Product properties
Overview
Properties describe items in a structured way rather than in prose: groups such as colour, size or material, each with their options.
Two markers per group decide what it does:
| Marker | Effect |
|---|---|
| Variant-forming | the group spans variants — colour × size produces an item's combinations |
| Filterable | the group is available as a filter |
The two are independent. A group can be filterable without forming variants — material, for instance, describes without multiplying the product. Marking everything variant-forming produces a flood of items nobody maintains.
Core tasks
Create a group. New group requires a code, display type, sort order and the markers variant-forming, filterable and active. Name, short and long description are maintained per language.
Maintain options. Per group the possible values, with code, value per language, sort order and active state.
Note: options are never deleted. Existing options are updated; **hiding happens through active**. That is deliberate — a deleted option would orphan the items and documents using it.
Fields in detail
The What it does column answers what changes in the system — not what the field is called. The grey name behind the label is the API field: the same thing runs under that name through automation, import and AI tools.
Property group
| Field | Required | Values / format | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
Code code | yes | text, max. 50 characters | The group's identifier, such as colour or size. Do not change it once articles carry values from it. |
Display displayType | no | select, colour, image, text | How the values are shown in the catalogue. Colour shows swatches instead of words, image small previews — that is the difference between a list and a usable selection. |
Forms variants variantForming | no | yes/no | Whether variants may be built from this group. Only then does "colour: blue" become an orderable version of its own rather than a mere detail. |
Filterable filterable | no | yes/no | Whether the catalogue can be filtered by it. |
Values options | no | list of values | The possible values with label, colour or image — depending on the display. |
Image mediaFileId | no | image file | An image for the group itself. |
Translations translations | no | labels per language | What group and values are called in other languages. |
Order sortOrder | no | number | Position in filter and article mask. |
Active active | no | yes/no | Off means no longer assignable; existing assignments remain. |
Settings & permissions
- Module
module.products. - Permission
products.catalog.manage. - The code is permanent, the per-language label changeable at any time.
- Variants are created on the item, from the groups marked variant-forming here, see
FAQ & troubleshooting
Variants cannot be spanned on an item. No group is marked variant-forming.
An option cannot be deleted. By design — switch active off. Existing assignments stay readable.
A property does not appear as a filter. Check the filterable marker.
How many variant-forming groups make sense? Very few. Two axes with five options each already give 25 variants; three axes overwhelm any maintenance effort.