Quick Start

Go to Categories.
Click Add Category to create your first category (example: "Beverages").
Use Parent to nest categories (example: "Coffee" under "Beverages").
Set Sort Order to control display order (lower numbers appear first).
Keep Active checked to make a category available where applicable.

Page Tour

Search and Filters
Search by Name or Slug. Filter by Status (Active or Inactive) and Parent. Choose a page size of 25, 50, 100, or 200.

Sortable Columns
Click any header (Name, Slug, Parent, Sort, # Products, Updated) to sort. Click again to reverse.

Row Actions
Up and Down move a category within its parent group. Enable or Disable toggles Active. Merge moves product mappings into another category. Delete removes a category that has no children or mappings.

Bulk Actions
Check multiple rows, then choose Activate or Deactivate.

Create or Edit a Category

Name: Human friendly label buyers will see (example: "Seasonal Specials").
Slug: URL safe key. Leave blank to auto generate from Name. Must be unique per tenant.
Parent: Pick a parent to build a hierarchy. Leave blank for a top level category.
Sort Order: Integer. Lower sorts first. You can also use the Up and Down arrows in the list.
Active: If unchecked, the category is hidden where applicable but remains in your data.

Tip: You cannot set a category as its own parent. Parent cycles are blocked.

Merging Categories

Use Merge when you have duplicates (for example "Coffee" and "Coffees"). Merging will:

Move all product mappings from the source into the destination.
Reparent the source children to the source parent to keep the tree tidy.
Delete the source category after products are moved.

Rules: You cannot merge a category into one of its own descendants.

Deleting Categories

You can delete a category only if it has no child categories and no product mappings.
If products are mapped, use Merge to move them first.
If children exist, reparent or merge as needed before deleting.

Prefer merge over delete to preserve product organization.

Active vs Inactive

The Enable or Disable action toggles Active. Set a category to inactive when you need to temporarily hide it without losing its structure or mappings.

Bulk actions can enable or disable multiple categories at once.

Sorting and Paging

Click column headers to sort. Click again to reverse.
Use the pager at the bottom to jump to First, Prev, Next, or Last.
Use Sort Order values and the Up and Down links to fine tune position within the same parent.

Slugs: Best Practices

Leave Slug blank to auto generate from Name (lowercase, hyphenated).
Keep it short and descriptive. Extremely long slugs are trimmed.
Slug must be unique within your account.

Troubleshooting

Slug is already in use: Pick a different slug or rename the category. Duplicates are blocked.
A category cannot be its own parent: Choose a different parent.
Invalid parent: would create a cycle: Move or merge categories to avoid loops.
Delete is blocked: Either child categories exist or products are mapped. Merge or reparent first.

Keyboard and Workflow Tips

Use the search box plus Status and Parent filters to quickly isolate a group.
For bulk state changes, select rows then use Activate or Deactivate.
When reorganizing, adjust Sort Order numbers and use Up and Down for quick tweaks.

Cheat Sheet

Task	Where	Action
Create a category	Categories -> Add Category	Fill Name, optional Slug, Parent, Sort, Active
Nest a category	Edit Category	Set Parent to the desired parent
Hide or Show	List or Edit	Use Enable or Disable, or uncheck Active
Fix duplicates	Row -> Merge	Choose destination, confirm merge
Reorder	List	Use Up or Down, or change Sort Order
Bulk toggle	List	Select rows, then Activate or Deactivate
Delete	Row -> Delete	Only allowed with no children and no mappings

Documentation

Categories: Admin User's Guide