Categories & Filters: How Map Filtering Works

Categories help users explore your map by filtering locations into meaningful groups (for example: Restaurants, Hotels, Projects, Floors).
This guide explains how Mapme filtering works, which settings to use, and where to go next based on your map type.

Start Here: What You Can Control

• Category structure: one level or multilevel (parent categories + subcategories)
• Selection mode: Single Selection or Multiselect (Advanced)
• Filter relationship: how filters combine results (Combine vs Intersect)

1. One level Categories vs Multilevel Categories

A basic category list works well when you have a small number of categories (usually under ~10).
When your map needs more organization, you can create multilevel categories:

• Parent categories: top-level groups
• Subcategories: groups inside each parent

Learn how to organize your Map with Multilevel Categories.

2. Single Selection vs Multiselect

Single Selection (recommended for most maps)

Users choose one category at a time. This keeps the filtering experience simple and predictable.

In Single Selection, you can also choose what happens when a user clicks a parent category:

• Parent Category View: clicking a parent immediately shows all related locations on the map
• Browse Subcategories: clicking a parent only expands the subcategory list; the map updates when a subcategory is chosen

Multiselect (Advanced)

Users can select multiple categories at the same time to create combined filters and compare results. This is powerful but can be more complex for users. Learn more about Multiple Category Selection (Multiselect).

3. Combine vs Intersect

These settings control how filters work together:

• Combine: show results that match any selected filters (broader results)
• Intersect: show results that match all selected filters (more specific results)

You can read the full category filter settings reference here.

Which Settings Should I Choose?

City Guide (One Level Categories)

Check example

Building / Floor Map (Floors + Amenities)

• Selection mode: Single Selection
• Parent click behavior: Parent Category View
• Relationship: Intersect
• How to assign locations: assign each location to a floor (parent) and an amenity type (subcategory)

Check example

Real Estate Listing (Filter-style categories like Pricing, Size, Type)

• Selection mode: Multiselect (Advanced) is often best
• Relationships: commonly Parent Categories = Intersect, Parent→Subcategories = Combine, Subcategories = Combine
• How to assign locations: often locations are assigned to subcategories (values), not the parent category itself

Check example

Next Steps

• Want to change the look & feel of category filters? Go to Categories Customization Guide.
• Need to build a parent/subcategory structure? Check the Multilevel Categories Guide.
• Need advanced filtering with multiple selections? Read the Multiple Category Selection Guide