(...all are welcomed to add to this user guide...)

Understanding the big picture design of K2 category-subcategory-item layout-listing and the component and category parameters of K2 will help you get the most out of K2.

The whole system of k2 seemingly is (IMHO):
CATEGORY LISTING--> SUBCATEGORY LISTING (multiple subcategory allowed)--> ITEM LISTING--> ITEM

The item is the article (your piece of writing).

The item listing is a listing of items in a subcategory or category, if no subcategory exist. The item listing could list items that's shortened or fully displayed with a "Read more".

The subcategory listing is the listing of subcategory or category, if no subcategory exist. 

The category listing is the layout display of listed category.





The parameters of the k2 component and category are ways of customerization for how the whole system would look. In order to test out the parameters, you need to create a category, subcategory, and an item. Playing with the parameters will actually result in changes that you could see. 

To create things, go to the dashboard. Create a category first, a subcategory (category with another category as the parent/root), and an item. 


The parameter of K2 component, found by the trash can icon in the upper right corner, come setup mostly system-wise. Personalization is needed for Twitter account, additional social button, comments chronological ordering setting, recaptcha, and avatar setting usually need to be changed or added by you. That's about it. The parameters of k2, the component, specifically let determine CSS and way more:
1. CSS setting of k2
A.
2. Image Setting
A.
B.
C. 
etc...
3. Layout & view options for users (author) pages (...make title into link. ususally activated to "show")
A.
B.
C.
4. Layout & view option for Search, Tag, & Date listing
A. 
5. Comments
A.
6. Social setting (additional social button)
A.
B.
7. RSS Feed setting
A.
B.
8. Content Cleanup setting (...may strip image in item)
A.
B.
9. Extra field setting
A.
B.
10. Frontend editing
A.
B.
11. Advanced setting
A.
B.




The parameters for Category set up the category, subcategory, item listing, and item layouts. It's easier to managed category, subcategory, item listing, and items if you set a parent category setting and set the children subcategory to inherit parameter of the parent category repeatedly.

Category parameters has 5 major tabs and many setting within each tab.
1. Category item layout
2. Category view options
3. Item image options
4. Item view options in category listings
5. Item view options


CATEGORY ITEM LAYOUT
1. Layout template
A. Select a template

2. Layout grid
A. Leading count
B. Columns for leading (determines how item listing layout is displayed in number of columns)
C. Other Layout option
A. Catalog mode (...hide or show item listing under listing of category)
B. Featured items show or hide
C. Item ordering
D. ect..




CATEGORY VIEW OPTIONS (setting for category and subcategory listing)
0. For Category, show or hide title, item counter next to title, description, image or RSS feed.

1. Sub-category handling
A. Subcategory blocks hide or show
B. Columns (...determine how the subcategory are displayed in numbers of columns).
C. Ordering
D. Title
E. Item counter
etc



ITEM IMAGE OPTIONS
Title
Link on title
etc


ITEM VIEW OPTIONS IN CATEGORY LISTINGS (layout of summarized or not item in item listing layout)
Introtext (show or hide intro text)
Introtext word limit (limit how may words will be displayed in the summarized items in item listing layout. the introtext will not display any image. to get an image to display, you must upload an image in the image tab.)
Turning off image gallery, if any, is probably good because the gallery could break out of layout and ruin the listing.



ITEM VIEW OPTIONS
Setting of item.