Assigning Child Category to Multiple Categories

[hubcapsusa]

I have the need to assign Child Categories to more than 1 category. I realize I can create a duplicate child category, populate it with duplicate product and assign that to the additional category. This is not realistic or efficient to manage two child categories with the same content. Every time product is added or removed I would need to do this in 2 or more locations. Also, I need to do this with hundreds of categories so management of this would be cumbersome. Is there a reason why we are not allowed to add Child Categories to more than one category? We can do it with products so not sure why it cannot be done with categories as well.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Its just the way the database was designed. Products don't have Dependents and Parents. Just Parents so they can be assigned to multiples Parents. You could build your own navigation system using custom fields or a "filtered" search such as Nextopia (but those solutions, of course, have some added expenses. Another option might be to have a tool built, either to built import files or to directly effect that admin, that would, for example, assign the product to multiple categories from the product page itself.

[hubcapsusa]

Bruce, thank you for the response. I was told the same thing from MIVA support, that the database is simply designed and they suggested I post this to see if this can be added as an update in the future. I am having trouble understanding the risk of changing the database to allow Child Categories to be assigned to multiple categories. Aside from the database simply being designed that way, I don't see what risk there is to change the database to allow this.

If MIVA support has suggested I post this issue to see if this can be added as a "Dream Feature", what is the next step? Am I posting this in the wrong place? Sorry, new to posting in the Forum.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

There is a Forum called "Dream Features" which probably gets better impact, but we don't have forum Nazi's here...we're pretty flexible. As to the "isn't it simple? so why hasn't it been done?...Its not. I mean its not like building a search engine to compete with Google, but its not something that can be just "added". They'd basically have to rebuild the entire Category/Product/Attribute system, and then there's the issue of maintaining backward compatibility.

[Rick Wilson]

To expand upon Bruce's point, the issue is we don't force a Taxonomy on you (like say eBay or Amazon). You can create any Categories and Sub-Categories you want, so it's not a database design issue, it's a what you can put in the database issue.

Therefore it's not like again say on eBay where you could say hey I have a Rim for an Acura, so that should go under Rims, Acuras, etc...

Our new Search and Facets features coming in 9.7 (next year) will solve some of this in concept (not what you're looking for, but the actual search ability issue, which is what I assume is most important) as you'll be able to build a parts finder with it. In a case like that, Cats become less important.