Settings - Category Utility

What is the Category List?

The Category List is a centralized directory used to organize and classify your data within YMS. It functions as a self-referencing hierarchy, allowing categories to be nested to support flexible and scalable classification.

The Category list is shared across all Departments and is used in most modules. For this reason, category names should be kept generic and broadly applicable to support organization-wide consistency. For best practices see our Category List Best Practices article.

Categories help users quickly filter, group, and identify similar items, ensuring data remains structured and easily navigable.

Adding a Category

To add a new category you can:

• Click the “New Entry” button in the top right of the Category Utility,
  or

• Click the “+” button on an existing location to create a nested (child) category.

You will then be presented with an “Add Category“ Dialog with the following options.

• Category Name (required)

• Parent Category

• Module Tags

• Department Tags

Click “Create” to save the new category, or use “Create & New” to save and immediately begin adding another.

Top Tip: The “Create & New” Button retains the values for “Parent Category”, as well as any Tags so you can quickly add lots of similar categories as you build your Category List.

Filtering the Category List

By default, the Category Utility shows All Categories in one list. Use the Filter drop down list in the top-right corner of the screen to focus on a specific subset of categories (e.g., General, Beverages or Uniform).

How to filter:

1. From the Category Utility select the dropdown in the top-right corner of the Module.

2. Select the Category List you want to view & manage (e.g., Beverages).

3. The page updates to show only categories tagged to that list.

Top Tip: Apply a Category filter before adding or editing categories to speed up data entry and so you only see the Category list that you are working on.

Moving a Category

To move a category to a different position within the hierarchy :

1. Locate the category you want to move and select the Edit button.

2. From the “Parent Category“ drop down list select the new parent for the selected Category or clear the parent category field to move the category to the root level.

3. Press Save and the Category will move to the selected location in the hierarchy.

Important: Moving a category will impact all data assigned to it throughout YMS. Since the Category List is shared by all departments and used in multiple modules, any change can inadvertently affect other departments data.

We strongly recommend coordinating with other departments before making any edits to existing categories.

Tagging a Category

Some modules, such as Beverage and Uniform Inventories only display categories that are specifically tagged to them. Tagging helps streamline data entry and ensures users only see relevant categories.

Additionally, Department tags can be used to limit visibility, showing users only the categories that are not tagged or that are tagged to their department.

1. Locate the category you want to Tag and select the Edit button.

2. In the Tags field, enter one or more tags from the drop down lists.

3. Click Save to apply changes.

Important: When tagging categories, you must tag all levels in the hierarchy.
If a child category is tagged for example to the Uniform module, but its parent is not tagged to the same module, the child category will not appear in the Uniform Category drop down list.