easy way to convert existing categories to subcategories

Zmom

Hi - this has surely come up...

I have many categories (X_2005, X_2006, ....) that I now realize should all be subcategories under the category X. I've got dozens of galleries in each category. Is there an easy way to do this - convert existing categories to subcategories? Seems to me that I have to change the category settings in each gallery.

Thanks,

Wendee

Hi Zmom,

We don't have a way to convert existing categories into subcategories, sorry! We are looking into ideas that may help make organizing easier, hopefully we can update the category/subcategory structure soon.

For now, you will need to create your subcategory in your Control Panel > Customize tab > subcategories > edit. You will need to select the parent category for that subcategory to reside in, subcategories are specific to one category.

Once you have your subcategory created, you can update the settings for your galleries. Choose the new category in the Gallery Settings > Essentials section, and choose the subcategory in the Extras section > then save.

That will move the gallery into the new hierarchy or organization.

You can do this for multiple galleries at a time, using the Multiple Galleries option at the top of the Gallery Settings page. Just be sure you only select those galleries you want to move, so that you don't move all galleries into the same category/subcategory location.

If you need anything else, please let us know.


Take care,
Wendee
SmugMug Support Hero
http://help.smugmug.com/

capemay

I'm surprised this feature request doesn't come up more often. There needs to be a way to take an existing category and change it from a top-level category to a subcategory, and vice versa, without having to update every single gallery. It's a huge waste of time to have to do this as organizing needs change.

If a gallery exists within Category 1, and Category 1 is told to now exist within Category 2 as a sub-category, the galleries should fall into place. I know nothing about SmugMug's coding -- maybe that's not possible -- but from an end-user perspective, that's the functionality I need (especially since I've enjoyed it on systems like WordPress for years).

rainforest1155

There's actually one way if you use the SmugMug Lightroom plugin. With it, you can drag around not only galleries, but also whole subcategories and categories. The plugin would then do the necessary behind the scenes changes.

If you don't have Lightroom, there's a free trial so you could check out the plugin.