title: Supported Zettel Roles
role: manual
tags: #manual #meta #reference #zettel #zettelstore
syntax: zmk
back: 00001005090000 00001012051600 00001012051800 00001017000000
backward: 00001005090000 00001006020000 00001012051600 00001012051800 00001017000000
box-number: 1
copyright: (c) 2020-present by Detlef Stern <ds@zettelstore.de>
created: 20210126175322
forward: 00000000000100 00001004020000 00001006020000
lang: en
license: EUPL-1.2-or-later
modified: 20231129173620
published: 20231129173620
visibility: public

The [[''role'' key|00001006020000#role]] defines what kind of zettel you are writing.
You are free to define your own roles.
It is allowed to set an empty value or to omit the role.

Some roles are defined for technical reasons:
; [!configuration|''configuration'']
: A zettel that contains some configuration data / information for the Zettelstore.
Most prominent is [[00000000000100|00000000000100]], as described in [[00001004020000|00001004020000]].
; [!manual|''manual'']
: All zettel that document the inner workings of the Zettelstore software.
This role is only used in this specific Zettelstore.
; [!role|''role'']
: A zettel with the role ""role"" and a title, which names a [[role|00001006020000#role]], is treated as a __role zettel__.
Basically, role zettel describe the role, and form a hierarchiy of meta-roles.
; [!tag|''tag'']
: A zettel with the role ""tag"" and a title, which names a [[tag|00001006020000#tags]], is treated as a __tag zettel__.
Basically, tag zettel describe the tag, and form a hierarchiy of meta-tags.
; [!zettel|''zettel'']
: A zettel that contains your own thoughts.
The real reason to use this software.
If you adhere to the process outlined by Niklas Luhmann, a zettel could have one of the following three roles:
; [!note|''note'']
: A small note, to remember something.
Notes are not real zettel, they just help to create a real zettel.
Think of them as Post-it notes.
; [!literature|''literature'']
: Contains some remarks about a book, a paper, a web page, etc.
You should add a citation key for citing it.
; ''zettel''
: (as described above)
However, you are free to define additional roles, e.g. ''material'' for literature that is web-based only, ''slide'' for presentation slides, ''paper'' for the text of a scientific paper, ''project'' to define a project, ...