5.4. Edit Attribute Form

To edit attribute you can double click it or use the [Edit] button. It calls "Edit Attribute" form for a selected attribute.

Attribute Properties

On this tab you should specify the following information:

• "Attribute Code". This is the name of the attribute used by the system. It will appear in the Attributes list in the Attribute Code column, and it will be used when managing Attribute Sets, however it will not appear on the Front-end. Each attribute you create must have a unique Attribute Identifier, and this value cannot contain spaces.

• "Scope". This drop-down determines the level at which the values of this attribute are shared. When creating a product, you will be able to see the Scope to the right of each attribute. You can choose to make any attribute shared Globally, at the Website Level, or at the Store View Level. Global means that the value of this attribute for a given product must be the same throughout your site. Website means that the value of this attribute for a given product can differ in different Websites, however it cannot differ between Store Views contained under the same Website. Store View means the value of this attribute for a given product can differ in all Websites and all Store Views.

• "Catalog Input Type for Store Owner". This describes what kind of data the attribute will store. What’s set here determines how data entry for this attribute will take place. For example, a Description attribute would use a text field, so that you can manually enter a description for each product, whereas a Color attribute would use a drop-down, so that you choose the color of each product from a drop-down list (the values of which you will enter in the Manage Label / Options tab).

• "Unique Value". If you designate an attribute to be a Unique Value, that means the value selected or entered for this attribute for each product must be different. If Color was a unique value, only one product could be green, one be blue, etc.

• "Values Required". If you require values, you must select a value for this attribute for each product you create. You will not be able to save a product if this attribute is left blank.

• "Input Validation for Store Owner". This controls the type of check Magento places on the values entered for this attribute for each product. If you select None, you can enter any type of information as the value for this attribute. If you select Email, for example, Magento will make sure that the value entered for each product resembles an email address. If it does not, you will receive a warning message.

• "Apply To". Decide which Product Types will include this attribute.

Front-end Properties

Specify the following:

• "Use in quick search". If you select "Yes", Magento will search all the product values for this attribute when your customer uses the search bar in the header. If you select to use Color in the quick search, your customers will be able to type in green or blue and find products that match that color.

• "Use in advanced search". This is very similar to the quick search. However, in the Advanced Search, each attribute will have its own field, rather than there being one search field. If you select "Yes", a field will be created for this attribute in the Advanced Search page.

• "Comparable on Front-end". If you select "Yes", a row will be created for this attribute in the Compare Products pop-up window.

• "Use in Layered Navigation". Magento Layered Navigation allows your customers to filter down into a category’s products using any attribute that is “filterable” for Layered Navigation. The Layered Navigation menu will display in the left column of your category pages, and will contain all of the attributes which are filterable. Under each attribute will display the various values of that attribute. Clicking one of these values will filter the list of products in that category page so that only products matching that attribute value will display. There are two types of filterable attributes, which you can select from this drop-down: Filterable (with results) and Filterable (no results). This determines which values will display in the Layered Navigation menu. If you select Filterable (with results), only values that correspond to products in that category page will display in the menu (that is, only values that produce "results" when used as a filter). If you select Filterable (no results), all values that you’ve created in the Manage Label / Options tab will list, whether or not they correspond to any particular products in that category page (it includes values that do not produce "results" when used as a filter). If there are no filterable attributes in a particular category page, the Layered Navigation menu will not display. In order to make an attribute filterable, the Input Type must be either Drop-Drown, Multiple Select, or Price.

• "Position". This determines the position of the attribute in the Layered Navigation menu with respect to the other filterable attributes.Visible on Catalog Pages on Front-end - This field only appears for Simple Attributes. On the product page in the front-end, there is a section called Additional Information, that displays below the Product Description section. The attribute name and value for all “visible” Simple Attributes will display in this section. If a product does not have any visible Simple Attributes (or if the product does not have any values selected for its Simple Attributes) there will be no Additional Information section on the front-end.

Label

• "Admin". Enter the name of the attribute as it will appear in the admin. For each Store View, you can specify a different name for this attribute. This is useful if you manage multiple Store Views with different languages.

For example, in the Admin field, type Color; in the UK Store View field, type Color; in the French Store View field, type Color. If you leave the field blank for any of the Store Views, the Admin Label will be used.

Options

This section will only appear if the Input Type is Drop-down or Multiple Select. In order to have a drop-down or multiple select menu in the product page, you must have predetermined values to populate these menus. This is where the values for these menus are predetermined. This works very similar to the Manage Titles section above. For each value you wish to create, click [Add Option]. You can enter an unlimited number of values. For each value, you must enter a name in the "Admin" field, and you have the option to enter a different name for each Store view.

For example, create two options. For the first option, enter Green in the Admin field; leave the UK Store View field blank, because it uses the same name; enter Vert in the French Store View field. For the second option, enter Blue in the Admin field; leave the UK Store View field blank; enter Blur in the French Store View field. You will also have the option to select the position and which value(s) is the default. Enter a numerical value in the Position field, and this will determine the sort order of the values in the drop-down/multiple select menu relative to each other. For the Drop-down Input Type, you will have the "Is Default" checkbox with which you can select one value. For the Multiple Select Input Type, you will have the "Is Default" checkbox with which you can select multiple values.