Labels vs Tags vs Community Tags

I am new to Labels and haven't used them so far. When trying to learn about them, I came across the following thread:

https://community.logos.com/forums/t/98674.aspx

However, as this was for Logos 6, I wanted to start a new thread.

I am looking for some guidelines when Labels, Tags, or Community Tags should be used. Here is the most common situation for which I would like to have some clarity. So far, I only use Tags.

I read a resource and find a great paragraph with an illustration on forgiveness. I then highlight the paragraph with my standard highlighter, copy the text of the paragraph into the body of a new note that I anchor to the highlighted paragraph, and then add two tags to this note (not the highlight): Forgiveness, Illustration. The note with the text and tags I also put into a Notebook called "Illustrations".

This helps me get back to my illustrations on forgiveness in the Notes tool. Having the text in the body of the note also helps with searching for the note.

The challenges that I face are:

1) Each note can only be in one Notebook.

2) Searching is limited (although the separate note with the text of the paragraph helps).

3) I need to create two notes for each "great paragraph": one for the highlight and one for the note.

4) Tags in the sidebar of the Notes tool are listed by frequency, not alphabetically, which makes it difficult to find them.

I would like to uses a clearer system. Are there any recommendations on when to use Labels, Tags, or Community Tags?

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Comments

MJ. Smith

1. When you use Community Tags (available only for filtering/searching, you are using a collection of other people's tags with no idea what they mean. Yuck! They are useful in providing suggestions for developing your own tagging system and nothing else IMHO.

2. Tags are for adding simple categories for organizing and searching your resources and materials - they are "simple" in the sense of having no hierarchy.

3. Labels are for collecting material about the item to which they are attached and making the captured material searchable. The many labels provided by Logos are solid examples of their use - see the Concordance Guide section or the Bible Browser facets or the dataset documentation ...

1) Each note can only be in one Notebook.

Think in terms of a tag being equivalent to a notebook ... open searches by tag rather than a notebook ...

2) Searching is limited (although the separate note with the text of the paragraph helps).

In what way are you finding it limited - you have the full power of a basic search ...

3) I need to create two notes for each "great paragraph": one for the highlight and one for the note.

No, you can place the note text and the highlight in a single note - many avoid this so as to not accidentally deleting the note text when they intend to delete only the highlight.

4) Tags in the sidebar of the Notes tool are listed by frequency, not alphabetically, which makes it difficult to find them.

This is standard practice in managing facets but for reasons that often are a good fit with Logos data. There is a request to add a find box and alphabetic order to all facet lists on Feedbear.

Dave Hooton

I read a resource and find a great paragraph with an illustration on forgiveness. I then highlight the paragraph with my standard highlighter, copy the text of the paragraph into the body of a new note that I anchor to the highlighted paragraph, and then add two tags to this note (not the highlight): Forgiveness, Illustration. The note with the text and tags I also put into a Notebook called "Illustrations".

Highlighting the paragraph seems unnecessary as is a separate Note. Why not:

highlight the headword or a sentence
put it into a Notebook called "Illustrations"
add two tags to the highlight: Forgiveness, Illustration

create a Note from the headword or a sentence
you can use your standard highlighter (style) or change it in the Notes tool
put it into a Notebook called "Illustrations"
add two tags to the Note: Forgiveness, Illustration

1) Each note can only be in one Notebook.

Use the tags as Martha suggested

2) Searching is limited (although the separate note with the text of the paragraph helps).

How much text do you need when you have tags! Use mytag:forgiveness in the Basic Search of My Documents as this will only look at tags.

3) I need to create two notes for each "great paragraph": one for the highlight and one for the note.

I hope you can see that you only need one Note with your standard highlight style

4) Tags in the sidebar of the Notes tool are listed by frequency, not alphabetically,

First make other selections that will reduce the number of tags e.g.

Notebook: Illustrations
Type: Notes
Resource: ...

Are there any recommendations on when to use Labels, Tags, or Community Tags?

You can use Add Label for a Note in the tool (bottom right) and provide Attributes with values that complement your tags. Now you can search your resources e.g. {Label Illustrations WHERE CategoryID = Forgiveness AND Description = Biblical} ---> looking for Biblical Forgiveness.

If you go this way it is easier to add Label attributes if you attach them to a highlight style i.e. create a Highlight instead of a Note (the Label and Attribute names pop up when you make the highlight).

Armin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193518#Comment_1193518

Hi MJ and Dave,

Many thanks for this detailed info. I will work through it and do some reading / training on Labels and hope to find a solution that works for my needs.

Armin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193564#Comment_1193564

I am trying to figure out how the Label Type "List" works. I know that I am supposed to separate the list items with a ";" but then I am stuck. Any advice?

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193791#Comment_1193791

I am trying to figure out how the Label Type "List" works. I know that I am supposed to separate the list items with a ";" but then I am stuck. Any advice?

It allows spaces or comma between terms, but I don't think it is working as a list should. Use other types of data.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193791#Comment_1193791

When you add the attribute to a label you should be limited to selecting a value in the list ... I vaguely remember having a bit of problem with it recently but ...

Armin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193919#Comment_1193919

Here is an example in which I would like to use lists:

If I find a great illustration for a certain topic in a resource, I would like to highlight the text and attach a label for the topic of the illustration. This works great as long as the topic is part of the Logos-controlled Preaching Themes. In this case, I can create a label with the Value Type "Preaching Theme". When I then highlight text with the related highlighter, the list of Topics pre-populates:

However, I have topics that are not part of Logos' Preaching Themes. So I would like to created my own list of controlled vocabulary. I could just use "Text" as "Value Type", which would allow me to enter any text. However, I prefer to have a user-defined controlled vocabulary of Topics.

It sounds like Lists are exactly meant for this. However, I cannot get it to work.

It looks like MJ said that lists may have some issues.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193920#Comment_1193920

See BUG: Labels with Lists and sort order - Faithlife Forums (logos.com)

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193920#Comment_1193920

JBR

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1193482#Comment_1193482

1. When you use Community Tags (available only for filtering/searching, you are using a collection of other people's tags with no idea what they mean. Yuck! They are useful in providing suggestions for developing your own tagging system and nothing else IMHO.

I was about to create a new post with a question about community tags. Decided to do a search first to see whether and how this may have already been addressed. I found this post in the search and I agree with MJ. Maybe not just Yuck! but Double-Yuck!

In my short perusal of community tags I found some things that were really bizarre — at least in my opinion.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1222526#Comment_1222526

In my short perusal of community tags I found some things that were really bizarre — at least in my opinion.

Perhaps you could share those issues.

JBR

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1222856#Comment_1222856

Without going back and looking at them again, it included things like having #readlater as a community tag for a lexicon. That's not helpful in any sense. I wonder whether individuals have simply used the community tag instead of my tag? Or, did they really think they were helping the community at large by entering such a tag?