# Fetching the total number of products inside Parent Category
**URL:** https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636
**Category:** support
**Created:** [October 10, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636 "2023-10-10T13:47:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DivyaNautiyal-Rev](https://www.virtocommerce.org/u/DivyaNautiyal-Rev)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636/1 "2023-10-10T13:47:58Z")
We want to display the total number of products inside a Parent Category(i.e. the sum of total number of products inside each sub category), so we are currently using the listEntries API in catalog module with this payload
```auto
{
"objectType" : "CatalogProduct",
"searchInChildren" : true,
"categoryId" : "846b4e76-f61b-4b10-9971-b6d92ad60b44",
"take" : 0
}
```
We are calling this for each Category(which might be a parentCategory) inside Catalog, is there any other optimised solution for this?
---
### Author:  [@OlegoO](https://www.virtocommerce.org/u/OlegoO)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2023, 10:21am UTC](https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636/2 "2023-10-18T10:21:41Z")
The best way to achive it is using Full text search and facets for outlines:
Virto Storefront use it:
---
### Author:  [@DivyaNautiyal-Rev](https://www.virtocommerce.org/u/DivyaNautiyal-Rev)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636/3 "2023-10-18T12:14:55Z")
Thanks @OlegoO.
There is another issue I am facing. I wish to extend CategoryItemRelation table but when I try to do so I am facing conversion issues for CategoryLink. I am doing this for enabling/disabling linked virtual products by adding a IsVirtualItemActive field in CategoryItemRelation. In platform it is fetching the products correctly, but it is not able to display the virtual categories, it throws this error
`Unable to cast object of type 'VirtoCommerce.CatalogModule.Core.Model.CategoryLink' to type 'Virto.CustomCatalogModule.Core.Models.ExtendedCategoryLink'.`
Can you please help me in figuring out the issue?
---
### Author:  [@OlegoO](https://www.virtocommerce.org/u/OlegoO)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2023, 12:26pm UTC](https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636/4 "2023-10-18T12:26:24Z")
Could you attach the complete error message with stack?
---
### Author:  [@DivyaNautiyal-Rev](https://www.virtocommerce.org/u/DivyaNautiyal-Rev)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://www.virtocommerce.org/t/fetching-the-total-number-of-products-inside-parent-category/636/5 "2023-10-18T13:19:33Z")
I debugged it, listEntries is building the correct result and returning it from dotnet application, but after that instead of response it is throwing this exception.
```auto
VirtoCommerce.Platform.Web.Middleware.ApiErrorWrappingMiddleware[0]
Unable to cast object of type 'VirtoCommerce.CatalogModule.Core.Model.CategoryLink' to type 'Virto.CustomCatalogModule.Core.Models.ExtendedCategoryLink'.
Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializationException: Error getting value from 'IsItemRelationActive' on 'VirtoCommerce.CatalogModule.Core.Model.CategoryLink'.
---> System.InvalidCastException: Unable to cast object of type 'VirtoCommerce.CatalogModule.Core.Model.CategoryLink' to type 'Virto.CustomCatalogModule.Core.Models.ExtendedCategoryLink'.
at lambda_method3284(Closure , Object )
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.ExpressionValueProvider.GetValue(Object target)
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.ExpressionValueProvider.GetValue(Object target)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.CalculatePropertyValues(JsonWriter writer, Object value, JsonContainerContract contract, JsonProperty member, JsonProperty property, JsonContract& memberContract, Object& memberValue)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.SerializeObject(JsonWriter writer, Object value, JsonObjectContract contract, JsonProperty member, JsonContainerContract collectionContract, JsonProperty containerProperty)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.SerializeList(JsonWriter writer, IEnumerable values, JsonArrayContract contract, JsonProperty member, JsonContainerContract collectionContract, JsonProperty containerProperty)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.SerializeObject(JsonWriter writer, Object value, JsonObjectContract contract, JsonProperty member, JsonContainerContract collectionContract, JsonProperty containerProperty)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.SerializeList(JsonWriter writer, IEnumerable values, JsonArrayContract contract, JsonProperty member, JsonContainerContract collectionContract, JsonProperty containerProperty)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.SerializeObject(JsonWriter writer, Object value, JsonObjectContract contract, JsonProperty member, JsonContainerContract collectionContract, JsonProperty containerProperty)
at Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonSerializerInternalWriter.Serialize(JsonWriter jsonWriter, Object value, Type objectType)
at Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer.SerializeInternal(JsonWriter jsonWriter, Object value, Type objectType)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Formatters.NewtonsoftJsonOutputFormatter.WriteResponseBodyAsync(OutputFormatterWriteContext context, Encoding selectedEncoding)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Formatters.NewtonsoftJsonOutputFormatter.WriteResponseBodyAsync(OutputFormatterWriteContext context, Encoding selectedEncoding)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Formatters.NewtonsoftJsonOutputFormatter.WriteResponseBodyAsync(OutputFormatterWriteContext context, Encoding selectedEncoding)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.g__Logged|22_0(ResourceInvoker invoker, IActionResult result)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.g__Awaited|30_0[TFilter,TFilterAsync](ResourceInvoker invoker, Task lastTask, State next, Scope scope, Object state, Boolean isCompleted)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.Rethrow(ResultExecutedContextSealed context)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.ResultNext[TFilter,TFilterAsync](State& next, Scope& scope, Object& state, Boolean& isCompleted)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.InvokeResultFilters()
--- End of stack trace from previous location ---
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.g__Awaited|25_0(ResourceInvoker invoker, Task lastTask, State next, Scope scope, Object state, Boolean isCompleted)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.Rethrow(ResourceExecutedContextSealed context)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.Next(State& next, Scope& scope, Object& state, Boolean& isCompleted)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.g__Awaited|20_0(ResourceInvoker invoker, Task lastTask, State next, Scope scope, Object state, Boolean isCompleted)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.g__Logged|17_1(ResourceInvoker invoker)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.g__Logged|17_1(ResourceInvoker invoker)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Routing.EndpointMiddleware.g__AwaitRequestTask|6_0(Endpoint endpoint, Task requestTask, ILogger logger)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization.Policy.AuthorizationMiddlewareResultHandler.HandleAsync(RequestDelegate next, HttpContext context, AuthorizationPolicy policy, PolicyAuthorizationResult authorizeResult)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization.AuthorizationMiddleware.Invoke(HttpContext context)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication.AuthenticationMiddleware.Invoke(HttpContext context)
at VirtoCommerce.Platform.Web.Middleware.ApiErrorWrappingMiddleware.Invoke(HttpContext context) in /home/runner/work/vc-platform/vc-platform/src/VirtoCommerce.Platform.Web/Middleware/ApiErrorWrappingMiddleware.cs:line 52
```