# Error reading path '\*.name' in system.tag.exists

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/error-reading-path-name-in-system-tag-exists/71167>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Tags:** ignition81\
**Created:** [March 16, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/error-reading-path-name-in-system-tag-exists/71167 "2023-03-16T14:25:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ISEMAREN\_AAG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/82dd89/32.png) [@ISEMAREN\_AAG](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ISEMAREN_AAG)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/error-reading-path-name-in-system-tag-exists/71167/1 "2023-03-16T14:25:05Z")

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Hello.  
In Ignition **8.1.21** , I run the following function to find out if a tag has alarms defined:

_system.tag.exists("[default]\_testIsemaren/test/Alarms")_

This works fine, it returns 'true' as expected, but in the logs I get this **error** :

_Error reading path '[default]\_testIsemaren/test/Alarms.name'_

Why?  
Is there another way to check if a tag has alarms defined?

Best Regards.

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**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/error-reading-path-name-in-system-tag-exists/71167/2 "2023-03-16T14:28:37Z")

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system.tag.exists works, under the hood, by reading the .Name property and checking if the return quality is Bad\_NotFound. You could simply system.tag.read the Alarm subfolder and check it's return quality yourself to do the same check and avoid the warning in the logs.

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**Author:** ![ISEMAREN\_AAG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/82dd89/32.png) [@ISEMAREN\_AAG](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ISEMAREN_AAG)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/error-reading-path-name-in-system-tag-exists/71167/3 "2023-03-16T16:07:29Z")

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"Alarms" is not a folder, it is the property that contains the alarms defined in a tag.

![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/3/8/38e0938421c1799873020fd2cfad9754100de6c5.png)

I have found this way to check if a tag has alarms defined without getting the error in the logs:

_system.tag.exists("[default]\_testIsemaren/test/Alarms.[anyProperty]")_

If there are no alarms defined in a tag, there will be no property inside "Alarms".

Best Regards.