Categories

Categories are similar in concept to tags, but are designed for use by administrators, not regular users. Hierarchies of categories can be created, and categories can be grouped together in vocabularies. While tags represent an ad hoc method for users to group content together, categories exist to allow administrators to organize content in a more official, hierarchical structure. You can think of tags like the index of a book and categories like its table of contents. Both serve the same purpose: to help the user find the information he or she seeks.

Adding vocabularies and categories is similar to adding tags. Once you've selected the site you want to work on, select Categories from the content section of the control panel, and you will be presented with the categories administration page.

Figure 4.43: Categories Administration Page

Clicking on a vocabulary on the left will display any categories that have been created under that vocabulary. You can create new vocabularies simply by clicking Add Vocabulary and providing a name for it. You can create categories in a similar fashion by choosing a vocabulary on the left, and then selecting Add Category. Like tags, you can also provide properties for categories. Once you have created some vocabularies and categories, you can take advantage of the full capabilities of categories by creating a nested hierarchy of categories. To nest categories, select what you want to be the parent category, then drag any category that you want to become a child category onto it. You will see a plus sign appear next to the name of the category you are dragging if you can add it to the selected parent category; if you see a red x that means that you cannot add that category as a subcategory of parent category that you have selected.

Once you have created a hierarchy of categories, your content creators will have them available to apply to content that they create. Navigate to the Web Content page of the control panel and click Add Content. Click the Categorization link from the right-side menu and click Select on the vocabulary use would like to use. A dialog box will appear with your categories. Select any relevant categories by checking the box next to them, and they will be applied to the content.