With ViArt Shop it is possible to sort your products by categories. The ViArt system supports multi-level category tree, this allows you to add as many sub-categories as you require.

As previously mentioned, by default there is a root category named 'Top'; all the existing categories like Software, Books etc, as well as all categories you create are its sub-categories.

Whether you wish to add a new category, or edit an existing one, you need to go to Administration > Products > Products & Categories > 'Available categories' block.

• In order to add a sub-category you need to first navigate to its parent category and click the 'Add category' link.
• In order to edit an existing category, you need to locate it and click the 'Edit' link.

Note: You can easily define the category you are by looking at the breadcrumb at the top of the page.

• Show on Site This defines whether the category is shown on the site or not
• Category Order Specifies the category number, (this is generated automatically). It also specifies how the category will be located relative to all others. The less the value is, the higher the category will be located. For example, if you had tree categories:
  • Software (Category Order=5)
  • Toys (Category Order=2)
  • DVD (Category Order=7)
  They will be located in the following order:
  • Toys
  • Software
  • DVD
  Note: There is a simpler way to changing the category order see section 5.2.2
• Category Name The name which will be shown on the site
• Parent Category This defines the position of the category in the category tree
• Short Description This text will be shown under the category name in the category list; please note that the description won't be shown if the two-level structure is selected (see section 5.2)
• Full Description This text will be displayed on the detailed description of the category on the product list or product details pages; please note that you need to add the 'Products (Category Info)' block first
• Subcategories Products. If ticked, the products assigned to the subcategories will be shown. This is very useful if some of your categories do not have their own products.

You can set up a list image (that will be shown near the category name in the category tree) and a large image (that will be shown along with the full description). You can also specify ALT tags (alternative text) for both pictures.

Note: You can select a predefined image if you click the 'Select Image' link or upload a new one by clicking the 'Upload New Image' link. In the event you want to select a new image, you need to upload it first (the 'Upload New Image' link) and then select it (the 'Select Image' link).

With ViArt Shop it is possible to use different templates for different categories; by default the 'block_products_list.html' template is used. In order to change the appearance of a category you first need to copy a new file such as 'new_block_products_list.html' into the template folder you currently use (for more information about templates see section 3.4.1). For example, if you use the 'Default' template, you have to copy the new file into the './templates/default' folder and specify its name at the 'Products List Template' field (see the picture below).

Note that the template will be only be applied to that specific category's products.