Desktop Fences+ vs Tabbles

Desktop Fences+ is a free, open-source Windows utility for organizing desktop icons, shortcuts, files and folders into virtual fences. It offers data fences, portal fences that reflect folder contents, and note fences for text. Users can customize colors, borders, titles, icon sizes, spacing and launch effects. A search pane finds shortcuts across data fences. Profiles can switch automatically when programs activate or be selected with hotkeys, while Smart Desktop rules can move files into portal fences or folders. The manual describes backup and restore, and fences can be exported and imported between systems. Supported items include Windows shortcuts, web links, folders, documents and network targets; the changelog also mentions Spotify URI shortcuts and basic Microsoft Store app support. The project is portable and compatible with Windows 10 and 11, but requires a user-writable location and .NET Framework support. The digitalsleuth repository has no releases listed; its README points to the original limbo666 repository for the latest release package.

Tabbles organizes files through tags that can be shared across local disks, network drives, and cloud-synced folders. It can tag any file type on any file system, storing tags in a database without changing file names or adding hidden files to disk. Rules can assign tags based on paths, names, content, types, or data-mining matches such as email addresses and social security numbers. Unified search covers file names, paths, tags, comments, and file content; comments on files, bookmarks, and emails are searchable too. Teams can share tags and manage users, groups, and granular permissions. Tabbles integrates with Windows Explorer context menus and overlay icons, and preserves tags when files are moved or renamed there. Other listed integrations include Outlook email tagging, a Chrome extension, a bookmarklet, and support for Google Drive, Dropbox, and SharePoint-synced folders. Plans include a free personal option and paid subscriptions, including team and hosted database options. Tabbles 6 is listed for Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11; LAN mode requires Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008 or newer, with Azure SQL support.