How do users distinguish between tagging and collections?

Bruce Bryan · 2025-02-05T22:02:58+00:00

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Bruce Bryan

How do you distinguish between the two? To me, there seems to be a lot of overlap between them—especially in searching.

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MJ. Smith

Tags are simply short sticky notes that are put on a book so that one can easily find and organize books by collection rules. One purpose of tags is their use in collection rules to define what a collection includes e.g. Lutheran as a tag and Catechism as a library attribute allow me to build a rule mytag:Lutheran AND type:Catechism for a collection. To add books, I don't have to touch the collection or the rule, I merely need to tag the book and it will be added to every appropriate collection.

I think what must be confusing you is that, in a search, you can build a temporary collection on the fly simply by building the rule. In permanent collections you can treat books as exception to be added or deleted. In the temporary collections that is not possible. In addition, permanent collections are offered as option in cases where temporary collections can't be defined.

DMB

Yes, very similar, but each has advantages. And, for me:

Some places in Logos only use collections (not Tags). Don't know if still true.
Collections can be automated to self-assign, by rules. Tags are manually assigned (usually groups of books)
Tags can be seen in the library (have their own column). Collections must use the info panel to see directly (in library)
Tags can be assigned in the library and while reading a book; collections have to use a special panel.
Neither can be assigned on mobile. If you're only-mobile, you're stuck, bad.

I'm a tagger. I started early and it's great. All 6,000+. Other Logosians are collection'ers. They like the automation. And some use best of both!

Really just try both. But decide early.

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MJ. Smith

DMB

Yes, very similar, but each has advantages. And, for me:

Some places in Logos only use collections (not Tags). Don't know if still true.
Collections can be automated to self-assign, by rules. Tags are manually assigned (usually groups of books)
Tags can be seen in the library (have their own column). Collections must use the info panel to see directly (in library)
Tags can be assigned in the library and while reading a book; collections have to use a special panel.
Neither can be assigned on mobile. If you're only-mobile, you're stuck, bad.

I'm a tagger. I started early and it's great. All 6,000+. Other Logosians are collection'ers. They like the automation. And some use best of both!

Really just try both. But decide early.