window. If that check fails, the editor stays closed; retry the action, or choose Done and select again if a file is no longer available.

After another client removes Favorites, opening Edit tags shows its current unchecked state, including when the selected card is outside the visible window.

After another client removes Favorites, opening Edit tags shows its current unchecked state, including when the selected card is outside the visible window.

You can keep up to 100 files selected while scrolling through the library. Select visible files adds loaded cards currently on screen; it does not select all matching files. Changing a filter, folder, sort, or grouping clears the selection, so finish the current batch before changing the view.

Opening Edit tags reads the current assignments for every selected file, including files that have scrolled off screen. If another tab or client changed a tag after you selected a file, the editor reflects that change before enabling edits. A checked tag belongs to every selected file; clicking it removes the tag from the selection. An unchecked or partially checked tag is added to all selected files when clicked.

While assignments load, wait for the tag choices to appear. If loading fails, choose Retry loading file tags. If a selected file was deleted or is no longer available, close the editor, refresh the library, and select the remaining files again. Closing the editor clears the selection. Other clients can still change tags while the editor is open; close it, reselect the files, and reopen Edit tags to read their latest changes.

This works well after a one-off upload batch. For a recurring source, let an upload profile or an automatic rule do the labeling.

Find files by tag

Choose Tags beside the library filters, or click a tag on a file. Search, dates, sorting, folders, and image browsing continue to work inside that tag selection. Continuous scrolling and the date rail cover every matching file with that tag.

• Choose Untagged to find files without tags.
• Choose All files in the tag filter to clear the tag selection.
• Choose Reset filters to clear the other filters too; your current folder remains selected.

Tags filter your own library. A bookmarked tagged view is not a public collection link. Use a shared folder when you want to give another person a browsable collection.

Rename and remove tags

Open Tags → Manage tags to edit the tag list. Renaming updates the label wherever that tag is used. Deleting a tag removes the label from files and upload profiles while keeping all files intact.

Deleting a tag also removes its matching rule. Disabling a rule without deleting the tag leaves existing assignments in place.

Automatic tags

In the tag editor, enable Add automatically, select a source, and enter a phrase. Each tag can have a rule that looks for a literal phrase in one source:

Source	When it runs	Example
File name	When a new upload is saved, using its original display name.	Match invoice to tag invoice-september.pdf.
Extracted text	After OCR extracts text from an image.	Match Order number to tag a screenshot containing that phrase.

Matching ignores capitalization. Punctuation is literal: invoice-2026 looks for that phrase, and *.png does not mean “all PNG files.” Rules do not use wildcards, regular expressions, or an external AI service.

Randomized URLs do not prevent filename rules from working. The rule checks the upload's original display name, not its randomized URL name.

Automatic rules match a literal phrase in a filename or extracted image text.

Automatic rules match a literal phrase in a filename or extracted image text.

Try a filename rule

Create a tag called Receipts, turn on automatic matching, and choose File name with the phrase receipt. Upload receipt-coffee.png and meeting-notes.txt. The first receives the tag; the second does not. Uploading RECEIPT-travel.pdf matches too, because capitalization is ignored.

Try a rule based on image text

Create Support request with an Extracted text rule for ticket number. Upload a screenshot containing those words, then choose Extract text (OCR) from its file menu. After OCR completes, matching text adds the tag. This depends on the recognition result: blurry or stylized text may not be read accurately.

Apply a rule to older files

Saving a rule affects new uploads or newly extracted text. To include older files, save the rule, then choose Apply rule to existing files… in its editor.

For extracted-text rules, this checks text already saved by OCR. It does not start OCR across every image in your library. Extract text from an older image first if it has no saved OCR result.

Keep manual control

Removing an automatically assigned tag from a file is remembered. Background work and Apply rule to existing files… will not put it back on that file. Add the tag manually if you change your mind.

Changing or turning off a rule does not remove tags already assigned. If you want to reorganize old files, adjust their labels explicitly.

If automatic tagging temporarily fails after OCR, Flare keeps the extracted text and retries the pending tag work in the background, including after a restart. Opening the saved extracted text also retries pending tags without repeating OCR.

Apply tags with an upload profile

Choose tags in an upload profile to label every new upload made with that profile. This applies to browser uploads, pastes, chunked uploads, and supported external tools. A profile can select up to 20 tags.

Profiles are useful when a source identifies the topic more reliably than a filename: for example, a capture tool bound to a Bug reports profile can always assign Support.

Exported recipes include the selected tags' account-specific IDs. A recipe containing tags can be imported only when those tags still exist in the importing account. Remove the tag choices before exporting a recipe intended for somebody else.

When a tag does not appear

Check the rule's source and phrase, then the timing. Filename rules apply to new uploads; older files need Apply rule to existing files…. Extracted-text rules require completed OCR, which supports images rather than PDFs. Also check whether you previously removed that tag from the file: Flare honors that manual choice.