Categorizing Assets

Liferay DXP 2026.Q3+

You can organize content with vocabularies, categories, and tags. Vocabularies group hierarchical categories, while tags provide a flexible, flat labeling system.

Outside the CMS, each Asset Library has its own categories and tags. In the CMS, they are centralized and reusable across spaces.

Creating Vocabularies

Open the Global Menu () and click CMS.
In the left menu, click Categorization.
Select the Vocabularies tab and click New.
Under Basic Info, enter a name. Optionally, enter an external reference code and a description.

Important

An external reference code is your own identifier for the vocabulary, such as product-type. If you leave it blank, Liferay generates one when you save. The code cannot exceed 75 characters and must be unique across the CMS. You can’t reuse a code for another vocabulary, even in a different space. Setting the code yourself keeps references to the vocabulary working when you move content between environments.
Leave Allow Multiple Categories on to use more than one category from this vocabulary on a content item. Turn it off to limit each content item to one category.
Set the vocabulary visibility to Public or Private.

Public: The vocabulary appears on pages and can be used in widgets, fragments, or content mapping.

Private: The vocabulary is hidden from pages and used only for internal searches and categorization.

Important

You cannot change the visibility after saving the vocabulary.
Under Scope, the vocabulary is available in all spaces by default. To limit it to specific spaces, deselect Make this vocabulary available in all spaces, including those yet to be created, then select the spaces in the Space field.
Under Permissions, define who can view the vocabulary and set additional permissions for guests and site members.
Click Save.

Enter basic info, including the external reference code, and set visibility when creating a new vocabulary.

You can also associate the vocabulary to specific asset types:

Click Associated Asset Types in the side menu.
Uncheck Make this vocabulary available in all asset types, including those yet to be created.
Select the asset types for the vocabulary.
To make the vocabulary mandatory for a specific asset type, toggle its Required switch.
Click Save

You can also associate the vocabulary to specific asset types.

Creating Categories

Open the Global Menu () and click CMS.
In the left menu, click Categorization.
Select the Vocabularies tab. For your desired vocabulary, click Actions () → Add Category.

Alternatively, click Actions () → View Categories to see existing categories, then click Add ().
Under Basic Info, enter the name and, optionally, a description.
Under Permissions, define who can view the category and set additional permissions for guests and site members.
Click Save to return to the Categories page or Save and Add Another to create another category.

Define the basic information and permissions when creating a new category.

You can also add properties to provide more information for a category and simplify the categorization process:

Click Properties in the side menu.
Enter a key and a value in the first row.
To add more properties, click Add ().
Click Save to return to the Categories page or Save and Add Another to create another category.

Add properties to provide more detailed information for specific categories.

Creating Subcategories

You can add subcategories to categories.

Open the Global Menu () and click CMS.
In the left menu, click Categorization.
Select the Vocabularies tab. For your desired vocabulary, click Actions () → View Categories.
For the category where you want to add the subcategories, click Actions () → Add Subcategory.

Alternatively, click View Subcategories to see existing subcategories, then click Add () to create a new one.
Add the subcategory the same way you would add a category.
Click Save to return to the Subcategories page or Save and Add Another to create another subcategory.

Tip

Use the breadcrumbs above the search bar to navigate between levels. Click a level to go to it.

Viewing Usages

You can view where categories are used across spaces.

Open the Global Menu () and click CMS.
In the left menu, click Categorization.
Select the Vocabularies tab. For your desired vocabulary, click Actions () → View Usages.

The table shows the asset name, space, author, modified date, and status.

Tip

Click () in the table’s last column to select which fields to display.

Use the View Usages action to view where categories are used across spaces.

Creating Tags

Open the Global Menu () and click CMS.
In the left menu, click Categorization.
Select the Tags tab and click Add ().
Enter a name for your tag.
To create the tag in a specific space, deselect Make this tag available in all spaces, including those yet to be created and choose the desired spaces.
Click Save to return to the Tags page or Save and Add Another to create another tag.

Add and manage tags in the Tags tab.

You can also create tags while creating or editing an asset:

While editing an asset, click Categorization () in the side panel.
Select existing tags from the list.
Alternatively, enter a new tag in the tags field. When a Create New Tag: tag message appears, click it to create and select the tag for the asset.

Add and manage tags during asset creation.

Exporting and Importing

You can export and import vocabularies, categories, and tags. See Promoting Content to New Environments to learn about the supporting framework.

Open the Global Menu () and click CMS.
In the left menu, click Categorization.
Click Actions () next to Categorization and choose whether to export/import vocabularies or tags.

Capability:

Content Management System

Resource Type:

Official Documentation

Feature:

Categories and Tags

Deployment Approach:

Liferay PaaS

Liferay SaaS

Liferay Self-Hosted