What this screen is for
The attributes that distinguish one variant of a product from another — size, colour, material and the like — and the values each of them can take. They are the building blocks of variants: a shirt in three sizes and two colours is one product described by attributes, not six separate products.
When to use it
Define the attributes you need before creating any variant products, since a variant can only be described in terms of attributes that already exist. Adding a new value later is straightforward. Changing what an existing one means, once variants and stock are using it, is not.
What you see on this screen
Six counters open the screen: Total, then one for each display type — Dropdown, Swatch and Button — and finally Active and Inactive.
The table:
- Name — the attribute, such as Size, Colour or Material.
- Slug — its machine-readable form, used where the attribute is referenced rather than displayed.
- Display Type — how its values are offered when choosing a variant: see below.
- Values — the values the attribute can take. This is the list a variant actually picks from, so an attribute with no values cannot describe anything yet.
- Status — Active or Inactive.
- Actions — edit or delete.
The form takes the attribute's name, slug, display type and sort order, and the values themselves, each with its own label and — for a swatch — its colour.
Filters and actions
A search box matches attribute names.
Deleting an attribute that variants are already built on will leave those variants undescribed, which is why adding a value is easy and changing the meaning of one is not.
Status values
The Display Type decides how the values appear when a variant is chosen:
- Dropdown — a list. Best where there are many values, such as shoe sizes.
- Swatch — a colour block. The natural choice for colour, where the value is easier to recognise than to read.
- Button — a row of buttons. Suits a short set such as Small, Medium, Large.
Separately, Active or Inactive decides whether the attribute is offered at all.
Related
- Items
- Stock