Contents
Category filters - Plugixa FAQ
Where this appears: the Categories tab of the view editor.
A filter bar above or beside the answers, letting a visitor narrow to one subject. It is free, and it is the single change that turns a long list into something people will use.
The four styles
| Style | Suits |
|---|---|
| Tabs | Three to five categories, on a page with room |
| Pills | The same, with a softer look. Wraps to a second line gracefully |
| Dropdown | Six or more, or a narrow column |
| Sidebar | A full knowledge-base page, where the filter is navigation |
The failure mode is tabs with nine categories on a narrow page: they either wrap into a block that dominates the page or scroll sideways, and both are worse than a dropdown.
Grouping instead of filtering
group_by_category="true" on the shortcode renders every category as its own
headed section, one after another, rather than filtering between them. That
suits a printable policy page where a reader wants the whole thing in order, and
it works alongside the filter bar rather than instead of it.
An “All” option
Shown by default, and worth keeping. Without it a visitor cannot get back to the whole list once they have narrowed it, short of reloading the page.
Empty categories
Categories with no published answers are hidden from the bar rather than shown as empty. A filter that leads to nothing is worse than a filter that is not there.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No filter bar | The view has it turned off, or there is one category | Turn it on under Categories |
| A category is missing | It has no published answers | Publish something in it |
| Tabs overflow | Too many categories for the style | Switch to a dropdown |
| Filtering shows nothing | The shortcode already filters to a different category | Remove the category attribute |
What to do next
Live search is the other way visitors narrow a long list.