Navigate the QCLF Sections & Categories Workspace

The Sections & Categories tab is the QCLF structure board. Sections are top-level containers; every Category belongs to a Section; every Topic belongs to a Category.

The board combines plan-capacity information, sample/live structure, Joomla access labels, Topic counts, publication state, editing, deletion, and drag-and-drop ordering in one workspace.

Read the Capacity Bar

The bar shows the current Effective tier and the number of Live Sections and Live Categories in use versus the plan limit. Basic allows 1 real Section / 3 real Categories, Pro 2 / 6, and Max/All Access unlimited.

Rows marked Sample do not consume the real structure quota. Existing customer structure is preservation-first after downgrade; current entitlement and stable ordering decide which real rows remain usable under a lower limit.

Understand the Board Layout

• Each Section appears as a draggable group with its title, Sample badge when applicable, Joomla access level, Category count, publication control, Add Category, Edit, and Delete actions.
• Each Category appears inside its parent Section with its title, Sample badge, Topic count, Joomla access level, parent Section, publication control, Edit, and Delete actions.
• If no Sections exist, QCLF prompts you to add one because a Category cannot exist without a valid parent Section.

Order and Move Structure

Drag a Section to change frontend Section order. Drag a Category within its Section to reorder it, or into another Section to move the same permanent Category record. The board sends the resulting layout to QCLF and saves it without requiring a normal page refresh.

New Sections and Categories receive the next stable ordering position; later drag-and-drop changes that ordering explicitly.

Sample Structure

Restore Sample Sections/Categories recreates missing canonical sample rows without converting an existing matching alias back into sample data. You can also add a Sample Category inside a Section.

Sample Categories are examples and cannot accept real Topics until the Sample flag is cleared. Converting a sample row into a real row makes it count toward the current real-structure quota.

Publication and Permissions

Published state is controlled directly from the board. Publication alone does not guarantee frontend visibility: Joomla access, Section/Category ACL, current structure entitlement, and other QCLF rules still apply.

Structure-changing requests require Manage Forum; the board is not merely a visual permission boundary.

Deletion Is Guarded

A Section cannot be deleted while it still contains Categories, and active scoped restrictions can also block deletion. Category deletion has its own Topic/draft/restriction safeguards. Use move/edit actions rather than deleting structure simply to change organization.

Community Discussion

Want to compare forum workflows, share practical QCLF tips, or discuss how other Joomla site owners use this feature? Visit the QC Live Forum Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific entitlement problems, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.