To add or edit a category, enter details in the following fields. Only the Category field and the Active field are required.
- Category: Enter the name you wish to use for this category. This name will be displayed in the navigation list, as well as at the top of the category pages.
- Parent Category: If this category is to be a sub category, select the parent category (the category that this sub category will be listed under) from the drop down box.
- Nav Image: If you wish to display a button in the navigation area in place of the text link (for site designs with text navigation areas), enter the URL of that button here. You may also click the `Upload` link to load an image to your site. (You can also load a rollover image if you wish to show a different image when you mouse over the navigation button.)
- Header Image: If you wish to display an image at the top of the category place, in place of the category title, enter the URL of that image here. You may also click the `Upload` link to load an image to your site.
- List Image: If you display a category list when a customer first views the catalog or index page, you can enter a list image to show an image in place of the category name in the list. The list image also displays in place of the category name for any sub category listing. Enter the URL of the list image here, or click the `Upload` link to load an image to your site.
- Description: Enter the description that will appear under the category title or image on the category page. This description can include HTML coding if desired. Any HTML codes you enter will be stripped out and the description truncated when creating the category meta tags.
- Keywords: Enter the keywords you wish to set for this category. This field only influences the keyword meta tags, and will not appear in the catalog.
- Layout: Choose a layout for the products in this category, if it is different than the default set in the variables. You can choose from the following layouts:
- Single Product Layout: This displays all product details, including order buttons and quantity boxes, on the category page, with items displayed in a single column down the page. When customers click on a thumbnail (small) image, they will get a pop up window with a larger image, if one exists. Customers can order directly from this page.
- Double/Triple Product Layout: This is the same display as the Single Product Layout, but with two or three products across each page.
- 2 - 6 Column Layout: This displays just the thumbnail image, item name, and price on the category page, displayed in two to six columns. When a customer clicks on the image or item name, they will view all product details for that item, including a larger image if one exists, and will be able to purchase from this detail screen.
- Grid Listing (No Images): This is a very compact display that shows only the product name and price, along with a "More Info" link, in a list/grid type format. The "More Info" link points to the product details, where you can order products.
- Rows: If you wish to change the number of products that are listed down the page and make it different than the default value, enter the row number here. If you have more than that number of items in the category, page numbers will appear on your site so customers can navigate through your products. Note: For the grid listing and full product layout products, this will also equal the number of products that are displayed on the page. For the multi column layouts, the number of columns multiplied by the number of rows will equal the number of products displayed on the page.
- Active: Set this value to "Yes" if you wish to display the category on your site. If you set this value to "No", the category will not appear. However, it will still be set up in the administration area, and you can "turn it on" by changing the value to "Yes" in the future. This is helpful for holiday categories or catalog sections that you are temporarily restructuring.
