Configuration: Categories
- Jakub Swihart
- Jen Dixon
- Jenni Buonanni
Setup Checklist
1. Aspenware Commerce Tasks |
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Update the defaults for the following settings
| PREREQUISITES |
Create new category ReQUIRED
| Detailed Setup |
Add products to category ReQUIRED | Detailed Setup |
Add Category ID to ‘catalogsettings.hiddencategories’ if hidden category. Optional | Detailed Setup |
Prerequisite Tasks
1. Aspenware Commerce Tasks
Settings, Language Strings and/or HTML Widgets for this Feature
Categories can be configured as hidden so that they do not display in the category dropdown but can be reached via the category URL. Categories can be flagged as hidden by including the category ID in a comma-separated list of hidden categories for the following setting.
Setting name | Value configuration(s) | What it does | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
catalogsettings.hiddencategories | Format: #,## i.e. 44,97,12 (Comma delineated list of category IDs for desired hidden category) | The category ID #s that are entered here will hide the corresponding categories so they will not be displayed for selection in the store. Admins and guests will only be able to navigate to this hidden category via direct links. | 
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catalogsettings.defaultcategory | Format: (SEO of desired category) i.e. lift-tickets | Defines the page a guest will be redirected to when they navigate directly to the store. This is required to be set and the page should have product(s) assigned to it. | N/A |
catalogsettings.defaultcategorypagesize | 20 |
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catalogsettings.defaultcategorypagesizeoptions | 20 |
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Detailed Setup Guide
Creating Categories
Creating Subcategories
Editing Categories
Adding Products to Categories
Creating Hidden Categories
Deleting Categories
1. Creating Categories
Note: If in Basic mode (check upper left corner right above Category info tab), switch to “Advanced” in order to have access to all required fields.
Go to the Catalog > Categories page in Admin, click Add New
Update the following fields:
(Category) Name: This is the name that will appear in the drop-down menu
Parent Category (optional): This creates a subcategory, or a secondary (more specific) grouping that resides under a category.
NOTE: All categories should have a minimum of one product assigned to it.
NOTE: Only use if creating a subcategory. No products can be added to the parent category if the parent category has subcategories
Update the following fields under the Display section. (It may be collapsed)
Published: Check this box to enable the category on the site. Note that products belonging to unpublished categories are not available to view on the site, even if they are set up to be hidden (see below).
Include in top menu: Check to include this category in the site’s category navigation. Even if the category will be a hidden category, this should still be checked.
Allow customers to select page size: Uncheck
Page Size Options: Enter 20
Display order: Enter number to define order within category display
NOTE: Categories are displayed in order from the lowest display order value to the highest starting at 0
Update the following fields under the Mappings section. (It may be collapsed)
Discounts: If discounts have been created and apply to every product within this category, add them here.
Limited to customer roles: If customer roles have been created and only customers with a given role can see this category, assign the role.
Limited to stores: If multiple storefronts map to a single Aspenware Commerce Admin and this category should only display in some, not all, stores, map the desired stores here
Update the following fields under the SEO section. (It may be collapsed)
Add an SEO friendly page name. Only SEO names can be added that do not previously exist
2. Creating Subcategories
From the Catalog > Categories page in Admin, Add New
Follow the same steps as you would for a Parent Category, BUT select the parent category you would like this to nest under in the “category info” tab
Only use if creating a subcategory. Select the parent category from the list.
3. Editing Categories
Go to the Catalog > Categories page in Admin, click Edit on the desired category.
From here, follow category creation steps and edit any of the fields defined there.
To edit products that are contained in a specific category, see the “Adding Products to Categories” section
4. Adding Products to Categories
Add products and reorganize the display order under the Products section. (It may be collapsed)
Select Add a new product.
Search from the list of products and select products to be added to the category. Click Save to add the selected products to the category.
To reorganize the display order of the products within the category, edit each product, change the display order (highest priority gets the lowest number) and update to save the display order.
5. Creating Hidden Categories
When setting up renewal products, employee only products, or discounted products that are only available to a small audience, hidden categories can be a nice way to restrict product visibility to only people with a specific URL to access the product.
Go to the Configuration>Settings>All Settings (advanced) page in Admin, search in Name the desired setting name: catalogsettings.hiddencategories
From here, click edit, and add the category ID(s) in the value field using a comma separated list. Do not include spaces between commas and values.
To find the category ID, from the URL of the parent category notice the number after… .net/#/______. This is the category ID.
Click Update and your desired category is now hidden
6. Deleting Categories
Go to the Catalog>Categories page in Admin.
Find the desired category (e.g. Rentals>>Rental Delivery).
Select the red Delete button in the upper right corner.