Why can I not see certain categories in the Navigation Structure despite supposedly having access according to the category settings?
If a category does not contain any documents (that is, it is completely empty), it is automatically hidden from "standard" users in the navigation structure. The exception is users who have extended access via the profile setting “All categories” or who are designated as Category Managers; these users can still see and administer empty categories. The purpose of this behaviour is to keep the structure clean and easy to navigate, so that users only see categories that actually contain published material. As soon as at least one document is published in the category, both the category and its documents become visible in the navigation, in the same way as other active categories.
However, this does not mean that the category cannot be used before the first document is published. Even if the category is not yet visible in the navigation structure, any user with permission to the category can still select it when publishing new documents. In the publishing dialog, the category appears as a selectable option, provided that the user has the appropriate access rights. This allows you to prepare and start using new categories gradually, without them cluttering the users’ views until they actually contain published content.
💬 Note: This does not apply to users who, through their profile settings, can manage All categories or those who are Category Managers, as they have extended access and can view categories without documents. This is to allow the user to manage category settings even if they lack documents.