Attributes

Suppose that you sell digital cameras and laptops in your store. Each of the products has its specific attributes to describe it. For example, cameras have a digital zoom parameter whereas laptops don't.

Instead of providing all product specifications as free-form text, you can define a fixed set of attributes for each product category, and have designated fields for entering each parameter of a product. It makes it easier for customers to compare common products and, by using attributes, you can create product filters, which will help customers find the products that match their requirements in a few seconds.

Note: Attributes have to be set up for each category individually. You can also set higher level (global) attributes for higher level categories when necessary. For example, if the Computers category has two subcategories for Laptops and Desktops, you can define the common attributes like processor type, speed, memory, etc. for the Computers category and Laptop/Desktop specific attributes (for example, battery life) to the respective categories. You can also define truly global attributes, which will be available for all categories by defining them for the root category.

Create new attribute

LiveCart supports three base product attribute types:

• Number type which can be either an input field or a predefined value selector
• Text type which also can be either an input field or a selector
• and Date type

Using these base types you can create various types of attributes. Below you'll find a couple of practical examples on how to create attributes and choose attribute types.

Examples

Let's say that you have a category stocked with cell phones and you want to create custom fields for specifying the following properties: Carrier (select one option), Phone Features (select multiple options) and Battery Capacity (number input field). Because attributes are automatically included in the Add New Product form, in our examples we will demonstrate how attributes are generated and placed in the product form.

Creating Carrier attribute

To create the mobile carrier attribute, follow these steps:

1. Select a category in the category tree and click on the "Attributes" tab.

2. In the "Attributes" tab click "Add new attribute".

3. Add new attribute form appears. Fill out the following fields as described below.

• Type - because there is probably a finite number of carriers it would be most convenient to create a list of carriers, so that a carrier can be selected from the existing list. Click the type drop-down menu and select "Text Options" from the list.
• Can select multiple values - leave this checkbox clear to allow only one carrier for a single phone.
• Attribute title represents its function, thus enter a meaningful name - "Carrier".
• Handle is generated automatically and is used to represent the attribute in URL, so you can change it for SEO purposes if needed.
• In the description field enter a brief info about the attribute. It is optional.
• Check required to make the field mandatory since it is an important feature.
• Display attribute in product page - mark the checkbox to display the attribute in the product details page.
• Display attribute in product list - mark the checkbox if you want the carrier attribute to be displayed in the product list page.

The last thing to do is to create attribute values, which will be used as a selection option in the Add new Product form. To add values:

1. Click on the "Values" tab at the top of the attribute form.
2. When switched to the "Values" section, enter the first Mobile Carrier in the text field provided.

3. As soon as you start entering the value, additional empty field appears below.

4. Keep in this manner until you have a full list of carriers.

5. Click the "Save" button.

Your new attribute is automatically generated in the Add new Product form under the "Product specification" section and will look similar to this one:

Note: If you need to enter additional value, which is not in the list, select "Enter Other". A new value will be saved in the list.

Creating Phone Features attribute

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Because cell phones usually have a great variety of features it would more convenient to create a list of features than re-enter them every time when adding a new cell phone. To create the attribute click "Add new attribute" (Show me how.)

The following parameters have to be set:

• Type - click the drop-down list and select "Text Options".
• Required - leave the checkbox empty as some phones may don't have additional features.
• Can select multiple values - mark the checkbox to allow multiple features assigned to a cell phone.
• Display attribute in product page - mark the checkbox to display attribute in the product details page.
• Display attribute in product list - mark the checkbox to display attribute in the product list page.
• Title - enter "Phone Features".
• Handle is generated automatically and is used to represent the attribute in URL, so you can change it for SEO purposes if needed.
• Description - optional attribute description.

After that, you need to create a list of mobile features.

1. Click on the "Values" tab, which is next to the "Main" tab.
2. In the "Values" tab enter all the necessary features one by one.

3. Save the attribute when done.

The attribute now will appear in the Add new product form.

Note: To create a corresponding attribute for a numeric selection choose "Number Options" type followed by the necessary changes.

Creating Battery Capacity attribute

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Battery capacity is expressed in numerical value of mAh, therefore, you should consider choosing a "Number" type. When it comes to a field or a selector, it is up to you to decide whether you want to create a single field for entering a value or to create a predefined list of possible capacity values. We choose a field type in the following example.

1. Click "Add new attribute" (Show me how.)
2. Type - select "Number Field".
3. Required - click the checkbox to make the field required.
4. Display attribute in product page - mark the checkbox to display attribute in the product details page
5. Display attribute in product list - mark the checkbox to display attribute in the product list page.
6. Title - enter "Battery Capacity".
7. Handle is generated automatically and is used to represent the attribute in URL, so you can change it for SEO purposes if needed.
8. Prefix - leave the field empty.
9. Suffix - enter "mAh" as battery capacity is defined by this expression.
10. In the description field you can provide a brief information about the attribute.
11. Don't forget to click Save at the end.

Generated attribute will provide a field for entering battery capacity.

Note: To create analogous attribute for Text Field, change type to "Text Field".

Display attributes in storefront

You can define what attributes should be visible to customers with your products. For example, you want to display battery capacity attribute in the product list page, but keep all the features in the product details page.

• To make the attribute visible in the product details page, mark the "Display attribute in the product page" checkbox in the attribute form.

• To make the attribute visible in the product list page, mark the "Display attribute in the product list page" checkbox in the attribute form.

Group attributes

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LiveCart allows you to group attributes together. This is mostly important for the product details page because using groups you can present your product specification in a clear and simple manner. To create a new group:

1. Click the "Add new group" link.

2. Enter group title.
3. Click the "Save" button.

Attribute groups appear as boxes, which can contain as many attributes as necessary. To place attributes into groups, simply drag attributes into the appropriate groups.

Reorder attributes

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The order of attributes and attribute groups define how they are displayed in the product list and product details page. To change the order of attributes or attribute groups, hover mouse cursor over attribute or entire group and then drag it up or down.

Edit or delete attribute

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To edit an attribute, click the pen icon on the left.

Attribute management form appears. For detailed fields' description, see the "Create new attribute" section.

To delete an attribute, click the delete icon on the left.

Edit or delete group

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To change a group name or delete a group, click the appropriate icon on the left.

Note: Deleting a group will cause all of its attributes to be deleted as well. Thus you have to ungroup attributes that you want to keep.