# Can colour labels be viewed directly in Windows 10?



## cookiecutter (Oct 1, 2017)

I typically use both STAR ratings and COLOR labels to keep track which are the good ones and which get uploaded onto social media, hence the need for both.

I understand that STAR ratings can be seen and sorted in Windows Explorer directly, but how about COLOR labels? How can I make it appear directly? Otherwise, is there a shell integration I can use to sort my photos by color in Windows Explorer? Ideally it should be able to sort by both Stars and Colors (e.g. 5 Star + RED), as per what Lightroom is doing. 

I don't use Lightroom as a catalog/photo manager as it is not very responsive and I have to install across all my desktops. 

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## clee01l (Oct 1, 2017)

Labels are Text fields.  In LR you can assign colors to a set of text labels In LR. A Color label set defines what color is assigned to what text field.  For instance, a red Label can be assigned to the label text field value  "red" or "To Be Worked" or "Aardvark"  depending on which Color Label Set is currently Active in LR.  The Label field is a part of the file header just as the Rating field is.   To the extent that Windows 10 can view the label  fields in the header, you can see or search these image by label text value. 

In LR the default Color Label Set assigns a red label to the text value "red" in the Label field. Green, Yellow, Blue and Purple are assigned to similar text values. Since there is no color association in Windows 10, you can see colors for the label values. but you probably can search on the label field for any text value there is Windows permits this.


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## cookiecutter (Oct 1, 2017)

I just tried searching for "red" or "label:red" within Windows Explorer for my red tagged photos, but none appeared in search results. I also viewed Properties >> Details Tab and there is no "Label" field per se. How can I let Windows see this exactly? Note that I am not using xmp sidecar files, but rather building metadata into the exported jpeg instead.


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## johnbeardy (Oct 1, 2017)

I don't think you can.


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## PhilBurton (Oct 1, 2017)

cookiecutter said:


> I just tried searching for "red" or "label:red" within Windows Explorer for my red tagged photos, but none appeared in search results. I also viewed Properties >> Details Tab and there is no "Label" field per se. How can I let Windows see this exactly? Note that I am not using xmp sidecar files, but rather building metadata into the exported jpeg instead.


Try this. Set the view to Details.  To the right of the last column, right click and select  the "more"  options.  Color will  be among the options.


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## clee01l (Oct 1, 2017)

PhilBurton said:


> Try this. Set the view to Details.  To the right of the last column, right click and select  the "more"  options.  Color will  be among the options.


The field name is "Label" not "Color".  The Label field can contain ANY text value not just words that describe a color in English.  If Windows does not offer a field name of "Label" in Details, then it is not available using the Windows Explorer app.  You will have to use an EXIF app that does expose all of the fields


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## Hal P Anderson (Oct 1, 2017)

Windows offers "Label" as a field in Details, but the field remains blank for DNG files set to a colour (with the metadata written to the file). The "Color" field doesn't work, either.


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## PhilBurton (Oct 2, 2017)

Hal P Anderson said:


> Windows offers "Label" as a field in Details, but the field remains blank for DNG files set to a colour (with the metadata written to the file). The "Color" field doesn't work, either.


Someone should tell Microsoft.  I would, if I knew how.


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## frozenframe (Oct 2, 2017)

Windows also has a *Flag Color*, however it too doesn't work.


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## kalljak (Aug 19, 2021)

In Lightroom Library you can filter photos per color label, of course. So, first filter to get photos shown only for One selected color and select all these photos shown with Ctrl-A. Then you can write any text, e.g. Green, in Lightroom's "User Comment"  and when pressing Enter this text is applied to all the selected photos. Repeat this process for the other colors. 
When you export these photos with all Metadata included your User Comments gets visible in Windows Explorer in its column "Comments". You get the column Comments visible in Windows Explorer as explained by PhilBurton above.


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