ExpressionEngine Docs

# Categories

Control Panel Location: `Developer > Categories`

- Create/Edit Category
- Create/Edit Category Groups

This section of the Control Panel is for the management of channel categories. It is where categories and category groups are created, deleted, and preferences are set. The main Categories screen shows a list of all current category groups in the left navigation and a sortable table of the categories in the currently selected category group.

Category groups are collections of categories that can be assigned to channels. You can create a separate group for each channel or use the same group on multiple channels.

## Create/Edit Category

Control Panel Location: `Developer > Categories > New/Edit Category`

Catagories have the following settings:

- Name – The name of the new category. The name may include spaces.
- URL title – The human readable category name used in the URL when using Category URL Titles in Links.
- Description – A text description of your category.
- Images – This field is designed to allow you to associate an image with the category.
- Parent category – This drop-down list allows you to create a hierarchical relationship between categories. The list dynamically contains all existing categories for this category group. Selecting a parent category means that the new category will be a “child” of the parent in the hierarchy. The “None” option is available and will make the new category a “top level” category with no parent.
- Custom Fields – Any custom category fields that exist for this category group will be included in the form.

## Create/Edit Category Groups

Control Panel Location: `Developer > Categories > New/Edit Category Group`

The category group form is broken out into 3 tabs:

### Details tab

Control Panel Location: `Developer > Categories > New/Edit Category Group > Details`

The Details tab holds fields for the category group name (used only for display in the control panel), the HTML formatting options, and whether the category group is available in Files, Channels or both.

### Permissions tab

Control Panel Location: `Developer > Categories > New/Edit Category Group > Permissions`

The Permissions tab controls which member groups have permission to edit or delete categories. The member group must have permission to edit categories in the member group settings in order to be granted permission to edit a particular category group.

### Fields tab

Control Panel Location: `Developer > Categories > New/Edit Category Group > Fields`

The Fields tab allow you to manage all custom fields for the category group, including deleting and creating new fields.

ExpressionEngine includes the following types of fields for use in your Category fields:

1. Text Input: This is a single input line for text. It is the type of field you might use for a title, name, or other short information.
2. Textarea: This is a standard text entry box with multiple lines. This is often used for the body text of entries.
3. Select Dropdown: This creates a standard HTML <select> drop-down list. You can define the contents of the list manually or pre-populate it from another field.