====== Managing Existing Categories ======

===== Top Level Categories =====

To modify an existing category or subcategory select //Products > Manage Categories// a list of all existing top-level categories is displayed. These categories are in the root of your store catalog.

===== Finding and Editing a Category =====

To locate a category or subcategory (useful especially if you have a large number of categories and category levels), click on //Find a Category//. A category search form will be displayed.

When you locate the category that you wish to edit:
  * Click on //Edit// to change the category settings, name, descriptions and images.
  * To turn a category into a subcategory, edit it and select what will become its parent category from the corresponding drop-down menu, then save the changes. 
  * To turn a subcategory into a top level category, select "No Parent - Top Level Category" from the drop down menu and save the changes. 

===== Deleting a Category =====

To delete a category, click on the //Delete// button on the //Modify Category// page. 

<note>A category can be deleted only if it does not contain any subcategories, and no products are assigned to it. You will first have to delete any subcategories (or assign them to another category or subcategory), and delete any products that belong to it (or assign them to another category).</note>

===== Products within a Category =====

Locate or browse to a category and then click on //Products// to see a list of products within the category, or to assign new products to it. This link is always shown, regardless of whether products have been assigned to the category or not.

==== Adding a Product ====

You can add a product to a category in three ways:
  * When adding a new product via the //Add New Product// window
  * When modifying a product through the //Modify Product// window
  * When editing a category, as discussed below

==== Adding Multiple Products ====

To add products, click on the //Add New// link when editing the category. Use the search feature to locate the products that you would like to add, checking the corresponding check boxes. When you are done selecting the products, click on //Add Selected Products to <Category Name>//.

Of course, there are also ways to assign/remove products to/from a category:

  * You can use the //Product Import Wizard// to assign new products to a category or move/copy existing products to another category
  * You can use the //Products > Global Changes// feature to assign selected products to a specific category

==== Removing Products ====

To remove products from the category, check the products that you would like to remove and click on the Remove Checked button.

==== Ordering Products within a Category ====

How are products ordered within a category? There are three ways to define the order in which products are displayed within a category. Two are set by the store administrator; one is specified by the store visitor. Let’s start with the ordering settings that the store administrator can define.

=== Default Sorting Criteria ===

As the store administrator, you have the ability to set a default ordering criteria that applies to all categories. Specifically, this is the order in which products are displayed when you do NOT sort products within a specific category as described later in this section. For example, if you have a large number of products in a specific category, you will probably choose to use a general sorting method rather than assigning an ordering value to each product.

To set this option, select //Display Settings// from the //Settings// menu, and then scroll to the bottom of the page. You can have products automatically sorted by SKU (part number), description (product name), or by price (highest first or lowest first). Select an ordering option and click on the Update button to save this setting.

=== Customer-chosen Ordering Criteria ===
 
ProductCart gives your store visitors the ability to reorder products within a category by using the //Sort By// drop-down menu. Products can be ordered by SKU (part number), description, and by price (highest prices first or lowest prices first).

If you do not wish store visitors to be able to reorder products, you can turn this feature off by checking the //Disallow This Feature// option at the bottom of //Display Settings// page. When this option is checked, the //Sort by// drop-down menu is not shown on the browse & search pages.

=== Manually Ordering Products ===


You can also set an exact order in which products should be displayed within a category, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, which takes priority over the default ordering criteria selected on the //Display Settings// page. To do so, select //Manage Categories// from the //Products// menu, then locate the category that contains the products you wish to order. Click on //Products//. All the products contained in the selected category will be displayed. Use the input field on the right side to order them, and then click on the //Update Product Order// button.

===== Subcategories =====

Locate or browse to a category and then click on //Subcategories// to view a list of subcategories. This link is not shown when the category does not contain subcategories. If a category is hidden in the storefront, a //Hidden// graphic is shown.

==== Ordering Subcategories ====

To change the order in which categories are displayed on your store, browse to the parent category of the categories that you would like to order, then click on the //Order// link located I the top right corner of the page. 

Categories will be displayed according to the numbers you enter in the //Order// field. Note that you should start renumbering when you are ordering subcategories within a parent category. If you don’t specify an order, categories will be displayed alphabetically.

===== Related Articles =====

  * [[:how_to:add_category_navigation|Category Navigation for the Storefront]]