[funkydunk]

Put

{ $categories[cat_num].product_count}

where you want the product count to appear in categories.tpl

so in your example it would be:

{capture name=menu}
{if $config.General.root_categories eq "Y"}
{section name=cat_num loop=$categories}
<font class=CategoriesList>{ $categories[cat_num].category_name|escape }({ $categories[cat_num].product_count})</font>

{/section}
{else} {section name=cat_num loop=$subcategories}
<font class=CategoriesList>{ $subcategories[cat_num].category_name|escape }</font>

{/section}
{/if}


{/capture}
{ include file="menu.tpl" dingbats="dingbats_categorie.gif" menu_title=$lng.lbl_categories menu_content=$smarty.capture.menu }