InsightMaps

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Category Management ​

Category Management controls how users discover and navigate layers in InsightMaps. A well-organized category hierarchy ensures users find relevant spatial data quickly.

Overview ​

Category Management Capabilities:

  • Hierarchical organization: Two-level major/minor category structure
  • Layer assignment: Assign layers to categories with visibility and opacity overrides
  • Publishing control: Toggle publish status per category with optimistic updates
  • Reordering: Move categories up or down with arrow buttons
  • Bulk operations: Publish, unpublish, or delete multiple categories
  • Import/export: Transfer category structures as JSON
  • Statistics: Track major, minor, published, and unpublished counts

Access Category Management ​

Location: InsightMaps Console > Categories

How to Open:

  1. Log in to console.insightmaps.app
  2. Navigate to Categories in left sidebar
  3. Category tree and management tools appear

Category Structure ​

Two-Level Hierarchy ​

Major Categories:

  • Top-level organizational units
  • Group related themes
  • Example: "Planning & Development", "Infrastructure", "Environmental"

Minor Categories:

  • Subcategories within a major category
  • Specific functional groups
  • Example: Under "Planning & Development": "Zoning", "Building Permits", "Land Use"
  • Each minor category has a parent category assignment

Creating Categories ​

Create Major Category ​

How:

  1. Click "Add Category" button
  2. Category edit sheet opens
  3. Fill in fields:
    • Name: Short, descriptive title (e.g., "Property & Cadastre")
    • Description: Optional notes
    • Keywords: Comma-separated search terms (optional)
    • Display Order: Numeric position (lower numbers appear first)
  4. Leave Parent Category empty for a major category
  5. Click Save

Create Minor Category ​

How:

  1. Click "Add Category" button (or the + icon on a major category row)
  2. Fill in the same fields as above
  3. Parent Category: Select a major category from the dropdown
  4. Optionally add a Data Source/Service URL to associate with the category
  5. Click Save

Organization Tips:

  • Group by workflow or task
  • 3-7 minor categories per major category is ideal
  • Keep minor category names concise

Example Structure:

  • Planning & Development (Major)
    • Zoning & Land Use (Minor)
    • Building Permits (Minor)
    • Development Applications (Minor)
    • Heritage Overlays (Minor)
  • Infrastructure & Assets (Major)
    • Roads & Transport (Minor)
    • Water & Utilities (Minor)
    • Public Facilities (Minor)

Editing Categories ​

Access Category Editor ​

How:

  1. Click the Edit icon (Pencil) on a category row, or use the More Actions dropdown
  2. Category edit sheet opens

Editable Properties:

  • Name: Display name shown to users
  • Description: Internal notes
  • Keywords: Comma-separated search terms
  • Display Order: Numeric position
  • Parent Category: Move between major and minor
  • Data Source URL: Associated service URL (minor categories)

Reorder Categories ​

Categories are reordered using arrow buttons on each row (not drag-and-drop).

How:

  1. Click the Up arrow to move a category higher in the list
  2. Click the Down arrow to move it lower
  3. The order updates with an optimistic UI update

Behavior:

  • Major categories reorder among all major categories
  • Minor categories reorder within their parent category only
  • Arrow buttons are disabled at boundaries (first/last position)

Best Practices:

  • Place high-use categories first
  • Group related categories together
  • Use sequential order values (10, 20, 30) to allow inserting later

Change Parent Category ​

How:

  1. Edit the target category
  2. Change Parent Category dropdown:
    • None: Converts to major category
    • Select major: Converts to minor category under selected major
  3. Save changes
  4. Layers remain assigned (not affected by parent change)

Publishing Categories ​

Toggle Publish Status ​

Each category row has a publish toggle switch:

  1. Click the toggle to switch between published and unpublished
  2. The update applies immediately (optimistic update with loading spinner)
  3. If the API call fails, the UI reverts to the previous state

Published categories: Visible to users in the map application (shown with "Live" badge)

Unpublished categories: Hidden from users (shown with "Draft" badge)

Bulk Publish / Unpublish ​

  1. Enter Bulk Mode by clicking the checkbox toggle in the toolbar
  2. Select multiple categories using checkboxes
  3. A contextual sidebar appears with bulk actions:
    • Publish: Publish all unpublished categories in the selection
    • Unpublish: Unpublish all published categories in the selection
  4. Click the action button to apply

Layer Assignment ​

Assign Layers to Category ​

From Category Row:

  1. Click Assign Layers from the category's More Actions dropdown
  2. The Add Layers dialog opens showing available layers
  3. Search or browse layers
  4. Select layers using checkboxes
  5. Click Add Selected
  6. Layers appear under the category

From Layer Configuration:

  1. Navigate to Data Sources > Layers tab
  2. Edit a layer
  3. Select major and minor category from dropdowns
  4. Save changes

Layer Display in Category ​

Each minor category row shows:

  • Layer count badge
  • Preview of the first 2 layer names (on desktop)
  • Expandable layer pills showing all assigned layers

Remove Layers from Category ​

  1. Navigate to the category's layer management
  2. Click the remove button on the layer
  3. The layer is unassigned from the category (but not deleted from the system)

Search and Filtering ​

Search Categories ​

  1. Use the search box at the top of the Categories page
  2. Type to search by category name or layer names within categories
  3. Results include parent categories when a minor category matches
  4. Filtering uses debounced input for performance

Filter by Status ​

Click the Status filter dropdown:

  • All: Show all categories
  • Published: Only categories visible to users
  • Unpublished: Draft categories only

Bulk Operations ​

Bulk Delete ​

  1. Enter Bulk Mode
  2. Select categories to delete
  3. Click Delete in the contextual sidebar
  4. Confirm deletion
  5. Categories are removed; layers are unassigned but not deleted

Clear All Categories ​

Extreme Caution: Deletes ALL categories!

  1. Use the More Actions dropdown in the toolbar
  2. Select "Clear All Categories"
  3. Type the confirmation text DELETE ALL CATEGORIES
  4. Click to confirm
  5. All categories are deleted; layers remain in the system

Clear All Layers ​

  1. Use the More Actions dropdown
  2. Select "Clear All Layers"
  3. Type the confirmation text DELETE
  4. All layers are removed from the system

Import and Export ​

Export Categories ​

How:

  1. Click the More Actions dropdown
  2. Select "Export Categories"
  3. A JSON file downloads automatically (categories.json)

Export includes: Published categories with their layer assignments in a structured JSON format containing major categories, minor categories, and layer details.

Import Categories ​

Two Import Methods:

Preset Import:

  1. Click the import option
  2. Select from pre-configured preset collections in the dropdown
  3. Each preset shows its layer count
  4. Click to import the preset

Custom JSON Upload:

  1. Click the import option
  2. Upload a .json file matching the export format
  3. The import processes with extended timeout for large collections (5+ minutes for 2000+ layers)

Import Results:

  • Shows categories created and skipped
  • Shows layers created and skipped
  • Displays warnings for any skipped items
  • Statistics update on completion

Category Statistics ​

Global Statistics ​

The Categories page header shows summary statistics:

  • Major categories: Count of top-level categories
  • Minor categories: Count of subcategories
  • Published: Count of categories visible to users
  • Unpublished: Count of draft categories
  • Total layers: Count across all categories

An advanced stats panel can be toggled via the chart icon in the header, showing a 2x2 grid of major, minor, published, and unpublished counts.

Per-Category Information ​

  • Major category rows: Show subcategory count and total layer count
  • Minor category rows: Show layer count and preview of assigned layer names

Selection Statistics (Bulk Mode) ​

When selecting multiple categories, the contextual sidebar shows:

  • Number of major and minor categories selected
  • Total layers in the selection
  • Published/unpublished split

Category List Display ​

Tree View ​

The category list uses a hierarchical tree view:

  • Major categories at the top level with collapse/expand toggles
  • Minor categories nested under their parent
  • Load-more pagination (20 items initially, then 20 more per click)

Mobile Responsiveness ​

  • Single-column layout on mobile
  • Floating action button for creating categories
  • Bottom action bar for bulk selections
  • Mobile dropdown menus for category actions

Troubleshooting ​

"Category not appearing for users" ​

Causes:

  • Category not published
  • No layers assigned to the category

Solutions:

  • Verify the category publish toggle is on (shows "Live" badge)
  • Check that at least one layer is assigned
  • Ask the user to refresh their browser

"Layers disappeared after deleting category" ​

What Happened:

  • Deleting a category unassigns its layers
  • If a layer only belonged to the deleted category, it becomes unassigned

Solutions:

  • Navigate to Data Sources > Layers tab
  • Find unassigned layers
  • Assign them to appropriate categories

Prevention: Before deleting a category, check which layers are assigned and reassign them first.

"Import failed" ​

Causes:

  • Invalid JSON format
  • File too large without sufficient timeout

Solutions:

  • Validate JSON format matches the export format
  • Use UTF-8 encoding
  • For very large imports (2000+ layers), the system allows extended timeout automatically

Integration with Other Console Features ​

Works With ​

Data Sources:

  • Assign discovered layers to categories
  • View category assignment in layer details

Layer Configuration:

  • Change category assignment per layer
  • Configure layer properties within category context

Audit Logs:

  • Track category creation, deletion, and publishing changes
  • Review bulk operations

Summary ​

Category Management shapes how users discover data:

  • Hierarchical: Two-level major/minor structure
  • Publishing: Toggle publish status with optimistic updates
  • Reordering: Arrow buttons for precise positioning
  • Bulk Operations: Publish, unpublish, or delete multiple categories
  • Import/Export: JSON-based category structure transfer
  • Statistics: Global counts for major, minor, published, and unpublished categories
  • Layer Assignment: Assign and manage layers within categories

Key Points:

  • Organize by user task, not data source
  • Keep the two-level hierarchy for simplicity
  • Use clear, descriptive names under 30 characters
  • Export before bulk operations as a backup
  • Test with users before major reorganizations