++++
+title = "Content Tags"
+date = "2024-05-14"
+type = "user-doc"
+slug = "tags"
++++
+
+While BookStack has a hierarchy at the center of the platform to organise content,
+you can sometimes desire an extra dimension of categorisation for content.
+Tags in BookStack offer this in a flexible manner, where a tag can represent a category
+and value across all levels & parts of the hierarchy.
+
+{{<toc>}}
+
+### Tag Format
+
+Tags in BookStack have a name, but can also optionally have a value. This allows
+detailed & categorised levels of tagging where required for a mixed range of use-cases.
+
+
+
+For example, you could use a tag named `Critical` with no value to mark important high priority pages.
+Alternatively, if you have a range of priorities, you could use a tag named `Priority` with a value
+of `Critical`. Using both a name and value here allows you to identify any content with a Priority set, in addition
+to allowing identification of just `Critical` content.
+
+This can also come in useful when you want to use tags for metadata. For example, you may want to record content review
+dates, which you could achieve through a `Reviewed At` tag with value representing the last review date.
+
+### Adding & Managing Tags
+
+Tags can be added to any level of the content hierarchy (Shelves, books, chapters & pages).
+You can apply tags when editing any such item. For shelves, books & chapters, tags are found
+in a dropdown section on the edit view:
+
+
+
+For pages, you can find tags in the sidebar toolbox when in the page editor:
+
+
+
+When editing a tag name or value BookStack will show a list of potential existing relevant options to help you quickly
+fill the input. Suggestions for values will be just those used before for the chosen tag name, rather than all values
+across all tags.
+
+While editing, you're also able to re-order & remove tags as desired.
+Any changes to tags are saved alongside when you save the item they're applied to.
+
+### Tag Display & Overview
+
+When applied, tags are shown in a few areas of BookStack alongside the content they're applied to:
+
+- In the sidebar or info pane when viewing any tagged item.
+- On items listed within search results.
+- In API responses for items.
+
+When viewing an item with tags applied, you can click the tag to start a tag search. Clicking the tag name will start
+a search for all content that also has a tag of that name. Clicking the value will start a search for other content
+that has that same tag name & value applied.
+
+To view all tags being used, you can access an Tag overview page via the "View Tags" action found on the books or shelves index,
+or you can navigate straight to the `/tags` URL path. Here you'll see a list of all tag names used across content you have
+visibility of, alongside figures detailing their usage counts across each type of content.
+
+
+
+You can click the tag name, or item counts, to start a relevant filtered search.
+Where tag values are used, you can also click the link on the right to access a
+list of all tag values for that tag name, with a similar breakdown as before.
+
+### Tags in the Search Index
+
+When content is indexed for searching in BookStack, tags names & values are considered as part of the search engine,
+and are even given a boost above normal content. This means you can boost content in search results
+for specific search terms using tags where needed.
+
+### Tag Search Operations
+
+Content can be queried in BookStack by tag name or value.
+This can be used in many areas of BookStack where searching is made available.
+As mentioned in the sections above, you can often initiate tag searches via clicking tags
+or statistics in the tag index. Otherwise you can directly use the following syntax:
+
+- Search by tag name:
+ - Syntax: `[<name>]`
+ - Example: `[Location]`
+- Search by tag value:
+ - Syntax: `[<operator><value>]`
+ - Example: `[=London]`
+- Search by tag name & value:
+ - Syntax: `[<name><operator><value>]`
+ - Example: `[Location=London]`
+
+The following are valid operators: `=`, `!=`, `<`, `>`, `<=`, `>=`, `like`.
+When using the `like` operator you can use `%` symbols in the search value to represent wildcards.
+
+Using this syntax you can get quite inventive. As an example, if you were applying `Reviewed At` tags with values
+in a format like `20240627` (YYYYMMDD) you could search for all content with "Reviewed At" dates before 2024 using: <br> `[Reviewed At<20240101]`.
+
+See our [documentation on searching](/docs/user/searching/) for more advanced search syntax.
+
+### Tags for Customization
+
+Tags can also be handy for customization in a range of ways, even if just to assist as extra metadata or identification points.
+For example, you could use the [logical theme system](https://github.com/BookStackApp/BookStack/blob/development/dev/docs/logical-theme-system.md)
+to run a custom action on page creations, and within that change behaviour or action based upon whether the parent Book has a specific tag.
+
+Additionally, BookStack will convert tags to classes within the HTML templates used when viewing content in BookStack, which can then
+be used for easy tag-controlled customization & styling.
+Details of these tag classes can be found in our [Hacking BookStack documentation here](/docs/admin/hacking-bookstack/#tag-classes).
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