Creating categories in the master catalog

If you are expanding your store inventory or changing your category structure, you can add categories to the master catalog.

Before you begin

You can add a category to the master catalog by performing one of the following tasks:
  • Creating a master catalog category by copying an existing category. When you copy a category, subcategories and catalog entries (products, SKUs, bundles, and kits) are not copied.
  • Creating a master catalog category.

Procedure

  1. Open the Catalogs tool.
  2. Create a category by using one of these methods:
    • Create a category from scratch:
      1. Click File > New > Master Category. The Category Properties view displays.
    • Create a category that is based on an existing category:
      1. From the explorer tree or list view, right-click the category that you want to copy; then click Copy.
      2. Right-click on the list; then click Paste on the context menu. The Category Properties view displays.
      3. Rename the category, and change any properties as necessary.
  3. Click the Manage Category tab.
  4. Expand General Category Information. Complete the following information:
    PropertyDescription
    Code The language independent category identifier.
    Name The name of the category. This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Short description Type a brief description of the category.
    Long description

    Type a detailed description, if applicable. You can enter HTML code in this field. If you choose to specify HTML code, you should receive this source code from your developers. Before you paste HTML code into the field, you must select Source in the editor toolbar. For more information about rich text editors, see Rich text editor (CKEditor).
    Keyword Type one or more keywords, which are separated by a comma and a space that describe the contents of the Web page. Some Internet search engines use these keywords to determine whether your page satisfies a search query. This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Parent category (master catalog) The category to which an object such as a category, product, or SKU belongs, or the catalog to which a top category belongs.
  5. Expand the Display section. Complete the information:
    PropertyDescription
    Display to customers Select this check box to indicate that customers can view this category in the storefront.
    Thumbnail All image files must be placed in the store's defined image directory. Determining the correct image directory and whether you need an absolute or relative path depends on your store's configuration. For example, the HCL Commerce starter store images use a relative path that points to the default installation directory under the store name. Use of a relative path is most common. Use of an absolute path is dependent on your initial configuration. Ask a store developer with Site Administrator authority for the correct image directory if you are unsure. This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Full image Type the path to the full-size image and the name of the image, such as images/shirt.jpg. The path can be either a full path, or a relative path from your store directory.
  6. Click Save; then click Close.
  7. Check the newly created category under category suggestion.
    Note: The default search profile will support maximum 50 rows. If the newly created category is not shown, it means you have more than 50 categories which are created newly. To view all the newly created categories in autosuggestion, override the pre-defined profile by adding maxRows as shown. You will have to update the value to any number which will be greater than the total number of newly created categories. 
    {
"profileName": "HCL_findNavigationSuggestion_Categories",
"indexName": "category",
"query": {
"params": [
{ "maxRows": "100" }
],
"queryFields": [],
"sortFields":
{ "1": "id.catgroup asc" }
,
"provider": [
"com.hcl.commerce.search.internal.expression.provider.SearchByStorePathExpressionProvider",
"com.hcl.commerce.search.internal.expression.provider.SearchByCatalogExpressionProvider",
"com.hcl.commerce.search.internal.expression.provider.SearchByLanguageExpressionProvider",
"com.hcl.commerce.search.internal.expression.provider.SearchByPublishedEntryOnlyExpressionProvider"
],
"preprocessor": [],
"postprocessor": [
"com.hcl.commerce.search.internal.expression.postprocessor.SearchCategorySuggestionQueryPostprocessor",
"com.hcl.commerce.search.internal.expression.postprocessor.SearchCatalogGroupViewUserDataQueryPostprocessor"
],
"responseFields": [
"id.catgroup",
"name.raw",
"description.raw",
"url.thumbnail",
"id.store",
"url.seo"
]
}
}