Introduction

Artshell provides two fundamental tools for organising and managing your database: Tags and Lists. By using these features, you can easily and efficiently manage the contents of the principal sections of Artshell: artists, works, contacts, events and insights.

Tags allow you to label and group elements with customised keywords, while Lists offer a flexible system for organising your elements in "boxes" according to parameters you decide.

For a proper understanding of this article, we advise you to read the article on the search bar, which is essential to fully understand and make the most of lists and tags.

The Search bar

Now you can go ahead and explore the potential of tags and lists and how they help you optimise your database management in Artshell.

Defining Tags

Tags are labels composed of one or more terms that you can add to artists, works, contacts, events and insights to organise them more efficiently.

Below is an example of tags within an artworks tab:

tags eng.png

Role and logic of tags:

Tags are great for adding flexible, descriptive and subjective metadata. We recommend that you think about the role of tags and define an internal logic for their use in your database.

Here are some points to keep in mind and tips to help you create an orderly organisation system:

Use tags to classify and link information in ways that are not already covered by Artshell fields.

Avoid creating tags that repeat information already present: For instance, we suggest you avoid creating tags such as the Name or Surname of the artists like #Michelangelo. It could be useful, on the other hand, to think of group of tags for more abstract or thematic concepts like the historical period or the artwork's subject.

Consider the balance between specificity and hierarchy.
Hierarchy makes navigating your database more intuitive. You can start with a general category and then refine your search through subcategories. Specific tags allow you to filter and find information with precision.

An example of a tag structure from the general to the particular could be:
Historical avant-gardes > Surrealism > Female surrealism

A good tag structure helps maintain consistency over time, even as your database grows. New tags can easily be added to existing categories. Before you start archiving, take some time to think about the main categories you want to use, considering the different aspects of your database and your collection.

Establish clear rules and watch out for typos: pay attention to upper/lower case, singular/plural and abbreviations. Check for typing errors and use a uniform language to avoid ambiguities and duplications in your tag system .

How to add Tags

Adding tags is done in a similar way for artists, artworks and contacts (for the latter two, tags can also be set from the respective import Excel). Moreover, for these three sections as well as for events, tags can be added and removed massively.

Finally, insights work differently as tags can only be entered manually one insight at a time.

The management of tags is explained more fully in the dedicated articles on the respective sections:

Defining Lists

Artshell lists are "boxes" that allow you to group your items according to certain criteria decided by you. Lists can be created, deleted, organised and rearranged according to your needs.

There are two types of lists in Artshell:

Automatic lists.
Manual lists.

Automatic lists are so called because they update automatically in real time.

Here are some examples that may help you better understand how you can use automatic lists:

Using tags: with Artshell you can organise your contacts according to their native language.
You can in fact assign the #ITA tag to Italian speaking contacts and the #ENG tag to English speaking contacts and create two automatic lists containing the respective tags.
This way all future contacts tagged with the #ITA tag will automatically be included in the respective list, the same goes for the #ENG tag. It's like having an intelligent filter that selects contacts according to a specific criteria. This type of organisation is also very useful if you use the Artshell Newsletter so that you have two pools of up-to-date users to whom you can address communications in different languages.

Using combined criteria: automatic lists can also be created by combining, for example, an artist such as Boldini Giovanni with the is:Available field so as to have an always up-to-date collection of available works by a specific artist. Another option is to add the function Location: to see the works of the selected artist available in a certain location.

Manual lists are static boxes that do NOT update automatically. They are very useful in case of temporary or exclusive events such as fairs, exhibitions or cocktail parties, or if you want to dedicate a communication to a specific user segment.

Here are some examples to help you better understand manual lists:

For contacts: if you want to organise an exclusive event and invite only your VIP contacts who are in Milan, you can create a manual list using the tags #VIP and #Milano, or – if you have filled in the addresses field correctly - you can combine the #VIP tag and the Address: Milano search to immediately have a precise list of recipients for your communication.

For artworks: if you need an ordered list of works to send to a curator, or if you are selecting works that you want to exhibit at the next fair, you can select them manually and create your own list to send.

How Lists work

Where do I find the lists?

Lists are accessible from the top left corner by clicking the section's name: Artists, Contacts, Events and Works.

lists eng.png

How can I see the contents of a list?

Within the list panel, each list has a counter indicating the number of items it contains. By clicking on a list name, the contents of that section are replaced with the contents of the selected list; this action is also indicated by the list name you see appearing in the top left corner, instead of the main title.

To go back to the general list of all items, use the “All Artists”, “All Contacts”, “All Events” or “All Works” button at the top of the list panel.

How can I organise my lists?

Lists can be reordered by dragging them up or down.

Here is a brief demonstration:

ordine liste eng.gif

How do I rename or delete a list?

Both functions are accessible from the  icon on the right of each list.

Click Rename list to give the list a new name and click ENTER from the keyboard to confirm.
Click Delete List to delete the list.

Beware: deleting a list is an unreversible action. Deleting a List does NOT delete the elements it contains, but only the List as an item è un'operazione irreversibile.

Conclusions

Practising the use of Tags and Lists in Artshell allows you to organise your collection in an efficient and personalised way. Remember that proper Tag and List management helps you save valuable time by simplifying navigation and searching within your collection. Don't hesitate to experiment with different combinations to find the best organisation method for your workflow.