I'll need a link where i can see the problem in order to troubleshoot.
for the category links, use a URL variable in the link, for example:
categories.php?category=6
then on the category page, create a recordset that filters the category column on the category URL Variable.
see the Database starter kit tutorial for more details:
http://www.webassist.com/community/tutorials/view_tutorial.php?tid=104