Variation Slicing by Category

Slicing Rule Inheritance

Configure the default slicing rule of a variation product on the Product page Variation tab of the base product. The default slicing rule is used to determine whether the variation product appears as a single search result with a single image or is sliced and appears with a search result for each variation product with its own image. Keyword search uses the default slicing rule. However, it's possible to override the default slicing rule for a product by defining a slicing rule for a specific category.

Configure a category-specific slicing rule on the Category Edit Details page Variation Attribute Values tab of the base product. If the category-specific rule is different from the default slicing rule, it overrides the default rules for searches refined by the category. In the storefront, this means that if the customer searches for the product, it appears according to the default slicing rule; whereas if the customer navigates to the product for that category or refines the keyword search, it appears according to the category-specific rule. If one of the categories for the product has slicing enabled, the default slicing rule is not applied for products searched from the root or parent category unless the root or parent category is also assigned to the product.If the product is assigned to multiple categories and shown differently in each category, the keyword search shows both versions of the product: the base product with swatches from one category and the variation product slices from the other category.

Assigning Variations to Categories

A product variation or base product can be assigned to one or more categories. Each category shows the base product or the variation products assigned to them, depending on the category-specific slicing rule. If the product isn't sliced, the base product image is used. If a product is sliced, then the online variation products are each shown separately.

Each variation product can be configured to include a subset of variation values for a specific category. For example, if you have a product in red, green, and blue, you can assign only the red and green variations to the category. Assigning only the red, and green variations results in only the red, and green products showing in the category.

All variation products inherit the attributes assigned via the classification category, even when the assignment is configured to include a subset of variation attributes. This means that although only the red and green variations appear for the category, if the customer clicks the product detail page for a variation, all available variation products are shown in swatches, and can be selected with the correct pricing, and added to the cart.

The storefront presents active variation values based on the category that is being viewed. For example, if the shopper is viewing the sale category and only red values are assigned to the category, the shopper doesn't see swatches for other colors in the search results, but does see them on the product detail page. When a base product is assigned to more than one category and the selection of variation values is identical, only one search result appears in the storefront.

Keyword search, however, returns all variations assigned to any category.

Import and Export

Catalog import and export include the category-assignment slicing rule.

Active Data

Active data is aggregated at the category level so that category sorting rules reflect totals for the category.