Windows Vista and Metadata

In Windows XP I was able to right-click any file in Explorer and add summary information like Title, Subject, Category, Keywords, Comments directly from the property pages. I frequently used this to save document-specific information that could not or should not be saved in the document itself. For example, many of my CD backups had product names, serial numbers, website addresses etc. saved with the ISO file for later retrieval. I could quickly view this information in Explorer by displaying these additional columns.

Fast forward to Windows Vista and I can still display custom columns in the Explorer window, but the ability to enter this information is suspiciously absent. After a little Google research, I came to the following conclusions: I can still enter metadata for certain files (in fact Microsoft has even improved on this by allowing me to do it directly from the preview pane), but unfortunately this only works for file types that support metadata natively (doc, xls, mp3, etc.) Files types that don't accommodate metadata as part of the file structure (i.e. those that require an alternate data stream to save this info like txt, csv, iso, etc.) are no longer supported. And there is no alternative in sight unless I want to learn C/C++ and start writing my own property handlers. This seems like a significant step backwards to me!

In this post, Ben Betz mentions some of the reasons Microsoft decided to remove this feature. It basically boils down to the fact that (meta)data can be accidentally lost when users don't understand how it works and when programs do not take the necessary precautions during file operations.

That's just crazy! In a time when metadata is becoming so important to everything we do I find it hard to believe that the only way to combat user ignorance and poor (or perhaps only outdated) programming practices is to remove the related features. Perhaps NTFS security features should also be removed since ACL "metadata" can also be lost in many of the same ways. While we're at it we could also lower traffic fatalities if we got rid of the automobile rather than teaching people to become better drivers... but I digress.

To make matters worse, Vista not only prevents me from modifying this data, it also hides any existing alternate stream metadata from me (even though it does not actually discard it)! Try this:

• Create a new TXT file on a WinXP machine and save it.
• Right-click the file, select Properties and click the Details tab.
• Enter some text in the Comments field and click OK.
• Move the file to an NTFS network location and then to a Vista machine.
• On the Vista machine, right-click the file, select Properties and click the Details tab - notice that the comments you entered are missing.
• Move the file back to the network share, and back to the WinXP machine - notice your comments appear again.

And to make things even more confusing, when I add the Comments column to the details view in Explorer, only WinXP displays the metadata I saved earlier. Vista shows me an empty column implying that my file does NOT contain this data. How exactly does this help me from losing my precious metadata? Incidentally, I'm curious as to how the indexing service handles all of this.

I really hope that Microsoft's decision to remove support for metadata in alternate data streams was really a matter of not getting the upgraded/fixed feature finished in time for Vista's release date, and not a permanent change. Maybe I'll get lucky with Vista SP1. Until then, I'll be forced to keep a WinXP machine around just for this purpose.