# Two-Level Subcategories Display Issue
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203
**Category:** UX
**Tags:** horizon-theme
**Created:** [February 14, 2026, 7:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203 "2026-02-14T07:39:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Noble\_Fish](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Noble_Fish)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2026, 7:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203/1 "2026-02-14T07:39:55Z")
Another issue: It appears that **two-level subcategories** in the Categories list are not well supported, with the text and icon positioned too far to the left, to the extent that there is a significant risk that the rounded corners of the Category block under this theme cannot ensure the icon is contained within its boundaries.
In the screenshot, there are indeed three-level subcategories enabled through hidden settings, but they only change the style on top of the same layout as the Foundation theme, which is unrelated to the display issue of two-level subcategories that is the main focus of this question, and they have no visual errors.
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### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203/2 "2026-02-16T16:13:15Z")
You’ll have to help me out here: what is your chosen category page layout?
Sometimes, showing the entire screen instead of zooming in on the issue helps a lot to identify what’s going on.
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### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203/3 "2026-02-16T19:39:24Z")
That’s right. Changing the hidden `DISCOURSE_MAX_CATEGORY_NESTING` isn’t well-supported in many themes, that’s why the setting is hidden. If you’re going to change hidden settings you’ll need to do some customization to make them work.
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### Author:  [@Noble\_Fish](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Noble_Fish)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203/4 "2026-02-16T23:14:55Z")
`Categories and Latest Topics`
However, the Two-Level subcategory style in the screenshot is only displayed when the Three-Level subcategory is enabled and at least one Two-Level subcategory under that category has a Three-Level subcategory, so it should be a relatively fixed scenario.
Although the issue with the Three-Level subcategory might be somewhat beyond the originally planned scope of the work…
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### Author:  [@Noble\_Fish](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Noble_Fish)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203/5 "2026-02-16T23:21:46Z")
Ah, I see that it was one of the themes available by default during installation, so I didn’t consider that aspect. 😅
After a little exploration, you’re right. I just unchecked all the third-level categories, and the second-level categories are no longer regular large blocks similar to the first-level categories. Instead, they appear as small blue blocks, just like the category indicators for third-level categories and topics. 🙂
Initially, I even thought that even without third-level categories, the second-level categories should still be the same large blocks as the first-level categories… I misunderstood. 😇
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### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2026, 4:51am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/two-level-subcategories-display-issue/396203/6 "2026-02-17T04:51:40Z")