Catalog categories organize service catalog items into logical groups that make sense to your users. This guide shows you how to create categories, set their visibility, and get them displaying properly in the portal.
Why catalog categories matter
Without categories, your service catalog becomes a flat list of items that users have to hunt through. Categories let you group related items — Hardware, Software, HR Services — so users can find what they need quickly. The people who build catalogs (usually catalog admins) create the category structure, but it's the end users browsing the portal who benefit from logical organization. Poor category structure means frustrated users who can't find the laptop request form or give up and call the service desk directly.
How catalog categories work
A catalog category is a container that holds catalog items and can hold other categories. You start by creating the category record, assigning it to a catalog (usually the Service Catalog), and setting basic properties like title and description. Then you control who sees it using roles or user criteria, and optionally add an icon to make it visually distinct. The key thing most people miss: empty categories don't show up in the portal at all, so you need catalog items assigned before users will see your category.
Making categories production-ready
Once you have basic categories working, focus on the user experience. Add meaningful descriptions that help users understand what's in each category. Use icons consistently — pick a visual style and stick with it across all categories. Set up proper role-based visibility so users only see categories relevant to them. For large organizations, create category hierarchies with parent and child categories, but keep the nesting shallow — users get lost in deep category trees.
Before you start
- •catalog_admin or admin role
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Step by step
Navigate to Service Catalog Categories
Go to Service Catalog > Catalog Definitions > Maintain Categories. This opens the category list view where you'll create and manage all catalog categories.
Create the category record
Click New to create a category. Fill in Title with the name users will see (like 'Hardware' or 'Software Requests'). Set Catalog to 'Service Catalog' unless you're working with a different catalog entirely. The Short description appears under the title in the portal — make it helpful, not generic.
Keep titles short and descriptive — they become navigation elements in the portal.
Set the parent relationship
If this category belongs under another category, set the Parent field to the appropriate parent category. Leave it empty for top-level categories. The SC Category field should auto-populate, but verify it shows 'Service Catalog' or your target catalog.
Add visual elements
Upload an Icon using the paperclip attachment icon — this appears next to your category in the portal. Use consistent icon sizing across categories, typically 32x32 or 64x64 pixels. You can also set a Header icon and Homepage image if your portal design uses them, but the basic Icon field is what most portals display.
Configure visibility and access
Set Available for to control who sees this category. Choose 'Everyone' for universal access, or select specific roles like 'itil' or 'sn_request_write'. For more complex visibility rules, use User criteria to build conditions based on department, location, or other user attributes.
Set display properties
Check Active to make the category available immediately. Set Order to control where this category appears relative to others — use increments of 100 (100, 200, 300) so you can insert categories later without renumbering everything. Click Submit to save the category.
The category won't appear in the portal until it contains at least one active catalog item.
Best practices
Empty categories are hidden from the portal by default — always assign at least one catalog item before expecting users to see your category.
Use role-based visibility judiciously — overly restrictive categories create confusion when users can see items but not their parent categories.
Keep category hierarchies shallow (2-3 levels maximum) — deep nesting makes navigation cumbersome in most portal themes.
Start category ordering at 100 and increment by 100 — this gives you room to insert new categories without reordering everything.
Upload icons with consistent dimensions and style — mismatched icons make the catalog look unprofessional.
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