After you have categorized the products and organized them into various nodes, you can describe the characteristics of the product through attributes. An Attribute is a property of a SKU that describes a certain feature or functionality of the SKU. For example, if we consider a product such as Watch. The attributes that can define a watch are dial width, strap material, strap width and so on. The values for each of these attributes such as dial width (0.5 mm), strap material (synthetic) become the Attribute Values.
You can also group attributes under a common name if they belong to a similar category. For example, dial width, dial size, dial shape can all be grouped under an attribute group named Dial Parameters which might be applicable for all Watches.
Also, attributes can be assigned meta tags that provide additional information about an attribute.
Once you open the Catalog, the Attributes view is displayed in the last panel of the screen, by default as shown below.
The last panel consists of three views:
Attribute Master List View - All new attributes are created here. You can perform the following functions in this view:
Attribute Master Group – Attributes created in the master list can be grouped if a set of attributes are common for certain nodes. You can perform the following functions in this view:
Attribute Metadata Master View – All attributes created in the master list can be assigned a meta tag / meta attributes that provide additional information about the attribute. You can perform the following functions in this view:
You can add, edit, delete Product Attributes and create/maintain Attribute Groups for the products. You can also associate a meta tag / meta attribute to an attribute in the master list or to attributes in the master group.
The following table lists the privileges required to perform various functions related to attributes.
Table 9: Attribute level privileges
Privilege | Required to | Description | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
attribute_view | View all SKU attributes in the catalog | You can view the master list of SKU attributes in the catalog on the right-hand side panel on the screen. | catalog_open |
attribute_add | Add a new SKU attribute in the catalog | You can not only add new attributes, but also add/maintain attribute aliases. | attribute_view |
attribute_edit | Edit SKU attribute in the catalog | You can edit the attribute name, linked UoMs and LoVs. Name change will reflect automatically to all schemas where the SKU attribute belongs, but UoM and LoV changes will not be propagated to defining or enforcing Schema Constraints. This privilege also allows you to create/edit attribute groups and assign attributes within groups. | attribute_view |
attribute_delete | Delete SKU attribute in the catalog | You can delete any attribute from the master list of SKU attributes in the catalog on the right hand side panel on screen. | attribute_edit |
*Prerequisites – This column lists the privileges that needs to be enabled first before granting the actual privilege
Now let us understand the operations to be performed in the Attribute Master List view.
Working with Attribute Master List
All attributes will be created in the Attribute Master View. This is the main repository where all attributes for a catalog exist. You can add, edit, delete attributes as well as create a copy of attributes and link/delink them as needed. Following are the sub-sections:
By default, the Attributes tab is selected.
Adding Attributes
The first step in building product attributes is to add attributes at the catalog level, that is, you can add all the attributes relevant for the products categorized in the entire catalog here. You can add one or multiple attributes as required.
To add attributes:
On the last panel, click the Add Attribute(s)
icon as shown below.
The following screen appears.
The screen has 2 views, list and panel. By default, the list view is displayed. Click Panel View to switch to this view as shown below.
This view is divided into 2 sections:
Left panel view – This section has all the basic information to be added for attributes such as attribute name, customer attribute ID, attribute description, attribute data type, Is global flag, toggle for multiple UOMs and LoVs.
Right panel view – This section has fields such as UOMs, LOVs, meta tags and meta attributes to be added for all data types except derived. In case of derived attributes, an additional field to select the formula is displayed along with UOMs, meta tags and meta attributes.
The attribute details to be added are the same in both the views. Let us understand the type of information to be added in each of the fields as listed in the below table.
Enter the relevant attribute information as shown below:
Field | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Attribute Name | Enter the relevant attribute name in your base locale selected. If you have activated alternate language, click Note: The attribute name is case sensitive. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Customer Attribute Id | This is a unique identifier for an attribute which is external to the PCC system. In most cases, this will be imported from the PIM or ERP system when the catalog data is imported. This is useful in cases where multiple attributes with the same name exist. In such scenarios, this Id can be used to distinguish between the data. For example, 1205896 can be an Id for the attribute. This field is not mandatory and can be kept blank as well. However, if left blank, PCC will generate a numeric value for this Id, which can be changed while editing the attribute. However, once the attribute ID is created, it cannot be deleted. You can only update the Id as required. Note: Each attribute Id should be unique. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attribute Description | Enter the description for the attribute. For example, an attribute Dial Width can have a description as ‘width of the dial’. This field can be used to provide more information on the attribute. However, this field is not mandatory and can be kept blank as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attribute Data Type | Select the data type from the list box depending on the type of attribute. Following are the various options available:
Note: You cannot enter date and time values for this data type.
Note: You cannot enter date and time values for this data type. Also, spaces, text and alphanumeric characters are not allowed. An error is displayed stating ‘Please select the correct LoV according to the Datatype’.
Note: You cannot enter date and time values for this data type. Also, spaces, text, alphanumeric characters and decimal values are not allowed. An error is displayed stating ‘Please select the correct LoV according to the Datatype’.
Note: You can only enter date and time values from the calendar and no other values are allowed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Is Global | Turn on the toggle if the attribute added is global.
An attribute that is common to all products across the client’s data is marked as a global attribute. For example, if we consider Watches and Sunglasses as our main products, an attribute Brand is common for both as watches and sunglasses will have various brands. Brand can be marked as global. Once, Brand is marked as global, it automatically becomes part of all the schemas, that is, it is linked to all Taxonomy nodes in the catalog. Note: Once an attribute is marked as global, you cannot mark it as non-global. You will have to delete the attribute from each Node and then create a new one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can Have Multiple UoM(s) | For example, let us consider Watches as the product. Strap Width is an attribute for watches. The width can be measured in cm as well as mm. If the customer will be using both the UoMs, this is where it can be set. Thus, this attribute can now have multiple UoMs. Turn on the toggle if the attribute needs to have multiple UoMs.
The Add More option is now enabled, and you can add multiple UoMs for an attribute.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can Have LoV(s) | An LoV, or List of Value, is defined for attributes to control which values are valid for that attribute. For example, let us consider Watches as the product. Strap color is an attribute for watches. There could be multiple colors available, but we can provide a list here to ensure that users working on this catalog have a sample list in place to avoid duplicate or ad-hoc entries. Turn on the toggle if the attribute will have LoVs.
The Enter LoV(s) option is now enabled, and you can add multiple LoVs for an attribute. Click Add More to add more values. Also, if you have enabled the UoM option, you can select the UoM for the respective LoV.
In this case, LoVs could be Brown, Black and Blue. These will be useful while defining schemas as we can set validation rules by enforcing the LoV, that is, an error will populate if you enter any other values apart from the ones defined. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enter Aliases(Value in Catalog: Value In Import File) | You can enter an alias name for the attribute by clicking on Add Alias. On clicking Add Alias, enter the base value (actual value), and enter the alias value for the same attribute. You can add multiple alias values. While importing data or updating data into the catalog, you can use the alias names instead of attribute name. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enter UoM(s) | Enter the UoM applicable based on the data type selected. For example, in case of dial width, cm and mm will be the right option. If there is a single UoM for an attribute, you can enter it directly by selecting the relevant option from the drop-down list as shown below.
To enter multiple UoMs, turn on the Can Have Multiple UoM(s) toggle and click Add More to add more UoMs as shown below.
The UoMs will populate automatically as you enter the UoM here. You can select the applicable UoM and if the required UoM does not exist, you can add more UoMs to the existing repository. See Adding UoMs to UoM Repository for more information on how to add UoMs. Note: You can add/edit UoMs only if you have the necessary privileges provided. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Select Meta Tag | Select the meta tag to be associated with the attribute from the drop-down list. Here, you can set the relevance for the meta tag being associated to an attribute, that is, the meta tag being associated to an attribute is relevant for use in PCC or an external ecommerce platforms like WooCommerce / BigCommerce / Shopify. For example, if an attribute Price is being added which will be used as a SKU attribute for SKUs to be exported to WooCommerce, you can select the appropriate metatag that will be relevant in case of WooCommerce.
Once you select WooCommerce, all the metatags that are applicable for WooCommerce will be displayed and you can select the appropriate metatag as shown below.
Similarly, to select system defined metatags or other metatags that you have created, select PCC and a list of all such metatags will be displayed.
Details about meta tags and how to add new meta tags is detailed in Adding an Attribute Metadata section. You can associate multiple meta tags to an attribute. Click Add More to add more meta tags for an attribute. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Select Meta Attribute | Select the meta attribute to be associated with the attribute from the drop-down list. Type the meta attribute value as required.
Details about meta attributes and how to add new meta attributes is detailed in Adding an Attribute Metadata section. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Select Default Autoset Choice | There are four options available in Select Default Autoset Choice for Attribute values: Translate – The value will be translated in alternate language. Copy base as is – The value will be as it was entered in base locale. Static Value – Fixed value Not Set - <Language> for <BaseValue> is displayed. No alternate value – There will be no alternate value. |
and another row for alternate language is added. Enter the value in alternate language.
Click the Add Attribute to add more attributes. Repeat step 2 to complete the process.
Click the Remove Attribute
icon to remove attributes, if any.
Also, you can copy the attribute characteristics of the selected attribute to all the attributes being added. For example, you have an attribute Case Diameter and there is an attribute Case Thickness which has similar properties as the attribute Case Diameter such as UoM and LOV. In this case, you can copy the attribute characteristics of Case Diameter to Case Thickness instead of typing those values again.
Click the Apply this Attribute Characteristics to All
icon next to Case Diameter as you need to copy the values of this attribute to all the other attributes present, that is, Case Thickness.
The following options are available:
All Characteristics (UoMs, LoVs, Meta Tag and Meta Attributes) – Select this to copy all UoMs, LoVs, Meta Tag and Meta attributes set for the attribute.
Only UoM(s) – Select this to copy only the UoMs defined for the attribute.
Only LoV(s) – Select this to copy only the LoVs defined for the attribute.
Only Meta Tag – Select this to copy only the meta tag defined for the attribute.
Only Meta Attribute(s) – Select this to copy only the meta-attributes defined for the attribute
Let us copy all characteristics.
Select All Characteristics (UoMs, LoVs, Meta Tag and Meta Attributes) and all the UoMs, LoVs, Meta tag and meta attribute details present in Case Diameter will be copied to Case Thickness as shown below.
NOTE | The Apply this Attribute Characteristics to All option will copy the attribute characteristics to all attributes added in the Add Attribute screen. You cannot choose any specific attribute here. |
Some additional features available on the screen are as follows:
Sort Attributes – In case of multiple attributes being added , you can sort the attributes alphabetically in ascending or descending order. Click the Sort Attributes
icon to sort the attributes as shown below.
Locate Attribute – In case of multiple attributes being added , you can easily navigate to any attribute present in the screen using this option. Click the Locate Attribute
icon and a list of attributes added in the screen is displayed as shown below.
Click the 
icon next to the attribute and it will be highlighted as shown below.
This is useful in cases when there are multiple attributes added and you need to navigate to any attribute instead of vertically scrolling to locate that attribute.
Click Add Attribute and the attributes are added to the attribute master list.
Once the attribute is added, you can view the attribute information for the added attribute as shown below.
Figure 70: View attribute master list
A Drag this attribute to add in SKU or in Schema 
icon is displayed next to every attribute that is added, by default. Using this icon, you can drag any of the attributes added to a SKU or schema.
Adding an Attribute in SKU
Let us understand how to drag an attribute from the attribute master and add it as a SKU attribute.
To add an attribute to a SKU from the attribute master:
Open the SKU panel view which contains the SKU to which an attribute is to be added as shown below.
Click the Drag this attribute to add in SKU or in Schema
icon next to the attribute from the attribute master and drag it to the SKU for which it should be added as shown below.
Drop the attribute to the SKU to which it has to be added and the following dialog box appears.
Details of the SKU to which it will be added is displayed. You need to add values to the attribute.
Click Add SKU Attribute Values and the following dialog box appears.
Type the values as needed and then click Submit.
The value is added successfully, and the SKU attribute value added for the SKU is visible in the SKU panel as shown below.
Similarly, you can drag an attribute from the attribute master and add it as a schema attribute. Here, you need to select the schema view for the node to which the attribute should be added. The ‘Add Schema Attribute(s) to the Node’ screen is displayed and you need to follow the steps as mentioned in section Adding Schema Attributes to a Node.
You can view the values added for LoVs, UoMs and so on as well as Digital Assets linked, if any. Hover the mouse on any attribute associated with a meta tag and the details are displayed as shown below. If there are multiple meta tags, all will be displayed.
Figure 71: Meta tag associated to attribute
A derived attribute is added the same way as other attributes are added. However, when you select an attribute with datatype as ‘’Derived”, an additional field is displayed next to it to select the formula as shown below.
Attributes with a datatype “Derived” will automatically compute its value for each SKU based on the formula associated with it. Also, once a value for a derived attribute is generated using a formula, you can apply any formula to the same derived attribute. In this case, the values will be overwritten based on the new formula applied. This option is useful in cases where a SKU attribute is required and is not available in the catalog. In such cases, the value for such an attribute can be derived using a formula. For example, let us consider a product Nut Bolt. As per the requirement by the customer, Diameter should be defined as a SKU attribute for Nut Bolt. However, the catalog does not have diameter values and instead has the radius values defined. Using the radius value, the diameter can be computed. Thus, you can create a formula using the radius attribute to derive the value for diameter. A detailed description on how to create a formula is provided in section Creating a New Formula. Once the formula is created, it can be used to automatically compute the values for diameter.
To add a derived attribute:
In the Add Attribute(s) screen, type the Attribute Name select the Attribute Data Type as Derived. Let us define an attribute with the name Diameter as shown below.
Click the Select Formula field and the formula master containing a list of all formulas created is displayed as shown below.
Select the required formula. Let us select the formula Diameter and then click Select Formula.
The formula is now added for the attribute as shown below.
NOTE | You cannot add any LoVs here, as the values will only be computed using the formula assigned. However, you add UoMs as well as meta tags and meta attributes as needed. |
Click Add Attribute and the attribute is added successfully to the attribute master.
Once this attribute is added as a SKU attribute, the value will be derived from the formula associated with it.
A node Masking Tapes has a SKU attribute Diameter and its value is computed using the formula associated as shown below.
The formula used for Diameter is 2*Radius. Since the Radius attribute has the value 5, the value for Diameter is calculated based on the formula which is 2*5=10.
Following are some of the key points related to derived attributes:
If the formula used to calculate the value for the derived attribute contains another attribute and if this dependent attribute in the SKU is missing in a particular SKU, the value will be ignored and the rest of the elements in the formula will show up. In case the formula cannot be calculated because of lack of a value, it will remain blank. For example, in case of derived attribute Diameter, the dependent attribute is Radius as the formula used is 2* Radius. If a SKU attribute has a Diameter but if the attribute Radius is not defined for that SKU, the value will not be computed as shown below. In this case, the value will be 0.
The value of the derived attribute cannot be changed manually either through import. The value cannot be edited even through Reports ,Style Guides or Validation Management screens. The value of derived attributes will always be generated by PCC based on the formula associated with it.
If the formula is edited, the attribute values for the derived attribute which has been assigned the formula will change in all the SKUs in the catalog where applicable.
You can change the data type from derived to any data type and vice-versa for an attribute.
If there is a value for derived attributes in the BIF or VCSV import file, the same will not be considered.
For export, the PCC generated value for derived attributes according to the formula will be shown in the export file.
If an existing attribute with any other data type is updated and marked as derived, you need to select the formula and the LoVs for that attribute (if defined) will be removed once the attribute is saved as a derived attribute.
Derived attributes cannot be used while creating a formula.
For derived attributes, no review record will be generated in the review mechanism for values changed in a particular SKU.
If an attribute data type is changed to Derived attribute (from any other data type) and if there is a record in the review dashboard awaiting review for value change in a SKU for that attribute, the SKU review record for attribute value change will be deleted.
For a derived attribute, the UoM of SKU value has the UoM of schema. For example, if a derived attribute Diameter is used in SKU, the UoM value for this attribute in a SKU will be the UoM defined in the schema for Diameter. If there is no UoM in schema for that attribute but there is UoM in the attribute master for this attribute Diameter, the UoM will not be present in the SKU attribute value for that derived attribute. However, if a schema is not added at all for that derived attribute, the UoM of attribute master will be considered in this case.
NOTE | You cannot enter the UoM manually for a derived attribute used as a SKU attribute. It will always be generated/selected (from schema/attribute master) by PCC. |
Editing Attributes
Once you have added the attributes, you can edit them too. There could be changes in the properties of the attributes such as you want to add LOVs for an attribute or change the datatype and so on.
NOTE | You can edit multiple attributes at a time. |
To edit attributes:
Select the attribute and then click the Edit Attribute(s)
icon as shown below.
OR
Right-click the attribute and then click Edit Attribute(s) as shown below.
The following screen appears.
Make the necessary changes as needed. You can edit the Attribute Name / Attribute Id / Description or select a different Data Type.
For Attribute Name, click
to check the value in all the enabled locales. You can even edit by value.
For rest of the values, please refer Adding Attributes section.
Click Edit Attribute and the changes are updated and reflected in the attribute master list.
NOTE | In case of multiple LoVs for an attribute, while editing them, you can use the scrollbar to view the values as shown below.
Also, you can switch to the Panel view as well and the LoVs will be displayed in a list as shown below.
|
Deleting Attributes
You can delete the attributes created. However, there are two scenarios in which you cannot delete an attribute from the attribute master list directly:
If an attribute is marked as global, it is associated with every node in the taxonomy tree, by default. In this case, it will have to be deleted individually from every node which will be very cumbersome. Hence, only attributes that need to be part of every node should be marked global.
If an attribute is associated with any schema or SKU, it will have to be deleted from every schema and SKU which will again be a task if it is associated with multiple schemas and SKUs. If you try to delete such an attribute directly from the master list, the following error message is displayed.
These safety rules ensure that no attribute is randomly deleted as attributes are interlinked with schemas and SKUs. If any attribute is no longer relevant to a SKU/ schema, it is best to delete it from the SKU/schema itself.
To delete an attribute not linked to a schema / SKU / PF:
Select the attribute and then click the Delete Attribute(s)
icon as shown below.
OR
Right-click the attribute and then click Delete Attribute as shown below.
Click Yes and the attribute is deleted successfully from the attribute master list.
NOTE | You can only delete one attribute at a time. |
Creating a Copy of Attributes
This feature is especially useful when you need to create multiple attributes that have similar properties. Thus, you can add an attribute and then create copies of that attribute using this option. For example, in case of watches, you need to add 2 attributes, Dial Width and Strap Width which have similar properties. Here, we can add one attribute and then create a copy of the same attribute.
To create a copy of attribute:
Select the attribute and then click the Save As Attribute(s)
icon as shown below.
OR
Right-click the attribute and then click Save As Attribute(s) as shown below.
The Save As Attribute dialog box appears. For example, we have selected the Dial Width attribute. The following screen appears.
Here, if you only want to change the attribute name to Strap Width and the remaining properties are the same.
Make the changes and then click Submit. A new attribute is now added to the master list with the name Strap Width.
NOTE | You can create copies of multiple attributes at a time. However, ensure that the Customer Attribute Id is unique for each attribute. |
Linking/Delinking Digital Assets to/from Attributes
You can link/delink digital assets to/from attributes. A detailed description of digital assets, its features, uses and so on are detailed in Digital Assets. Refer to this chapter for more details.
A detailed description of how to link and delink assets is provided in section Linking or Delinking Digital Assets to a Node. The only difference is that here the assets will be linked to attributes instead of nodes and will be associated to attributes. However, the procedure to link/delink remains the same.
Also, once an asset is linked to an attribute, the Digital Assets column for the respective attribute is updated with an icon as shown below.
You can hover the mouse on the icon and a thumbnail of the primary asset linked is displayed. Click View Details to view details of active and inactive asset linkages for the attribute.
NOTE | You can link/delink only one attribute at a time. |
Downloading Assets Linked to Attributes
You can download assets linked to attributes by selecting the various options available to download all / selected assets for attributes as needed.
To download assets from the attributes panel:
Click the Assets 
icon and then click Download Assets as shown below.
There are 3 options here.
Case 1: Assets linked to selected attributes
Click Linked to selected Attributes to download all digital assets linked to selected attributes. In this case, you first need to select the attributes having assets to be downloaded from the master list.
The following screen appears.
The count of all assets present in the selected attributes is displayed. Refer Downloading Assets for detailed steps on how to download the assets.
Case 2: Assets linked to filtered attributes
Click Linked to Filtered Attributes to download only those assets which are linked to the attributes that have been filtered. For example, there are 10 attributes and a filter is applied that attributes with Data Type as String should be displayed. In this case, a filter is applied that attributes having Data Type as String should be displayed. In such cases, you can select this option to download assets as per the filter.
The following screen appears.
The count of all assets present in the attributes filtered is displayed. Refer Downloading Assets for detailed steps on how to download the assets.
Case 3: Assets linked to all attributes in a catalog
Click Linked to all Attributes in a catalog to download all the digital assets linked to all attributes in the catalog. The following screen appears.
As shown above, the count is 4, that is, the count of all assets present in attributes for the entire catalog. Refer section Downloading Assets for detailed steps on how to download the assets.
Editing Assets Linked to Attributes
You can edit assets linked to attributes by selecting the various options available to edit all / selected assets for attributes as needed. A detailed description on how to create templates required to edit the images, the various operations that can be performed on the templates and how to view the processed images is explained in section 0
Batch Editing of Multiple Images. Let us understand how to edit assets linked to attributes from the Attribute view itself.
To edit assets linked to attributes:
Click the Assets
icon and then click Edit Photo Assets as shown below.
OR
Select and right-click the attributes having assets to be edited and then click Assets Linkage > Edit Photo Assets as shown below.
NOTE | The Linked to filtered Attributes option will be enabled only when the attributes are filtered. |
The following 3 options are displayed:
Linked to selected attributes – This option will be enabled only when attributes are selected. Select the attributes and then select this option to edit those images which are linked to the selected attributes.
Linked to filtered attributes – This option will be enabled only when attributes are filtered. Select this option to edit those images which are linked to the attributes displayed as per the filter applied. For example, attributes having the word ‘width’ are filtered as shown below.
Click Digital Assets > Edit Photo Assets > Linked to Filtered Attributes to edit assets linked to filtered attributes as shown below.
Linked to all attributes in a catalog – This option will always be enabled. Select this option to edit images linked to all attributes of the catalog. In this case, any filters applied on attributes will be ignored.
NOTE | A catalog might have multiple hierarchies. However, the attribute master list will be common across all hierarchies. |
Select the required option and the following dialog box appears.
There are 4 steps to be performed to edit the images. Refer section 17.14.2 Editing Images from the DA Library for complete details on how to perform these 4 steps to successfully edit the images.
Working with Attribute Groups
There is a separate Attribute Master Group view available to perform all operations related to attribute groups. However, you can perform certain operations in the Attribute Master List view once an attribute group is created.
In the Attribute Master List view, click the Attribute Groups
icon to perform the following tasks:
Manage Attribute Group
All the tasks that can be performed here are detailed in section Managing Attribute Groups.
Add an Attribute to Attribute Group
Here, you can directly add an attribute to the required attribute group.
To add an attribute from the master list view:
Select the attribute and then click the Attribute Groups
icon. Click Add To Attribute Group or right-click the attribute and then click Add To Attribute Group.
The following screen appears.
Figure 74: Add an attribute to attribute group
Here, Selected Attribute is the attribute that we have selected to be added and Select Attribute Group displays all the available attribute groups. In this case, Product is the only group available.
Select the Attribute Group and then click Add. The attribute is added to that group.
You can also add an attribute group here. The steps to perform the same are detailed in Adding an Attribute Group.
Now let us understand the operations to be performed in an Attribute Master Group view.
Working with Attribute Master Group
Attributes created in the master list can be grouped together under a common name based on the category of attributes. You can add, manage and delete attribute groups as explained in the following sections.
Click the Attr Groups tab to switch to the Attribute Master Group view as shown below.
Figure 75: Attribute master group view
Let us understand how to add, manage and delete an attribute master group in the following sections.
Adding an Attribute Group
You can group attributes that are similar. For example, we are creating an attribute group for Watches. We will group all similar attributes such as dial width, dial shape, dial color here and the group can be named as Dial Parameters. Now, if you need to add attributes for various SKUs under Watches which will have the attributes present in Dial Parameters, it is easy to assign the group and all these attributes will be added together.
This helps in placing attributes at different nodes in PCC easily.
NOTE | An attribute can exist in only one attribute group. |
To add an attribute group:
Go to the Attr Groups tab, and then click the Add Attribute Group
icon. The following screen appears.
Figure 76: Add attribute group
Enter the Attribute Group Name. For example, Dial Parameters.
Enter the Attribute Group Description. For example, Dial features.
Click Add and then click OK. The attribute group is added successfully. Now, you can add relevant attributes to this group.
The following screen displays the attribute group added. In this case, Dial Parameters is displayed.
Figure 77: Attribute group added
Hover over the 
icon and the following details are displayed.
Managing Attribute Groups
Once you have created an attribute group, you can now add attributes that are relevant for this group and will be used to assign them to respective SKUs. Here, you can perform multiple operations such as deleting attribute groups, editing attribute groups and so on which are detailed as follows.
Adding Attributes to Attribute Groups
To add attributes:
On the Attr Groups tab, click the Manage Attribute Group
icon as shown below.
The Manage Attribute Group (s) screen appears.
Figure 78: Manage attribute group
A list of attribute groups available is displayed. Select the Attribute Group to which you need to add attributes. There could be multiple groups created. Hence, select the required group.
As soon as the group is selected, the Add Attributes option is enabled as shown below.
Click Add Attributes and the following view is displayed.
Figure 79: Add attributes to attribute group
Select the attributes to be added or type the attributes in the Search bar and then select them.
Click the
icon to add the selected attributes in the group as shown below.
Figure 80: Selected attributes which will be added in the group
Select the attributes added in the right panel and click Add Attribute(s) to Group and the attributes are added to the selected group. The following screen appears.
Figure 81: Attributes added to the group
Click Add More Attributes in case you need to add more attributes and repeat steps 4 to 7.
You can view the detailed information about all attributes added to an attribute group in the Attribute Master Group view as shown below.
Figure 82: View attributes in the attribute master group
Deleting Attributes in Attribute Group
You can also delete attributes added to attribute groups in case they are no longer relevant.
To delete attributes:
Select the attribute group and then, click the Manage Attribute Group(s)
icon. The Manage Attribute Group (s) screen appears.Select the Attribute Group from which the attribute needs to be deleted. For example, in this case, Dial Parameters is selected. All the attributes present in this group are displayed as shown below.
Select the attribute to be deleted and then click the Remove Attributes From Group icon as highlighted in the figure below.
Figure 83: Remove attributes from group
The following dialog box appears.
Click Yes and the attribute is deleted successfully from the attribute group.
NOTE | The attribute will only be removed from the attribute group and will be present in the attribute master list. |
Adding an Attribute Group
Once an attribute group is created, you can also add new attribute groups here.
To add an attribute group:
On the Attribute Groups tab, click the Manage Attribute Group
icon. The Manage Attribute Group (s) screen appears..In the Attribute Groups view, click the Add Attribute Group
icon. The following view is displayed.
Figure 84: Add new attribute group
Enter the Attribute Group Name and the Attribute Group Description.
Click Add Group and then the group is added successfully. You can now add attributes to this group.
Editing Attribute Groups
You can edit attribute groups, that is, change the name and description of the group.
To edit an attribute group:
In the Attribute Groups view, select the attribute group to be edited and then click the Edit Attribute Group
icon. The Edit Attribute Group view is displayed.
Figure 85: Edit attribute group
Edit the group name and description as required.
Click Save Changes and the changes are updated.
Deleting an Attribute Group
Once an attribute group is created, you can also delete attribute groups, if they are no longer relevant.
However, deleting an attribute group does not delete the attributes from the attribute master list. The attributes are only detached from the group, but they continue to exist in the master list.
To delete any single attribute from the group, refer Deleting Attributes in Attribute Group section.
To delete an attribute group:
On the Attribute Groups tab, select the group to be deleted and then click the Delete Attribute Group
icon as shown below.
The following dialog box appears.
Click Yes and the attribute group is deleted successfully.
NOTE | You can also delete attribute groups in the Manage Attribute Groups view. Select the attribute group and then click the Delete Attribute Group |
icon to delete the group. Working with Attribute Metadata Master
An attribute metadata provides additional information about an attribute in a catalog. There are two types of metadata:
Meta tags - A simple metatag consisting of a single string of characters associated with the attribute. An attribute meta tag provides a structured definition about an attribute (which is used with SKUs). PCC has a list of controlled, system defined values which cannot be changed or reused. The system-defined values are listed in the Attribute Meta Tag List view and are greyed out as it cannot be edited or deleted. However, you can create new meta tags which can be associated with attributes while adding / editing attributes.
Meta attributes - A meta attribute is a name-value pair, that is, a user-defined name of a meta-attribute stored as a master list of meta-attributes which are eligible to be associated with any attribute. The meta-attribute provides more information about the context of the SKU attribute. The name of an attribute can be anything as it is user defined but these attribute names might not convey what the attribute really implies or describes. In such cases, the system will use the meta-attribute value to determine which attribute to look for to get that information. The only difference between meta tags and meta attributes is that when meta attributes are associated with an attribute, the meta-attribute must also have a value. This value needs to be added while creating / editing an attribute. Like meta tags, you need to create new meta attributes which will then be available for selection from a master list of meta attributes while adding or editing nodes.
For example, we have an attribute Dial Width. We can associate a meta attribute to this attribute to bring more clarity on what exactly this attribute conveys. Let us have a meta attribute named Dial Specification which will be associated to attribute Dial Width. A value ‘The dial width of a watch’ can be added while creating / editing an attribute which will then be associated with this attribute.
NOTE | The meta tags and meta attributes are customer specific, that is, the same metadata can appear across multiple catalogs for the same customer. |
Click the Attr Metadata Master tab to switch to the Attribute Metadata Master List view as shown below.
Figure 86: Attribute Meta Tag Master List view
By default, the Meta Tags view is selected.
NOTE | A detailed description on meta attributes will be available in the future release. |
Let us understand how to add, edit and delete attribute meta tags as well as meta attributes in the following sections:
Adding an Attribute Metadata
To associate attributes with meta tags / meta attributes, it is important to first add them in the metadata master list. However, a list of predefined meta tags already exists which are as follows:
Figure 87: System defined attribute meta tags
These cannot be edited or deleted and hence they are greyed out. You can directly associate these to any attribute as required.
You can create new attribute meta tags / meta attributes to be associated with attributes. Once added to the metadata master, it will be available for association while adding or editing an attribute.
Case 1: Adding a meta tag to a metadata master list
To add a new meta tag:
Click the Meta Tags tab and the following is displayed.
A list of system defined meta tags is displayed.
Click the Add Attribute Metadata(s)
icon. The Add Attribute Metadata dialog box appears.
Figure 88: Add attribute meta tag
The Meta Tag option is selected by default.
Type the Meta Tag Name (for example, Product material) and provide a Meta Tag Description (for example, material used to make a product) describing the meta tag.
Select the Meta Tag Relevance from the drop-down list. Currently, you can set the relevance as PCC / Woo Commerce / Big Commerce / Shopify. This simply means that the attribute meta tags that are Woo commerce / Big Commerce / Shopify specific can be selected with meta tag relevance as Woo Commerce / Big Commerce / Shopify respectively. Similarly, in case of meta tags that are not specific to the e-commerce platforms, you can select the meta tag relevance as PCC.
Click the Add More Metadata(s)
icon to add multiple tags at once as shown below.
Click the Remove
icon to remove any meta tag here.Click Add Meta Tag and the attribute meta tag is added to the list as shown below.
Figure 89: Attribute meta tag added to the list
You can view the attribute meta tag in the master list view. Since we have created this meta tag, the Type is updated as User Defined.
Case 2: Adding a meta attribute to a metadata master list.
To add a new meta attribute:
Click the Meta Attributes tab and follow the steps 2 to 7 as mentioned for meta tabs above. Here, instead of meta tags, the details will be added for meta attributes.
Once the meta tag and attributes are added to the list, you can associate them to attributes while adding or editing the attributes as explained in section Adding Attributes and Editing Attributes.
NOTE | While you are adding the data for meta tags, if you switch to meta attribute without adding the meta tag, all unsaved changes will be lost. |
Editing an Attribute Metadata
The meta tags and meta attributes existing in the metatag master list can be edited. In both cases, the process to edit is the same. In case of meta tags, all user defined attribute meta tags can only be edited.
To edit the metadata for meta tags/ attributes:
Select the meta tag / meta attribute to be edited and then click the Edit Attribute Metadata(s)
icon as shown below. For example, the meta tag ‘Product material’ is selected.
The following dialog box appears.
Figure 90: Edit taxonomy metadata
Make the changes as needed and click Edit Meta Tag. The changes are updated and reflected in the master list.
Similarly, select the relevant meta attribute to edit it as well.
Deleting an Attribute Metadata
You can delete the user defined meta tag and meta attributes. However, you cannot delete them from the metadata master list directly:
If an attribute meta tag or meta attribute is associated with any attribute / global attribute. In this case, the attribute will have to be deleted from the attribute master list to delete the metadata and in case of Global Attributes, it is associated with every node in the taxonomy which makes it very cumbersome. Hence, you need to carefully associate meta tags / meta attributes to attributes.
If an attribute meta tag or meta attribute is associated to any schema attribute or SKU, it will have to be deleted from every schema and SKU which will again be a task if it is associated to multiple schemas and SKUs. If you try to delete such an attribute directly from the master list, the following error message is displayed.
If any attribute meta tag or meta attribute is no longer relevant to a SKU/ schema, it is best to delete it from the SKU/schema itself.
To delete an attribute meta tag / meta attribute that is not associated to any attribute/schema /SKU:
Select the attribute meta tag / meta attribute and then select the Delete Attribute Metadata(s)
icon as shown below.
In this case, the meta tag is selected to be deleted. Hence, the Delete Attribute Meta Tag dialog box appears.
Figure 91: Delete attribute meta tag
The details of the meta tag are displayed.
Click Delete meta Tag and the attribute meta tag is deleted successfully from the metadata master list.
NOTE | You can only delete one attribute meta tag / meta attribute at a time. |
Changing the Table Setting for Attributes
You can change the setting of the columns containing the attribute information in the attribute master list.
On the last panel, click the Table Settings icon
in the Attribute Master List view as shown below.
The following options are displayed.
Figure 92: Table settings for attributes
The following table lists the various options available to change the settings for attribute information displayed.
Table 10: Table setting parameters for attributes
To | Do this | Description |
|---|---|---|
Refresh Attributes | Click Refresh. | Any changes made in the attributes are updated after you select this option. |
Following are the three options available:
| Allows you to align the text in the column. The text can be:
|
to left align the text in the column.
to center align the text in the column.
to right align the text in the column.