How Do You Use Tags?

General talks about EssentialPIM

Moderators: TerryRogers, Max

Post Reply
DavidN
Guru
Posts: 144
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:50 pm
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 11 times

How Do You Use Tags?

Post by DavidN »

Tags seems to be a large part of EPIM. I am curious how others use this functionality? Within emails and tasks do you have the same naming scheme? Do you use them at all?

I am interested in any tips you can provide.
a8907433
Guru
Posts: 1047
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:57 pm
Been thanked: 170 times

Re: How Do You Use Tags?

Post by a8907433 »

Hi DavidN,

I use tags in emails and in tasks: In tasks, which I missuse as notes in calendar (I don´t have any "real" tasks) I use it to assign people or important events to this note and day, so that I have a few clearly distinguishable categories by color + events and importance in tasks, in email there is no need to assign tags to people, for that I use folders, but tags for events and important things to remember, for example software-keys and passwords. Here the colored tags were a great improvement.
DavidN
Guru
Posts: 144
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:50 pm
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: How Do You Use Tags?

Post by DavidN »

Thank you. When you tag and email is it to help you designate an email to a specific customer, person or project? Also do you set up rules for incoming emails from a particular sender to tag?
Keldi
Guru
Posts: 377
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:42 am
Has thanked: 26 times
Been thanked: 92 times

Re: How Do You Use Tags?

Post by Keldi »

I'm a huge fan of tags. I use them everywhere.
As I see it, the advantage of them is twofold:

Firstly, for me tags are virtual folders in which I can put items of any type (tasks, appointments, notes, ...) and then it's easy to access the list of them: I create a new item (let's say a task), start typing the tag's name into the tag field (and EPIM usually suggests the tag I need after typing just a couple of letters), click on the tag name - and the tag explore shows me all the items I'd assigned that tag to. And unlike the traditional folder/tree structures, I can have one item in several 'virtual folders', so if one note has information in it that consistent for two different projects, I no longer have troubles of having two copies of the same thing in two different places and then checking that the information in both stays updated.
Some tags I assign for keeps, but often I just put several items into a 'focus area' by adding a temporary tag to them. Then as I go around finishing things from that list, I just delete the tag from a finished item and the list with the tag gets smaller and smaller until everything is done.

The other use, the obvious one, is putting keywords and eye-catching marks into items.
When you see the red IMPORTANT! in the table view of appointments, it's unlikely you won't pay attention to it.
And the keywords make searching so much easier. Here I'm not talking about the advanced search only. The quick search (the one that we see in the right upper corner of most EPIM's views allows some basic operators (OR/AND/NOT), so the query:
unread OR unfinished AND book-genre=science-fiction
will filter the list of SF books I've started but abandoned or added to read later. Those actually are not the tag names I use, I used them here just to make the example more readable. My actual tags tend to be abbreviations that only I understand (like b==SF for science fiction books).

And here we come to tag naming schemes.
I think there can't be any universal schemes that work for everyone as people use EPIM very differently. So I just leave here some tips that might or might not be helpful:
  • If you are planning to use a lot of tags, don't let them become a mess. Hundreds of tags without some clear organised order, that you can easily remember, can make searching harder instead of easier. When I started using tags, I created a sticky note (with 'Stay on Top' and 'Roll Down') where I wrote every tag I put elsewhere. I changed tag names a lot in early days. Until it became a tree-like structure that allowed me to add any tag I use often with a couple of keystrokes. While the tags I don't use so often are grouped in a way that they'll show up in a suggestion's list I won't forget (like in the example below about how I use tags for books). And with time I didn't need that sticky note any more, as It became clear to me how MY tags should be organized.
     
  • Keep in mind, EPIM is quite fast with the full text search throughout the database, there is no need to put an extra keyword into a tag if the usual search shows everything you need because of the words inside the items (I've been using tags since before EPIM actually added the tags-feature. Just by writing keywords at the end of the note content).
     
  • One tag scheme throughout the database or only for a certain module? I guess it totally depends if you need to 'connect' items of different types outside of the usual 'related items' connections through links. Both schemes can coexist too: I have tags that I use everywhere, I have tags that I use only for appointments and so on.
     
  • The first letter of tag is important. It's what you start typing into the tag field or after # symbol in the note field to see the suggestions while adding a tag. There is only so many letters in the alphabet, so I advice to use them wisely. Putting tags in 'groups' according to the first couple of letters can make life easier (of course, there are always exceptions, some frequently used tags deserve to have the first letter for themselves, but I guess in last versions of EPIM there is also the option to add shortcuts for tags for that).
    I started with example about books, so I'll go with it. I keep a 'diary' of what I read in appointments. In tags I reserved the letter b for books only, as in I don't have any other tags started with b that aren't about books. So I start typing b and see a long list of suggestions for a tag: b==<book genre> (I put two equal symbols to have it at the start of the list), b=p-<plot keyword>, b=c-<character keyword>, bs=bn=<number of books in a book series> and so on. This way it takes just typing several letters and hitting Enter to add a tag and I'm not risking to add different synonyms for the same thing which makes the search easier when the mood strikes to reread something.
     
  • If you shorten words, make sure you shorten it to something, that will be the first association for YOU. I can be for important, or for incoming, or for investigate, or for... If you ever see a tag in your database and can't remember what it's for, immediately look into it and rename the tag into something more comprehensive.
     
  • When you use a lot of tags, you might often want to add a similar group of tags from one item to another. Templates for tasks/appointments with preselected list of tags, copying a note and editing it works. But the other way is to select the tags inside the tag field of one item (use the mouse or CTRL+A), to copy the tags (CTRL+C or CTRL+INS), and to paste it into the new item (CTRL+V or SHIFT+INS inside the tag field) - this here is really a life-saver for me when working with tags. Just pasting a list of words separated by spaces into the tag field works too.
     
  • I don't use the mail module in EPIM, but in Thunderbird I have the similar habits about tags: grouping some tags by the letter/symbol like dot for .work, .family, .friends, ...; underscore for 'to/about a person': _John_Smith, _Jane_Doe, ...; s with a year for s2020=<subject/project name>, k=<keyword> (i.e. k=password) and so on. I made it a part of rules there, so as the rule moves an email to a folder it also adds the tags. And then I only have to add 1-2 more tags manually, depending on a letter.
     
  • And lastly, organizing things shouldn't take more time than using the results of it. The number of tags you need probably should depend on what searches you do the most. If you never once had to search for John Smith (or filter his letters combined with letters from some other people) and you have all his emails in one folder, you most likely don't need the _John_Smith tag. But if the emails are put in folders by projects and over the years John Smith changed dozens of email addresses (and also has a habit to write to you from his wife's email address when he forgets his phone at home, while you have a separate correspondence with her regarding other projects altogether), and from time to time you really need to see what he wrote two of three years ago, adding the tag to John Smith's emails as soon as you see them will save you a lot of time and nerves in the future.
    Tags really can help, you just have to catch yourself at doing some search/filtering with annoying number of steps for a millionth time. Just add tags as you go. Often need to make calls to phone numbers received in emails and it's a bother to find them all? Start adding a tag #to-call as soon as you see such a letter. Some tasks in a project need to wait for other peoples' actions? Tag it as #to-wait to use in filters (to remind others to hurry up or (with NOT) to see what you can do meanwhile). Some people (me included) like to tag the hell out of everything, but in truth often just 3-10 tags is enough to make a difference in time spent on routine things.
And that's enough from me. I'm somewhat of a tag addict. I need to keep myself in check and not talk too much about them. :lol:

Regards
a8907433
Guru
Posts: 1047
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:57 pm
Been thanked: 170 times

Re: How Do You Use Tags?

Post by a8907433 »

Thank you. When you tag and email is it to help you designate an email to a specific customer, person or project? Also do you set up rules for incoming emails from a particular sender to tag?
I need tags, they are important, but I do not use it as sophisticated as Keldi. I use my EPIM database only private, so there are no customers, projects and so on.

When I started to use tags, I made a note- a list of tags. For example, I have some kinds of "important": #w (German, "wichtig"), #!- and now the new colored tags: I created #w1, #w2 and so on in different colors. For persons.... as Keldi already said, there is no need of tags- I use Folders. I assume, I would use folders for projects too, if I had one.
Setting up rules would be easy, I have some- but not for tags. I don´t get as much emails, I want to do it manually.

In notes, I have tags for persons- just #P (and so on)- thats enough. I only tag pictures in notes. That is, I INTEND to do this, I have a lack of time, and I improve my database permanent, when I have time.
DavidN
Guru
Posts: 144
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:50 pm
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: How Do You Use Tags?

Post by DavidN »

What a huge help. Thank you to everyone for your responses
Post Reply