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Quick links: |  | Ordinary Tags Nested Tags Group Tags Autocompletion Search and Gather

|  |  | Tagging

Tagging is a common method of creating contextual relationships between documents. For example, you can apply a "hobby" tag to a woodworking article and a sewing machine PDF manual. You would then find both documents when searching for the "hobby" tag. Used in the Finder and many other applications, DEVONthink also supports tagging in your databases (including preserving Finder tags on imported and indexed items). Tags are either ordinary tags or group tags, each discussed below. Ordinary Tags Similar to tagging methods used in other applications, ordinary tags are added to items by you. Creating tags: When you add a tag to an item for the first time, a tag group is automatically created in the Tags section for the current database. However, if you want to proactively create tags to be used later, you can select the Tags section for the database and choose the Data > New > Tag command. You can also choose New Tag from the contextual menu when Control-clicking the Tags for the database. Applying tags: When you apply a tag to an item, a replicant of that item is created in the Tags section for the current database. For each tag you apply, you will have a replicant in each tag group. These are not the original items, but only instances of the items. If you delete a tag group, the group and the replicants it contains are removed. The original items in the database remain intact. When applying tags to indexed items, the tags are immediately written to the indexed files as macOS Tags. If you tag imported items, tags are handled internally, but will be applied to the files when you export them or drag and drop them from DEVONthink to the Finder. However, you can still search for them with a Spotlight search of `tag:myTag` if you have enabled Create Spotlight Index in a database's Database Properties. Ordinary tags are most commonly applied to items by these methods: Type tags into the Tag bar under a document's View/Edit pane. Type tags into the Tags section of the Info inspector or the Info popover for a document. Drag items to a tag in the Tags section of the Navigate sidebar. Note: If you drag an item to a tag in another database, that item will be moved to the receiving database. In the case of multiple selected items, any tags common to all the items will be shown in the Info inspector and Info popup. Tags unique to specific files aren't displayed. However, you can add tags common to all the selected items using these views. Tags can also be applied by more automated means, e.g., scripting and smart rules. see the Automation chapter for more information. Nested Tags Sometimes referred to as "hierarchical tags", nested tags are a series of related ordinary tags, combined under a parent tag. When you add a child tag, the item automatically inherits the parent tags. In the example shown below, adding a tag of "Casper" to an item would automatically add the "Wyoming" and "US" tags.
Note: If you are having trouble deleting a tag from an item, check to see if you are adding a nested tag.
Caution: Tags for a database can have the same name. This may seem illogical, but it's something more commonly seen that you may expect. For example, say you have a travel database with points of interest like restaurants tagged in different locations. You may find yourself with a tag structure like this…
Example: US Wyoming Casper Restaurant Minnesota St. Paul Restaurant
If you added a tag `Restaurant` to an item, what tag would it go to? It actually would go to the most recently entered instance of the `Restaurant` tag. So how is this resolved? Tags are meant to be unique, so eliminating redundant tags is first priority. Restaurants aren't specific to a geographic location. Create the `Restaurant` tag as a top level tag. If you had a need for hierarchy with the tag, perhaps for tax purposes, you could move it into a parent Tag of `Entertainment`. Then you would get both tags when you added `Restaurant`. But again, if you anticipate wanting to use the tag without the parent tag, you should make it a top level tag. Also, you shouldn't view the tags as a group structure in and of itself. Nested tags are just meant to group tags specifically related to each other, so they can be applied en masse.
Note: Tagging methods and philosophy is full of strong opinions. Many people feel tagging should always be flat; only top level tags and no hierarchies. DEVONthink accommodates both approaches. However, if you want to used nested tags, we hope you carefully consider the caution we've presented and use a hybrid method to avoid unexpected behavior.
Group Tags Previously discussed in the Groups section earlier in this chapter, group tags allow you to dynamically assign tags based on their location. As you add files to a group, they have tags of the parent groups' name assigned to them. Similarly, if you move the items to a new group, the tags are removed and new ones applied relative to the new location. Whether used statically or dynamically, group tags can be used creatively. They also work in conjunction with ordinary tags, so you can employ both methods in one database.
Example: Imagine you have a work database with groups for different stages of a project: Unreviewed, Assigned, In Progress, On Hold, and Done. At the beginning of the process, you'd put the item in the Unreviewed group and it would be tagged as such. After reviewing, you could move the file into the Assigned group and the previous tag would be removed and replaced with Assigned. As the project moves through the staging groups, the tag would change. And of course you can use ordinary tags, e.g., Reviewed or a client identifier, on these items. Those tags would be preserved no matter where you move them in the databases.
Groups tags are applied by DEVONthink automatically. But you can also use do some automatic filing by entering existing group tags manually. If you enter the name of an existing group that is not excluded from tagging into the Tag bar or an Info panel or popover, the item will be replicated to the appropriate group. You can also drag an item to a group tag in the Tag Cloud at the bottom of the Navigate sidebar. Considerations: When you enable using group tags for a database, it starts as an all-or-nothing situation. All groups in the database function as group tags. If you want to use group tags for most groups in a database, you can Control-click specific groups and choose Exclude from Tagging. You can also choose this option in the Exclude from… section of the Info inspector or Info popup for a specific group. However, note you must change this setting on all individual groups you'd like to exclude. If you only want a limited number of tags, it would be advisable to exclude groups from tagging for the database and use ordinary tags instead. Autocompletion When you are typing tags, an autocompletion list will appear. In the Global Inbox, tags from any open databases are shown as potential tags. In other databases, the items displayed are only from the tags of the current database. While group tags aren't added to the Tags group for a database, they are displayed in autocompletion suggestions. Tags and Aliases: DEVONthink also honors aliases added to groups. You can add "alternative names" to a group using Info popup or inspector and later use these alternative names as a tag. Continuing the previous example, you could add an alias of `IP` to the `In Progress` group. Now, type `IP` as a tag and it will be replicated to the `In Progress` group. When you view the file, you will see the proper group tag was automatically added. Search and Gather Finally, tags have two main functions: segregating data and searching for data. You use tags to gather items together in certain contexts. You also use tags to search for those items. Searching for items by their tags is easily done in a few ways: Tag cloud: The Tags Cloud allows you to filter the current list of files by clicking on available tags. As you click, only related tags are shown so you can fine-tune the items displayed in the item list. Search field: The search field at the top of every main window allows you to search for tags by using the advanced options for a search. You can also search for tags using a simple `tags:` prefix. Multiple tags can be specified, separated by commas. You can also use `tags!:`, to exclude tags. Gathering similarly tagged items is powerfully achieved with Smart Groups. Smart groups allow you to use the smart group editor controls to set criteria to be matched. Included and excluded tags can be added as criteria. Files matching the parameters of the smart group are shown, regardless of their location in the database. This way you can leave your files where they are and create virtual folders for specific purposes.