Work with the trait builder

The Trait Builder is a visual screen for building and reviewing your trait catalog. Instead of creating a category on one screen, then a type on another, then a value on another, you see the whole shape (categories, types, and values) as a connected map and work on it in place.

The map suits traits well because a trait is three levels deep: a Trait Category holds Trait Types, and each type holds Trait Values. Seeing those relationships laid out makes it easier to spot gaps, keep the structure consistent, and understand how the pieces fit before you assign anything to products.

If you are new to traits, read Product traits first for the model and a worked example. This article covers the Builder itself.

Opening the Builder

Open the StoreConnect Console and go to Inventory > Traits > Manage traits. In the header of the Trait definitions pane on the left, select the hammer icon, labeled Open trait builder.

Two shortcuts get you straight to a specific point on the map:

• Selecting a category, type, or value in the Trait definitions pane opens the Builder focused on that item.
• Searching the Trait definitions pane for a category, type, or value and selecting a result opens the Builder focused on the match.

How the Builder is laid out

The Builder has three parts, left to right:

• A selector down the left with a section each for Categories, Types, and Values, showing how many of each you have. Select a row to jump the map to it, or search within a section to find one in a long list. Types carry colored dots marking whether they are used as product specifications or as search filters. Hover the information icon beside Types for the key.
• The middle, which shows the catalog itself and is where you do most of your work.
• A details pane on the right, showing whatever you have selected.

The middle can show your catalog two ways:

• Canvas view — the interactive map. Pan and zoom to move around, and select a card to see its details in the pane on the right.
• List view — the same hierarchy as an expandable list, for when you would rather scan than navigate.

Switch between them with the toggle in the top right of the middle area.

Starting from an empty catalog

Before you have any traits, the Manage traits screen shows Start building, which opens the Builder on a blank canvas with the prompt “Build your trait catalog”. Add your first category here, then build out its types and values one level at a time. The left-hand selector and the header actions appear once you have something on the map.

Building your catalog

Once you have at least one category, you can build a whole branch in one form. Select Add definition in the Builder header to create a category, its type, and its values together, rather than one at a time.

1. Select Add definition.
2. Enter the Category name.
3. Enter the Type name.
4. Choose the Value type, which decides what kind of data the values hold and how they are entered. See the table below.
5. (Optional) Choose a Unit, such as Kilograms or Inches, to append a unit of measurement to each value.
6. Enter one or more values. Select Add another value to add as many as you need in the one form.
7. Select Save definition. The new branch appears on the map, focused so you can carry on.

Value types

Value type	What the values hold
Text	Up to 255 characters
Number	Whole numbers
Decimal	Numbers with up to 6 decimal places
Currency	A monetary amount
Percent	A percentage
Checkbox	Whether something is included in or with the product
Date	A date
Email	An email address
URL	A web address
Long Text Area	Text, HTML, or Markdown

:::warning Choose the value type carefully when you create the type. If you later move a value to a type that uses a different value type, the value you entered is discarded, because the new type cannot hold it. The Builder warns you when this happens, but you have to re-enter the value. :::

This form does not include the settings that decide whether the type is used as a specification, a filter, or both. Select the new type on the map afterward and edit it to set those, as described in Choosing what a trait does.

Previewing how traits appear

When nothing on the map is selected, the details pane shows a storefront preview of the catalog in view: a product specifications table for the types set to show on the product page, and a search filter list for the types set to be filters. Use it to confirm your traits behave the way you intended, and see Choosing what a trait does for how the two settings work.

The preview follows your selection in the left-hand selector, so narrowing to one category previews just that branch. Selecting a card on the map switches the pane to that record’s details; selecting it again returns to the preview. If none of the types in view are set to show anywhere, the preview tells you so instead.

Editing and deleting in place

Select a category, type, or value on the map, and its properties appear in the details pane on the right. The actions for it are behind the ⋯ menu in the top corner of that pane, so you can adjust anything without leaving the Builder:

• Edit — change the record’s fields in place. On a type, this is where you set whether its values are used as specifications, filters, or both.
• Delete — remove the record. You are asked to confirm first.
• Copy lineage IDs — on a value only. See below.

:::warning You can only delete a category, type, or value once nothing depends on it. If a category still has types, a type still has values, or a value is still assigned to products, delete or reassign those first. Delete stays visible but is disabled, and the menu tells you what to clear first, for example “Delete (remove all values first)”. :::

Copying a value’s IDs

Selecting a value and choosing Copy lineage IDs copies that value’s category, type, and value record Ids to your clipboard, separated by tabs. Pasting into a spreadsheet drops them into three adjacent cells.

This is the quickest way to get the record Id of a single value when you are assembling an import file by hand rather than starting from a full export. See Import and export traits.

Assigning products from the Builder

Select a value to assign the products it applies to. Add several products at once as removable rows, or remove one, without leaving the pane. For bulk assignment across a whole spreadsheet of products, see Import and export traits. To work from a single product instead, see Assign traits to a product.

The guided tour

The Builder has a guided walkthrough that explains the interface. Start it from the help button in the Builder header, and cancel it at any time. It is a good starting point if the Builder is new to you.

The help button appears once your catalog has at least one category.