Getting Started
What ShadowTag does and how to start.
What is ShadowTag?
ShadowTag is a macOS application for organizing and tagging audio sample libraries. It reads and writes metadata directly into your audio files — supporting ID3v2 (MP3/WAV/AIFF), Vorbis Comments (FLAC/OGG), MP4 atoms (M4A), BEXT, iXML, XMP, and UCS — so the tags go wherever the files go.
Metadata edits never touch the audio. Audio edits — fades, trims, normalize — change a file only when you save them, and ShadowTag asks first.
Video: This is ShadowTag — a 2-minute tour of the whole app.
Quick Start
- Create a playlist. Choose File > New > Playlist or press ⌘N. Give it a name.
- Add files. Drag audio files or folders from Finder directly into the file list. Or use File > Add Files.
- Run analysis. Select files and choose a tool from the Tools menu to auto-detect loudness, tempo, pitch, or UCS categories.
- Refine metadata. Select one or more files. The Metadata panel on the right shows their metadata. Edit any field and press Return to apply it. The row turns italic until you save. Writing metadata into your files requires ShadowTag Pro.
Works with any DAW: Drag files from a ShadowTag playlist straight into your session. See Dragging Files Out for details. With ShadowTag Pro, files can also be spotted straight onto the timeline of your DAW or video editor — see Spot to Timeline.
The Interface
ShadowTag has five main panels:
| Panel | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Playlists (left) | Your library organized into playlists and groups. Toggle with ⌘1. |
| Playlist Info (left, lower) | File count and duration for the selected playlist. Toggle with ⌘⇧1. |
| File List (center) | The files in the currently selected playlist. Supports multi-selection and sorting by any column. Columns are derived from metadata fields — use View > Organize Columns (⌘⇧\) to show, hide, or reorder them. Save column layouts as named presets via the User Presets button in Organize Columns. View > Update Columns from Selection (⌘⌥⇧\) fits the columns to the selected files — showing the ones that hold data and hiding the empty ones. |
| Editor (right, upper) | Waveform view and transport controls. Toggle with ⌘2. |
| Metadata (right, lower) | Metadata fields for the selected file(s). Toggle with ⌘3. |
The title bar carries a pull-down naming the open project. Click it to switch to another project or create a new one — see Projects.
Saving Changes
Edits are kept in your project as you make them, and written into your files when you save. The table row reflects unsaved state. To save:
- ⌘⌥S — Save all edits across all playlists
- ⌘⌥⌃S File > Save Selected Edits — Save only the currently selected files
- ⌘⌥R File > Revert to Saved — Discard unsaved changes for the selection
Tip: Use ⌘S File > Save Workspace to save your current window layout, panel visibility, playlist selection and transport settings. Workspace state is restored automatically on next launch.
Named Workspaces
File > Workspaces saves and restores named snapshots of your window layout, panel visibility, column arrangement, transport settings and Audio Unit chain. See Named Workspaces for the full commands.
Keyboard Shortcuts
See the Help menu and individual menu items for a full list of shortcuts. A few common ones:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Play / pause |
| ⌘N | New playlist |
| ⌘⌥O | Import folder |
| ⌘R | Rename selected file |
| ⌘D | Duplicate selected files |
| ⌘⌫ | Move selected files to Trash |
| ⌃⌘R | Relink Files |
| ⌘⇧P | Shuffle current playlist |
| ⌘⌥X | Detect segments |
| ⌘⌥⇧X | Render detected segments |
| ⌘E | Convert files |
| ⌘⇧E | Export CSV |
| ⌘⌥⌃T | Spot Settings |
| ⌥M | Create segment marker |
| Tab / ⇧Tab | Next / previous marker |
| ⌥V | Paste Attributes |
| ⌥1–⌥5 | Set rating (⌥0 clears) |
| ⌘⌥S | Save all edits |
| ⌘F | Focus search |
| ⌃⌥⌘F | Advanced Search |
| ⌘⌥⇧F | Find and Replace |
| ⌘1 | Toggle playlists panel |
| ⌘⇧1 | Toggle playlist info panel |
| ⌘2 | Toggle editor panel |
| ⌘3 | Toggle metadata panel |
| ⌘⇧D | Preview in new window |
| ⌘⇧F | Preview full screen |
| ⌘⇧\ | Organize columns |
| ⌘⌥⇧\ | Update columns from selection |
| ⌘↑ / ⌘↓ | Select first / last file |
| ⌘[ / ⌘] | Playlist history back / forward |
| ⌥⌘1–⌥⌘7 | Jump to metadata tab (File, Tags, UCS, BEXT, iXML, XMP, Markers) |
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