Organize Help Articles into Categories

Last updated: October 8, 2026

At Maple Hall… Sam wants residents to see "Keys & access" and "Maintenance & repairs" as separate topics, and a "Desk staff handbook" that only RAs and desk staff read.

Help-article categories are the shelves residents browse on the help center home. You create them from the Help articles page, give each one a name and an icon, and file articles onto them to build the topics residents see.

Before you start

  • Housing Cloud switches the help center on for your school. If you do not see it, ask your Housing Cloud contact.

  • You need the Manage help-center articles permission.

Open the categories window

On the Help articles page, click Categories. The window lists managed categories and holds the Add category button. Articles you do not file appear under General.

The Categories window listing managed categories, with the Add category button

Add a category

Click Add category, type a name in Name this category, and pick a Category icon from the twelve icons. The window saves every change as you type; Done only closes it.

Picking the key icon for the Keys and access category

The categories window with all three Maple Hall categories

The General category

Every article starts in General. It is always first in the list, it cannot be renamed or deleted, and "General" cannot be used as the name of a new category.

Category names must be unique

Names are unique even when the capitals differ. Type a name another category already has and the window shows Another category already has that name.

Typing keys and access again shows the error Another category already has that name

Icons and renaming are live at once

The icon you pick is what residents see on the article page and on the help center home. Renaming a category or changing its icon takes effect at once for every published article on that shelf. Moving an article to a different category works the other way: it waits for Publish changes.

Delete only an empty category

Try to delete a category that still holds articles and the window shows Move these articles to another category first. Published and draft copies both count as articles.

The trash icon on a category with articles is disabled and shows the tooltip Move these articles to another category first

What residents see

Residents see only the shelves that hold at least one article they can read. Articles you leave in General are still found through search and "All".

The help center home with the Browse by topic shelves and an All articles link

Good to know

  • Settings go live only when you publish. Audience, category and placement changes wait for Publish changes, including narrowing an article to staff. Renaming a category or changing its icon is live at once.

Related articles

  • 6 · Write and Publish a Help Article

  • 8 · Choose Who Sees an Article and Where It Appears

  • 11 · What Residents See in the Help Center