title: Zettel identifier
role: manual
tags: #design #manual #zettelstore
syntax: zmk
back: 00001004010000 00001004051400 00001005090000 00001006000000 00001006020000 00001006032000 00001006032500 00001007031100 00001007031110 00001007040310 00001007040324 00001007700000 00001007710000 00001007906000 00001010040100 00001010040200 00001010040400 00001012051200 00001012053200 00001012053300 00001012053400 00001012053500 00001012053600 00001012054200 00001012054400 00001012054600 00001012920000
backward: 00001004010000 00001004051400 00001005000000 00001005090000 00001006000000 00001006020000 00001006032000 00001006032500 00001006055000 00001007031100 00001007031110 00001007040310 00001007040324 00001007700000 00001007710000 00001007906000 00001010040100 00001010040200 00001010040400 00001012051200 00001012053200 00001012053300 00001012053400 00001012053500 00001012053600 00001012054200 00001012054400 00001012054600 00001012920000
box-number: 1
copyright: (c) 2020-present by Detlef Stern <ds@zettelstore.de>
created: 00010101000000
forward: 00001005000000 00001006055000
lang: en
license: EUPL-1.2-or-later
modified: 20210721123222
published: 20210721123222
visibility: public

Each zettel is given a unique identifier.
To some degree, the zettel identifier is part of the metadata.
Basically, the identifier is given by the [[Zettelstore|00001005000000]] software.

Every zettel identifier consists of 14 digits.
They resemble a timestamp: the first four digits could represent the year, the
next two represent the month, following by day, hour, minute, and second.

This allows to order zettel chronologically in a canonical way.

In most cases the zettel identifier is the timestamp when the zettel was created.

However, the Zettelstore software just checks for exactly 14 digits.
Anybody is free to assign a ""non-timestamp"" identifier to a zettel, e.g. with
a month part of ""35"" or with ""99"" as the last two digits.

Some zettel identifier are [[reserved|00001006055000]] and should not be used otherwise.
All identifiers of zettel initially provided by an empty Zettelstore begin with ""000000"", except the home zettel ''00010000000000''.
Zettel identifier of this manual have be chosen to begin with ""000010"".

A zettel can have any identifier that contains 14 digits and that is not in use
by another zettel managed by the same Zettelstore.