Question 1

What are attributes and how does the data model work?

Accepted Answer

Attributes are the fields that define the structure of your product data — everything from core commerce fields like Title, Price, and SKU to custom fields like Material, Country of Origin, or Warranty Period. SKUuz ships with a comprehensive set of core attributes that cover standard e-commerce needs, and admins can create an unlimited number of custom attributes. Each attribute has a data type (text, long text, number, boolean, date, list/dropdown, multi-select), display settings (label, description, display order, group), validation rules (required, required for publish, unique key), and optional features like rich-text editing, formula computation, and unit-of-measure selection. Attributes also carry a source_type indicator (user_provided, ai_generated, system, imported) so you can track where data originated.

Question 2

What are formula fields and what functions are available?

Accepted Answer

Formula fields are computed attributes whose values are automatically calculated from other fields, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring consistency. SKUuz supports a rich set of formula functions: CONCAT joins multiple text values together (e.g. CONCAT({brand}, ' - ', {title})); UPPER and LOWER convert text case; IF enables conditional logic; standard math operations (+, −, ×, ÷) work on numeric fields; and the COLLECT_VARIANTS function aggregates variant-level values up to the product level — for example, COLLECT_VARIANTS('colour') would produce 'Red, Blue, Green' by collecting all unique colour values across a product's variants, with an optional custom separator. Formulas recalculate automatically whenever a referenced field changes.

Question 3

What are Lists and how do they ensure data quality?

Accepted Answer

Lists are controlled vocabularies — curated, predefined sets of allowed values for dropdown and multi-select attributes. Common examples include Brand, Colour, Material, Size, and Season. Lists prevent free-text inconsistencies (like 'blue', 'Blue', and 'Navy Blue' all meaning different things). Admins manage list values from the Data Model section. When a user encounters a dropdown that doesn't contain the value they need, they can request a new value using the + icon on the field, which sends a notification to the admin for approval.

Question 4

What are category-specific attributes?

Accepted Answer

Category-specific attributes are custom fields that only appear for products assigned to particular categories in your hierarchy. This keeps your data model clean and focused — a T-Shirt product sees fields like Sleeve Length and Neckline, while a Lamp product sees Wattage and Bulb Base. Admins define category-specific attributes in the Data Model section and assign them to categories. These attributes appear automatically on the Product Detail Page and in the data grid when a product matches the assigned category.

Question 5

What is the Category Hierarchy?

Accepted Answer

The Category Hierarchy is a multi-level tree structure that organises your catalog into categories and sub-categories. This hierarchy powers the Taxonomy View for visual catalog browsing, determines which category-specific attributes appear on each product, provides the structure for publish rules, and maps to Shopify categories when publishing. Admins build and manage the hierarchy from the Data Model section, where they can add, rename, reorder, and nest categories. The Categorization Agent uses this hierarchy to auto-assign products.

Question 6

Can I design my product form visually?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Data Model Fields tab mirrors your actual Product Detail Page. You see exactly what your operators will see — field groups as collapsible sections, each attribute rendered as the correct form field for its type. Click any field to edit its metadata (label, type, field group, required/visible flags) in a popover. You can also create new lists and field groups inline without leaving the page. A Category Preview dropdown lets you see how category-specific attributes appear below the global fields.

Question 7

Can one attribute belong to multiple categories?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Category-specific attributes support many-to-many assignment. Create a field like flex_rating once, then assign it to Snowboards, Skis, and Bindings from the Categories tab. Each category shows which other categories share the same attribute with 'Also in' badges. You can also assign an existing attribute to a new category without recreating it.

Data Model & Attributes

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