Channels: PC Guide
What are Discord Categories & Channels?
Categories on Discord are used to group up server channels; such as 'Important' channels.
Channels are places where members can talk in a server. There are multiple types, such as: text, voice chats, forums, announcements and stage channels.
In the following example, the category is called "Information / Updates", and the channels are the following titles, such as "Server-Rules", "Announcements", "Resources" and "Applications".
In the above example, the channel names are customized, such as "📕┃server-rules". Note that the emojis and symbols in this example are not automatically created alongside your channel's name.
Channel Names
Channel names are usually lowercase, and spaces are replaced with a - character. However, with voice channels, spaces and uppercase characters can be used. This is the same with forums and threads.
Creating a New Category & Channel
To create a new category or channel, head on over to a server you either own or have permissions in.
To create your own Discord server, click the '+' icon in the server list, and select 'Create My Own'.
Then, right click any blank space in the channel list, and click "Create Category" or "Create Channel".
Creating a Category
When entering your category name, you can enter emojis (excluding Discord custom emojis), symbols and any text; such as: "☕・General Chats". Categories, unlike most channels, can have spaces.
Upon the category's creation, note that any text you enter will be capitalized.
Private Category
Private categories are where only specific members, or roles, are able to access all of the channels within the category (unless a channel has permission overrides).
When creating a category, if you toggle a private category, you'll enter the following page:
Here, you can select any role or member to access the category. These permissions can be edited, in more depth at any time (see Editing a Category / Channel).
Once you have created your category, you'll see the following in your server's channel list:
Until you add channels to the category, it will remain empty.
Creating a Channel
To create a new channel, you can either click the '+' icon on any category. Alternatively, you can select any blank space on the channel list, and select "Create Channel".
Without community enabled on your server, your channel creation page will be the following:
Text Channels: are channels that are normal chat rooms. However, you can add additional chat rooms within text channels, called threads!
Threads can be both private and public. These are in-channel chat rooms, which can be used to talk about a specific topic, or to organize a list.
Voice Channels: are channels were users can join and voice chat! For each voice channel, you can access a text-based channel, for users who wish to join in without a microphone. You can find this chat, by hovering your mouse over the voice channel, and clicking the speech bubble icon. Voice channel text chats do not have as many features as Text Channels. For instance, you can not pin messages or start threads.
Community Channels
However, with community enabled, you will have access to more channel types, including:
Forums: a channel that holds multiple chatrooms, usually for sharing art, talking about specific games, or in this example: sharing different commands, events & systems made in BotWiz!
Announcement Channels: these are channels specifically for making announcements. Users with servers can follow these channels; meaning that any messages sent to the announcement channel, will be shared to other servers' channels.
Stage Channels: allow members to listen to a group of people. This is usually for game shows, talk about updates, Q&As and more. Members listening can request to speak, giving opportunities for members to ask questions for example.
How to Enable Community
Head to your Server Settings, and Select "Enable Community". Here, you'll be met with this page:
As soon as you click 'Get Started', you'll be met with a 3-step series:
Safety Checks:
Here, you'll need to set your verification level to "Verified email required," to minimise spam.
Additionally, media content must be set to scan all members; including roled members.
Setting up the basics:
Now, you'll be asked to create or select a channel that is used to display your server's rules.
Then, you must select or create a community updates channel for admins and moderators.
Finishing touches:
Finally, members will be notified for mentions only, instead of all messages sent; and risky permissions (creating emojis, events and mentioning everyone) will be removed from everyone.
You'll also need to confirm that your server follows Discord's Community Guidelines.
Once finishing these steps, you'll now have access to more channel types (such as forums), and tools such as Onboarding, Server Insights, and access to apply for Discovery!
Editing a Category / Channel
To edit any category or channel, hover over the channel or category you'd like to modify, and right click.
This will bring up a series of options, such as the following:
When editing a channel, each channel type will have different options, such as the permissions.
In particular, when editing a text channel, you'll be able to modify it's name, topic, slowmode, permissions, invites and intregrations as usual. However, forums for instance, have different customization options: such as introducing post guidelines, tags and default reactions.
However, each channel will always have a permissions, invites and integrations tab.
Permissions
Each channel type will come with its own set of diverse permissions, such as, for voice channels: options to allow a role or user to join the voice chat, to mute or deafen other members, and move members.
Category Permissions
When you set up a category with role and / or user permissions, this means that any channel within that category can sync up. Meaning, each channel within the category will have the same permissions.
Without setting any category permissions, each user will be subject to a channel's permissions, or their role permissions. For instance, if the channel has no overrides and if everyone has the role permissions to see channels and talk in them, they will be able to do so in any channel the category has.
Channel Permissions & Overrides
When creating specific permissions for a user or a role on a channel, this is called a channel override. Channel overrides will ignore any role permissions a user has if the role has a override.
For example, naturally, a member role has the permissions to send files. Though on #general, there's an override saying that the member role can no longer send files. In this example, members can send files elsewhere in channels without this specific override , but in the #general chat, they can no longer send any files.
To test any overrides you make, visit your Server Settings > Roles, and select the role you'd like to test permissions on. After, click to view the server using the role.
Invites
Invites can be made to invite a user to a server. Though, invites can be linked to a specific channel: allowing the invited user to see the channel the invite is linked to.
Without linking an invite to a channel, the first channel seen by the new user will either be the first channel.
Server owners and those with the valid permissions can use the invites tab to pause invites. This can be used for moderative purposes, to avoid raids or to stop unwanted traffic to a channel.
Integrations
Integrations are similar to connections, whereby you can have your channel follow others in different servers, and you can connect webhooks to a channel.
Channels Followed
As mentioned, you can follow another channel from a different server. This will allow you to keep current with any updates, announcements or messages sent in their announcement channel.
When following a channel, each message sent in the channel you're following, will be sent to yours.
Webhooks
Webhooks is a tool you can use to send messages to text channels without needing a Discord application. This can be used to have automated messages and data updates.
When creating a webhooks, you'll see Captain Hook. You can modify Captain Hook into your own profile.
For more about webhooks, click here.
Moving a Channel or Category
It's important to have multiple categories listing relevant channels to keep your server neat and tidy. Having too many unorganized channels can be confusing and uninviting to new users.
To move a channel or category to your desired position, you can simply drag and drop the channel or category. Similarly, to add an existing channel to a category, drag and drop the channel into your desired position underneath the category name.
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