100+ tags suddenly appeared that I don't want

quail
Until today my tags pane was only showing about 15 tags, most of which I created myself. Now today there's suddenly over 100 that I don't want, not least because many are in foreign languages. How do I get rid of them? Unchecking "Show Automatic" hides maybe 25 of them so that's not a real improvement. Is there not a way to only display the tags I added myself? I didn't mind having a handful that were added automatically but 100 is too much.
  • dstillman
    edited June 1, 2022
    If you import from a file (e.g., RIS or BibTeX), any tags will in the file will become manual tags, since there's no way to distinguish between tags you created in another program and subject keywords from some library system. There's no need to guess — just look at the items with those tags and figure out how you imported them.

    When importing via the Zotero Connector, subject keywords will become automatic tags. You can hide those or turn off saving of those from the General pane of the preferences.
  • quail
    Depends on what's included in the definition of "import from a file (e.g., RIS or BibTeX)". The only way I add items is by clicking on the little magic wand > "Enter one of more ISBNs, DOIs, or PMIDs to look up in the box below" > I paste in the DOI. Does that count as "import from a file"? Is that the same thing as RIS or BibTeX?
  • dstillman
    edited August 13, 2023
    No, importing from a file is importing from a file — i.e., a .ris or .bib file on disk.

    If you use Add Item by Identifier, tags should only be added as automatic tags, which you can disable in the prefs or clean up from the tag selector.

    If you think you're getting manual tags from Add Item by Identifier, provide the id it happens for.
  • quail
    Is there no place to see a list of tags where I can select more than one at the same time and then delete those? Surely I don't have to go through 100+ tags one by one and Right Click > Delete Tag > OK for each one.

    "Manual" tags are 100% definitely getting added by Add Item by Identifier because that's the only way I add items and no matter what I do to hide tags by checking or unchecking "Show Automatic" or "Display all tags in this library" I can't make them go away. If that's not what Show Automatic's supposed to do then what exactly does it do? It's ferociously aggravating to have strangers deciding it's their right to flood my Zotero with tags they decided I need whether I like it or not.

    Here is one of the IDs but there are many

    https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12505
  • dstillman
    Wait, are you still using Zotero 4.0?

    I don't think current versions of Zotero save any tags via Add Item by Identifier.
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