Cant assign category

Thanks for reporting this issue. It is hard to tell what is going on, so I’d like to get more information that might narrow down the problem.

1. How are you trying to assign the category? Have you tried all of the different ways to do that? It looks like you are using the Quick Edit area in the Media/Assistant submenu table; is that right? If so, have you tried the Bulk Edit area and/or the Media/Edit Media screen?
2. Are you using the “Att. Categories” taxonomy or the WordPress “Categories” taxonomy?
3. Have you tried assigning the term to another Media Library item, such as an image?
4. Have you tried changing other fields for the PDF, such as the Caption or Description?

Thanks in advance for any additional information you can provide.

We are going to media, clicking on the pdf and then assigning it from their. We can assign it to any category except that one. We deleted the category and recreated it and its still not working.

I’m not sure what you mean by att categories.

We have tried images, and pdfs and neither will assign to that category.

We have tried about 15 different files in the media folder and non will work.

Thanks for your update with the additional information. Let me try to clarify my comments and suggestions.

You wrote”We are going to media, clicking on the pdf and then assigning it from their.” That sounds like you are using the “Edit Media Screen”. On that screen the “category” assignment is done in a meta box on the right-hand side of the screen below the “Save” meta box and the “Update” button. Is that right?

On that screen the terms appear as a list of checkboxes and term names. Above the list is the name of the taxonomy – that’s what I mean by the “Att. Categories” taxonomy or the WordPress “Categories” taxonomy. Can you tell me the name that appears above the list of terms?

If you go to the Media/Assistant submenu you have two other ways of assigning terms to your PDFs. First, if you roll the cursor over the “ID/Parent” column you will see several “rollover actions” including “Edit and “Quick Edit”. If you click “Quick Edit” you can assign terms without leaving the Media/Assistant screen. Have you tried assigning the problem term there?

From the Media/Assistant submenu you can also check the box next to one or more items, then click the “Bulk Actions” dropdown, select “Edit” and click “Apply” to open the Bulk Edit area. You can add terms to the items by checking the boxes and then clicking “Update”. Have you tried that?

If none of those methods work, there may be some problem with the name of your term. Can you tell me the name of the problem term? Is it similar to another term name?

Thank you for your patience and help – I am unable to reproduce your problem and I am trying to determine what the cause might be. Any additional information you can give me will be helpful.

David, I have just tried all of those and none of them will let me assign that category on the pdf. The name of the pdf is “Annual Market Review Reports/Maps” (screenshot: https://nimbus.everhelper.me/client/notes/share/217008/2DyeLPAhbfPkFTEt5X3CGzVvV55CyJr7/)

My apologies please follow this link for the screenshot: https://nimbus.everhelper.me/client/notes/share/217008/2DyeLPAhbfPkFTEt5X3CGzVvV55CyJr7/

Thanks for your update and the link to your screenshot – very helpful.

It looks like the name of your taxonomy is “Media Categories”. Are you using another plugin that implements this taxonomy?

On my system I am able to create a term called “Annual Market Review Reports/Maps-D&W” and assign it to PDF documents and images without any trouble. On my system I added the term to the “Att. Categories” taxonomy that MLA provides, since I don’t have a “Media Categories” taxonomy.

One guess I have is that the “&” (ampersand) in the term name is causing some trouble. Is that possible?

I am still unable to give you a solution. If you can tell me more about how the “Media Categories” taxonomy is managed that might give me a clue. Also, could you go to the Settings/Media Library Assistant General tab, scroll down to the “Taxonomy Support” section and give me a screenshot of your settings there? Finally, does “Media Categories” appear as a subsection of the “Media” admin menu? Could you post a screenshot of the “Edit Media Category” screen for the problem term that shows the Slug and Parent values?

Thank you for your help and your patience.

To my knowledge we are not using any other plugins that would cause an issue.

https://nimbus.everhelper.me/client/notes/share/219436/7MnOWevU5yPmGKieSt2hxgTgh1D4Mp7I/

https://nimbus.everhelper.me/client/notes/share/219434/bh78TlSfhyg1qRrFvmniXbLgLV9xRXny/

https://nimbus.everhelper.me/client/notes/share/219432/wsTUkKvucFEDfKTCTIA8am1NO2R5Su4w/

https://nimbus.everhelper.me/client/notes/share/219430/5rOq36E0G1CixtJRO7R4ST6Rm14AGIan/

Thanks for your update and for posting the four screenshot images. They are very helpful. There is one additional shot from my last post that would also be useful:

Also, could you go to the Settings/Media Library Assistant General tab, scroll down to the “Taxonomy Support” section and give me a screenshot of your settings there?

Your “Media Categories” shot is interesting – it shows that twelve (12) attachments have been assigned to the “Annual Market Review Reports/Maps-D&W” term. If you click on the number 12 in the Attachments column you should get a Media/Assistant submenu table listing the items assigned to the term. Do you get this? Are the twelve items reasonable? Do you know how they got assigned to the problem term?

I am still wondering where the “Media Categories” taxonomy comes from. It is not part of WordPress and it is not added by Media Library Assistant. Is it part of your theme? I don’t see an obvious candidate among your other plugins.

In fact, “Media Categories” is somewhat misleading, because your “Edit Media Category” does not show the “Parent” dropdown control. That implies that “Media Categories” is a flat taxonomy (like WordPress “Tags”), not a hierarchical taxonomy (like WordPress “Categories”). This is significant because term assignments are handled very differently for each taxonomy type.

If you go to the Settings/Media Library Assistant General tab and scroll down to the “Taxonomy Support” section, is the “Checklist” box checked for Media Categories? If not, check the box, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save Changes”. Then, go to the Media/Edit Media screen for one of your PDF documents and see if the “Media Categories” meta box is now a checklist instead of a text box. If it is, try checking the box for “Annual Market Review Reports/Maps-D&W” and then “Update” to update the item. Does that work?

I am still unable to reproduce your issue on my system and I appreciate all your patience and help with this issue. Let me know what your “Taxonomy Support” section looks like and if the “click on twelve” and “Checklist” experiments work out.

I have found and fixed some problems in the way MLA handles taxonomy terms with HTML special characters such as the ampersand (“&”). Although I cannot reproduce your exact symptoms it is possible that the changes I have made will address them.

You can find step-by-step instructions for using the Development Version in this earlier topic:

MLA errors when using plugin

If you get a chance to try the Development Version, let me know if it solves your problems. Thanks for your help on this issue.

I have released MLA version 2.11. It contains the fixes for taxonomy terms with special characters.

I am marking this topic resolved, but please update it if you are still having problems with your term after upgrading to the latest MLA version. Thanks for your interest in the plugin.