1. Assign Contact Category Management Access

After installing the module, navigate to Settings > Users & Companies > Groups and open the Contact Category Manager group.

Add the users who should have permission to create, edit, archive, and manage Contact Categories. Once assigned, these users will be able to access and maintain Contact Categories from the Contacts configuration menu, as shown in the screenshot.

2. Assigning a Contact Category to a Contact

After configuring access rights, navigate to the Contacts application and open an existing contact or create a new one.

In this example, an existing contact (Brandon Freeman) is opened. On the contact form, you will see the Contact Category field, which is automatically set to the default General category. This default category acts as a fallback and can be changed to a more appropriate category based on the contact’s classification.

3. Accessing Contact Categories Configuration

Next, navigate to the Contacts application and click on the Configuration menu. In the configuration options, you will find Contact Category listed at the end of the menu. Click on Contact Category to view and manage the available contact categories.

4. Viewing Hierarchical Contact Categories

After opening the Contact Category menu, you can see that multiple contact categories have been created, including parent categories with their respective child categories. The hierarchical structure is clearly displayed, allowing you to easily understand and manage category relationships, as shown in the screenshot.

5. Contact Category Form View Overview

Next, open any Contact Category in form view. In this example, the category name is Sub_General, with its Parent Category set to General and the Active status enabled. The Contacts Count field shows a value of 3, indicating that three contacts are currently assigned to the Sub_General category.

6. Prevention of Recursive Contact Categories

The system does not allow a contact category to be assigned as its own parent. If you attempt to set the same category as both the Category and its Parent Category, an error message is displayed, as shown in the screenshot. This validation prevents recursive category structures and ensures the integrity of the contact category hierarchy.

7. Default Contact Category Protection

The default General contact category cannot be modified. If you attempt to change its name or parent category the system displays an error message, as shown in the screenshot. This restriction ensures that the default category remains intact as a safe fallback and helps maintain consistent and reliable contact categorization.

8. Archive-Only Contact Category Management

Once a contact category is created, it cannot be deleted. The system enforces an archive-only policy, allowing categories to be deactivated by setting them as Archived instead of being removed permanently. This approach preserves data integrity and prevents the loss of historical references associated with existing contacts.

9. Filtering Contacts by Contact Category

Alternatively, you can filter contacts based on their assigned Contact Category. In the Contacts app, use the Search bar > Filters section and add a Custom Filter where Contact Category is in General / Sub_General. Once applied, only the contacts belonging to the selected category and its hierarchy will be displayed.

This demonstrates how the module enables structured contact classification and efficient contact retrieval, making it easier to manage and analyze contacts based on well-defined category hierarchies.