Version 3 end of life
This version of Silverstripe CMS will not recieve any additional bug fixes or documentation updates. Go to documentation for the most recent stable version.

Creating and using taxonomies

In this section:

  • Taxonomy usage, creation and removal
  • Permissions

Before we begin:

  • Make sure you have the SilverStripe taxonomy module installed

Taxonomy usage

This module provides a raw skeleton for maintaining taxonomies in the CMS. The interface for linking between the other objects in the CMS and the taxonomy terms can be provided in a programmatic manner depending on the requirements. This could for example be accomplished through the usage of the GridField in the CMS.

Taxonomy creation

The taxonomies are maintained through the Taxonomies section of the CMS.

The top-level element of the taxonomy is the equivalent of the taxonomy itself - it serves to provide it's name, and as a holder of all the taxonomy's terms. Terms can be infinitely nested, and any term can have multiple child terms.

To create a taxonomy, go to the Taxonomies section. The list that appears contains all existing taxonomies - there could be many in parallel. Click Add taxonomy term (remember, the top level term is equivalent of the taxonomy), specify the name (e.g. "Plants") and press Save. You have just created a taxonomy.

To create first layer of terms within the taxonomy, switch to the Children tab. Press the green Add button again, and this time create "Vegetables". Switch to Children tab, and nest another term underneath: "Carrot". You have just created a three-level hierarchy of "Plants > Vegetables > Carrot".

Example of taxonomy

You can easily navigate around the hierarchy by using breadcrumbs at the top as you would with any GridField in SilverStripe CMS. Click on "Vegetables", and you will be able to add more first-level children.

Taxonomy removal

The taxonomies can be recursively removed. To remove entire taxonomy, you can click the red "X" next to one of the items listed in the Taxonomies section. All terms belonging to it will be removed.

You can also remove parts of the taxonomy tree - just descend into the children terms, and clikck the red "X" next to the top-level item of the subtree to be removed.

Permissions

New group permissions

Site administrator can specify permissions around taxonomies. There are three new permissions that can be set on groups:

  • Edit a taxonomy term: allows members of the group to update the taxonomy details (e.g. Name).
  • Delete a taxonomy term and all nested terms: allows to delete items recursively.
  • Create a taxonomy term: allows adding new terms to existing taxonomies.
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