ChannelEngine: smart custom fields

About this article

This article explains the smart custom fields feature on ChannelEngine, including how to create, preview, edit, and map smart custom fields.

Introduction

Use cases

Limitations

Key features

Overview

Create a smart custom field

Preview smart custom field values

Edit a smart custom field

Map a smart custom field

Introduction

Smart custom fields enable you to create new product data from your existing data fields. By using advanced rules and ChannelEngine's own scripting language, CE Shell, ChannelEngine dynamically calculates the resulting data in the background. ChannelEngine then automatically updates the attributes to which you map the smart custom field.

Unlike regular custom fields, smart custom fields are dynamic. ChannelEngine automatically calculates values at the product level, so you do not need to explicitly map data to individual products.

Use cases

• Advanced rule reuse - if you need to apply the same advanced rule across multiple channels to map a specific attribute, define the rule once in a smart custom field instead of recreating it on each channel. Then, select that field during content and offer mapping.
• Margin calculations - ensure a minimum profit margin across your catalog; calculate the price for each product, taking into consideration your minimum margin, directly on ChannelEngine. Previously, you had to manually calculate your price transformations in a separate column of your product feed file. Using smart custom fields, the result is instantly ready for marketplace export.
• Text transformations - combine advanced rules with CE Shell to perform advanced operations and string manipulations that go beyond the standard capabilities of advanced rules.

On ChannelEngine, you can create smart custom fields in three places:

• Products, Smart custom fields
• Content mappings
• Offer mappings

Limitations

• ChannelEngine automatically calculates the output values for attributes that are mapped to a smart custom field. You cannot manually edit the output value of the field through the web interface or the API. However, you can modify the configuration settings of the smart custom field.
• After you create a smart custom field, you cannot modify its label (Field name).
• It is not possible to map your product feed to smart custom fields; you create smart custom fields after you map your product feed.

Key features

• Dynamic attributes - ChannelEngine calculates values using advanced rules.
• Multiple field types supported - Boolean, Integer, Text, and Decimal.
• Cross-channel mapping - instead of recreating advanced rules per channel or category, define a single smart custom field and map it wherever needed.
• Automated updates - ChannelEngine recalculates smart custom fields every 20 minutes, including after you create a field or update its rules.

Overview

To manage smart custom fields, go to Products, Smart custom fields.

The smart custom fields view contains the master list of the existing smart custom fields in your tenant. Each line item has the following attributes:

• ID - the unique identifier of the field on ChannelEngine.
• Field name (required) - the label of the field.
• Field type (choose one):
  • Boolean
  • Integer
  • Text
  • Decimal
• Description - text to help you remember what the field contains.

Actions

At the end of each line item, you see buttons to:

• View information - view in which mappings or filters the smart custom field is used.
• Show report - view the recalculation activity for each product that is mapped with the smart custom field.
• Edit - edit the smart custom field.
• Copy - copy a smart custom field to reuse its configuration, make slight modifications, and save it as a new smart custom field.
• Delete - delete the smart custom field. It is not possible to delete a smart custom field that is mapped to an attribute on one of your connected channels.

Search

Use the search bar to find smart custom fields by their Field name.

Create a smart custom field

To create a smart custom field:

1. Go to Products, Smart custom fields.

2. In the upper-right corner, click Create smart custom field.

   

3. Fill in the details: Field name (required), Field type, and Description.
4. Define your output with conditional rules (recommended) or with a Default value.
   1. To define your output with conditional rules, click Add a new set of rules, and set up your conditions with advanced rules. For guidance, check out ChannelEngine: advanced rules for product feeds.
   2. To customize the output with dynamic calculations:
      1. In Use, select CE Shell.
      2. Click Edit.
      3. Define your dynamic calculation with CE Shell. For guidance, check out ChannelEngine: CE Shell [beta].
   3. Set a Default value for products to which your conditional rules do not apply.
5. Click Save.

Alternatively, create a smart custom field in the Content Mappings step. For guidance, check out ChannelEngine: content mappings.

Preview smart custom field values

On the right side of the screen, use the Sample products widget to preview in real time how your conditional rules and CE Shell scripts behave. The widget allows you to verify that your field outputs the expected values across different products before you save your changes.

To preview the smart custom field values:

1. Add products to the preview:
   1. Enter a product name into the search bar.
   2. Optionally, use the dropdown on the right to refine your search parameters.

2. Added products appear in a list. Each entry displays a thumbnail image, the product name, the GTIN, and the merchant product number.

   

3. To select a product for preview, click it. The selected product is highlighted in blue.
4. Below the list, a box shows the original value of the selected product (in green) and the computed value of the smart custom field (in pink).
5. To the right, a badge indicates which logic layer produces the value, e.g.: Default value or Rule 1, Rule 2.

Edit a smart custom field

To edit an existing smart custom field:

1. Check whether the smart custom field is used in a mapping or filter. To do so, go to Products, Smart custom fields, click the information (i) icon, and read the information in the pop-up.
2. Click the pencil icon of the smart custom field.
3. Modify the details, e.g.: Description, Field type, or conditional rules. You cannot modify the Field name.
4. Click Save.

Modify the field type

To modify the Field type:

1. Click the double-arrows icon after the Field type field. A pop-up appears.

   

2. If the pop-up allows the change, select the new field type in Field type.
3. Click Change.
4. Update your conditional rules and default value so that they correspond to the new field type.
5. Click Save.

Map a smart custom field

Map a smart custom field to a channel attribute in the same way that you map a regular custom field to a channel attribute.

1. In the Mappings step of the channel, find the attribute that you want to map.

   

2. In the dropdown below the attribute name, select Custom fields.
3. In the new field that appears, select your smart custom field from the list of regular custom fields and smart custom fields in your tenant.

ChannelEngine automatically populates the attribute values based on the rules that you set for the smart custom field.