Assigning values for category and item attributes
After attributes are assigned to categories and classifications, you can assign values to attributes at the category and item levels.
When you assign a value to an attribute in a category, the value is inherited by attributes in child categories, classifications, and items in those categories. For example, if you assign 240 GB as a value for Hard Drive Size in the Laptop category, all Laptop subcategories and items in those categories inherit 240 GB as the value for Hard Drive Size.
However if a child category has already assigned the attribute’s values, the child category does not inherit the parent category’s attribute values.
You can modify inherited attribute values at the following levels:
- Category
- Item
Modifying inherited attribute values at the category level
If you modify inherited attribute values in a child category, the child category becomes the owner of the attribute values. The attribute value is no longer defined by the parent category. For example, if the color attribute in the Shirts category inherits the values red, blue, and orange from its parent category, Clothing, and you change the attribute values at the Shirts category level to pink and purple, the categorization provided in the following table is true.
| Categories/child categories/items | Assigned attribute values | Inherited attribute values |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing category Pants category Pants item Shirts category |
Red, Blue, Orange Changes values to pink and purple |
Inherits red, blue, and orange from Clothing category Inherits red, blue, and orange from Pants category Inherits pink and purple from Shirts category |
In this example, the color attribute no longer inherits any values from the Clothing category after the color attribute is modified at the Shirts category level. You added the colors pink and purple at the Shirts category level. Therefore, the values for the color attribute are defined at the Shirts category level as pink and purple. If you then add the color green at the Clothing category level, the categorization provided in the following table is true:
| Categories/child categories/items | Assigned attribute values | Inherited attribute values |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing category Pants category Pants item Shirts category |
Red, Blue, Orange, Green Pink and purple |
Inherits red, blue, orange, and green from Clothing category Inherits red, blue, orange, and green from Pants category Inherits pink and purple from Shirts category. |
Modifying inherited attribute values at the item level
You can modify item attribute values that an item inherits from a parent category. However, the category continues to own the attribute values. If you change the attribute value at the parent category level after modifying the child item attribute value, the item inherits the attribute value from the parent category.
For example, if a color attribute for the Shirt item inherits the values red, blue, and orange from the Shirts category and then you change the attribute at the item level by adding the value pink, the attribute value for the Shirt item is redefined as the values red, blue, orange, and pink. If you then modify the Color attribute at the Shirts category level by adding the value purple, the categorization provided in the following table is true:
| Category/item | Assigned attribute values | Inherited attribute values |
|---|---|---|
| Shirts Category | Red, blue, orange, and purple | |
| Shirts item | Red, blue, orange, and purple. Pink is assigned at item level. |