Solution Categories are built in Salesforce Classic Setup, then switched on for the Solutions tab. This reflects how the legacy feature was configured; new orgs should set up Lightning Knowledge with Data Categories instead.
- Open Solution Categories in Setup
From Setup, type Solution Categories into the Quick Find box and select it. You see the hierarchy with the auto-created All Solutions category at the top. You need the Manage Categories permission to edit the tree.
- Add categories and subcategories
Click Add Category to create a node, give it a name (no backslash characters), pick a parent category, and choose alphabetical or custom sort order for its children. Repeat to build out the branches your support team needs.
- Categorise individual Solutions
Open a Solution record, find the Solution Categories related list, and click Select Categories. Click Select next to each fitting category, Deselect to remove one, then Save. File each Solution only in its most relevant categories.
- Turn on category browsing
Enable solution category browsing for the Solutions tab so agents and, where configured, portal users can navigate the tree. For public answers, enable public solutions so the categories appear in the relevant self-service channel.
The label shown in the tree. Backslash characters are not allowed, and All Solutions cannot be renamed or used to file Solutions directly.
Where the new category sits in the hierarchy. Choosing All Solutions places it at the top level; choosing another category nests it underneath.
Whether child categories list alphabetically or in a custom order you define, which controls how agents see the branch.
The org-level switch that makes the category tree appear on the Solutions tab. Without it, category assignments exist but are not browsable.
- Solutions and Solution Categories are a Salesforce Classic feature and are not available in Lightning Experience as a primary capability. Configure Lightning Knowledge with Data Categories for new work.
- You cannot delete a category that a Customer Portal is using. Remove the dependency first, then delete the category.
- Categorising a Solution requires the Edit permission on Solutions, and editing the tree requires Manage Categories. Missing either permission blocks the respective step.
- Translated Solutions inherit categories from their master Solution automatically, so do not try to re-tag each language version by hand.