--- title: "Setting Category Visibility" slug: "categories-by-user-groups" description: "The Categories by User Groups feature allows you to determine exactly which categories are accessible to your various groups of end users." tags: ["SysAid Spaces"] updated: 2026-09-10T06:15:16Z published: 2026-09-10T06:15:16Z canonical: "documentation.sysaid.com/categories-by-user-groups" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.sysaid.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Setting Category Visibility Every category can be limited to specific groups. Only members of a selected group can choose that category when they submit a service record. A category can be limited separately for End Users in the Self-Service Portal and for Admins in the Service Desk. **Available for:** Customers using SysAid Spaces. If you're using SysAid Classic, see [Categories by User Groups](https://documentation.sysaid.com/classic/docs/categories-by-user-groups). ## How it works Visibility is a two-part setting for each audience: a checkbox that decides whether the category appears in that portal at all, and a group field that decides who sees it there. - **Visible in SSP for user groups** controls the Self-Service Portal. Clear the checkbox and the category never appears there, so only Admins can select it. - **Visible for admin groups** controls the Service Desk. Clear the checkbox and the category doesn't appear there either. By default, the group fields hold **All Users** and **All Administrators**. Replace either value with specific groups to narrow the category to those groups alone. If you remove every group from a field, the category is available to everyone. The Categories table shows the current Self-Service Portal setting in its **EUP** column, as Yes or No. It doesn't show which groups a category is assigned to. To see those, open the category. You can set both parts on a single category in its own form, or apply them to many categories at once from the Categories table. ### Using groups instead of a department category Categories give you three levels: **Category**, **Sub-Category**, and **Third Level Category**. If the first level currently names a department, group visibility can take over that job and free the level up. For example, a category set of "IT > Hardware > Printer" spends its first level identifying the department. Limit the category to a group representing IT instead, and the same three levels describe the work itself: "Hardware > Printer > Replace Toner". Each department sees only the categories assigned to its group, and all three levels stay available for detail. ### Access and permissions Groups have to exist before you can assign them. To create or edit a group, see [Managing Groups](/v1/docs/managing-groups). ### Limitations Agents who can't select a category for a service record can still see that category in the service records table and in reports. ## Set visibility for one category 1. Go to **Settings** > **Customization** > **Categories** > **Manage Categories**. 2. Click the category you want to limit. The same fields are available when you define a new category. 3. To limit the category in the Self-Service Portal, select the **Visible in SSP for user groups** checkbox, then click in the field beside it. 4. Select a group from the drop-down. Repeat to add as many groups as you need. 5. To limit the category in the Service Desk, select the **Visible for admin groups** checkbox and select groups the same way. 6. To remove a group, click the **X** beside its name. 7. Click **Done**. ## Turn visibility on or off for multiple categories 1. Go to **Settings** > **Customization** > **Categories** > **Manage Categories**. 2. Select the checkbox beside each category you want to change. The actions bar appears at the bottom of the table. 3. Click **Visible in SSP** to change Self-Service Portal visibility, or **Visible for admin groups** to change Service Desk visibility. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/52d3cb6c-cc81-43c2-b6f7-cbabcb449271/Images/Documentation/image-5LRI4LEV.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-14T13%3A07%3A53Z&se=2026-10-14T14%3A07%3A53Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=c4YVMYp5y0GsmQHjCRSerhem%2BMmlCJwk01c1tOZdPgs%3D) 4. Select **Yes** or **No**. The change applies immediately. ## Assign groups to multiple categories 1. Go to **Settings** > **Customization** > **Categories** > **Manage Categories**. 2. Select the checkbox beside each category you want to change. The actions bar appears at the bottom of the table. 3. Click **More Actions**, then click **More Actions** again. 4. In the **Change Category field to** dialog, select one of the following from the first drop-down: - **Set group accessibility in SSP** replaces the Self-Service Portal groups on every selected category with the groups you choose. - **Add group accessibility in SSP** adds the groups you choose to the Self-Service Portal groups already set on each selected category. - **Set group accessibility for admins** replaces the Service Desk groups on every selected category. - **Add group accessibility for admins** adds the groups you choose to the Service Desk groups already set on each selected category. 5. From the drop-down on the right, select a group. Repeat to add as many groups as you need. 6. To remove a group, click the **X** beside its name. 7. Click **Save**. **Please note:** The two **Set** options replace the groups on every category you selected, including the default **All Users** and **All Administrators** values. A group that currently has access to one of those categories, and isn't in your new selection, loses that access. Open one of the categories you changed to confirm the result. ## Next steps - To create the groups you assign here, or to check who belongs to one, see [Managing Groups](/v1/docs/managing-groups). - For the rest of the category record, including templates that load dynamically per category, see [Category Form](/v1/docs/category-form). - To give a group its own entry point into the portal, see [Service Catalog](/v1/docs/service-catalog).