Category/Dynamic Attributes

Category Specific Attributes /Category Attributes

Each record in a repository has the same structure – the same attributes, with the same data types, in the same order. However, each record may not use all the attributes. If a business sells multiple types of items, their product repository profile must include attributes for every type of item. For instance, to store data about pens, the record would need to include attributes relative to pens, such as the type of ink they use. But if the company also sold paper, the record would also have to include attributes that describe paper, such as paper thickness. Therefore, every record in the product repository must include attributes for both pens and paper: type of ink and paper thickness. Records that contain data about pens would leave the data fields for paper thickness empty. Records that contain data about paper would leave the data field for type of ink empty.

Because a business can sell thousands of products, product records can have thousands of attributes. While this is not a problem for computers, it can be a problem for computer users. Most users don’t want to wade through thousands of empty attributes to find the ones they are interested in. They only want to see the attributes that apply to the product record they are accessing.

EnterWorks can be configured to define these relevant attributes ascategory specific attributes (also known as category attributes). Category attributes are assigned to a taxonomy node, which means that EnterWorks knows that all the records attached to that node use that attribute. The taxonomy attribute is the control attribute for category attributes. Depending on system configuration, descendent taxonomy nodes (a node’s subcategory nodes or children nodes) can inherit category attributes as well. Note that category attribute values are not shared – each record still maintains its own attribute value. The only effect of designating an attribute as a category attribute is to indicate to EnterWorks which attributes are relevant for a particular record.

Once category attributes have been defined and assigned to nodes in the taxonomy, and product records have also been assigned to the taxonomy, viewing or editing a record in that repository will only show the assigned category attributes.

WARNING : Be careful if you change the assignment of a category attribute to a node. Any time a category attribute is unassigned from a node, the values of that attribute will be deleted in all the records assigned to that node and in any children nodes that had inherited that attribute.

WARNING : Also be careful if you change the taxonomy assignment of a record. If the new taxonomy node does not have the same category attributes as the old node, when the record is reassigned, the values of the old taxonomy node’s category attributes will be deleted from the record.