Category tree pitfalls

1. The tree count includes the whole branch

The number next to a category in the tree counts distinct products including active subcategories. A product assigned to both a category and its subcategory is counted once; inactive subcategories are excluded. An orange 0 means there are no products in that branch. The Products tab in the editor breaks this down into direct assignments and subcategories.

Clicking Show products ↗ displays products assigned directly to the category—the number shown by the button on the Products tab.

2. Where did the category go?

• Hidden in menu—it has not disappeared. It stays in the tree with a crossed-out eye (Category activity, visibility, and translations).
• Inactive—the Active tree view hides it along with its entire branch. Switch to Inactive or All, click it, and turn on Active.
• Does not match search—clear the search field with the X. Search checks codes and names in all languages; matches are bold, with their parents shown above.

Tree settings (catalog, search, status, selected category) are saved in the page URL, so a copied link opens the same view.

3. Unsaved changes

If you change something in the editor and click another category, switch catalogs, or leave the screen, the system asks Discard unsaved changes? Back to editing leaves you in the form. Exception: reordering subcategories and quickly adding a subcategory are saved immediately, without a Save button.

4. A category with subcategories or products cannot be deleted

The trash icon in the editor header is disabled when a category has subcategories or active product assignments. Move or delete the branch and reassign the products first.

Note: inactive assignments do not block deletion; deleting the category silently removes them too.

If the category has marketplace mappings or custom attribute group assignments, the confirmation window shows their count. They are deleted with the category, and mapping rules that check this category stop working.

5. Marketplace and attribute group tabs are read-only

The Marketplace and Attribute groups tabs show the current state but cannot be edited there:

• Change a mapping with Map ↗, which opens the category mapping screen with the correct marketplace and catalog selected (Mapping categories to a marketplace).
• Assign attribute groups in Attributes → Attribute groups. An empty list means “all catalog groups,” not “none.”

6. Codes are converted to uppercase

Category codes are automatically converted to UPPERCASE and may contain only letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens. If you do not enter one, it is generated from the name.

A code must be unique within a catalog; the same ELEKTRONIKA code can exist in several catalogs (What is a catalog).

7. A default-language translation overwrites the name

The header name is the translation in the catalog’s default language. You cannot have a different base name from the default translation (Category activity, visibility, and translations).

8. Fields that are not on the screen

Images, templates, technical settings, slugs, and SEO fields are not edited on this screen. Saving a category does not delete them; their existing values remain.

9. The tree has a depth limit

The limit is fifty levels. Beyond that, paths start to be cut off and moving a category returns an error. This is unlikely in practice, but useful to know if a tree is generated from an import.

10. Templates are only for top-level categories

A category template can be assigned only to a category with no parent. Trying to assign it to a subcategory produces an error. A category created from a template also cannot be moved under another category; it remains at the top level.

11. New and moved categories go to the end

A category added in the editor or moved under another parent appears at the end of its siblings. Reorder it by dragging on the parent’s Subcategories tab.