<s>
In	O
Apple	O
's	O
Macintosh	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
,	O
labels	O
are	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
seven	O
distinct	O
colored	O
and	O
named	O
parameters	O
of	O
metadata	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
attributed	O
to	O
items	O
(	O
files	O
,	O
folders	O
and	O
disks	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
filesystem	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Labels	O
were	O
introduced	O
in	O
Macintosh	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
,	O
released	O
in	O
1991	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
were	O
an	O
improvement	O
of	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
colorize	O
items	O
in	O
earlier	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Finder	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Labels	O
remained	O
a	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
through	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
in	O
late	O
2001	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
were	O
omitted	O
from	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
versions	O
10.0	O
to	O
10.2	O
,	O
before	O
being	O
reintroduced	O
in	O
version	O
10.3	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
without	O
criticism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
short	O
time	O
period	O
when	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
lacked	O
labels	O
,	O
third-party	O
software	O
replicated	O
the	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
versions	O
7	O
through	O
9	O
,	O
applying	O
a	O
label	O
to	O
an	O
item	O
causes	O
the	O
item	O
's	O
icon	O
to	O
be	O
tinted	O
in	O
that	O
color	O
when	O
using	O
a	O
color	O
computer	B-Device
monitor	I-Device
(	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
black-and-white	O
monitors	O
of	O
early	O
Macs	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
labels	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
search	O
and	O
sorting	O
criterion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
label	O
colors	O
and	O
names	O
can	O
be	O
customized	O
in	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
systems	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
and	O
9	O
provided	O
this	O
functionality	O
through	O
the	O
Labels	O
tab	O
in	O
the	O
Finder	B-Application
Preferences	O
dialog	O
,	O
while	O
System	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
provided	O
a	O
separate	O
Labels	O
control	O
panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Labels	O
in	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
and	O
earlier	O
,	O
once	O
customized	O
,	O
were	O
specific	O
to	O
an	O
individual	O
install	O
;	O
booting	O
into	O
another	O
install	O
,	O
be	O
it	O
on	O
another	O
Mac	O
or	O
different	O
disk	O
would	O
show	O
different	O
colors	O
and	O
names	O
unless	O
set	O
identically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
versions	O
10.3	O
to	O
10.8	O
apply	O
the	O
label	O
color	O
to	O
the	O
background	O
of	O
item	O
names	O
,	O
except	O
when	O
an	O
item	O
is	O
selected	O
in	O
column	O
view	O
,	O
which	O
changes	O
the	O
item	O
name	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
highlight	O
color	O
except	O
for	O
a	O
label-colored	O
dot	O
after	O
the	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
in	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
10.9	I-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
label-colored	O
background	O
of	O
item	O
names	O
is	O
replaced	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
label-colored	O
dot	O
,	O
and	O
becomes	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
tag	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
has	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
assign	O
multiple	O
arbitrary	O
tags	B-General_Concept
as	O
extended	B-Application
file	I-Application
attributes	I-Application
to	O
any	O
item	O
ever	O
since	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
10.9	I-Operating_System
was	O
released	O
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
tags	B-General_Concept
coexist	O
with	O
the	O
legacy	O
label	O
system	O
for	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
multiple	O
colored	O
(	O
or	O
colorless	O
)	O
tags	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
item	O
,	O
but	O
only	O
the	O
last	O
colored	O
tag	B-General_Concept
applied	O
to	O
an	O
item	O
will	O
set	O
the	O
legacy	O
label	O
that	O
will	O
be	O
seen	O
when	O
viewing	O
the	O
item	O
in	O
the	O
older	O
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Labeled	O
items	O
that	O
were	O
created	O
in	O
the	O
older	O
operating	O
systems	O
will	O
superficially	O
seem	O
to	O
be	O
tagged	O
in	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
10.9	I-Operating_System
and	O
later	O
even	O
though	O
they	O
are	O
only	O
labeled	O
and	O
lack	O
the	O
newer	O
tag	B-General_Concept
extended	B-Application
file	I-Application
attributes	I-Application
(	O
until	O
they	O
are	O
edited	O
in	O
the	O
new	O
system	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
label	O
colors	O
can	O
be	O
changed	O
in	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
but	O
are	O
standardized	O
and	O
unchangeable	O
in	O
the	O
newer	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
someone	O
who	O
wants	O
to	O
synchronize	O
the	O
label	O
colors	O
between	O
a	O
classic	O
and	O
modern	O
system	O
can	O
change	O
the	O
label	O
colors	O
in	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
to	O
match	O
the	O
newer	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
