It is assumed that the custom category being customized cannot be modified directly. Thus, all changes must be stored in a separate plug-in from the custom category being customized. To see the resulting changes, you need to browse or publish a configuration that includes the original custom category plus the customizations. If you can modify the custom category directly, you should follow the guidelines described in Guideline: Categorizing Method Elements Using Custom Categories.

There are a number of different ways that you can customize an existing custom category. You can: 

• Add elements to an existing custom category
• Re-order the elements in an existing custom category
• Replace an existing custom category
• Rename an existing custom category

Specific custom category view customization scenarios are described in the remaining sections of this guideline.

Add elements to an existing custom category

Perform the following steps to add a method element to an existing custom category:

• If it does not already exist, create a plug-in to contain the custom category customizations.
• In the new plug-in, define a custom category that contributes to the existing custom category. For more information on contribution, see Guideline: Using Method Content Variability.
• In the contributor, assign the elements you would like to see added to the category. If you want to add a sub-custom category to the category, define a sub-custom category. You can even control the order in which the elements appear in the category, relative to the existing elements. For more information on adding elements to a custom category, see Guideline: Categorizing Method Elements Using Custom Categories. 

Re-order the elements in an existing custom category

Perform the following steps to reorder the elements in an existing custom category:

• If it does not already exist, create a plug-in to contain the custom category customizations.
• In the new plug-in, define a custom category and assign all the same elements as the original custom category. Re-order the elements in the custom category, as desired. For more information on adding elements to a custom category, see Guideline: Categorizing Method Elements Using Custom Categories. 
• Change the definition of the new custom category to replace the original custom category using method content variability. For more information on contribution, see Guideline: Using Method Content Variability. 

Replace an existing custom category

Perform the following steps to replace an existing custom category with a new custom category:

• If it does not already exist, create a plug-in to contain the custom category customizations.
• In the new plug-in, define a custom category and assign all desired elements to the custom category. Re-order the elements in the custom category, as desired. For more information on adding elements to a custom category, see Guideline: Categorizing Method Elements Using Custom Categories. 
• Change the definition of the new custom category to replace the original custom category using method content variability. For more information on contribution, see Guideline: Using Method Content Variability. 

Rename an existing custom category

Perform the following steps to rename an existing custom category:

• If it does not already exist, create a plug-in to contain the custom category customizations.
• In the new plug-in, define a custom category that extends and replaces the existing custom category using method content variability. For more information on contribution, see Guideline: Using Method Content Variability. 
• Give the new custom category the desired presentation name.