Each post 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, allowing you to 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 blog page. First, these Category are listed as links in your sidebar. Second, all Categories to which a given post belongs is displayed under that post. When someone viewing your blog clicks on one of these Category links, an archive page with all the posts belonging to that Category will be displayed.

This Screen allows you to create new Categories, edit or delete existing ones, and organize your Categories hierarchically.

Categories Screen

This Screen is divided into the Add New Category and Category Table sections.

Add New Category

This part of the Screen, which is conveniently linked to from the top of the Table of Categories, allows you to create a new Category. There are four pieces of information associated with each new Category: the name, slug, category parent, and description.

Name

To reiterate, the Category Name must be unique.

Slug

The Category slug must be unique. The Category Slug is used in the URL. For example, setting a Category Name of "Buyers" and a Category Slug of "buying" would show all "Buyers" posts with a URL like example.com/blog/buying/.

Parent

Use this drop-down if you want to make this Category a sub-Category; you will select the sub-Category's Parent here. For example, you may have a Category called "Market Trends" but want to add further clarification about the subject of a particular "Market Trends" post. You could add "Oregon Coast" and "rental" as sub-Categories to the "Market Trends" Category; "Market Trends" would be the Parent of these two new sub-Categories.

Sub-Categories show up on your blog's page just like Categories, except they will typically be nested under their Parent Categories. When someone visits your site and clicks the "Market Trends" Category link, all posts in "Market Trends" and all its sub-Categories will be displayed. Clicking the "Oregon Coast" Category link only displays those post in that sub-Category. If you assign a post to a sub-Category (e.g. "Oregon Coast"), you can choose to assign that post to the sub-Category's parent ("Market Trends") or not. Either way, all "Oregon Coast" posts will show up in the "Market Trends" Category page. The only difference is that the list of Categories of which a particular post is actually a member. 

Description

Category Descriptions are optional. You may find them useful from an administration point of view.

Add New Category

The most important part of the Add New Category box. Once you've entered in all the information about your new Category, use this button to save it.

Table of Categories

This table lists all of your categories by row. Categories are displayed hierarchically and alphabetically; subcategories are displayed beneath their parents and are prefaced by long dashes. These dashed are not part of a Category's name; they are there only to show hierarchy.

The table of categories contains the following columns:

• [ ] - A checkbox that when clicked (checked), 'selects' that particular Category to be deleted when the Delete Action is Applied.
• Name - The name of the Category. Remember each Name must be unique. Click on the Category's Name to edit the Category.
• Description - Categories may have an optional description. By default, the description is shown to viewers when they hover over the category's link.
• Slug - The slug of a Category.
• Count - The number of posts which are members of the Category. Click on the number in the Posts column to be directed to the All Posts Screen to manage the Posts in that Category.

Search

Above the Table, to the right, is a search box where you can enter a word, or series of words, and click the "Search Categories" button to search and display all the Categories meeting your search words.

Using Selection, Actions, and Apply

Selection

This section allows Actions to be performed on one or more Categories displayed in the Table. For Actions to be performed on multiple Categories at once, those Categories must be first selected via one of these methods:

• Select one Category at a time - To select a Category, the checkbox to the left of the Category entry must be checked (clicked). It is possible to keep selecting more Categories by checking their respective checkbox.
• Select all Categories in given Table - All Categories in a given table can be selected by checking the checkbox in the Table's title, or footer bar. Of course, unchecking the header or footer title bar checkbox will cause all entries in that Table to be unchecked (NOT selected).
• Reverse Selection - A Reverse Selection means checked items become unchecked, and unchecked items become checked. A Reverse Selection is accomplished by holding the Shift key on the keyboard and clicking the header or footer title bar checkbox.

Actions

Actions describe the process to be performed on particular Categories. There are two styles of Actions that will be referred to as Bulk Actions and Immediate Actions. The follow describes these Actions:

• Bulk Actions - These Actions can be performed on one, or more Categories, at one time, if those Categories have been previously selected. Bulk Actions are available, when appropriate, as choices in the Actions pulldown box, above each Table. The only Bulk Action allowed is Delete.
• Immediate Actions - Immediate Actions are performed immediately, on an individual Category. Hovering the mouse cursor over the Category row reveals the Edit, Quick Edit, Delete and View options under the Name column in that Category row. Clicking on a Category Name will also initiate the Edit Action.

The available Actions are described below:

• Edit - This Immediate Action displays the Edit Category Screen to edit the Category fields. This Action can be initiated by click on the Category Name or clicking on the Edit option just below the Category Name. See the Edit Category section for details on editing a Category.
• Quick Edit - This Immediate Action initiates the Quick Edit of that Category. See the Quick Edit section for details doing a Quick Edit on a Category.
• Delete - This Action deletes the Category. Delete is available as a Bulk Action and an Immediate Action. Note: Deleting a category does not delete the posts in that Category, but the posts that were assigned to the deleted Category are assigned to the Default Category. Note that the Default Category cannot be deleted.
• View - This Action, will display the Posts belonging to the Category. View is available only as an Immediate Action.

Apply

After one or more Categories are selected, and after a Bulk Action is specified, the Apply button performs the given Action on the selected Categories.

• Apply - Click the Apply button to execute the Bulk Action, specified in the Actions pulldown, on the selected Categories. Remember, prior to executing Actions, one or more Categories must be selected, as described before.

Quick Edit

The following fields can be change via the Quick Edit Action:

Category name

To reiterate, the Category name must be unique.

Category slug

Again, the Category slug must be unique.

Cancel

Click this button to cancel any changes and return to the Table of Categories

Update Category

Once you've edited all the information about the Category, use this button to save the changes.

Edit Category

This Screen is displayed by clicking on a Categories' Name in the Table of Categories or clicking on the Edit option just below the Category Name. It is possible to edit four pieces of information associated with each Category: the name, the slug, the parent, and the description.

Category name

To reiterate, the Category name must be unique.

Category Slug

Again, the Category slug must be unique.

Category Parent

Use this drop-down if you want to make this Category a sub-Category; you will select the sub-Category's Parent here.

Description

Category descriptions are optional. 

Update

Once you've changed the Category information, use this button to save the changes.