In the beginning, there was #general...
...but soon after came #off-topic and #crafting. Channels flourished and the Server grew. The Admin said "let me sort mine channels!" and Discord said "mine robo-hamsters shall make it so."
Channel Categories are live and ready to help organize! Need some help figuring out how permissions are changing? Then you're in the right place!
Categories and Sub-Channels
Whether you're starting a brand new server or implementing them into an existing one, you can bring order to your channels as "sub-channels" housed neatly under categories as you refine your server's layout. Think of a category like an umbrella!
Just like channels have permissions, so do categories. What's great is that you can use the permissions of the category to update and manage any channel that is housed under it. User roles will still be the basis for how permissions are assigned on an individual level, but channels can now 'sync' with categories to create a clean permission structure.
Adding a Category
To add a new category to your channel just right-click on your server icon or hit the chevron to the right of the server name!
Type in the name and once created you can drag and drop it wherever you like in the channel list!
Drag and Drop
Now that you've got your categories in place you can start cleaning house. Because you can now change permissions on a category level when you -do- move something, you'll be asked if you want to sync the permissions. Sync permissions, you say? This means that we will automatically update the permissions on a channel to match those of the category upon a move, should you approve!
Permissions
With the introduction of categories there are now two default states for a channel; synced and not-synced. A synced channel will have permissions that completely match that of the category.
Category permissions can be changed by right-clicking the category and clicking 'edit category'.
Click on the 'Permissions' tab to alter permissions and add roles
Disabling `Read Text Channels & See Voice Channels` will make the channels invisible to members that don't have access, rather than just showing them locked!
Note: If you change the permissions on a category, all channels that are synced will automatically update.
If you do not sync permissions when moving a channel between categories, or if you change an individual permission on the channel level, it will then show that the channel is not synced with the category.
This means the channel currently does not share the same permissions as the category and will not automatically update when you make changes to the categories permissions.
Want that channel to get back in line with the category? Just head to the channel permissions menu and click the 'Sync Now' button as pictured above and it will match the channels permissions to the category once again!
Important Note: Synced and not-synced channels can coexist within a category. Changing a category’s permissions will change all synced channel’s permissions, but not the permissions of any not-synced channel!
One final note on category permissions - if you don't want to utilize them at all, you can leave all channels within the category as 'non synced' and manage them individually. Permissions can also be managed on a per-channel basis.
Notifications and Categories
With categories, you can manage how you want to see unread messages as well.
If you mute the categories, you will still see if a channel has unread messages but won't receive notifications:
If you collapse the category, it will only show channels that have unread messages within them and you will still get your notifications:
If you mute and collapse a category, you'll hide all channels under the category and not display unread messages. A channel will only be surfaced again if you are mentioned directly or if a role you are a part of is mentioned:
With just a bit of organization you can help your server feel simple and clean!