Create and Manage Tags
Use tags in Help Scout for an easy way to add context to a message or keep track of certain topics in your Inbox. This article shows you how to add and manage tags.
In this article
Create Tags and Add to Conversations
To create a new tag, simply add it to a conversation — it's that simple! Click into a conversation to add or create a tag any time.
Click the Add tag icon to get started. As you type, you'll see a drop-down with existing tags that match what you're typing. Click on a tag from that list to select it, or select Create tag to create a new one.
You can add as many tags to a conversation as you need.
You can also add tags from the folder view. Simply select the conversation from within a folder, and a floating menu will appear. Click the tag icon and type into the text field.
Add Tags With Workflows
You can create and/or add a tag with both automatic and manual workflows. Choose the action Add Tag(s) in your workflow, and type in the tag(s) you want to use. Use commas between tags to add multiple tags at one time.
If you need a quick primer on building a workflow, we've got you covered! Check out Get Started With Workflows for all of the details.
Manage tags
Head over to Manage > Tags to see all of your currently in use tags across all Inboxes.
Click on the Name or Count headers to change the sort of the tags table.
Use the Filter menu on the left to choose to only see tags for a specific time frame or specific Inboxes. Note that filtering here only filters the view on this page; if you edit or delete a tag, you are taking that action on all instances of the tag across all time frames and Inboxes.
Note: You must have permission to manage tags to access this page. See User Roles and Settings for more on permission settings available to Help Scout administrators.
Click on a tag, or on multiple tags, and a floating menu will appear at the top of the page with several options.
View all conversations
Select one or multiple tags and click on the magnifying glass icon to see all conversations with the selected tag(s).
Edit name and color
Click the tag icon after selecting a single tag and you can change the name of the tag or add a color.
Clicking the tag icon after selecting multiple tags lets you change the color of those tags all at once.
Merge tags together
Click on two or more tags and click on the merge icon to combine those tags into a new single tag. The new tag will replace all tags that you select.
Keep in mind that there is no undo here ― this is a permanent action with no way to restore the previous tags.
Delete tags
Deleting a tag removes the tag from all conversations and the tags management page. Before you delete, it's important to keep in mind that there is no undo or method to restore the tag. Click the trashcan icon to delete.
Note: When you delete a tag, you are deleting all instances of that tag across all time frames and Inboxes. If you only want to delete tags for a specific Inbox or timeframe, you'll want to use an Automatic Workflow to accomplish that goal!
If you have a lot of tags, it can take between 5 and 90 minutes for the cache to clear or reset, so you may see some recently deleted tags appear in your autofill for up to an hour and a half after deleting. If you notice any particularly stubborn tags, adding the following piece of code as a bookmarklet in your browser will patch that up:
javascript:HS.Utils.Main.clearTags()%3BHS.Utils.Main.getTags()%3B
Common Questions
Why am I not able to see or search for tags that I've recently added?
Help Scout uses local storage in your browser to handle tags, and sometimes that local storage needs a little reset kick. It's actually quick and easy, even though this might look a little scary. It's not, promise!
Click into any conversation — this command will not work on just any webpage, make sure you're in a conversation — and run this quick snippet in the console in your browser's dev tools to reset that local storage.
HS.Utils.LocalStorage.deleteKey('Tags-List');
To open the console on any Windows browser, hit F12 then click Console in the window that comes up, or right click on the page and choose Inspect.
On Mac, Cmd (Command) + Option + K will open the console in Firefox; use Cmd (Command) + Option + J to open it in Chrome, or right click on the page and choose Inspect.
For Safari on Mac, you need to first turn on the Develop menu by choosing Safari > Preferences > Advanced from the menu bar, then ticking the check box for Show Develop menu in menu bar. Then you can use Cmd (Command) + Option + C to open the console.
If you're unfamiliar with using the dev console, check out the video below to see a simple walk-through in Chrome on a Mac. It will look very close to this in any browser and on Windows.
Hit return/enter to run the command in the console screen. Restart your browser after running this snippet, and things should be all cleared up!