CATEGORIES:

Categories is a helper application that allows us to create a category hierarchy. We need this application to create customized product categories. However categories is context-free. I.e., we can use it for any other type besides products: job categories, employee categories, etc.

Note that there is no reason for customers to see this application. However we assume you are going to customize all these templates anyway for your company web site; so it is left out there on the left-nav bar for you to take out.

Now, let's go to LeftNav->Categories. It should give us something like this:

These are all the existing categories in the system. The small number in parenthesis indicates the 'category Id'. The hierarchy indicates the parent-child relationship between categories. I.e. 'Product' has three sub-categories, of which one of them, 'Computers', branches into 'Software' and 'Hardware'.

This whole category business is supposed to be tackled just once when you are setting up your inventory database. From then on it is not anybody's business. Presumably someone with 'admin' or 'Bora admin' privileges should do that.

Now, let's add a new category, 'Vegetables' under 'Food'. To do that we need to go to LeftNav->Categories->AddCategory. If you are denied access (assuming you are still 'sales', you will be), log out and log back on as 'admin'. (That is username 'admin', password 'admin'). You should eventually see a window like this:

Select parent category as 'Food', enter the new category 'Vegetables' and add some description if you'd like, then 'Submit'. You should be served the same window again to enter more categories. Well, we won't do that.

At this point the category tree should reflect the new change: (it seems someone was really bored out of his mind around here)

Also, if you attempt to enter a new product (LeftNav->Products->AddProduct), you should be able to see 'Vegetables' under the category listing. (and in anywhere else a category list is furnished).