Organise courses into categories

What this achieves

Categories group your courses so people can find them once the library is larger than a single screen. They nest, so a broad heading can hold narrower ones beneath it.

Required role: Administrator.

Steps

Go to Learning → Course Categories.
Select Add Category.
Enter the Name.

Example: Cloud.
Enter the Code.
Enter a Description.
Set the Sort Order and leave Active on.
Select Save.
To nest one beneath it, select Add child on the category and repeat from step 3.

Options on this form

Option	Description
Name	What the category is called.
Code	A short reference. It cannot be changed after creation.
Description	A line explaining what belongs here.
Parent	The category this one sits beneath. Left empty, it is a root category.
Sort Order	Where it appears among its siblings.
Active	Whether it is currently in use.

The code is fixed after creation

The form states this where you enter it. Decide a naming scheme before you create the first category rather than discovering one halfway through.

Example: a scheme where every code carries a common prefix keeps the list sortable and tells anyone reading a code what kind of thing it is.

Nesting

Adding a child from an existing category locks the parent to it, so you cannot create it in the wrong place by accident. Creating one from the top of the screen lets you choose a parent, or leave it as a root.

A category cannot be made a child of itself or of anything beneath it — those options are hidden, and the form says why. That is what stops a tree folding in on itself.

Nest where the distinction is real. A tree that mirrors your department list adds nothing, because a course belongs to a subject rather than to a team.

Active and inactive

Each category shows whether it is active or inactive. Deactivating takes a category out of use without removing it or disturbing what sits beneath it.

Prefer deactivating to deleting for a category you have stopped using. Deleting warns that it cannot be undone.

Keep the tree shallow

Every level you add is another decision for whoever files a course and another click for whoever looks for one. Two levels suit most libraries; three is usually a sign that one branch has been over-thought.

Example: a Cloud category with a handful of sub-categories beneath it is navigable. The same content spread over four levels means nobody finds anything without searching.

What happens next

Categories become selectable when a course is created or edited, and they are how learners browse the library rather than searching it blind. A category with no courses in it is invisible to learners, so build the tree against the library you have rather than the one you intend to have.