Skip to main content
Nederlands
Nederlands

Taxonomy

 

Introduction

A taxonomy is a filtering system that lets you assign attributes to items on your platform, such as documents, pages and events. With taxonomy, your colleagues find what they need faster, and large volumes of content stay organised.

In this article, you'll learn what taxonomy is, how to create a new taxonomy and add terms, how to set up a multilingual taxonomy and how to filter documents. At the end, you'll find common issues with solutions.

Note:
Creating and managing taxonomies is only possible from the Admin panel. You need administrator rights to do this.

 

How does taxonomy work?

A taxonomy consists of a name (for example Department) and a set of terms (for example HR, Finance, IT). You link a taxonomy to one or more areas of the platform. Users can then filter those areas by the terms you've created.

You can link a taxonomy to the following areas:

  • Documents
  • Pages
  • Calendar
  • Messages
  • Groups
  • Users
  • Bookings
  • Journeys
  • Tasks
Tip:
Keep a taxonomy clear and concise. Use a maximum of 10 terms per taxonomy where possible. With more terms, filtering becomes impractical and users lose overview.

 

Create a new taxonomy

Follow these steps to set up a new taxonomy:

  1. Hover over your name in the navigation bar and click Admin panel.
  2. In the left-hand menu, click Configurations, then Taxonomy.

  3. Click + New.

    The '+ New' button in the taxonomy overview within the Admin panel

  4. Under General settings, enter a clear name for the taxonomy in the Taxonomy name field, for example Department.
  5. If needed, click the translate icon next to the name field to add translations for the available languages.
  6. (Optional) Enable Allow selection of multiple terms if users should be able to apply more than one term at a time from this taxonomy.
  7. (Optional) Enable Make taxonomy required if a term from this taxonomy must always be selected when creating or editing content. This option is currently only supported for messages and documents.
  8. Under Module(s), check the areas where this taxonomy should be available: Page, Message, Users, Calendar, Group, Document, Bookings, Journeys or Task. You can select multiple modules.

  9. Under Permissions, configure three separate access levels:

    • Roles allowed to apply terms – who can tag content with terms from this taxonomy (External user, User, Content manager, Admin).
    • Roles allowed to view terms – who can see the taxonomy and its terms as a filter (Guest, Demo, External user, User, Content manager, Admin).
    • Roles allowed to create terms – who can add new terms to this taxonomy (External user, User, Content manager, Admin).

    By default, all roles are selected for each permission level. Uncheck roles to restrict access.

  10. Click Create. The taxonomy now appears in the overview.

 

Add terms to a taxonomy

A taxonomy without terms can't filter anything yet. Add terms with these steps:

  1. In the taxonomy overview, click the name of the taxonomy or the pencil icon to open it.
  2. Click + New term.
  3. In the Create new term dialog, enter a name for the term in the Name field.

  4. Click Add. The term is added to the list and ready to use.

    Overview of a taxonomy with added terms and the New term button

Repeat steps 2 to 4 to add more terms.

Change the order of terms

You can change the display order of terms by dragging and dropping them. Click and hold the drag handle (the dotted icon) on the left of a term and drag it to the desired position.

Edit or delete a term

To edit or delete an existing term, click the three-dot menu (⋯) to the right of the term. Choose Edit to rename it, or Delete to remove it permanently.

Note:
Deleting a term removes it from all content it was previously tagged to. This action cannot be undone.

 

Edit taxonomy settings

After creating a taxonomy, you can change its name, linked modules and permissions at any time.

  1. Open the taxonomy from the overview by clicking its name or the pencil icon.
  2. In the Taxonomy settings panel on the right, click the three-dot menu (⋯).
  3. Choose Edit to update the settings, or Delete to permanently remove the taxonomy.

 

Import and export terms

You can bulk-manage terms using the import and export functions at the top of the taxonomy edit page.

  • Export – Downloads the current list of terms, for example to use as a template or to back up the taxonomy.
  • Import – Uploads a file with terms to add them to the taxonomy in bulk.

 

Create a multilingual taxonomy

Does your organisation work in multiple languages? You can translate a taxonomy and its terms so that everyone sees the filters in their own language.

  1. Go to the Admin panel.
  2. Click Configurations, then Taxonomy.
  3. Click + New.
  4. Enter the title of the taxonomy in the Taxonomy name field using your default language.
  5. Click the translate icon next to the name field and fill in the translations for the other available languages.
  6. Configure the modules and permissions, then click Create.
Info:
When you add terms, a translate icon appears in the Create new term dialog. Click it to enter translations for each available language. If a translation is missing, users in that language will see the default term name.

 

Filter documents using taxonomy

Once a taxonomy is linked to documents, users can filter the documents page by terms.

  1. In the navigation bar, click Documents.

  2. Look at the filters on the left-hand side of the page, for example Theme, Type, Department, Year or File type.

    Filter column on the left side of the documents page showing taxonomy categories

  3. Click a term to show only documents tagged with that attribute.
  4. Select additional terms to refine your results further.
  5. Uncheck a term again to remove that filter.

Check a document via the preview

Want to confirm you've found the right document? Click a document to open the preview. In the preview, you'll see:

  • The contents of the document
  • The description (if filled in)
  • The linked tags and taxonomy attributes

Close the preview by clicking the X in the top-right corner.

 

Troubleshooting

I don't see taxonomy filters on documents

  • Check that the taxonomy is linked to Document in the Module(s) section of the Admin panel.
  • Check that your role has view permission for the taxonomy.
  • Check whether any documents have already been tagged with terms from this taxonomy. Without tagged documents, no filters appear yet.

I can't add or select terms

  • Check your permissions for the taxonomy. You may have view access only, without apply or create rights.
  • Contact your administrator to adjust the Roles allowed to apply terms or Roles allowed to create terms settings.

The "required" setting doesn't seem to work

  • The Make taxonomy required option is currently only supported in messages and documents. It has no effect in other modules.

Translations don't appear

  • Check that you've added translations for both the taxonomy name and each individual term using the translate icon in the respective fields.
  • Check the language your platform is set to; only completed translations are shown.

The issue persists

Still no solution? Send an email to support.plek@bcs-hr.com. Mention the name of the taxonomy, the terms involved and the area where you're experiencing the issue.