Categories are used to divide subscription topics into an organized, hierarchical structure. Topics can belong to one or more categories, but must belong to at least one category to display on the quick subscribe tree. The Quick Subscribe pages reflect the structure of categories and assigned topics.

Creating New Categories

To create a new category:

  1. In the left navigation menu, click Categories.
  2. Click Create Category.
  3. Complete the Create New Categories form. Items marked with * are required. Fields are described below.
  4. Click Save to save your changes.

Category Fields

The following fields are required in order to create a new category.

  • Name - Name of the category. This should be descriptive enough so that subscribers and admins can clearly identify the category.
  • Short Name - The Short Name is the category name displayed within the hierarchy tree of categories and topics for both subscribers and admins, allowing categories to be named more concisely.
  • Description - Description of the category. If you organization uses Quick Subscribe Descriptions, the description will appear to users on the Quick Subscribe page.
  • Code - A code is systematically assigned by govDelivery. Categories codes are prefaced with a C.
  • Parent Category - Optionally, select a parent category . For more information on categorizing your content, see Setting Your Category Hierarchy.
  • Quick Subscribe Page - Select the Quick Subscribe page for the category. Learn more about creating custom Quick Subscribe Pages.
  • Allow Subscriptions - Set to Yes if you want users to be able to subscribe to this category. Users subscribed to a category receive updates for all existing and subsequent topics assigned to that category. Granicus recommends that high-interest categories be offered for subscription.
  • Default Open - Select Yes for this category to default to open on the Quick Subscribe page. An open category displays all subcategories and topics that reside within it.

Deleting Categories 

  1. In the left navigation menu, click Categories.
  2. Click the checkbox next to the Categories(s) that you want to delete.
  3. Click Delete Category(s).
  4. A warning dialog box appears. Click OK to delete the category or categories.

When you delete a category, the topics associated with that category will still exist with the subscribers of each topic individually, but the category will no longer be the umbrella that associates those topics. The topics that were previously associated with a deleted topic will need to be reassigned to a category in order to properly appear in the content hierarchy.