Hello
I have a little trouble understanding what the series represents in relation to the categories,
A Series is simply a collection of Articles. That is it, nothing less, nothing more. The Series feature in AMS and UBS is loosely based on a popular Word Press plugin with the same name. I developed the series feature for a client that moved 100's of WordPress sites to XF/AMS.
An example of an AMS Series at my XF2 Demos Site:
Bob's Favorite Albums
I created a series called "Bobs Favorite Albums". Then I associate some of my articles that I wrote about various Albums.
An example of a UBS Series at mey XF2 Demos Site:
Bobs back yard BBQ
When you associate an article with a series, each article that is IN the series will have Series a couple different Navigational elements added to the Article (or Blog Entry in UBS), one which allows you to navigate to the next and or previous Article or Entry in the series, a TOC in the side bar, which allows you to quickly navigate to ANY article or blog entry in the series.
It has NO CONNECTION with the Hierarchical Category System in any way shape or form. Its a separate feature of AMS and UBS and it does not effect and or replace the Category System.
You might have a Category called FOOD.
Bob creates dozens of articles about food.
Bob Creates a SERIES called "My Favorite Mexican Food" and associates 7 articles about Mexican food that he wrote.
THAT IS IT. Its just THAT SIMPLE. Don't over think it lol
Its a simple feature that AMS and UBS license holders have LOVED for 9+ years now.
PS... AMS and UBS also have Multi-Page Articles and Blog Entries functionality, which also includes a TOC for navigating between article pages.... There are cases where a multi-page article is in a series, so there will be 2 TOCS (one for Series Navigation and one for navigation between pages of an article). Another very popular feature in AMS and UBS.