Cannot delete automatic tags

kj30
I'd like to completely eliminate automatic tags from my entire library (I don't want to see them attached to records, I don't want them to be visible in the tags pane whether greyed out or not, I don't want them to be auto-filled as I try to create my own tags, I want them gone forever as if they never existed).

Here's what I have going

- I've "Deleted All Tags in this Library," deselected "Show Automatic" and "Display All Tags in This Library" from the multi-color button, and have deselected "Automatically tag items with keywords and subject headings" in Zotero preferences.
- The tags pane always shows tags, sometimes greyed out, sometimes selectable/black.
Even when they are all black, when I click on the multi-color button "Delete All Tags in this Library" is not an option/is greyed out. It immediately became unavailable after my original attempt to delete.
- If I select a tag and click on one of the records it returns, the tag will show up on the right-sided pane (as will others).
- Some sub-folders have "no tags to display," others have the tags specific to the records held within, and My Library has all tags. In none of these is it possible to select "Delete All Tags in This Library" from the multi-color button.
- I have closed and reopened Zotero, and restarted my computer. I don't understand Zotero's inner workings well enough to delete and reinstall it, (I hit the online data limit long ago and don't know how to ensure I won't lose anything).

I see a lot of people have had a similar issue but don't seem to reference my exact situation.

If anyone has a solution I'd love to stop going in circles with this. Thank you!

Kelly

MacOS High Sierra Version 10.13.6 (MacBook Pro)
Zotero 5.0.58
  • adamsmith
    Are you sure you have automatic tags? If the button (which says "Delete all automatic tags" not "Delete all tags") is greyed out, it'd suggest you do not. There are some ways (most notably importing bibliographic files) which will import tags even if you have unselected automatic tag import since Zotero can't tell the difference between automatic and manual tags for such files.
  • kj30
    Some of the tags that are showing up are definitely not ones I applied (some are complex chemical names that have nothing to do with my research), but others are tags I've created. At this point I'd be willing to eliminate all of the tags and lose the work I've put in to it, but I don't see a "Delete all tags" option. Is that something I'm just not seeing/need to locate?

    Thanks so much for your help!
  • bwiernik
    If you imported a bunch of items from RIS or other similar formats that you’ve saved to your computer, Zotero treats tags in those files as regular tags, not automatic. Tags are only treated as automatic when you import using the Zotero button in your web browser.
  • kj30
    Ah, that may be the problem. Frustrating, but at least less so.

    Thanks!
  • Kiranasher
    Thank you! This is helpful! Does anybody know how to get rid of these "inherited" tags? Like Kelly, I want to get rid of all the excess tags to have "cleaner" and more accurate tags.
  • amw290
    Ditto
  • bwiernik
    edited August 27, 2019
    The only way currently is to delete the tags individually
  • sunhuie305
    Had this problem too, totally disturbed my existed tags by which I'm able to locate certain papers quickly. Thus I gave up importing via a citation file, instead at the page of search result list (I use PubMed and Chrome) I pressed the Zotero plug-in button at upper right of the browser and used the pop-up box window to import several/all of the citations to Zotero. No automatic tags. Note that the plug-in only grab search results on the present webpage.
  • qqbb
    @sunhuie305: See bwiernik's comment above:
    If you imported a bunch of items from RIS or other similar formats that you’ve saved to your computer, Zotero treats tags in those files as regular tags, not automatic. Tags are only treated as automatic when you import using the Zotero button in your web browser.
    https://www.zotero.org/support/collections_and_tags#automatic_tags

    The following options should work for both regular and automatic tags:

    Remove specific tags from selected items
    https://www.zotero.org/support/collections_and_tags#removing_tags_from_items

    Remove all tags from selected items
    This can be achieved with the Zutilo add-on, which provides a "Remove tags" function.
  • sunhuie305
    @qqbb Thank you and I saw that comment. I don't want automatic tag therefore I was telling my solution to it.
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