Folders and Labels
As your log grows, folders and labels help you find contacts quickly. Folders give you a hierarchical file-system-style structure. Labels are free-text tags you can attach to individual contacts for cross-cutting categorization.
Folders
Folders organize your contacts into a tree. Every account starts with an All Contacts root folder. Beneath it, Hamtrax maintains two built-in category folders -- Activations and Hunting -- that hold auto-created subfolders. You can also create your own custom folders as direct children of All Contacts.
Automatic folders
Hamtrax auto-creates folders so you don't have to think about organization during operation:
- Activation folders — When you start a POTA activation, a folder is created automatically inside the Activations category. It is named using the ADIF convention:
callsign@reference-YYYYMMDD(e.g.,KA8H@K-1515-20201127). All contacts logged during that activation are saved here. Activation folders are also created automatically when you import a past activation from an ADIF file. In the folder tree, activation folders display the park name and activation date beneath the folder name for quick identification. - Monthly folders — Non-activation contacts (hunting, casual QSOs) are filed into a monthly folder inside the Hunting category (e.g., "March 2026"), created automatically on your first non-activation contact of the month.
Creating a manual folder
- Open your logbook.
- Click the New Folder button at the bottom of the folder tree.
- Enter a name (e.g., "Field Day 2025" or "DXpeditions").
- Click Create.
Manual folders are created as children of All Contacts. Only the root folder (All Contacts) accepts new children -- you cannot create subfolders inside category, activation, monthly, or custom folders.
Organizing contacts into folders
- During manual logging: Choose a destination folder in the QSO form before saving.
- During import: Each import flow (ADIF, CSV, Cabrillo) lets you select a destination folder. Hamtrax suggests creating a child folder named after the file.
- After the fact: Open a contact, change its folder assignment, and save.
Folder operations
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Rename | Click the pencil icon on a folder and enter a new name. Root and category folders cannot be renamed. |
| Move | Drag a folder to a new parent, or use the context menu. Only custom folders can be moved; activation, monthly, and category folders are fixed in place. |
| Delete | Click the trash icon on a folder. A confirmation dialog appears with a checkbox to "Also delete all contacts and subfolders." If checked, the folder and all its contents are permanently removed. If unchecked, child folders and contacts are moved up to the parent folder before the folder is deleted. Root and category folders cannot be deleted. |
| Favorite | Toggle the favorite star on any folder. Favorited folders appear in a pinned Favorites section at the top of the folder tree for quick access. |
Favorite folders
If you use certain folders frequently -- your main activation logbook, a current contest, or your daily operating folder -- you can favorite them so they always appear at the top of the folder tree.
Favorited folders appear in a dedicated Favorites section above the main tree, separated by a divider. This keeps your most-used folders one tap away, even when your folder tree has dozens of entries.
To remove a folder from favorites, toggle the favorite star again.
Folder media
Folders can hold more than just contacts. You can attach photos, notes, and livestream URLs to any folder:
- Photos — Drag and drop images onto a folder, or use the photo upload button in the folder detail view. Photos are stored locally and displayed as a gallery strip.
- Notes — Add free-text notes to any folder to record operating conditions, location details, or anything else worth remembering.
- Livestream URLs — Attach YouTube or other video links to activation folders. Hamtrax fetches the video title and displays a thumbnail in the folder detail view.
Activation folders display photo count and media badges on their cards in your profile's Activations section.
Use folders for time-bound or event-bound groupings: a specific contest, a field day, a vacation DXpedition, or a POTA activation trip. Auto-folders handle the routine organization; manual folders handle everything else.
Example folder structure
All Contacts
|-- Activations (auto-created category)
| |-- KA8H@K-0817-20260301 (auto-created activation folder)
| |-- KA8H@K-4566-20260215 (auto-created activation folder)
|-- Hunting (auto-created category)
| |-- March 2026 (auto-created monthly folder)
| |-- February 2026 (auto-created monthly folder)
|-- Contests (manual folder)
|-- DXpeditions (manual folder)
Labels
Labels are free-text tags you type directly onto a contact in the QSO form. Unlike folders (which are hierarchical and exclusive -- a contact lives in one folder), labels are flat and additive -- a single contact can carry multiple labels.
Adding labels to a contact
When creating or editing a contact in the QSO form, type label text into the Labels field. You can add multiple labels to a single contact. Labels are saved with the QSO and sync to the cloud.
Common examples: "QSL Sent", "Confirmed", "Needs Follow-up", "DX".
There is no centralized label management screen. Labels are free-text strings entered per-contact. Consistent spelling is up to you -- typing "QSL sent" and "QSL Sent" creates two distinct labels.
Folders vs. labels: when to use which
| Scenario | Use |
|---|---|
| Grouping contacts from a single contest or activation | Folder (auto-created for activations) |
| Tracking QSL confirmation status across your entire log | Label |
| Separating portable vs. home station contacts | Folder |
| Flagging contacts for follow-up regardless of where they are filed | Label |
| Organizing an import from another logger | Folder (select or create during import) |
You can combine both. Put your Field Day contacts in a "Field Day 2025" folder, then label individual contacts as "Confirmed" or "QSL Sent" for tracking.