Overview of migrating attributes to the attribute dictionary
You can migrate existing attributes to the Management Center attribute dictionary in WebSphere Commerce Version 7 Feature Pack 2.
With the introduction of the Management Center attribute dictionary, you are no longer required to create, store, and manage attributes for individual catalog entries. After the Management Center attribute dictionary is enabled, you can store and manage attributes in the attribute dictionary and share attributes across multiple catalog entries.
| Manage existing attributes within catalog entries | Manage attributes with the attribute dictionary |
|---|---|
| Replication of attribute information can occur
in the catalog. For example, multiple products labeled with the color
blue might exist in the clothing category. There is no central location to change all instances of an attribute value. For example, if you must change the color blue used in the clothing category to navy, you must change each product separately to update the attribute value. |
Only a single copy of the attribute and its
values is maintained. Each catalog entry that uses the attribute contains
a reference to the attribute dictionary copy. You can use the attribute dictionary to manage attributes to change the single attribute value blue to navy. All catalog entries that refer to this value are automatically updated to use the changed value. |
| Managing attributes at the catalog entry level provides no performance or storage benefits. It still prevents the sharing of attributes across multiple catalog entries. | Grouping attributes together for multiple products enables reuse and decreases storage and performance costs. |
- Allowed value attribute
- Business users select an attribute value from a list of allowed values to assign to a catalog entry. All existing defining attributes are allowed value attributes.
- Assigned value attribute
- Business users specify the attribute value for each catalog entry
that the attribute is assigned to. All existing descriptive attributes
are assigned value attributes.Tip: When migrating to the Management Center attribute dictionary, you can convert existing assigned values into allowed values. This conversion ensures that the values can be reused as descriptive or defining attributes.
Migration considerations for attribute groupings
| Attribute grouping scenario | Consideration |
|---|---|
| Grouping all attributes with the same name into one common attribute | Can result in combined attributes with values that are not applicable to all catalog entries they are associated with. For example, color is a common attribute assigned to products in a category, but its values are often not shared across multiple categories in a store. The colors red, green, and blue are commonly used for clothing products such as T-shirts, but not for electronics products such as televisions. |
| Grouping all attributes with the same name from the same category into one common attribute | Can result in combined attributes with values that are not applicable to all catalog entries they are associated with. |
| No grouping of attributes (one-to-one association of attribute dictionary attributes with products) | Logically, this grouping scenario is the same
as the non-attribute dictionary model:
|
Although the attribute dictionary does not support attribute groups, you can use a business user name (Code) and storefront name (Name) for attributes in the attribute dictionary. To sort attributes into groups, add prefixes to the business user names of attributes to create attributes for categories, such as ShirtColor, ShirtSize, TVColor, and TVSize. By using this difference between business user and storefront names, a business user can view attributes together, but display clear and simple information for shoppers on the storefront.