Tags

Tags connect nodes by subject. A node about a balcony herb garden might use #gardening and #herbs, even if those words are not in its title.

You can add tags directly to a node or write hashtags in its title or text. Public tag pages bring together matching nodes that are eligible for discovery.

Add tags to a node#

Select a node you can edit and open Hashtags from its tools or right-click menu. This opens a small popup for that node, without requiring you to open its full editor.

1. Choose Add hashtag.
2. Type a tag, such as herbs or #herbs.
3. Press Enter or use Save hashtag.

The popup adds the tag to the node's tag list. Leading # characters are removed and letters are stored in lower case, so #Herbs and herbs become the same tag. Adding a tag that is already there leaves one copy.

Choose a tag's remove button to remove it from this node's tag list. Use Cancel hashtag or Escape while adding to abandon the text you have not saved.

You can also edit tags in a node's editor or its Node options. These controls change the same stored list.

Tag spelling and limits#

A tag contains one to 48 letters, numbers or underscores. Letters from other writing systems are accepted. Spaces and hyphens are not tag characters: use herb_garden, for example, rather than herb garden.

A node's tag list holds at most 16 tags. The popup explains an invalid spelling with A hashtag is letters, numbers and underscores, up to 48 of them. At the limit it says A node holds at most 16 hashtags. Remove a tag before adding another.

Only people who can edit the node can change its tags. You can still read the list when the editing controls are absent.

If a save fails, the popup shows the error. Check the list before trying again; closing the popup does not make a failed change succeed.

What the numbers beside tags mean#

Each tag in the popup has a number beside it. This counts other loaded nodes that carry that stored tag. The selected node does not count itself.

The number helps you recognise a thread through the canvas. It is not a count of every public node with the tag, and it can differ from the results on a public tag page.

Hashtags in titles and text#

Writing #herbs in a node's title or text also declares that subject for public discovery. The hashtag needs to stand on its own: C# and a#b do not create tags. A text hashtag containing only numbers or underscores is ignored.

The stored tag list and text hashtags work together. A tag added through Hashtags does not have to appear in the text. A hashtag written in the text does not have to appear in the popup. Removing one from the list therefore does not remove the same hashtag from the body.

Public discovery uses up to 16 distinct tags from the combined set, taking stored tags first. If you use many subjects, keep the main ones in the stored list.

Open a public tag page#

A tag page lists public results for one subject. For example, #gardening opens that subject's page. A tag-page address ends in the tag's name without its #.

Choose a result's title to open its public node page. Results are listed by the most recent tagging, rather than the order of a general search. Choose More to load another group when the button appears.

A node appears only when its relevant public version has settled and is eligible for search. Tags on unshared work do not turn that work into public results.

Follow a tag#

While signed in, use Follow beside the public tag-page heading. Once the change succeeds, the button reads Following. Choose it again to unfollow. This adds a subject for Feed's For you section, rather than adding a pin to your canvas or sending a friend request.

Following a tag is separate from writing that hashtag in a node. A tag-page result list can be empty even when you follow the subject. The follow button appears after your followed tags load; a missing button while loading does not mean your node's tags were removed.

Tags could not be updated. Try again. means the change was not confirmed. Check your connection, then try again. If the control says you have reached the number of tags you can follow, unfollow an older subject before adding another.

When tag results cannot load#

No public results for #… is an empty result, not a saving error. If the page says We couldn’t load these public results., choose Try again. When loading more fails, the results already loaded remain and Try again retries the next group.