Ellery, a forum administrator, seeks a way to display the total topic count in category lists instead of only new topics from the last month, ideally via the admin interface. They reference two unresolved Meta Discourse threads on the topic. Moin suggests using a code snippet from a Meta post, which can be added as a #theme-component — though Ellery finds modifying code challenging and prefers a simpler, built-in setting. Ellery also reports inconsistent behavior: some categories show total topics while others show only monthly new topics, and the display sometimes changes unpredictably — attaching a screenshot for reference. Moin confirms no direct admin setting exists and reiterates that the code solution explains the varying timespans, which are based on category settings or theme logic. The core issue remains unresolved without custom code, and the inconsistent display stems from how Discourse calculates and renders topic counts per category, influenced by theme components or configuration.
As a forum administrator, I am wondering if there is a way for me to configure the displayed number to represent the overall count of topics, rather than just the new topics from the last month? Furthermore, I am hoping to apply this setting to all categories within my forum.
These two posts that address the exact topic I am interested in:
Furthermore, sometimes on my forum, the total number of topics is displayed, and other times it will change to the number of new topics within a month.
Stranger still, certain categories display the total number, while for some, it shows the count of new posts in a single month.
I don’t know such a setting. That is why I shared the post with you. As it explains you can add that code as a Customization > Theme component
The reason for the different timespans is also explained in the post.
