Organize Documents into Categories

Organizing documents into categories helps you keep large documentation libraries easy to browse and maintain. This page explains how to prepare and manage document organization using the Documents workspace, including planning category, collection, and nested hierarchy structures.

Overview

Categories provide a way to group related documents so that readers and authors can find information more quickly. For example, you might organize content into top-level categories such as User Guides, Administration, and Release Notes, then add more specific groups beneath them.

Collections are useful when documents belong together for a particular purpose, project, or audience. A collection can contain documents from one area of your library without requiring you to duplicate the documents themselves. Plan collections around the way your users look for information—for example, “New User Onboarding” or “Project Documentation.”

Nested hierarchies let you represent a logical structure with parent and child categories. Use a shallow, consistent structure where possible. Readers should be able to understand where a document belongs from the category names alone.

📷 Screenshot pending: Documents workspace showing category, collection, and hierarchy organization controls

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure that you have:

• Access to the Documents area.
• At least one existing document, or permission to create a document using Create New Document.
• A planned naming convention for categories and collections.
• Agreement on which categories are top-level categories and which are nested beneath a parent.
• Permission to manage the documentation library for the selected project, if your organization uses project-specific documents.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open Documents from the application navigation.

2. If prompted, select the project whose documents you want to organize.

3. Review the existing document list before creating or changing organizational groups.

4. Use the Search documents... field to find a document by its title when you need to check its current placement.

5. Use the Search documents, categories, projects... field when you need to locate content across documents, existing categories, or projects.

6. Identify the top-level category that best describes the document’s main purpose.

7. Create a category for a major subject area only when an appropriate category does not already exist.

8. Name the category using a clear, reader-facing label, such as User Guides.

9. Add the document to the category that matches its primary subject.

10. Create a collection when you need to group documents for a shared audience, workflow, or initiative.

11. Name the collection after the use case it supports, rather than after an internal team or temporary project name.

12. Add relevant documents to the collection without creating unnecessary duplicate categories.

13. Create a nested category under a parent category when the parent contains several distinct subtopics.

14. Place the most general information in the parent category.

15. Place more specific information in child categories beneath the appropriate parent.

16. Keep documents at the same hierarchy level when they serve the same reader need.

17. Review the category structure after adding documents to confirm that document titles are easy to find and understand.

18. Create a new document with Create New Document when content is missing from the planned hierarchy.

19. Complete the document creation process by selecting Create Document.

20. Return to Documents after creating the document and place it within the appropriate category or collection.

📷 Screenshot pending: Documents screen showing the Search documents field and category management area

Tips and Best Practices

• Use categories for stable subjects. Categories such as User Guides or Documents can remain useful as your library grows.
• Use collections for cross-cutting groups. For example, a collection can gather onboarding materials from several categories.
• Avoid placing one document in multiple similar categories unless readers genuinely need to find it in more than one location.
• Keep nested structures short. A reader should not have to open many levels of categories to reach a document.
• Use consistent naming. Choose either singular or plural category names and apply that choice throughout the library.
• Review search results after reorganizing. The Search documents... field helps you verify that documents remain easy to locate by name.
• Create documents before organizing them when possible. The Create New Document action is the starting point for new content, while Or import existing documentation supports bringing existing material into the library.
• Avoid using categories as a substitute for document titles. Each document should still have a specific, descriptive title that makes sense in search results.
• Revisit categories as your library expands. A category that begins with a few documents may eventually need child categories or separate collections.

Related Pages

• Create a New Document
• Import Existing Documentation
• Search for Documents
• Manage Project Documentation
• Export Documentation

Troubleshooting

You cannot find a document to organize

1. Open Documents.

2. Enter the document title in Search documents....

3. If you do not know the exact title, use Search documents, categories, projects... to broaden the search.

4. Confirm that you are viewing the correct project if the application asks you to select a project.

You are unsure whether to use a category or a collection

1. Create or use a category when the documents share a common subject.

2. Create or use a collection when the documents are assembled for a particular audience, program, or workflow.

3. Use a nested category when the subject area needs a more detailed parent-and-child structure.

A category structure is becoming difficult to browse

1. Review category names for duplicates or overlapping topics.

2. Combine categories that describe the same subject.

3. Move highly specific subjects into child categories.

4. Keep the most frequently used documents close to the top-level categories that readers are most likely to browse.