Manage Taxonomy Tags

Manage Taxonomy Tags#

Tags: educator how-to

This guide describes how to create, organize, and manage tags within a taxonomy using the Taxonomy Detail. A detail page for a taxonomy can be found by navigating to the Taxonomies tab in the Studio, then selecting a taxonomy, which will then show that taxonomy’s detail page.

Taxonomy Tab:

Screenshot of the tabs in Studio home, with an arrow pointing to the Taxonomies tab.

Taxonomy Overview Page:

Screenshot of the Taxonomies Overview page showing multiple taxonomies.

Taxonomy Detail Page:

Screenshot of the Taxonomies Overview page showing multiple taxonomies.

Overview#

Tags allow you to organize and label content across:

  • Courses

  • Course content

  • Content libraries

From the Taxonomy Detail page, you can:

  • View tag hierarchy

  • See usage counts

  • Add root-level tags and sub-tags

  • Rename existing tags

  • Delete tags and sub-tags

View Tag Usage Counts#

Each tag can display a usage count indicating how many unique content objects are associated with it.

How Usage Is Calculated#

Counts include:

  • Courses

  • Course content

  • Content library items

Both published and unpublished content items are included.

Each object counts once per tag, even if:

  • Multiple child tags are applied

  • The same tag is applied multiple times

Parent Tag Aggregation#

Parent tags include usage from all child tags.

Example:

  • Object A is tagged with Chemistry

  • Object B is tagged with Physics and Chemistry

Parent tag Natural Science shows a usage count of 2 because Object A and Object B are each counted once.

Screenshot of usage count badges displayed in the taxonomy tag list.

No Usage Display#

If a tag has no associated content, no usage count is shown.

Add a Root-Level Tag#

To create a new top-level tag:

  1. Navigate to the Taxonomies page from Studio Home

  2. Choose a Taxonomy to add to and select it

  3. Select the + (plus) icon at the top of the tag list

    Screenshot of the plus icon used to create a root-level tag.

  4. Enter a tag name in the inline input field

    Screenshot of the inline input field for adding a root-level tag.

  5. Click Save or press Enter

After the tag is saved, the new tag appears at the top of the list and a success notification is displayed.

Cancel Tag Creation#

To cancel a tag creation, select Cancel or press Esc. The input row is removed, and the tag is not created.

Screenshot of the cancel button to cancel the process of adding a root-level tag.

Validation Rules#

You cannot save a tag if:

  • The input is empty

  • The input contains only whitespace

  • The name includes invalid characters:

    • Leading or trailing whitespace

    • TAB character

    • > (space-greater-than-space)

    • ; (semicolon)

  • The name duplicates an existing tag, regardless of letter casing.

    • Example: “Learning” and “learning” are considered duplicates

Add a Sub-Tag#

To create a tag under an existing parent:

  1. Locate the parent tag

  2. Open the actions menu by selecting the three dots

  3. Select Add sub-tag

    Screenshot of the Add sub-tag option in the tag actions menu.

  4. Enter the sub-tag name

    Screenshot of the inline input field for adding a sub-tag.

  5. Select Save, or press Enter

After the sub-tag is saved, the sub-tag appears directly beneath the parent tag and is indented to reflect hierarchy.

Cancel Tag Creation#

To cancel tag creation, select Cancel or press Esc. The row is removed without saving.

Sub-Tag Validation Rules#

Sub-tags follow the same rules as root tags:

  • No empty or whitespace-only names

  • No invalid characters

  • No duplicates under the same parent (case-insensitive)

Rename a Tag#

To rename a tag:

  1. Open the actions menu next to the tag by selecting the three dots

  2. Select Rename

    Screenshot of the Rename option in the tag actions menu.

  3. Edit the tag name inline

  4. Select Save, or press Enter

After the tag is renamed:

  • The updated name is displayed immediately.

  • A success notification appears.

  • All tag associations are updated across courses, libraries, and the search index.

Cancel Rename#

To cancel a rename, select Cancel or press Esc. The original name is restored, and no changes are saved.

Note

The Save button is disabled until the tag name is changed. Usage counts remain unchanged after rename.

Delete a Tag#

Warning

Deleting a parent tag also deletes its sub-tags. Any uses of the deleted tag or its sub-tags are removed from associated content.

Delete a Tag Without Sub-Tags#

To delete a tag that does not have sub-tags:

  1. Open the actions menu for the tag

  2. Select Delete

    Screenshot of the Rename option in the tag actions menu.

  3. In the confirmation dialog, type DELETE

  4. Confirm deletion

Delete a Tag With Sub-Tags#

To delete a tag that has sub-tags:

  1. Open the actions menu for the tag

  2. Select Delete

  3. Review the warning that sub-tags will also be deleted

  4. Type DELETE ALL # TAGS, where # is the number of tags being deleted

  5. Confirm deletion

After deletion:

  • The tag is removed

  • All sub-tags, if any, are removed

  • All tag associations are removed from content

  • A confirmation notification is displayed

Keyboard Accessibility#

All workflows support keyboard interaction. Users can:

  • Navigate menus using keyboard controls

  • Trigger actions such as Rename, Delete, and Add sub-tag

  • Save using Enter

  • Cancel using Esc

Permissions#

Only users with admin permissions can:

  • Add root-level tags

  • Add sub-tags

  • Rename tags

  • Delete tags

Users without admin permissions do not see the controls for these actions.

See also

Build a taxonomy using a template (how-to)

Create a flat taxonomy by uploading a CSV (how-to)

Import and Export A Taxonomy (how-to)

Update/Re-import a taxonomy (how-to)

Why does each tag need an ID when importing a taxonomy? (concept)

Manage Permissions on a Taxonomy (how-to)

Add and delete tags on courses (how-to)

Add and delete tags on course content (how-to)

Export tag data from a course (how-to)

Maintenance chart

Review Date

Working Group Reviewer

Release

Test situation

2026-05-05

Unicon

Verawood

Pass