Attributes

Attributes – characteristics of a certain product that distinguish it from other products, e.g. size, color, functionality, components and features that affect the product's attractiveness or acceptance in the market.

An attribute can be assigned to only one attribute group. Value of a certain attribute set for a certain product is called product attribute value. It is possible to define the same product attribute different values for each channel.

Attributes can be assigned to several Classifications, so if the product for that Classification is created, the selected attribute will be added to the product attributes automatically.

Attributes can be activated or deactivated. Deactivated attributes cannot be used in the system, e.g. no values can be set to them or transferred via any channel. All the values of the deactivated attributes are hidden and will be shown again after the attribute is activated again.

Attribute Codes

It happens that you have to use attributes with the same name for different products. For example, the "size" attribute for shoes is not the same as the "size" attribute for outerwear. Such attributes can be of different types as well as have different possible values. In order to distinguish such attributes, an informative attribute code can be given, which should be unique for each attribute. For the example above, the following codes could be used: size_footwear and size_clothes.

Attribute Groups

The product attribute groups can be used to group similar attributes. This way all attributes are vivid, especially when a product has many attributes.

The use of product attribute groups is not mandatory. An attribute can only be assigned to one attribute group.

For more information on attribute groups, read the documentation "Attribute Groups".

Attribute Fields

The attribute entity comes with the following preconfigured fields; mandatory are marked with *:

If multiple attributes are assigned to an Attribute Group or to a Product at once the default Scope, Channel and Required option are always applied.

If you want to make changes to the attribute entity (e.g. add new fields, or modify attribute views), please contact your administrator.

Available Attribute Types

Attributes are automatically validated according to their type. The following attribute types are available in the base AtroPIM system:

The Advanced Data Types module provides the ability to create attributes of other types, such as alias and script. You can read more about these types here Advanced data types.

Configuration of Attributes for Classifications

On the Classification page, you can add and edit attributes that belong to the respective Classification. Here you can either enter an attribute together with its scope (button ✚) or add several attributes with the scope Global (button ▼).

You can link all attributes of a certain attribute group at once. To do this, you should select an appropriate option in the attribute panel menu.

The attributes on the Classification page are sorted according to the groups, if the attribute has no group, it is automatically displayed in the group No Group.

If an attribute is a mandatory attribute, the option Is required should be set.

Channel-specific Attributes

The system enables channel-specific attributes to be created for Classifications. These can be given a value for a specific channel. For this purpose, the scope Channel and a corresponding channel for an attribute must be selected.

Such a need for channel-specific attributes can exist for various reasons:

• Different units of measurement or data typing in different countries.
• Need for different descriptions according to marketing or SEO needs.
• Legal requirements in certain countries etc.

Channel-specific attributes can also be linked directly to the products. You should use the ✚ button for this.

Multi-language / Multi-local Attributes

It is possible to set the selected attributes as multilingual attributes. This makes it easy and convenient to manage the translations of product descriptions according to the locations activated in AtroPIM.

You can mark the following attribute types as multilingual: List, Multi-value List, Text, String, HTML.

Creating

To create a new attribute record, click Attributes in the navigation menu to get to the attribute list view and then click the Create Attribute button. The common creation pop-up window will appear:

Here enter the attribute name and code and select its type from the Attribute Type drop-down list. Define its attribute group using the corresponding select button, if needed. Your username is loaded to the Owner and Assigned user fields by default. You can change them via the corresponding select buttons, as well as define the team, if needed. Click the Save button to finish the attribute record creation or Cancel to abort the process.

If the attribute code is not unique, the error message will appear notifying you about it.

Please, note that attribute type cannot be changed after the attribute is created.

When creating attribute records of the List and Multi-value List types, their attribute values should also be defined:

Alternatively, use the quick create button on any AtroPIM page and fill in the required fields in the attribute creation pop-up that appears:

Listing

To open the list of attribute records available in the system, click the Attributes option in the navigation menu:

By default, the following fields are displayed on the list view page for attribute records:

• Attribute name
• Code
• Attribute group
• Attribute type

To sort attribute records order in the list, click any sortable column title; this will sort the column either ascending or descending.

Attribute records can be searched and filtered according to your needs. For details on the search and filtering options, refer to the Search and Filtering article in this user guide.

To view some attribute record details, click the name field value of the corresponding record in the list of attributes; the detail view page will open showing the attribute records. Alternatively, use the View option from the single record actions menu to open the quick detail pop-up.

Mass Actions

The following mass actions are available for attribute records:

• Remove
• Mass update
• Export
• Add relation
• Remove relation

For details on these actions, please, see the Mass Actions section of the Views and Panels article in this user guide.

Single Record Actions

The following single record actions are available for attribute records:

• View
• Edit
• Remove

For details on these actions, please, refer to the Single Record Actions section of the Views and Panels article in this user guide.

Editing

To edit the attribute, click the Edit button on the detail view page of the currently open attribute record; the following editing window will open:

Here edit the desired fields and click the Save button to apply your changes.

Besides, you can make changes in the attribute record via in-line editing on its detail view page.

Alternatively, make changes to the desired attribute record in the quick edit pop-up that appears when you select the Edit option from the single record actions menu on the attributes list view page:

Associated Attributes

The System has the functionality of automatic attribute linking to a Classification or Product data record. If some attribute is assigned other related attributes will be assigned as well. This is realized with the help of hierarchies. Attributes is a hierarchical entity. After a new record is created you can assign Associated Attributes and Associating Attributes to it.

• Associating Attributes – are "parent" attributes, assigning of which will cause automatic assigning of the current attribute.
• Associated Attributes – are "child" attributes, which will be automatically assigned if the current attribute is assigned.

In the Tree Panel you can see the full attribute hierarchy and change it by using drag-and-drop.

Removing

To remove the attribute record, use the Remove option from the actions menu on its detail view page

or from the single record actions menu on the attributes list view page:

By default, it is not possible to remove the attribute if there is any product or Classification linked with this attribute. The following confirmation pop-up appears:

Select the checkbox to unlink the attribute record from other entities and click Remove to complete the operation. Click Cancel to abort the process.

Duplicating

Use the Duplicate option from the actions drop-down menu to go to the attribute creation page and get all the values of the last chosen attribute record copied in the empty fields of the new attribute record to be created. Modifying the attribute code is required, as this value has to be unique.

Numeric attribute types

There are two types of attributes for displaying numeric data in PIM: Integer and Float. And also the ranges of these two types (Integer Range and Float Range). For all attribute types, you can specify a minimum and maximum allowable value (1).

If you specify these fields for the attribute, the value of the attribute when entered will be validated according to them. If the entered value is not within the valid range, the error message "Value shouldn't be greater (less) then ..." will appear on the screen.

For float or float range attributes, you can also specify the number of decimal places allowed (2). If you leave of this field empty, the number of decimal places is limited to 12 digits by default.

Units of measurement

Units of measurement can be added to attributes of numeric and string type. The "Measure" and "Unit" fields are used for this. A measure is a separate entity that is related to attributes by a many-to-one relationship. You can add an unlimited number of units to each measure and also choose the unit that will be used by default.

To create a new measure record, click Measures in the navigation menu (if it is not there, you can add it through Administration --> User interface) and then click the Create Measure button. A page for creating a new measure will open

Enter the measure name and code (by default, this field is optional) and click the Save button. To add a new unit to the measure, click the "Create" (+) button on the Units tab. Unit creation pop-up window will appear:

You can create a unit from the measure entity, or vice versa: go to the Unit entity, create a new unit via the "Create Unit" button and choose the measure to which you want to add it. In the "Convert to" field, you can choose the units of measurement to which the current unit should be converted. A default unit can be selected for both the measure and the attribute to which the measure is added.

Attribute of Text, String and HTML type

There are three types of attributes for displaying text-related data in PIM: Text, String and HTML.

Attributes of these types can have max length. You can count it in bytes or characters. If the text length is exceeded, an error message "Text field length exceeded" is displayed when trying to save. This function can be switched off if the max length is not defined.

All text-related attributes have option Disable Null Value, which determines whether the attribute can or cannot have a value of Null.

If this checkbox is not selected, the attribute can be set as null or empty. If the checkbox checked, the attribute can only have an empty value. A value of null is displayed in the view and edit mode using a placeholder "Null". Empty value is displayed as empty field in the view mode and as "None" in edit mode.

By default, the attribute is added to the product with Null value. To change it to a empty, you need to write a single space. Then the placeholder "Null" will disappear in the edit mode, which means that the attribute will be saved with empty value. If you delete text from an attribute, it gets the value empty. To get Null, you need to click the backspace button again. Note that the values null and empty are different for the system. Therefore, if a parent product has an attribute value of Null and a child product has an attribute value of empty, this attribute will be marked as uninherited.

The attribute of type String also has option "Remove leading and trailing whitespaces". It allows you to remove extra spaces before and after the text. If the option is not selected, the spaces are highlighted with a special character in the view mode.

Attribute of Date and Date-time type

There are two types of attributes for displaying time-related data in PIM: Date and Date-time. For Date attribute you select a date on a calendar in pop-up or type it. For Date-time attribute you can also select time in pop-up or type it.

The date and time is set in Universal time but the presentation of it is localized to your current selected time zone. This helps with integration issues and also with actualizing data when the time zone is changed.

You can set a Default Date for both types of attributes. This is a function that will move the date and/or time forward or backwards as you set. So, for the example below, if you select Date-time as 10th November 12:00 it will be set in attribute value as 14th November 11:00.

For Date attributes the time defaults are not applicable.

Changing attribute type

Type of a created attribute can be changed only to Alias or Script. All values will be changed but the product attributes will remain. Please use this feature with care.