Best Practices for Using Tags

Tags provide an additional layer of metadata for documents and folders, complementing fields and templates, and aiding in search, automation, and security. Learn how to create and apply tags.

There are two types of tags:

  • Information tags let you apply a single point of searchable metadata to documents and folders.
  • Security tags let you apply security to individual documents that move throughout your repository or otherwise cannot be governed by entry access rights. Users who have been assigned a security tag can see all documents with that same security tag applied to them. Users who have not been assigned the security tag will not be able to see or search for documents with that security tag applied to them.

Best practices for creating and applying tags

  • Determine the purpose each tag will play in your repository. For example, will the tag be used to improve search, enforce security, automate document routing or storage, etc.? Avoid creating too many tags, and be particularly judicious with security tags, as templates, fields, and entry access rights often provide a more robust basis for repository organization.
  • Set security on the ability to create tags. Use privileges to control who can create tags to avoid too many people creating duplicate or confusing tags.
  • Develop a standardized naming convention for your tags to make it easy for users to identify the tags they need.

    • Ex: HR - Confidential, Admin - Needs Review, or Project X - Level 2 Clearance

  • Periodically review tags to remove unused or duplicate tags.
  • Apply tags consistently. You can automatically apply tags with Workflow based on document type, content, or other metadata.

    • Ex: Create a workflow that automatically applies the tag ‘Needs Review – High Value’ to invoices exceeding $10,000.

  • Educate users on how tags are used in your repository. Make sure everyone in your organization knows when and how to use tags.

Best practices for security tags

In addition to the best practices above:

  • Use security tags only when entry access rights are insufficient. It can be tempting to overuse security tags as they follow a simple on/off security model that is easier to apply than the more nuanced entry access rights. However, security tags do not scale well, making them harder to maintain and enforce. Their primary use is for documents that need to move throughout the repository, in and out of folders with varying entry access rights applied to them. If you find yourself applying security tags to all or most of the documents in a folder, that can be a signal to switch to entry access rights. Entry access rights are applied at the folder level and automatically applied to the contents of the folder and are infinitely more robust and easier to maintain.
  • Do not apply security tags to folders. Even though a security tag will hide a folder from users who are not assigned that security tag, the security does not extend to the contents of the folder. This means users can still easily search for, or follow links directly to, the contents of a folder with a security tag applied to it.
  • Assign security tags to groups instead of individual users. Just like any other type of Laserfiche security, it's a best practice to apply security at the group level instead of the individual level. Security applied at the group level is scalable as users are added to teams automatically inherit the group's security settings. Group-level security is also easy to maintain. As group membership changes, security remains correct and consistent.
  • Periodically audit your security tags, noting which documents tags are assigned to and who is granted to access to those tagged documents. Audit trail can be helpful to see who has been accessing tagged documents.
  • Document your security tag policy for easy reference and training.