How do I Choose the Best Tag Program?

Choosing the best tag program involves several steps. The first is identifying which of the types of software that might be referred to as a “tag program” is the one you want. By focusing your search and identifying alternative vocabulary, you will increase your chances of getting the type of program you need.

The term tag program can refer to at least four different types of software. One type is an HTML tag stripper, also called a tag remover. As websites are converted to operate with cascading style sheets (CSS), much of the tagging in HTML files becomes obsolete. The tag stripper provides a way to define the tags to be removed or emptied, so that the content of the file can be used with the CSS definitions. The term stripper is also used for programs that remove metadata from files, like the JPEG & PNG Stripper. They are able to do this without changing the quality of the image.

Microsoft® Custom Tags are barcode images that make nearly anything interactive by connecting anything on which the image appears to information and entertainment. By using a software tag program called a tag reader, a photo or scan from your mobile phone can connect you to whatever website, contact information, coupon, video, etc., that the maker of the tag has linked to it.

Another type of tag program is a tag validator program. This type of program checks tags to make sure they are nested and closed properly. Running a tag validator can help ensure that closing tags are not used when they are forbidden, and that tags that require closure are appropriately closed. Finally, multimedia metadata editors, from iTunes and Winamp to TagScanner, that are capable of interacting with music, video, and other digital metadata, to change the data or organized collections are all referred to as tag programs.

The Microsoft® Custom Tags are a proprietary program, so there are no competing options to choose, if you wish to use that software. For an HTML tag stripper, consider whether using the PHP strip_tags( ) function might work better than a pre-built program. For a metadata tag stripper, a tag validator, or a tag reader, you can use some similar criteria to choose the best option. First, look for a reliable source for programs. This is easiest for a tag reader, for which there are a number of well-known options. The others may present choices that are freeware or shareware, but it’s not a good idea to pick up executable files from unreliable or unknown websites.

Second, check the operating system that the software is meant to operate with. See if there are any reviews, how many times the software has been downloaded, and what the size of the file is. In cases in which there are multiple good choices, consider the features. For tag readers, where features vary quite a bit, this is particularly important.