Best way to nest "sub"-Table of Contents lists under "parent" Table of Contents list in CMS Collections?

I have a CMS collection of a Table of Contents-like list of 14 Classes (“Curriculum”) and want each of the 14 classes on the list to link to a “sub-list” of about 12 topics for each of the 14 classes. Then each topic will have a basic mostly Rich Text item/page.

What’s the best way to have each of the 14 listed classes link to another list pertaining to the main 12 topics of each class?

Here’s a screen shot of my Curriculum list (which I’m fine with):

Here’s a screen shot of it’s corresponding Curriculum collection in the CMS:

Lastly, here is a screen shot of an example collection for just one of the classes (Pathophysiology) and items for each of its ~12 sub-topics:

I’ve tried dragging the CMS collection list element onto the template page for Curriculum, and connecting it to my Pathophysiology collection list as the source, but then every of the 14 Curriculum Classes displays the Pathophysiology sub-topics list, and when I switch to the template for a different course (pharmacology) and select my pharmacology sub-topics list, it changes all the others (including the Pathophysiology item I just set) to show the Pharmacology sub-topics list.

I’ve also tried experimenting with the “multi reference” field.

Basically, right now the only sure way I can think of would be making a Rich Text field on each Curriculum Class item and on it pasting each classes’ respective ~12 sub-topics, then highlighting and hyperlinking sub-topic each bullet on the list to a link in a separate CMS collection list of the sub-topics. But that almost feels like I’m linked to something within my website as if it was an external website link page.

Can I nest 14 “Table of Contents”-like lists under a master list of “14 Books”, with each Table of Contents list link to ~12 CMS item “Chapters”?


Here is my public share link: https://www.randomnurses.com/nursing-studies/nursing-school-curriculum/menu

@randomnurses here is a recording of how to setup your project with nested collection lists that should solve for your use case. I also discuss a few limitations to watch out for when you’re working with nested CMS lists and possible solutions we can look into.

Additional References:
Webflow University - Nested Collections Lists
Dynamic Content Limitations

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Wow, thank you so much, @learyjk!

Now that I have your video example, I can explain better what I was trying to achieve:

I had a collection of 14 “Categories”, but instead of having just one collection of “Subcategories” to pull from for each “Category”, I was hoping to have multiple “Subcategories” collections. Essentially 14 Collections of DIFFERENT Subcategories, like: “Category #1’s Subcategories” through “Category #14’s Subcategories.”

Think having a “Series of 12 different books” collection, then each of the 12 books has its OWN unique “Table of Contents” collection.

Through your method, it appears I can simply have one giant “Subcategories” collections for every, but I’m not sure if Webflow will allow the size I would need (14 Categories with about 12 Subcategories each, so the collection would need roughly 168 subcategories total). Also, some of the Subcategories would’ve had the identical names. What I mean by this is that for say the “Pharmacology” Category, and the “Pathophysiology”, each would’ve had a “Cardiovascular Disorders” entitled subcategory, but one would’ve been about Cardiovascular medications while the other about Cardiovascular pathophysiology.

Anyway, I really appreciate the video and I helps me understand more about some limitations of webflow and toward finding the right workarounds! Thanks again!

Thanks again! I figured out the best way is for me was to use a regular page for each Class, then create a collection with that class’s 12-13 topics, then popular the Class (regular) page with Text Links that I was able to connect to the “Name” of each collection item.

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