Tags vs properties

I found myself comparing between tags and custom properties and Im not sure on which I should put more preference. I use tags and properties for bases. I wonder if anybody else have wondered around the same question. Opinions are more than welcome!

For example, I could have a property:

Place = city

But I could have instead just a tag called ”city” or even a compact emoji.

Tags have the advantage of not adding a new line of property to the list of properties, while in properties you might need multiple new lines, each for a seperate property. One disadvantage of tag is that you cant mass delete them all at once, properties you can.

Any other things I should take into consideration? Advantages and disadvantages?

I tend to see tags and properties as two ways of describing the same thing — they’re both just labels you attach to your notes. So for me it’s less about which is “right” and more about what feels natural in your workflow. It’s your data. If one approach feels cleaner or easier to maintain, that’s probably the right choice for you.

Some advantages of tags;

  • It can be tracked inline as well (tags in notes).
  • Tags also tend to have more “support” for other shenanigans like clicking it to trigger a search, using tags as folders, plugin interactions, etc.
  • Nested tags

My advice would be to just start by using tags. If/when you have a need for a separate property you can migrate or keep both.

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