# Better show relation between parent and sub-category on topic view?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/better-show-relation-between-parent-and-sub-category-on-topic-view/83100
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [March 15, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/better-show-relation-between-parent-and-sub-category-on-topic-view/83100 "2018-03-15T19:22:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![wolftune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/wolftune/32/103569_2.png) [@wolftune](https://meta.discourse.org/u/wolftune)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/better-show-relation-between-parent-and-sub-category-on-topic-view/83100/1 "2018-03-15T19:22:30Z")

</div>

When viewing a topic in a sub-category, it shows _both_ the top-level category and the sub-category color boxes and names. There’s nothing showing the connection between them, though. They look just like tags that might just be at the same level (aside from the two-color box for the sub-category).

Is there a way to show the relationship better?

For example, [Discourse to Discord Webhook](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-to-discord-webhook/55273) shows both `plugin` and `extras`, and they seem to be the same level, like just two tags. Nothing in that view shows that plugin is the top level category and extras is the sub-category.

Something like `plugin:extra` would be good. Anything to show the relationship better…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![neil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/neil/32/102150_2.png) [@neil](https://meta.discourse.org/u/neil)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/better-show-relation-between-parent-and-sub-category-on-topic-view/83100/2 "2018-03-15T21:28:27Z")

</div>

With a little CSS you can separate the blocks and make them the same width.

 ![14%20PM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/a/c/ac6741e704f8eb1824da5d50a125bb59cc5a05e3.png)

```plaintext
.badge-wrapper.bullet .badge-category-parent-bg {
    width: 9px;
    margin-right: 1px;
}

.badge-wrapper.bullet .badge-category-parent-bg+.badge-category-bg {
    width: 9px;
}

```

Anything specific you had in mind?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![wolftune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/wolftune/32/103569_2.png) [@wolftune](https://meta.discourse.org/u/wolftune)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/better-show-relation-between-parent-and-sub-category-on-topic-view/83100/3 "2018-03-15T21:43:30Z")

</div>

Thanks, that’s good to know.

In our case, we have some top-level categories used particularly for grouping of categories and not so much to be a category for posting.

So, instead of `support` and `wordpress` looking like separate entries. We want to communicate sort of that there’s _one_ category of `support: wordpress` which clearly shows the nesting.

Q: what category is this?  
A: the `support: wordpress` category (maybe spelled out: the wordpress category within support)

What we don’t like is the sense of “this is in the support category and the wordpress category”

So, maybe something like this:

![nested-categ](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/b/0/b08396a629614a20d56f5fb66e0c39cf24160be4.png)

or even just the option to completely hide the parent category when looking at a post?

Or maybe `support: wordpress` with the dual-colored box on the right of the text…?

The priority is to not give the parent so much separate emphasis on its own, avoid the impression of 2 categories.

Getting a sense of the range of possibilities will let us just play with things. Thanks for the help!