Thread

I have a three-step user journey, drilling down from parent categories on page #1, child categories on #2 and finally entries on #3. 
I’m using the Category ID plugin to get the category from the URL.
By the time I get to #3, I no longer have the category ID which is needed for displaying on that page.

The code I’m using is as follows.

Page 1

{exp:channel:categories channel="products" style="linear" show_empty="no"}
    <a href="http://{path=products/subcat}">{category_name}</a>
{/exp:channel:categories}

...this links to Page 2

{exp:category_id category_group="6" category_url_title="{segment_4}" parse="inward"} 
    {exp:channel:entries category="{category_id}" style="linear" show_empty="yes" status="open|featured"}
        <a href="http://{permalink=products/detail}">{title}</a>
    {/exp:channel:entries}
{/exp:category_id}

...which in turn links to Page 3

{exp:channel:entries entry_id="{segment_3}" status="open|featured"}            
    <h1>{title}</h1>
{/exp:channel:entries}

What is it I’m doing wrong?  I’m sure there’s an obvious way to dynamically create a path of links through the site as described above, but I’m going round in circles trying to work out what it is.

Hey Joff,

I’m a bit confused.

On Page 2 - why do you need that plugin?  The channel entries tag will automatically show entries based on the category so long as the category trigger is in the URL:

The Importance of Semantics: Displaying Categories.

As for single entry pages, those do not inherently belong to a category - categories (plural) can be assigned to an entry; so by default they won’t include the category/ies in the URL.  That would be a custom functionality that you’d need to build, and you’d need to account for what happens when there are multiple categories, parent/child categories, etc.  It’s not a simple undertaking, unfortunately.

Does that help at all?

As for single entry pages, those do not inherently belong to a category - categories (plural) can be assigned to an entry; so by default they won’t include the category/ies in the URL.  That would be a custom functionality that you’d need to build, and you’d need to account for what happens when there are multiple categories, parent/child categories, etc.

It’s not a simple undertaking, unfortunately.

It is now thanks to a fantastic plugin that Leon created initially for me after I asked him about another plugin of his and it couldn’t do what I wanted so he went and coded this one up in under a day!! 😊

Absolutely stellar support from that guy and this is something that I really wish was baked into ExpressionEngine as standard. As it stands the plugin is free though so that’s a bonus! 😊

GWCode CatMenu Plugin

An absolutely awesome plugin that and a top notch developer to boot!

Hope that helps a bit.

Best wishes,

Mark

Does that help at all?

Hi Lisa, thanks and yes I think it does help!  What I am trying to do is create a typical category-product path through the site.

So for example:

Womenswear
—Vests
——Vest01
——Vest02
—Skirts
——Skirt01
——Skirt02
—Shoes
Menswear
—Shirts
—Trousers

etc

At each level, I would like the full set of page titles, breadcrumbs, etc showing where the current page is in the grand scheme of things.
Also, at the product level (Vest01) I also want to show other products at that same level.

Is there an obvious/recommended way to do this?

If you want a breadcrumb trail then take a look at another excellent add-on from Leon :

GWCode Categories

Hope that helps a bit.

Best wishes,

Mark

Thanks Mark - a great add-on there!

Thanks Mark - a great add-on there!

Yep they both truly are. What’s even greater is the fact that Leon created the one due to something I’d needed to do which no-one else had ever come up with a solution for and he created the plugin in under a day. Now that’s service for you. FREE as well!! Seriously top notch developer and all round nice guy.

Best wishes,

Mark

Thanks Mark! Can I hire you as an agent? 😉

Joff, I hope that solves your problem. If not and you think you can use the plugin but need it to be tweaked a bit to your liking, let me know and I’ll see if there’s anything I can do.

Thanks Mark! Can I hire you as an agent? 😉

How much ‘ya offering? 😉

What could a “grad student” offer a “Professor”? 😉

What could a “grad student” offer a “Professor”? 😉

An apple a day? 😉

Hi Joff,

Do you have this figured out now? Do you need further assistance?

Cheers

Greg

@Leon and Mark, thanks very much for your help.