To make the most of PrestaShop 1.7, we need to be familiar with the tools offered by this excellent platform. With it, we can manage the simplest store, but also the most complex product catalogue , with different sales criteria or multiple warehouses.
Your store may work with unique products that do not offer variables. For example, an art gallery may work with unique works. However, it is much more common for a store to work with products that have a large number of variables.
So, if you sell picture frames, for example, the same frame will have different measurements, or it may come in different finishes or colours with the same mouldings.
Well, in order to be able to add each variant of the same product in PrestaShop, we use what is called " combinations ". This feature allows you to define a product and assign it all the possible format variables .
What are combinations in PrestaShop 1.7 made of?
Combinations are made up of several elements that, when combined, make up each unique or specific product.
The generic product
It is the product in its general state , without determining the specific characteristics of each unit. From this, all the units available for sale with individual characteristics will be generated. The final product will be adapted to the needs or requirements of the client.
The description and characteristics of this product are defined from the menu section "catalog" and, within it, "product". From there you can define a new product or modify an existing one to establish its combinations.
Attributes and characteristics
Attributes and characteristics are the special elements that define your products and can generally be assigned to different generic items.
Details such as colour, size, frame width and similar fields can be applied to different frames. In this way, they serve to determine the individual characteristics of an entire set, group or family of items.
Attributes are defined through the “catalog” menu and, from there, by choosing the “attributes and characteristics” option. Creation is done in a very simple way through three fields that will determine its name and how it is displayed in the store.
Values
The same attribute can have different values . For example, if the attribute is "color" we can have a whole range of colors. If it is a molding width we will have different numerical values in centimeters or millimeters.
To define the value of each attribute, we access the list of attributes and click on the one we want to work on. In its tab, the option to add a new value will appear in the upper right corner, and a field will appear to assign the value. We can add as many values to an attribute as we need.
Why are they called combinations?
The product is not perfectly defined to be put on sale until all possible characteristics have been assigned to it. These are defined by the combination of the products with the same characteristics.
A product A can have three different attributes. This will result in three products: A1, A2 and A3. In turn, each attribute can have three variants, for example, which will allow us to offer it to customers in different sizes, colours or moulding thicknesses.
In the end, we will actually have nine variants of the same product . These will be the result of combining a given product with each of the attributes and their different values.
Availability of attributes, characteristics and their values
In most cases, depending on your business activity, almost all attributes will allow you to associate them with different products . You will not have to define them every time you open a product sheet, since they are shared characteristics that are managed centrally.
For example, the generic product of a frame may be defined by the design of the moulding. This will vary from one product to another. However, all products will have the same variations in terms of tints or colours, sizes, or moulding widths, which are defined by the attributes and their values.
How combinations are handled in PrestaShop 1.7
Automatic procedure for generating combinations
You just have to follow a few simple steps:
1. The most advisable procedure is to define all possible attributes and values in advance.
2. Next we can define all the generic products with their descriptions and complete data sheets.
3. Once all the groups have been defined , we will go to modify , from the catalogue, each product that has variables that must be defined with attributes. If we are only going to work with one product, we can move on to defining the combinations from the new product creation .
This is done from the product sheet, in the basic settings tab , where we will select, on the right, that it is a product with combinations.
4. In the combinations tab , the possible attributes will appear on the right. We only have to select them and they will move to the box in the central part.
5. Once we have selected all of them, the only thing left to do is select the “generate” option and all of the products with their specific characteristics will be automatically created.
A list with all the products will appear . From there we can enter the prices if we had not done so in the general product sheet, and assign the initial stock of each product.
These will be the products that will appear definitively in our sales catalogue with all their options. But also those that we will use for our orders to suppliers, those that we will have in stock or for which we will have to prepare production orders.
What happens if a product has more attributes
If during the process we have explained to you for generating combinations you find that some attribute is missing to be defined, you can access its creation and have it immediately available.
As you can see, PrestaShop 1.7 has significantly simplified the entire process of defining and generating combinations. It has made it more intuitive and convenient for backoffice management.
