Reordering categories and setting fixed category positions

[Discourse]

This guide explains how to set fixed positions for categories in Discourse, allowing you to manually order categories on your site.

Required user level: Administrator

Discourse typically orders categories based on activity, with the most recently active categories appearing at the top of your categories page and in the main navigation category dropdown. However, you can set fixed positions for your categories if you prefer a custom, static order. This guide will walk you through the process of enabling fixed category positions and reordering your categories.

Enabling fixed category positions

To set fixed positions for your categories, you need to adjust two site settings:

1. fixed category positions: This setting allows you to set a custom order for categories on the Categories page and in the main navigation dropdown.
2. fixed category positions on create: This setting applies your custom category order to the category selector in the composer.

To enable these settings:

1. Go to your site’s Admin area.
2. Navigate to Site Settings.
3. In the search box, type “fixed category positions” to find the relevant settings.
4. Enable the fixed category positions setting.
5. If desired, also enable the fixed category positions on create setting.
   
   

Reordering categories

Once you’ve enabled the necessary settings, follow these steps to reorder your categories:

1. Ensure you’re logged in as an admin.

2. Go to your site’s Categories page.

3. Click on the Categories admin dropdown menu.

4. Select the “Reorder Categories” option.
   

   

5. Use the Up and Down arrows to reorder your categories as desired.
   

   

6. Click the Save button to apply your changes.

You may need to perform a hard refresh of your browser window to see the updated order.

Results of reordering

After reordering, you’ll see the new category order in several places:

1. On the Categories page

2. In the main navigation category dropdown
   

   

3. In the composer’s category selector (if you enabled fixed category positions on create)
   

   

FAQs

Q: I don’t see the “Reorder Categories” option in the dropdown menu. Why?
A: Make sure you’ve enabled the fixed category positions setting in your site settings. This option will only appear once this setting is enabled.

Q: Do I need to enable both settings?
A: It depends on your needs. Enable fixed category positions if you want to set a custom order for the Categories page and main navigation dropdown. Additionally enable fixed category positions on create if you want this order to apply to the category selector in the composer as well.

Q: Why can’t I see my changes after reordering?
A: Try clearing your browser’s cache. While it isn’t usually necessary, it should resolve any issues with seeing the updated order.

Last edited by @hugh 2024-08-02T05:20:21Z

Last checked by @hugh 2024-08-02T05:20:27Z

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[JammyDodger]

Hi @Antony_UK

I think @awesomerobot meant that if you go to your /admin/site_settings page you can then use the search box to enter all or part of a site setting. It’s really useful for pulling up the one you want without having to go through all the other settings.

[lawblogger (Paul S. Pinto)]

Great. I logged into the site as Admin however, the Categories tab doesn’t display as provided in your link? It doesn’t show the “Reorder Categories” feature? I am logged in as ADMIN from the URL, www.esquireforum.com.

[awesomerobot (Kris)]

For that option to appear, you first need to enable the site setting fixed category positions from admin/settings

[jrgong]

Is there any workaround or setting to manually sort or reorder subcategory in a specific category?