Ultimate guide to tags

What are tags?

Tags are notations that can be placed on entries within your program. While they serve a multitude of purposes, tags are generally used to group entries together, facilitate faster searches, move entries between judging stages, allocate badges or certificates, and more. By default tags are not shown to judges or entrants and are solely a management tool. 

Create a tag

Tags can be created off-the-cuff while tagging an entry (see the How do I tag an entry? section below) or ahead of time via the Settings menu.

1. Navigate to Settings > General > Tags in the Manage workspace
2. Click Add tag
3. Input the tag you would like, for example "Finalist"
4. If desired, select an Automatically apply tag when checkbox (more on those later)
5. Click Save when finished

Manually tag an entry

Entries can be tagged either individually or in bulk from multiple areas of the platform, including the Entries and Judging > Leaderboard views of the Manage workspace. In the examples below, we'll tag from Entries page, but the steps are the same elsewhere. 

Individually

1. In the Manage workspace, from Entries and click on an entry's name or ID
2. Under the 'Entry tags' heading, input your desired tag like "Finalist" shown below
   
   
   Note: previously created tags will auto-populate as you type, allowing you to quickly select your commonly used tags. 
3. Hit the Return or Enter key on your keyboard to apply the tag

In bulk

1. In the Manage workspace, select the checkbox to the left of each entry you want to tag
2. Open the Actions drop-down
3. Click Tag
   
4. Key in your desired tag into the field that appears
5. Click the Tag button to create/apply the tag to all selected entries

Remove a tag

Tags can be removed from entries in a snap. To remove a tag from an individual entry:

1. Locate the entry within the platform (via Entries, for example) and click on its name or ID number
2. Hover your cursor over the tag in the 'Entry tags' module
3. Click the X that appears

To remove a tag from all entries, simply delete the tag entirely.

1. Navigate to Settings > General > Tags
2. Click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the tag you'd like to remove
3. Choose Delete

Configure auto-tagging optionable fields

Tags can be applied to your entries based on an entrant's input into an optionable field like a checkbox list or drop-down. This allows you to quickly filter to view demographic information, route entries to the proper judging panels, and more. To configured automated tagging based on a checkbox list field:

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Entries
2. Click Edit form
3. Configure a new or edit an existing optionable field (see: Field configuration)
4. In the 'Options' section of the configuration tray, toggle on Auto-tag
   
   
5. Specify your desired tag for each label
6. Click Save when finished

When an entrant chooses an option within the checkbox list, the tag of the selection option (or options) will be applied to the entry based on the option's Value. 

Configure auto-tagging triggers

Tags can automatically be applied to your program's entries based on a number of available triggers, like entry submission, a review flow task, etc. Automated tags are created using the same steps as a normal tag. 

1. Navigate to Settings > General > Tags in the Manage workspace
2. Click Add tag and input the new tag's name or click on an existing tag in the list
3. Select an automation trigger
4. Save

Use tags in search

Once an entry has been tagged, you can use it to quickly find that entry and others with the same tag using the search functionality of the platform. While searches can be done across Award Force, the example below is from the Entries view. 

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Entries
2. Click Advanced in the search bar
3. Within the Tags dropdown, select the tag you would like to remove 
4. Click Search

Move entries between stages of judging

For programs that will run multiple stages of judging, tags are crucial. Tags allow you to pick and choose exactly which entries are to be moved from one judging stage to another.

The leaderboard, found by opening the Manage workspace and navigating to Judging > Leaderboard, is where you can find a list of entries and judging results for all categories. The default ordering shows the entries from highest to lowest score, most votes to least votes, etc.

With Award Force, the criteria for selection of shortlisting, finalists, and winners is completely flexible. It’s up to you to interpret the judging stage results and then apply tags to entries that record the outcome of the judging stage.

1. From the Manage workspace, navigate to Judging > Leaderboard
2. Click the checkboxes next to the entries that should progress to the next stage
3. Click the Tag button
4. Input your desired tag into the resulting field
5. Click Tag
6. Go to Judging > Settings > Panels
7. Create a New panel
8. In the 'Entries' section, select your relevant categories as well as the tag you just created—this will limit entries visible to the panel to only those from the specified categories with the selected tag
9. Configure the other sections of the panel; see: Create a judging panel
10. Click Save

Use tags in judging panels

As mentioned above, tags can be used to isolate specific entries. This is particularly helpful when configuring your program's judging. Whether you need to group submissions together by their submitted language or a specific entry field, or move entries between stages of judging, tags are the key. 

Entries in multiple languages

If you've opted to configure multiple languages for your program, you'll likely need to provide entries to different judges based on the language the entry was submitted in. To set this up, follow these steps:

1. Create your tags (see: Creating a tag)
2. Tag your entries (see: How do I manually tag an entry?)
3. Set up your judging score set, scoring criteria (for VIP judging only), and your judging round(s)
4. Follow the steps outlined in the judging fast start (Judging > Manage > Judging fast start) or configure your judging panel via the settings menu by following the instructions below:
   1. Navigate to Judging > Settings > Panels
   2. Click New panel
   3. Provide your panel a name
      
      Tip: this name is not shown to your judges and should be named to quickly identify what the panel includes, i.e. 'Stage 1 - French'.
   4. Select the proper judging mode and score set
   5. In the 'Entries' area, choose the category(ies) and/or chapters that should be included in this panel
   6. Under the 'Tags' heading, select your language tag, i.e. French
   7. In the 'Who' section, choose the role you'd like to assign to this panel or click Invited judges to only include certain judges
   8. Choose your desired round from the 'When' checkbox list
   9. Save

To learn more about supporting multiple languages in your Award Force account, check out our guide: Add multiple languages. 

Based on a specific field value

Within the entry form, you may have a field configured wherein entrants provide data that you'll need to take into account when setting up judging. For example, academic programs may ask an entrant for their grade level to divide primary from secondary education entries and provide them to the proper judges.  

1. Locate the field that you'd like to base your judging on and make it searchable; for instructions see the Adding additional search filters section of this guide: How to search and filter
2. Create your tag (see: Creating a tag)
3. Tag your entries (see: How do I manually tag an entry?)
   
   Tip: use the advanced search functionality to locate these entries quickly; see: Using tags in search
4. Follow the steps outlined in the Judging fast start or configure your judging panel via the settings menu by following the instructions below:
   
   1. Navigate to Judging > Settings > Panels
   2. Click New panel
   3. Provide your panel a name
      
      Note: this name is not shown to your judges and should be named to quickly identify what the panel includes, i.e. 'Stage 1 - Primary education'.
   4. Select the proper judging mode and score set
   5. In the 'Entries' area, choose the category(ies) and/or chapters that should be included in this panel
   6. Under the 'Tags' heading, select your education level tag, i.e. Primary
   7. In the 'Who' section, choose the role you'd like to assign to this panel or click Invited judges to only include certain judges
   8. Choose your desired round from the 'When' checkbox list
   9. Save 

Can I notify someone when an entry is tagged? 

Notifications can be configured for a number of triggers in Award Force, including tags. 

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Communications > Notifications
2. Click New notification
3. Select 'Entry tagged' from the Trigger drop-down
4. Depending on the selected trigger, select whether this notification applies to all categories or just some under the 'Categories' heading

5. Input the Tags that trigger this notification

6. Set the Recipient(s) for the notification, from the following options
   
   • User: the person the event relates to
   • Email addresses and/or phone numbers: one or more specified addresses separated by a comma or semicolon
   • Address specified in a field: allows an email or phone number field from the entry process to be selected. This setting allows for someone an entry relates to, to receive a notification
7. A sender name and reply-to address may optionally be set--we strongly recommend adding a reply-to address so your users may contact you if necessary
   
   Note: to improve email deliverability, the sending address cannot be updated.
8. Write an email subject and email body message
   Note: if both an email and SMS are defined, what is sent depends on the recipient. Should the recipient have both an email address and a mobile number defined, only the email is sent.
9. SMS body is required and should be kept as short as possible
   Important: SMS messages are limited to 160 characters. To comply with local regulations, SMS messages cannot be sent to numbers registered in Singapore or to UAE residents between the hours of 9pm and 7am.
10. Compose the email body using merge fields and markdown formatting as desired; see the Customise a notification section of this guide for more information
11. Save

To learn more about notifications, see our dedicated article: Ultimate guide to notifications.