# Collections in Catalog and Quick Order

URL: https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/platforms/shopify/catalog-collections
Applies to: Shopify

Choose which Shopify collections buyers filter Catalog and Quick Order by: SparkLayer follows a navigation menu, in its order and nesting.

> **Catalog and Quick Order is in early access.** Request it for your store. [Request early access](https://feedback.sparklayer.io/get-started?choice=now).

> **Quick summary**
>
> - Buyers and sales reps can filter [Catalog and Quick Order](https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/sales-ordering/catalog.md) by collection. On Shopify, the collections come from one of your navigation menus, in the menu's order and nesting.
> - By default, SparkLayer follows your `b2b-menu`, then your `main-menu`. You can choose another menu, or every collection, at **Integrations > Product sync** in the SparkLayer Dashboard ([open](https://app.sparklayer.io/integrations/products-sync)), or **SparkLayer Wholesale > Integrations > Product sync** in the Shopify app.
> - A buyer only sees a collection when it has products they can see.

## How it works

A Shopify store usually has far more collections than it shows customers: collections for discounts, product feeds, homepage sections or old sales. Your navigation menu is where you choose which collections customers browse, and in what order, so SparkLayer follows it too.

With the default **Automatic** setting, SparkLayer picks the menu like this:

1. Your `b2b-menu`, if it links to at least 1 collection. It's the menu our [B2B-only navigation guide](https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/platforms/shopify/customisations/b2b-only-content.md#show-a-b2b-only-navigation-menu) and the [Shopify B2B Dawn theme](https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/platforms/shopify/dawn-theme.md) set up for signed-in B2B customers.
2. Otherwise your `main-menu`, if it links to at least 1 collection.
3. Otherwise every collection published to SparkLayer, A to Z, with no nesting.

A collection in the menu doesn't need to be published to SparkLayer itself. Its products do.

## What the filter shows from a menu

| In your menu | In the filter |
| --- | --- |
| A collection, or a link to `/collections/your-collection` | The collection, under its own title, in the menu's order. A link with a tag or a language prefix counts as the collection |
| **All products** or **All collections** | Nothing of its own, since the filter already has **All collections**. Anything under it moves up a level |
| Any other item (a page, a blog, a `#` link) with collections under it | A heading that groups those collections, under the menu item's title. Choosing it shows the products of every collection under it |
| A heading with a child collection of the same title (Women › Shop all, linking to the Women collection) | The collection, with the heading's other children under it |
| A collection that appears twice | Shown once, where it first appears. Anything under the second one moves up a level |
| A link to a collection your store doesn't have | Left out. Anything under it moves up a level |
| A page, blog or link with no collection under it | Left out |

If your whole menu sits under one heading, such as **Shop**, the filter starts one level down.

## Choose the menu

1. Go to **Integrations > Product sync** in the SparkLayer Dashboard ([open](https://app.sparklayer.io/integrations/products-sync)), or **SparkLayer Wholesale > Integrations > Product sync** in the Shopify app.
2. In the **Categories** card, under **Where categories come from**, choose:
   - **Automatic**: your `b2b-menu`, then your `main-menu`, then every collection.
   - **A menu you choose**: pick any of your store's menus.
   - **Every published collection**: every collection published to SparkLayer, A to Z.
3. Click **Save**. SparkLayer syncs your collections straight away.

The card shows what your current setting and menu give, and any menu items left out, with the reason. If buyers don't have those categories yet, for example after a menu edit, the card says **Not in the catalogue yet**: click **Save** to sync them.

> **Want a different structure for B2B buyers?**
>
> Create a menu with only the collections your B2B buyers order from, at **Online Store > Navigation** ([open in the Shopify admin](https://admin.shopify.com/menus)), and choose it on the **Categories** card. With the **Automatic** setting, giving it the handle `b2b-menu` works too. You can also [show the same menu in your store's header](https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/platforms/shopify/customisations/b2b-only-content.md#show-a-b2b-only-navigation-menu) to signed-in B2B customers.

## When changes show

- **Renaming or deleting a collection** updates the filter within a few minutes.
- **A new collection, or a collection's products changing** shows when those products next sync. Adding products to a manual collection, or changing a smart collection's conditions, doesn't change the products themselves, so it shows at the next full product sync.
- **Menu changes:** Shopify doesn't tell apps when a menu changes. After reordering a menu, or adding or removing a collection in it, click **Save** on the **Categories** card. Otherwise it shows after the next collection change or full product sync.

A full product sync is run by our team: [contact support](https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/support.md) and we'll run one for you.

## FAQs

**Why does the Categories card ask me to approve permissions?**

Reading your navigation menus needs a permission SparkLayer didn't ask for before. Open the SparkLayer app in your Shopify admin and approve the updated permissions. Until you do, the filter shows every collection published to SparkLayer.

**A collection is in my menu but buyers can't see it**

A buyer only sees a collection when it has products they can see, so check its products are published to SparkLayer and visible to that buyer's customer group. If the collection is in the menu twice, it shows only where it first appears. If you added it recently, it shows once its products next sync.

**Can I hide a collection without changing my store's menu?**

Yes. Create a separate menu with only the collections you want, and choose it on the **Categories** card. Your store's own navigation stays as it is.

**Does the menu control which products buyers can order?**

No. The menu only decides which collections appear as filters. Which products a buyer can see is set by [product visibility for customer groups](https://docs.sparklayer.io/help/storefront/b2b-catalogs/configuring-advanced-catalogs.md) and your price lists.