> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getyardo.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Zones > This guide explains **how to create and manage zones in Yardo**. Zones allow you to group dock doors within a location and apply shared operational rules such as specialization and capacity limits. Zones are optional, but they are a powerful tool for modeling real-world warehouse layouts and constraints. *** ## What Is a Zone A **Zone** represents a logical grouping of dock doors within a single location. Zones are commonly used to: * Group doors by physical area (for example, east wing, refrigerated docks) * Apply shared capacity constraints across multiple doors * Model operational specialization, such as cold chain or hazmat handling Dock doors may belong to a zone or remain unassigned. *** ## How Zones Fit into Scheduling Zones sit between **locations** and **dock doors** in the scheduling model: * A **Location** contains one or more zones * A **Zone** contains zero or more dock doors * **Dock Doors** inherit zone-level rules unless explicitly overridden Zone-level rules are evaluated during scheduling to prevent conflicts and over-allocation. *** ## How to Create a Zone Only administrators can create and manage zones. **To create a zone:** 1. Navigate to **Settings → Locations → Zones** 2. Click **Add new zone** 3. Enter the zone details 4. Configure optional capacity rules 5. Click **Create zone** Once created, dock doors can be assigned to the zone. *** ## Zone Fields ### Zone Name A clear, descriptive name for the zone (for example, `Refrigerated Dock`, `Outbound West`). Zone names are visible when assigning doors and reviewing schedules. *** ### Specialization Defines the operational specialization of the zone. Specialization can be used to indicate constraints or requirements such as: * General * Refrigerated * Hazardous materials * High-security handling If none of the predefined options apply, a **custom specialization** can be provided. *** ### Description (Optional) Internal notes describing how the zone is used operationally. This field is informational and does not affect scheduling behavior. *** ### Capacity Limits Zones support capacity limits that apply **across all dock doors in the zone**. You can configure: * **Max Total** – Maximum concurrent appointments across the zone * **Max Inbound** – Maximum concurrent inbound appointments * **Max Outbound** – Maximum concurrent outbound appointments If set to **Inherit**, the zone does not enforce a limit for that category. Zone capacity limits are evaluated in addition to door-level capacity rules. *** ### Display Order Controls the order in which zones are displayed in the UI. Lower values appear first. This setting affects presentation only and does not impact scheduling logic. *** ## Assigning Dock Doors to a Zone Dock doors can be assigned to a zone from the dock configuration screen. Once assigned: * The door becomes part of the zone’s capacity calculations * Zone specialization is associated with appointments at that door Removing a door from a zone immediately excludes it from zone-level rules. *** ## Editing or Deleting Zones Zones can be edited or deleted by administrators. * Editing a zone updates its rules immediately * Deleting a zone does not delete dock doors * Dock doors from a deleted zone become unassigned Use caution when modifying zones, as changes can affect scheduling availability. *** ## Best Practices * Use zones to model meaningful operational constraints, not just naming conventions * Apply zone-level capacity limits only when door-level capacity is insufficient * Keep specialization values consistent across locations * Leave doors unassigned if no grouping logic is required *** ## Summary Zones provide a flexible way to group dock doors and enforce shared rules. When used thoughtfully, zones improve scheduling accuracy, reflect real operational layouts, and reduce the risk of overbooking across related docks.