Manage Categories
View old Category documentation for v2.016 an earlier.
Description
Each post in Vanilla is filed under one or more Categories. This aids in navigation and allows posts to be grouped with others of similar content.
Each Category may be assigned to a Category Parent so that you may set up a hierarchy within the Category structure. In creating Categories, recognize that each Category Name must be unique. Thus, even if two Categories have two different Parents, they must still have different names.
Links to your Categories are, by default, shown in two different places on your forum if your are using the default Vanilla theme. First, Vanilla lists these Categories as links in your sidebar, also know as the Panel. Second, Vanilla shows all the Categories to which a given post belongs under that post in what is called post meta. When someone viewing your forum clicks on one of these Category links, an archive page with all the posts belonging to that Category, will be displayed.
New to v2.0.17 you can set Categories as your "Homepage". The Homepage feature allows you to determine the first page a user sees when they visit your forum. For more information see Homepage documentation.
Category Page Layout
You can easily configure how nested categories are displayed to users. *These settings work well with the new to v2.0.17 Homepage feature.
Nested Categories
By default Nested Categories are displayed in a comma-delimited list when they are more than one level deep.
There are 4 options for displaying Nested Categories:
- more than one level deep
- more than two levels deep
- more than three levels deep
- never
For example, if you chose "more than two levels deep", you would get this result:
Display root categories as headings
This option works best with "more than two levels deep".
Example:
Organize Categories
You can easily change the hierarchy of the Categories by simply clicking and dragging. If you move your cursor over the Category row you will notice a "grab hand icon". Click and hold, drag the Category up or down, and let go.
To nest a category, follow the same directions as above, and drag to the right instead.
Add Category
At the top left of the Manage Categories page click the Add Category button. You will be re-directed to the Add Category page.
There are three pieces of information associated with each new Category: Category name, Category description, and Category permissions (This area consists of several check boxes).
Category setup
- Category - The name of the Category.
- Description - A Brief Description of the content found in this Category. Helps users determine which Category to post in.
- Permissions (Several check boxes) - You can determine how each Role can interact with this Category. For example; You can have a Role view the Category but not delete it.
If you check the "This category has custom permissions" box you will be able to modify permissions for all user roles.
Edit Category
Under the Options column click Edit. You will be re-directed to the Edit User page.
The Edit Category page consists of the same pieces of information found on the Add Category page. Here you can modify the options you chose when first setting up this Category.
Delete Category
Under the Options column click Delete Category, you will be re-directed to the Delete Category page.
When you delete a Category all posts contained within that Category will be deleted as well. If you wish to retain these posts you MUST choose a replacement Category. The Replacement Category drop down menu will allow you to choose which Category to assign the orphaned posts to. All Categories in your forum will appear in this menu.
Click the Proceed button. Your category has been deleted.
| Edited January 2011 by digibomb |