Using Tagging Rules

What are Tagging Rules?

Tagging rules allow you to automatically apply tags to documents based on specific conditions. This helps maintain consistent organization without manual effort, especially when dealing with large numbers of documents.

How Tagging Rules Work

When a tagging rule is enabled, it automatically checks new documents as they’re uploaded. If a document matches the rule’s conditions, the specified tags are automatically applied.

Rule Components

Each tagging rule consists of:

Conditions: Rules that determine which documents should be tagged
- Field: The document property to check (e.g., name, content)
- Operator: How to compare the field (e.g., contains, equals)
- Value: The text to match against
Actions: The tags to apply when conditions are met

Applying Rules to Existing Documents

The “Run Now” Feature

When you create a new tagging rule, it only applies to documents uploaded after the rule is created. To apply the rule to documents that already exist in your organization, use the “Apply to existing documents” button.

This feature is particularly useful when:

You create a new rule and want to organize your existing documents
You modify a rule and want to reprocess documents
You’re setting up your organization and want to retroactively organize imported documents

How to Apply a Rule to Existing Documents

Navigate to your organization’s Tagging Rules page
Find the rule you want to apply
Click the “Apply to existing documents” button
Confirm the action in the dialog
The task is queued and will be processed in the background

The system will:

Queue a background task to process all documents
Process documents in batches to avoid overloading the system
Check all existing documents in your organization
Apply tags where the rule’s conditions match
Show you a success message once the task is queued

Best Practices

Creating Effective Rules

Be specific: Use precise conditions to avoid over-tagging
Test first: Create a rule and test it on a few documents before applying to all existing documents
Use multiple conditions: Combine conditions for more accurate matching
Review regularly: Periodically review your rules to ensure they’re still relevant

Example Rules

Invoice Classification

Condition: Document name contains “invoice”
Action: Apply “Invoice” tag

Quarterly Reports

Condition: Document name contains “Q1” or “Q2” or “Q3” or “Q4”
Action: Apply “Report” tag

Using the API

You can also apply tagging rules programmatically using the API. The endpoint enqueues a background task and returns immediately:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  https://api.papra.app/api/organizations/YOUR_ORG_ID/tagging-rules/RULE_ID/apply

Response (HTTP 202 Accepted):

{
  "taskId": "task_abc123"
}

Where:

taskId: The ID of the background task processing your request