How to Organise Spaces With Categories in BuddyNext

How to organise spaces with categories in BuddyNext, step by step. Site admins manage categories under BuddyNext, then Spaces, then Directory, then Categories: name, colour, description, slug, sort order and whether it shows in the directory. The default category for new spaces is under BuddyNext, then Spaces, then Settings. Members filter the Spaces directory by category.

Transcript

In this tutorial you will organise your spaces with categories in BuddyNext, so members can filter the Spaces directory by topic. You need BuddyNext, the free plugin. It takes about three minutes. There are five steps. Open Categories. Add a category. Order, edit or delete. Set the default category. Then check the directory as a member. Step one. Open Categories. In your WordPress admin, open BuddyNext, then Spaces, then Directory, and click the Categories tab. Every category is listed with its slug, how many spaces use it, and whether it shows in the directory. Only site admins manage this list. Members pick from it when they create a space. Step two. Add a category. Scroll to Add a category, and type a name. The name is shown on the directory filter and on the space cards. Pick a colour for its badge, and add a short description for your own reference. Under Advanced you can set the slug, the text colour, an icon, and the sort order. Leave the slug empty and it is made from the name. Take care with Show in the spaces directory. Untick it, and every space in this category disappears from the directory, from Popular, Suggested and search, for admins too. Leave it ticked unless you mean to hide those spaces. Then click Add. Step three. Order, edit or delete. The Sort column sets the order. Lower numbers come first, and equal numbers fall back to the alphabet. Edit opens the same form, filled in. Change the sort order there to move a category up or down. Delete takes the category out of the filter. Its spaces are kept, without a category, so give them another one. Step four. Set the default category. Open BuddyNext, then Spaces, then Settings, and find Default category for new spaces. A new space whose creator picks no category is filed here. It is set to None until you choose one. Then click Save changes. Step five. Check the directory as a member. Sign in as a member and open the Spaces page. Each category is a button above the list. Click one, and the list narrows to the spaces in that category. Here, Books shows one space, and only the Books button is lit. That is all five. Categories opened, a category added, ordering and deleting covered, the default set, and the directory checked as a member. Your Spaces directory is now sorted by topic. Next in this series: Add a forum to a space.