How to make a new category / folder in your The Old Reader subscriptions list

This article explains how to make new categories for listing and organizing feeds in The Old Reader.

Recently I migrated from Google Reader to The Old Reader, in readiness for Google Reader's upcoming retirement.

(If you're not sure why I bothered, you might like this simple explanation of RSS and why it matters for Bloggers, in particular ones who want to research things).


I used Google Takeout to migrate my existing subscriptions from Reader to The Old Reader. (And yes, I did carefully file that exported file away, just in case I want to migrate to some other service.)

Because my subscriptions in Google Reader were organized into categories, these categories were automagically imported into my The Old Reader account.

But today I wanted to change my categories - and it wasn't obvious how to do this from either my settings or profile.

How to make a new category AKA folder in your The Old Reader subscriptions list

To add a new grouping to the subscriptions in a The Old Reader account:

• Click one feed that you would like to move to into the new category - and hold it down.

• Drag it to the empty space below your last folder, and drop it into place.  
  Note:   as you do this, the words "NEW FOLDER" appear at the bottom of the list of categories.

To move other items from your existing subscriptions into the new category, just drag-and-drop them too.

How to rename your new folder

To change the name of a folder/category in The Old Reader:

• Double-click on the existing name - this makes the name open for editing.

• Type the new name, and press Enter to save it.

How to change the order of your categories

You can re-organize your folders - but only one at a time.

• Click the folder that you want to move, and hold.

• Drag-and-drop it into the new place.

Putting feed-items into multiple categories?

For the moment, this is not possible: each item that you subscribe to in The Old Reader can only be in one folder.