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List Tagging

Explanation and purpose

List tagging lets you indicate which list items are used in a specific situation; for example, you could add the tag "LeedsServices" to all Services List terms that can be used to categorise services in the Leeds directory of services. Or you could add the tag "Vulnerability" against Circumstances List terms that are used in measures of vulnerability.

List downloads and list terms read via the Application Programming Interface (API) can be limited to ones with a specified tag.

By comparison of tags used by different organisations, we can evolve subsets of lists to recommend for particular circumstances.

Who can use tagging?

Anyone can see and download tags assigned to any list. To add your own tags, you need to be registered and to ask support@esd.org.uk to be set as a "tag administrator". 

Downloading tagged lists

Downloads page

You can download a full list from the "Downloads" page of any list. If at least one tag has been assigned to an item in the list, you will be shown an option to download the list with columns for each tag.

Tagging page

You can download the full list with a column for each tag from the "Tagging page".  You can also download a spreadsheet with just items that have a specific tag.

API

The API /lists web method lets you take a feed of your chosen list filtered down to just terms with a specified tag. Do this with the syntax:

/lists/ListName?tag=Tag

See the /lists method in the Web methods page for details. Note that changes to tags are not reflected by the API until the next working day.

Adding tags

To add and delete tags against any list, you must be registered and signed-in with tag administrator authority. Email support@esd.org.uk to ask to be made a tag administrator.

Then, from the "Tagging" page of any list, you can:

  • add a tag of your choosing, so long as that tag has not been used by anyone else
  • upload a CSV spreadsheet of all terms to which you want to assign a tag (which must belong to you) - see below for details
  • delete one of your own tags, removing it from all lists where you have used it

The CSV spreadsheet that you upload for tagging must have:

EITHER a column headed "Identifier" with identifiers (e.g. "Country" ) from each term in your chosen list (e.g. "Areas") to be tagged

OR a column headed "URI" with unique resource identifiers (e.g. http://id.esd.org.uk/area/Country) for each list term to be tagged.

The tag is added to each term in the CSV spreadsheet. All other columns in your uploaded spreadsheet are ignored.

HINT: the simplest way to add tags in bulk is to download the full list as a CSV file from the "Downloads" page. Then delete all rows to which the tag does not apply and upload the resultant CSV spreadsheet to the "Tagging" page.

You can add and delete tags to individual list terms in the "Tags" page of any list term.