Product Types and Attributes

Product Types describe the characteristics and custom Attributes of Products. Attributes are characteristics of a Product such as color, size, quantity, or any other specification.

You can organize related Attributes together into Attributes Groups and ease your data enhancement workflows.

Product Type and Attributes

Add a Product Type

1. In the Merchant Center main menu, go to Settings > Product types and attributes.
2. Click Add product type.
3. In the General Information section, follow these steps:
   1. For Name, enter a unique name for the Product Type.
      You can search for a Product Type by its name. Before you perform a search, you must index your Project.
   2. For Description, enter a description for the Product Type.
   3. Optional: For Key, enter a unique identifier for your Product Type. This helps identify the Product Type resource in the API.

   You can update the name, description, and key of the Product Type later at any time.

4. Click Create product type.

Add an Attribute

1. Click Add an attribute.
2. On the Add attribute page, follow these steps:
   1. For Attribute identifier (name), enter a unique identifier for the Attribute. This is an internal identifier and will not be displayed in the store front.
      Two Attributes can share the same name across different Product Types, only if they are of the same Attribute type and have the same constraints.

   2. For Attribute label, enter a name for the Attribute. This will be displayed in the Product details screen, and helps you find an Attribute when creating or editing Products. If multiple languages are configured for a Project, you can enter localized values for each language.
   3. Optional: For Attribute description, enter a description for the Attribute. This will be displayed in the Product details screen below the Attribute label. If multiple languages are configured for a Project, you can enter localized values for each language.
   4. For Attribute constraints, select one of the following options depending on how an Attribute (or a set of Attributes) must be validated across all Variants of a Product:
      • None: the value can be entered individually for each Variant as the Attribute has no constraints.
      • Unique: the value must be different for each Variant of a Product.
      • Same for all: the value is defined at a Product level and is identical for all Variants of a Product.
      • Combination unique: the combination of values of all Attributes of a given Product must be different for each Variant.
   5. For Attribute type, select the data type for the Attribute:
      • Yes/No (boolean): allows to select Yes or No. A boolean Attribute could be, for example, if a product is child-friendly or not.
      • Text: allows to enter a string or (localized) text. A text Attribute could be, for example, the name of an author (if the product is a book).
      • Number: allows to add a numeric value. A number Attribute could be, for example, the weight of a product.
      • Money: allows to set a currency and its numeric value in cents. A money Attribute could be, for example, the value of a stamp (as a product).
      • Date/time: allows to set a date and/or time in ISO 8601 format. A date/time Attribute could be, for example, to display set time for products related to events.
      • Reference: allows to reference another resource by ID. The available resources are: category, channel, key-value-document, product-type, product, review, shipping-method, state, and zone.
      • List (enum): allows to select from predefined values. The values can be set by providing a unique enumeration key and a label for the list item that will be a visible and selectable option in a drop-down. At least one Enumeration Key and Line Item Label must be defined. A list Attribute could be, for example, the different colors of a product.
        
      If an Attribute can contain multiple values at the same time, select Create a set with this type.
      If selected, the Attribute can only be optional for a Product.

   6. Optional: For Attribute settings, select the settings for the Attribute based on your need:
      • Type of reference: available only if you've selected Reference in the previous step; you can use the following resources as reference: category, channel, key-value-document, product-type, product, review, shipping-method, state, and zone.
      • Searchable: if selected, the Attribute is included in the shop frontend search (Product Projection Search) and affects the search results.
      • Required: if selected, the Attribute is mandatory and must be filled for all Products or Product Variants assigned to a given Product Type.
      • Allow multiple line field (an expandable field recommended for longer texts): available only if you've selected Text in the previous step; if selected, allows to use a multiple line field for the Attribute.
3. Click Add attribute.
4. The Attribute is then listed in the New or modified attributes section. To save the Attribute for the Product Type, click Save.

Edit an Attribute

New Attributes can be fully edited before saving. Saved Attributes are limited to the following:

• Only Attribute label, Attribute description, and Searchable fields settings are editable.
• Values of List (enum) Attribute types can be added, edited, and deleted in the table containing all the values. The table can be sorted only in non-edit mode.

Reorder Attributes

To reorder Product-level Attributes, do the following:

1. Go to Products > Product list.
2. Select a Product from the Product details page.
3. In the Product Attributes section, click Reorder and drag the Attribute fields accordingly. You can reorder fields only if no filter is applied for the Attribute fields.
4. Click Save.
5. In the Update your attribute order dialog, select if you want to save the field order only for the selected Product or for all Products of the respective Product Type, and then click Confirm.

Delete an Attribute

To delete an Attribute that was previously saved, click the Delete icon in the Attributes table of a given Product Type or the upper-right corner of the Attribute details screen.

Save a Product Type

You’ll get a notification if the Product Type is saved successfully. If it fails due to a validation error in an Attribute, you’ll be redirected to the respective Attribute definition detail view to correct the error.

Import Product Types

1. Go to Settings > Product types and attributes.
2. Click Import product types.
3. In the Import product types by CSV window, choose a CSV file on your computer to upload, and click Upload and preview.
4. After the file is uploaded and validated, verify the rows and columns to be imported, and click Continue.
5. Click Start import to confirm the import process. As the import process is a background task, you do not need to wait for it to complete. To check the import status, go to Operations > Import.

Export Product Types

Attribute Groups

Attributes can be shared among several Attribute Groups. Attributes of different Product Types can be added to the same Attribute Group.

Create an Attribute Group

To create an Attribute Group, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Product types and attributes in the Merchant Center main menu, and then click the Attribute groups tab.
2. Click Add attribute group.

3. Enter a name for the Attribute Group, and optionally, a description and key.

4. Search and/or select existing Attributes from the Add attributes drop-down to assign them to the Attribute Group. You can also assign Attributes after creating an Attribute Group.
   The Add attributes drop-down is only available for indexed Projects.
5. Click Create attribute group.

Add an Attribute to an Attribute Group

To add an Attribute to an Attribute Group, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Product types and attributes in the Merchant Center main menu.
2. Select the respective Attribute Group and search and/or select existing Attributes from the Add attributes drop-down.
3. Click Save.

Edit an Attribute in an Attribute Group

Remove an Attribute from an Attribute Group

To remove an Attribute from an Attribute Group, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Product types and attributes in the Merchant Center main menu.
2. Select the respective Attribute Group and click the Remove attribute from this group icon in the Attribute row.

Delete an Attribute Group

To delete an Attribute Group, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Product types and attributes in the Merchant Center main menu.
2. Select the respective Attribute Group and click the Delete attribute group icon in the upper-right corner of the Attribute Group details page.
   Attributes that were assigned to the deleted Attribute Group are automatically moved under the Ungrouped panel.
3. Click Save.