Document Categories

Use Document Categories to group your documents into clear sections on the website and inside page-based document listings.

What categories do

Document Categories help you:

• group related documents together
• build parent and child category structures
• control the order in which category groups appear
• reuse the same category in the main Document Library and in page-based Documents Section listings

Helpful detail:

• Categories organize documents. They do not replace document-level permissions.

Main category fields

Name

Use a clear name that members will understand right away.

Examples:

• Board Documents
• Forms
• Policies
• Annual Reports

Order

Use Order when you want certain categories to appear before the default alphabetical list.

How it works:

• categories with a non-zero Order appear before categories left at 0
• ordered categories then sort by their numeric value
• categories with 0 sort alphabetically by name
• the same approach is used for child categories inside a parent

Practical tip:

• Leave most categories at 0. Only assign numbers when you need a few categories to stay near the top.

Parent

Leave Parent blank for a top-level category.

Choose a parent when you want a category to appear nested underneath another category.

Example structure:

• Board Documents
  • Meeting Minutes
  • Agendas
• Member Resources
  • Forms
  • Handbooks

How categories affect website display

When documents are shown on the website, categories become the grouped headings around those documents.

Helpful details:

• parent categories appear first
• child categories display underneath their parent
• a document can belong to more than one category
• what appears under a category still depends on each document's Active setting and permissions

This means a category helps with organization, but access is still decided on each document.

Working with documents and categories together

A document must be assigned to at least one category, and it can be assigned to several if that helps members find it in more than one place.

Good uses for multiple categories:

• a renewal form that belongs in both Forms and Member Resources
• board reference material that belongs in both Board Documents and Policies

Practical planning ideas

• Keep your top level simple so members do not have to scan too many headings.
• Use child categories only when they make browsing easier.
• Avoid creating separate categories when a document permission would solve the real need.
• Review category names occasionally to make sure they still match how your club talks about its materials.
• If a category should stay near the top, give it a non-zero Order instead of renaming it to force alphabetic placement.

Related topics

• Document Library - Manage files, permissions, and direct document links.
• Page Content Sections - Documents Section - Show selected document categories on a page.
• Permissions and Access Control - Learn how document permissions work.
• Pages - Learn how page sections are added and managed.