Products
Product categories
Create product categories and assign them to products to group your catalog in the API Portal. Categories become filters in the catalog, or get their own catalog URL.
Product categories group your products in the API Portal catalog. You create them under Products then Categories, and you assign them to a product on the product's Details tab. In the catalog, categories become filters developers use to narrow the listing.
How do I create a product category?
Open Products then Categories, add a category, give it a name, and save. The category's slug is generated from the name.
- Go to Products, then Categories.
- Choose Add another Category. The Create a New Product Category dialog opens.
- Type the category's name under Product Category.
- Optionally pick the products it should group, under Please select products to add to the product category.
- Choose Save Changes.
The category appears in the list with its name, slug, and created date. You can assign products now in this dialog, or later from each product's Details tab.
How do I assign a category to a product?
Open the product, go to its Details tab, and pick the category in the Product Category field. The field accepts more than one category per product.
- On the Details tab, open the Product Category field and select one or more categories.
- To create a new category without leaving the product, pick + Add Product Category in the same field. The create dialog opens.
- Choose Save Changes on the product to store the assignment.
A product can belong to several categories at once, so it can appear under each of them in the catalog.
What does the Categories list show?
The Categories list has one row per category, with its name, a Use as catalog toggle, its catalog slug, and its created and edited times. A three-dot menu on each row edits or deletes the category.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The category name. Editable inline from the row's Edit menu. |
| Use as catalog | Whether the category is shown as its own catalog page rather than a filter. See below. |
| Slug | The category's public path, /product-catalogs/{slug}. Editable from the row's Edit menu. |
| Created | When the category was created. |
| Edited | When the category was last changed. |
Use the search box at the top of the list to filter categories by name.
What does Use as catalog do?
Turning on Use as catalog gives a category its own catalog page at /product-catalogs/{slug} and removes it from the category filter checkboxes in the main catalog. Categories without it stay as filters.
In your API Portal catalog, the categories that are not marked as catalog appear as filter checkboxes a developer can tick to narrow the product listing. A category that is marked as catalog is handled as a standalone catalog at its own URL instead of appearing among those filters.
How do I delete a product category?
Open the category's three-dot menu and choose Delete. A category that still has products assigned to it cannot be deleted: the confirmation's Delete stays disabled until you remove its products.
- In the Categories list, open the row's three-dot menu.
- Choose Delete.
- Confirm with Delete in the Delete the Product Category dialog.
If the category has products, the dialog says "This product category cannot be deleted as it is used by active products." The check counts every product that uses the category, active or not. Remove the category from those products first, then delete it.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A banner reads "Your account does not currently possess a sufficient role or permissions required to manage approval groups." on the Categories page | Despite the wording, this banner is about categories: your role cannot manage them. Ask an administrator for a role that manages products. |
| The delete confirmation's Delete is disabled | The category is still assigned to products. Remove it from those products first, then delete it. |
| Update stays disabled after you rename a category in its row | Update is enabled only once the slug differs from the saved one. Change the slug along with the name, then choose Update. |
| The category does not appear as a filter in the catalog | The category is marked Use as catalog, which gives it its own catalog URL instead of a filter checkbox. Turn the toggle off to show it as a filter. |
| The Product Category field on a product is greyed out | Your role cannot edit products. Ask an administrator for a role that manages products. |