Convert Item_Type->Elements Values into tags

We have large number of items that we have added, now we are wondering if one of the Elements in the item, can be converted into tags?

Values in the ItemType->Element that we are interested in are semi-colon delimited.

is there an easy to convert this field into tags??

please advise

For something like that, you'd have to either do it manually or write a plugin that would do.

if i were to do this manually do you know what tables in the database would I need to add entries into? we have about 1600 records for which i need to do this. so I believe if I can automate this it would be more helpful for me.

When I said manually, I was thinking more of going through each item in the admin interface and adding the tags.

With 1600 of them, that sounds pretty daunting!

Direct operation on the database sounds pretty daunting, too. the tables involved are element_texts, which refers to the record type, record id, and element text id. From that you could probably find the element texts you need to parse out from the semicolons.

Then, the table for tags are records_tags, which associates a tag with a record, and tags, which is just the list of strings that are tags in Omeka.

There's a lot the Omeka manages there. A plugin using Omeka's internal methods will probably be the safest way to go. The models corresponding to the table names (ElementText for element_text and Tag for tags) will likely be a start for seeing what's possible if you go the plugin route.

thank you Patrick this is a good starting point ...let me find out which one works out ...may be i will have follow up questions. thanks!