Variant Record Generation - Precisely_EnterWorks - EnterWorks - 11.0

Overview

EnterWorks can use attributes in a parent repository's record to generate variant records in a child repository. These variant records are not image variants. They are new records that are generated in a child repository. Attribute values in the parent record (source attributes) are used to create attribute values in the new child records (target attributes).

The source attributes are typically defined as multi-valued and they have associated code sets. A new variant record is created for each possible combination of the source attributes. Target attribute values are constructed from the target attribute values, using custom mapping formulas.

For example, if the parent record's variant attributes have the following values:

• Color: Red, Green, Blue
• Size: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-large
• Sleeve Length: Long, Short

Twenty-four variant records generated would be generated, (3 x 4 x 2):

• Variant record 1: Red, Small, Long
• Variant record 2: Red, Medium, Long
• … <variant-records-3-throuth-23> ...
• Variant record 24: Blue, Extra-large, Short

The source attributes and the target attributes must be assigned to an Attribute Group that has the Group Type set to Variant. The parent record's attributes can be global or category-specific. There must be a one-to-many relationship between the two repositories, meaning that a record in the parent repository can point to one or more records in the child repository.

The methods of triggering variant record generation are:

• A user can manually trigger variant record generation by clicking the Generate Item Variants icon that appears in the Detail Editor, in the editing pane to the right of the attribute group's name.
• A validation rule can be configured to trigger automatic variant record generation. For more information about configuring this option, contact your EnterWorks support representative.

When variant record generation is triggered, EnterWorks will ensure that the child repository contains one variant record for each possible combination of source attributes. If a variant record does not exist for a combination, it will be generated. If a variant record exists that has attribute values that are not a currently valid combination, it will be deleted. For example, if a code was deleted from a source attribute's code set since the last time variant records were generated, records that contained the old code would be deleted. If a code is added, new records will be added.

Configure variant record generation

To configure EnterWorks to automatically generate variants:

1. Log into the Classic UI as a user with administrative permissions.
2. If a one-to-many link has not been already created between the parent and child repositories, create one.
3. In both the parent and child repositories, create an attribute group of type Variant. Assign the target and source attributes to these groups.
4. If the source attributes are category attributes, the parent and child repositories should use the same taxonomy code set and their category association objects should be synced. This will ensure that if the parent's taxonomy is updated, the child's taxonomy will be updated as well. To do so:
   1. Edit the child repository's profile. Configure its taxonomy control attribute to use the same code set as the parent repository's taxonomy control attribute.
   2. Configure the child repository's taxonomy to synchronize with the parent repository's taxonomy:
      1. Open the Taxonomy list: open the Feature bar, open the Model folder, and select Taxonomy.
      2. Open the folder that contains the desired taxonomy, select the taxonomy, open the Manage dropdown menu and select Category/Dynamic Association.
      3. The list of category and dynamic association objects will appear. Select the association object for the child repository, open the Action dropdown menu, and select Edit.
      4. In the Synchronize With Source dropdown menu, select the parent repository's category association object.
      5. Click the Save button.
      6. You will be returned to the Manage Category/Dynamic Attributes Editor. Click Close.
5. Clear the cache.
6. Enable variant record generation by editing the parent repository's properties:
   1. To open the properties editor, open the Feature bar, open Content, open the parent's repository folder, select the parent repository, select Edit, and select Properties.
   2. Scroll to the bottom of the window, to the section labeled Generate Variants. This section will only appear if both repositories contain attribute groups of type Variant. Edit the configuration options:
      1. Enable Variants: Check the checkbox.
      2. Link Relationship: Use the dropdown menu to select the link relationship between the parent and child repository.
      3. Child Attribute Mappings: Click the Manage button.
      4. The Variants Child Attribute Mapping Listing editor will appear. Create a mapping for each target attribute:
         1. Open the Action dropdown menu and select New.
         2. The Child Attribute Mapping Builder will appear. The mapping formula consists of one or more concatenated attributes. To add an attribute to the formula, use the Type and Attributes lists to select an attribute, then click the Append button. If you click the Replace button, the selected attribute will replace the mapping formula.
            • Type:
              • Product: All the parent's global attributes that are not in the parent repository's Variant group will be listed in the Product Attributes list. To list category attributes, select the taxonomy node in the Category Node setting.
              • Variant: The parent's source attributes (the attributes in the Variant group) will be displayed in the Variant Attributes list. If you select v.*, all the source attributes will be used.
            • Category Node:
              • <empty>: Global attributes will be displayed.
              • <category-node-name>: Only category attributes from the selected node will be displayed.
         3. When you are finished building the mapping formula, click the Save button.
      5. When you are finished creating attribute mapping formulas for all the target attributes, click the Return button.
7. Clear the cache.