Tag the Stars
which Interest You

Here the Viewing Cube displays the stars tagged in the "Astronomical.tg" file which comes with Stars in the Hood software.

Colorful Tags
for Different Kinds
of Stars

With Stars in the NeighborHood™, you receive three pre-defined tag files:

1. Astronomical Wonders—astronomical groups and super-clusters.
2. Garden Spots and More—stars with an interesting background, especially those mature and chemically rich enough to support life.
3. Stars with Culture—stars used as settings in television, motion pictures, novels and more.

Each of these groups uses the built-in, diamond-shaped tags in seven different colors. But you can create your own groups of tags—as many as you like. You get to define what each color means, then to save your tags in a separate file which you can open later to review or modify.

Setting up tag categories. Simply type in the name for each color you want to use.

Setting Up Your Tags

A simple form allows you to type in the name for each color tag. This defines what the tags mean for any tag file you save.

Tag your current "Focus" star in one or any combination of categories.

Tagging an Individual Star

When you are ready to tag a star, you merely need to click on it in the 3D Viewing Cube, then click on the "Tag This" button in Hood Tools. You can tag a star in one or any combination of categories. If a star has more than one tag, only one can show at a time, but you can search for stars with multiple tags. The sequence of colors shown gives the sequence of priority. The cyan (light blue) will always show before any of the other colors. The white has the least priority.

You can also select stars to be tagged by clicking on them in Sky Map or in Star List. Also, Star List allows you to tag multiple stars in any category, all without changing your current "Focus" star.

The software title bar will display the name of any open tag file other than the user's own default tag file.

Hood Tools

This is where you start the setup of tags, tagging individual stars, and turning on or off the display of specific tag colors. Before you setup tags or tag new stars, you can tell which tag file you have open by looking at the title bar of the software (see Title Bar figure, above). If there is no tag file name appended, then the active tag file is your own "user" file. You can have as many tag files as you want. A different set of notes is associated with each tag file, so you can track different kinds of data with each set of tags.

Checking or unchecking the tag checkboxes in Hood Tools allows you to display or hide specific tag categories. The stars remain in view, but the tags are toggled on or off.

Here the Viewing Cube displays the stars tagged in the "Garden.tg" file which comes with Stars in the Hood software.

Garden Spots
of the Galaxy

Not all stars are ripe for harboring life. Some are too young and unsettled. Some are far too old and have none of the heavier elements which life requires. The "Garden Spots of the Galaxy" tags reveal many of the stars near our own which are known to be about the right age and to be chemically rich.