Product Types and Attributes

Attributes

Attribute fields are parameters of Product Types and define a set of properties and characteristics for a certain product category.

There are two types of product attributes used in Otomate – Default and Custom fields.

  • Default fields are internal Otomate attributes that correspond to basic product data fields common to all sales channels. Default attributes may be mandatory (Name and Price) or optional (Description and SKU), but they are always on the list for each item.
Default fields cannot be deleted or changed.
  • Custom fields are additional attributes with product-specific information created manually or imported into Otomate from an external system.
Custom fields can be changed in the Product Type settings.

SKU

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is one of the default fields in Otomate. SKUs are unique alphanumeric product codes used by stores, marketplaces, warehouses, and distribution centers for managing and tracking products.

SKU Format and Limits in Otomate:

  • The SKU must be unique to a product.
  • You can use the digits (0-9) and Latin letters (A-Z, a-z), separated by hyphens (-). Special symbols are allowed.
  • SKUs are case-sensitive.
  • SKUs can have a maximum of 50 characters.

Product Types

In Otomate, Product Types form the core of a catalog. They represent specific categories or classifications of products that share similar attributes. These attributes can include characteristics such as size, color, style, material, and more, depending on the nature of the products being sold. By grouping products together based on their product type, businesses can more easily organize and manage their product data. For example, a clothing retailer might organize their catalog into product types such as dresses, tops, bottoms, and outerwear, with each type having its own set of attributes and corresponding products.

 

How to Edit a Product Type

  1. Navigate to the Product Types list page and click the "Settings" button.

2. On this page, you can modify Product Type properties such as name, attributes, and mappings. To apply the changes, click the "Save" button located in the right-upper corner of the page.

 

How to Create a New Product Type

1. Navigate to the Product Types list page and click the "Create New Product Type" button.

2. Enter a name for the new Product Type.

3. You will see the list of Default fields that are already automatically created and cannot be changed and deleted. You can add any Custom fields for different attributes (e.g., Size, Color, Brand) by clicking the "Add field" button. For such fields, you can configure certain settings, such as required status, value type, and display option. More about attribute field settings will be covered below in the article.

4. Save the Product Type when it's ready by clicking on “Save” on the right-upper corner of the page.

 

Attribute Field Settings

If you want to modify the way attribute fields are set up in a Product Type, you can do so by accessing the settings. To access the settings, click on the edit icon while adding or modifying attribute fields.

A sidebar with settings will appear. Here's what we have:

  1. Toggle "Required": Allows making an attribute a mandatory field, as well as setting a default value for it. When creating and editing product items, this field will already have a specified value, but it can be changed. If you try to create or edit a product item without filling in the mandatory attribute, the system will not let you proceed.
  2. Name of field: Name of the attribute.
  3. Value type: Type of the attribute. You can select one of the following 6 types:
  • String – used to store text-based information, such as product names, descriptions, and other textual information related to a product.
  • Number – used to store and manage data related to weight, dimensions, and other numerical values associated with a product.
  • Price – used to represent the cost or price of a product.
  • Yes/No – used to represent product features, for example, whether a product is waterproof, or whether a product is in stock or out of stock. If a product is waterproof, set the Yes/No attribute to "Yes", and if it is not, set the attribute to "No".
  • Multiple choice – allows setting multiple values for a product. For example, you can specify that a clothing item fits several purposes: sports, home wear, and casual wear.
  • Single choice – allows selecting one value option from a predefined set of choices. For example, you can set a "Color" single choice attribute for a product type and predefine colors such as "Red," "Blue," "Green," etc. Then, when creating or editing products, select one of the color options.

4. Toggle "Show in filters": Allows to hide or show an editable attribute in filters on the Items list page.

5. Toggle "Show in preview": Allows to hide or show the attribute and its value on the Item card.

To save changes made to attribute field settings, click the "Save" button.