It would be great if we could unlink a product out of a category

It would be great if we could delete a product out of a category while keeping the product. If the product is already in its main category you cannot move it back into its main to get it out.... you will get an error.

Error: Cannot move product to the same category or into a category where it already exists.

shrimp-gumbo-mmmhhh:

It would be great if we could delete a product out of a category while keeping the product. If the product is already in its main category you cannot move it back into its main to get it out.... you will get an error.
Please explain how to reproduce this issue. Generally if a product is in more than one category (linked) then the master categories id can be changed to any of the other categories and then the product can be unlinked from the non-master category... There are a few places by which to get to this feature:
admin->Catalog->Products to Categories
admin->Attributes Controller->Additional Actions->Multiple Categories Link Manager
admin->catalog->Categories/Products->Selecting the Move or Copy button for a product offers the Multiple Categories Link Manager button.

Unfortunately it appears that this one has been removed, but I remember it being in an older version of ZC: admin->Catalog->Categories/Products->Attributes button for a product that already has attributes. The available options have been modified in ZC 1.5.7.

There may be other paths to this, including attempting to delete a category that has linked product should offer some form of action to take for the linked product (was a plan at one point to address that part in 1.5.7 or the next version)… So, again it would be beneficial to identify how this was attempted, what the setup is/was and a way to reproduce the issue...

Thank you! I know I used to do this before but its like it is not there.

I went to Products to Categories.... selected the item. It is giving me a kind of "pop-up" that is not a pop-up that is covering the picture. It says "Update Category Links for ITEM####" I clicked and it tells me multiple categories updated for item ITEM#### I have no idea what it just did! :(

Owww... I see the categories that the item is in and can remove and click the pop-up.... nice...

Would be great to be able to search for the item instead of searching in the categories though.

Thank you!

shrimp-gumbo-mmmhhh:

Thank you! I know I used to do this before but its like it is not there.

I went to Products to Categories.... selected the item. It is giving me a kind of "pop-up" that is not a pop-up that is covering the picture. It says "Update Category Links for ITEM####" I clicked and it tells me multiple categories updated for item ITEM#### I have no idea what it just did! :(

Owww... I see the categories that the item is in and can remove and click the pop-up.... nice...

Would be great to be able to search for the item instead of searching in the categories though.

Thank you!
So if you search for the product in the upper right hand corner and then go into edit the product (assuming it is linked) then you can see to what categories it is linked (although there is a base option of an invalid selection). Otherwise, not entirely sure what search you are thinking of. Examples help greatly. :)

Adding a little to this - when deleting a product from a category, I’d like to check the category(s) I want to remove the product from rather than having to uncheck the categories that I don’t want to remove the product from.

pdxdoug:

Adding a little to this - when deleting a product from a category, I’d like to check the category(s) I want to remove the product from rather than having to uncheck the categories that I don’t want to remove the product from.
Note that this can be "arranged", but also understand the likely impact that this would have on capability. In a mark to delete situation, the most likely displayed items would be only those that are currently assigned with some indicator of which one is the master category

With this "configuration", it would not be possible to also move/add the product to another category without going to some other option/place to support adding the product to another category.

Then unfortunately, under the above same "logic", one should not be able to remove the product from a category when handling an "add" to a category. At that point, either all categories would be shown with those currently containing the product "locked" or not displayed and the ability to add the product to other categories only available to those not marked...

Now additional capability for eqach of these could be made available through the use of javascript/jquery to possibly support some sort of drag and drop or "listing" to move from one side to another (linked/not linked), but if nothing else understand the added complexity of each of these options, the effect on capability, the amount of additional code to support and the ways things can go wrong from an operational standpoint both as a user and in continued capability...

The usual thing to further address is what the overall need is, what impact the current setup has in being (un)able to operate.

I'll admit to getting brain freeze trying to understand this discussion.

I think it would help all participants if distinctions were made between

• deleting a product = removal of a product and its master category = removal from products table: this is the ONLY real "delete"

• removal of a product from any linked categories = removal of category link from products_to_catagories table: the source/original/base product continues to exist in it's master category in the products table

The admin products to catagories page offers the ability to change the master category (effectively "moving" the original product) and mass-edit any linked categories of that product.

The Delete option on a product shows all the categories to which the product belongs, both linked and master, which indeed need to be deleting to delete the product.

I'll point out that mass deleting/moving of a group of products from/to a category can be done with this:
https://github.com/torvista/Zen-Cart_Multiple-Products-Copy-Move-Delete

torvista:

I'll admit to getting brain freeze trying to understand this discussion.

I think it would help all participants if distinctions were made between

• deleting a product = removal of a product and its master category = removal from products table: this is the ONLY real "delete"

• removal of a product from any linked categories = removal of category link from products_to_catagories table: the source/original/base product continues to exist in it's master category in the products table

The admin products to catagories page offers the ability to change the master category (effectively "moving" the original product) and mass-edit any linked categories of that product.

The Delete option on a product shows all the categories to which the product belongs, both linked and master, which indeed need to be deleting to delete the product.

I'll point out that mass deleting/moving of a group of products from/to a category can be done with this:
https://github.com/torvista/Zen-Cart_Multiple-Products-Copy-Move-Delete
Agree to the "brain freeze". Hopefully the above helps identify which is in question. I do find humor in it being your turn to possibly add more "confusion" with the introduction of the mass product within categories copy/move/delete :)

Sorry, I was trying to delete a linked category.

Thanks for the reply. It seems as nothing is as easy as it would seem.

pdxdoug:

Adding a little to this - when deleting a product from a category, I’d like to check the category(s) I want to remove the product from rather than having to uncheck the categories that I don’t want to remove the product from.

Doug, Are you using an older version of ZC than 1.5.7c?