Many of our content types include a field allowing you to select a category for your content. For example, this news article has an Arts & Culture and Events & Activities category. When one is selected, it takes a user to the news listing filtered by that category.
Unlike content labels, categories are visible on the live site and are used to filter existing listing pages. They are most often displayed under a "Tagged as:" heading at the bottom of the content page. You cannot use categories to build content lists, nor do they affect search relevance.
The field is a list box field, and it is built into various content types, but you can add or remove options for that list in the content type's Site Management settings. Some content types also have other list box fields, which, although they present content differently, are also edited in Site Management.
In brief, we have the following:
- Categories: used to assign search terms to pages so that users can filter a listing. Categories display as a link on the content page and within the search function for the module listing. The following modules use categories: Development Applications, Events, Local Directory, News, Parks, Public Notices, and Venues.
- Features: used to provide more information about the content. Features display in a side panel on the page as a bulleted list. The following modules use features: Parks and Venues.
- Types: used to filter a listing and give more information. Types display within the list item and the search function for the module listing. The following modules use types: Jobs, Lost Animals, and Minutes and Agendas.
- Status/Decision: used to provide more information. A Status or Decision will display in the list item. The following modules use Status and/or Decision: Bids and Tenders and Development Applications.
- Content labels: used to organize pages internally and provide optional filters for WYSIWYG content lists.
To add or remove a category from a content type (we'll use Events as an example):
- Go to More > Site Management > your site > Settings > Event. Under Event categories, you'll see a list of existing categories.
- To add a new one, enter the category in the Enter new category text field and select Add.
- To remove an existing category, hover over the category, open the dropdown menu that appears, and select Delete. You can also remove multiple categories by checking each and selecting Delete from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu.
Note: once you delete a category, it will be removed from each page assigned to that category, and you can no longer filter the listing by that category. - You can move categories in the list by dragging and dropping them.
- When you're finished, select Save Settings and Save.
The Local Directory module also has categories, but they differ from categories in other content types. As such, you edit them differently.