How To Use the Taxonomy Manager Module in Drupal 9

With the Drupal core Taxonomy module, editors can organize and categorize content according to different vocabularies and related terms. This way, it is possible to achieve more control over the content and the way it is presented. 

If your taxonomy system has 10-20 terms, then it is no problem to manage those terms with the default Drupal user interface.

However, if the number of terms in your tagging system exceeds 20 terms, managing them will turn out into a cumbersome task.

The Taxonomy Manager module for Drupal 9 provides an intuitive interface to create and manage taxonomies. It is also possible to add several vocabularies/terms at once, just by copying and pasting them, and to delete multiple terms in just one step.

Keep reading to learn how to use this module!

Step #1. Install the Module

• Open the terminal application of your system.
• Position the cursor in the main folder of your Drupal installation (the file composer.json is located there.
• Type: composer require drupal/taxonomy_manager.

• Click Extend.
• Enable the module.
• Click Install.

This will also enable the jQuery UI module.

Step # 2.- Adding Vocabularies

• Click Structure > Taxonomy Manager

You will see a list with the available vocabularies. I am working with a clean local Drupal installation, and therefore, there is only the default Tags vocabulary available. 

• Click Add new vocabulary.

• Type your desired vocabulary.
• Click Save.

Step #3. Add Terms

• Click Structure > Taxonomy Manager once more.
• Click the vocabulary you just created.

You will see a large text area. You can copy your taxonomy structure from another source and paste it here. Furthermore, it clarifies that it is possible to obtain nested terms by preceding a “-” symbol for each nested term level. That means one dash for the first nested level, two dashes for the second nested level, etc.

I made use of the multi cursor capabilities of a code editor to accomplish this task quickly, this is also possible with a spreadsheet.

• Copy all terms and paste them into the text area.
• Click Add.

Step #4. Inserting and Deleting Terms

Now you have a user interface with dropdowns and checkboxes, which will allow you to work more comfortably. 

• Expand, check and select the parent term.
• Click Add and insert more terms if you need to. Remember to put dashes to nest terms.

Use the same logic to delete terms.

• Follow this procedure according to your requirements to complete your taxonomy system.

Step #5. – Other Options

Export all

If you want to edit the whole taxonomy structure, you could click the Export button, copy the list and edit it in a code editor as seen before. Then you would only have to re-paste the edited structure. 

Configuration Options

• Click Configuration > User Interface > Taxonomy Manager.
• Disable mouse-over effect for terms (weights and direct link)
• Click Save configuration.

I don’t understand this setting, but (apparently) it speeds the module performance. So it does not hurt.

Conclusion

If you ever need to manage a big taxonomy system in Drupal, the Taxonomy Manager Module is one of the tools you should be using to perform this task. 

I hope you liked this tutorial. Thanks for reading!