The Category Input Screen Explained

To get to the Category screen, click on the Articles menu, then choose the Categories tab and then select or edit a category.

1. The category Title is the title that is displayed on the left menu in the public view. Title is required.
2. The Description is an explanation of what this category is.
3. The Parent category denotes where this category will come in the menu. A TOP LEVEL category means that this is a top level menu and will be displayed in the list when a user first enters the public view.
   Categories that are red denote restricted privileges. They may be marked as 'private', or only users with assigned roles can access them.
4. Category type controls how articles in this category are displayed in the public view.
   See a detailed explanation here.
5. Sort entries by allows you to set custom sorting for a category.
6. The Order defines where the category is placed in the list of categories. By default, it is added to the end of the list.
7. You can assign an owner to a category by assigning it a supervisor. This is the person who receives emails when pending articles have been created and need to be approved.
   • Click on the folder icon to bring up a list of users.
   • Assign a user.
8. You can force users to log on to read articles in this category by marking the category Private Read/Write.
   You can restrict authoring of articles in a category by marking the category Private Write.
   
   Checking either option for Private brings up a list of roles.  Select the role(s) that you wish to allow to read/write.  Hold the key to select second and further roles.
   If the category is a sub-category, you can inherit the read privacy from the parent category by clicking on copy from parent category. This means that if you change the privacy for the parent category the change will flow on to this sub-category.
9. When Allow comments is checked, users can add comments to articles in this category.
10. When Allow rate is checked, users can add a rating to an article in this category.
11. Content in an Active category is published at Public Area. Content that is not active will be hidden, and the only way you can see it through the Admin screens.
    
    You can use this field to deactivate obsolete content, but you can also use this field to hide articles until you are ready to display them. It might be useful, for example, if your knowledgebase is about a system. You decide to add new functionality to the system but don't want the readers to anything about it until the release date. You can create articles about the new functionality in an inactive category, and then after the release, make the category active.