00001006050000.zettel

title: Zettel identifier
tags: #design #manual #zettelstore
syntax: zmk
role: manual

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.
In fact, all identifiers of zettel initially provided by an empty Zettelstore begin with ""000000"".
The identifiers of zettel if this manual have be chosen to start 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.