Create asset features
Introduction
When you create a new feature you have to fill in a series of required fields that censhare needs in order to create the feature in the database. These required fields are marked in red in the Admin Client. For some fields (e.g. ID), you can link naming conventions. The entries must adhere to the naming convention so censhare can accept the information. Depending on the selections you make for certain fields, the view will show additional areas and fields.
Product features are represented as Feature Assets. Feature assets are created automatically when you add a new feature to the Master data/Features table in the censhare Admin Client. Do not create Module / Feature assets in censhare Web or in the censhare Client!
To create a new feature in the Admin Client, open the "Features" entry in the master data. A table will appear with all of the features defined in the system. To create a new feature, click the "Add" button in the upper left of the button bar. A dialog opens with the fields available for a feature. Depending on which values are entered for a particular field, you will be given additional options for the configuration.
General
Field | Required | Default | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enabled | - | yes | If this field is selected, the Clients will see the feature. If it is deactivated, the feature is not indexed and users also won't be able to search for it. You'll only see the feature in the Admin Client. The field thus offers you the simple option of deactivating a feature without deleting it. | ||
ID | yes | - | This field contains the ID for the feature. There should always be a prefix that indicates what relationship the feature has. Typically a company name lends itself for this purpose. System features have the prefix "censhare". In these features, only the permitted fields can be edited or overwritten. After the prefix there needs to be a colon, otherwise censhare won't accept the entry. For more information see the description of the field Namespace URI. | ||
Details
In the following text fields, enter the names for the different languages and display options:
Field | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Name [en] | yes | - | This field contains the name of the feature in English [en]. The value will be used as a label for the input field when English is selected as the language. |
Name [de] | no | - | The field contains the name of the feature in German [de]. The value will be used as a label for the input field when German is selected as the language. |
Description [en] | no | - | This field is for documentation purposes. |
Description [de] | no | - | This field is for documentation purposes. |
Label [en] | no | - | This value overwrites the "Name [en]" field. The text is shown instead of the content in the "Name [en]" field. This gives you the option, for example, of choosing a shorter name for a dialog if the text for "Name [en]" is too long. |
Label [de] | no | - | This value overwrites the "Name [de]" field. The text is shown instead of the content in the "Name [de]" field. This gives you the option, for example, of choosing a shorter name for a dialog if the text for "Name [de]" is too long. |
Placeholder text [en] | no | - | The text appears in the feature field if English is selected as the language. This gives you the chance to display a note regarding filling out the field or a note with an example value. |
Placeholder text [de] | no | - | The text appears in the feature field if German is selected as the language. This gives you the chance to display a note regarding filling out the field or a note with an example value. |
Tooltip [en] | no | - | The text appears if English is selected when the user mouses over the input field with the cursor. Here you can enter a short explanation or a note about the feature. |
Tooltip [de] | no | - | The text appears if German is selected when the user mouses over the input field with the cursor. Here you can enter a short explanation or a note about the feature. |
Enter the various keys in the following fields. censhare uses keys for internal processing and referencing of features.
Field | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Asset resource key | no | - | The Asset resource key is a unique identifier that can be used to reference assets or value lists (links), for example. Asset resource keys can also be identical in certain censhare instances. If assets are exported or imported, we recommend using asset resource keys instead of asset IDs for referencing assets. |
Namespace URI | no | - | Prefixes help with unique name assignments, for example to a company. They document who created a certain name. Prefixes are not always unique, which is to say they can be the same in different name areas. The prefix will not always indicate which namespace it belongs to. The name and namespace URI together comprise a unique key. |
Trait key | yes | - | This field contains the name of the feature grouping in internal data models. censhare groups different features and attributes in traits in order to better organize them. As of censhare 5, the trait name combined with the attribute name serve to identify the feature in censhare. Examples of standard traits include "workflow", "domain" or "display". The trait name should have a prefix, either the company or a service provider. The prefix indicates the namespace for the trait. The naming convention is lowercase, no spaces and an underscore to separate words. The name also cannot begin with a number. |
Property key | yes | - | The field contains the name of the feature in the internal data model. As of censhare 5, the attribute name combined with the trait name serve to identify the feature in censhare. The naming convention includes the following: 1) a lowercase first letter; 2) words in the name are written together but separated by the CamelCase, meaning the first letter of a word is uppercase, for example, the attribute name "workflowTarget" in the "workflow" trait; 3) the name also cannot begin with a number. For more information see the Wikipedia entry for CamelCase (English). |
In the following fields you define the context in which the feature can be used:
Field | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Top-level property | - | yes | In this field, you specify how a feature should be represented in censhare's logical structure. If this option is activated, the feature appears directly in the trait even if it is the child feature of another feature. For example, the "Street" feature is a child feature of "Address". However, it can also be addressed directly in the "address" trait if that field is activated. By default, the field is activated. Only deactivate it if the feature is exclusively used in the lower level of the structure. |
Target object | - | Asset | This field specifies the type of object the feature is associated with: asset, asset relation, asset element relation or asset element. In the virtual version, the feature is not linked to an object. This entry is selected, for example, when the feature contains values from a function such as an XPath expression. Features with a function are created in the censhare database (cdb) so that you can also search for the values of a function. |
Domain | - | Root | Here you can assign a domain to the feature. The visibility of the feature is determined by both the user and asset domains. However, user and asset domains have different heredity properties. Users must be logged into the same domain, sub-domain or supra-domain, i.e. feature heredity takes place in both the child and the parent domain directions. The asset in which the feature is to be created must be saved in the same domain or sub-domain, i.e. the heredity only flows in the direction of the child domains. |
2nd Domain | - | Root | Here you can assign a second domain to the feature. The visibility of the feature is determined by both the user and asset domains. However, user and asset domains have different heredity properties. Users must be logged into the same domain, sub-domain or supra-domain, i.e. feature heredity takes place in both the child and the parent domain directions. The asset in which the feature is to be created must be saved in the same domain or sub-domain, i.e. the heredity only flows in the direction of the child domains. |
In the other fields, you define how censhare saves or calculates the values for this feature.
Field | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Type | yes | - | This field helps categorize the features. The values for this field are defined in the "Feature types" table in the master data. "Asset attribute (internal)" is used for features that point to existing features in the database. They exist in order to make database fields searchable for the censhare database (cdb). "Asset feature" is used to define features in projects. "Asset feature (internal)" are features saved on assets and delivered by the system. "Category feature" is used if the feature is to be used in a product category. "WebCMS" exists for compatibility reasons. If the entry contains the supplement "(internal)" in the name, then the feature is only visible in Admin Mode. |
Sorting | - | 1 | This field specifies the position that a feature has in a selection list, for example. The requirement for this is that the sorting option is set for organizing the entries. If the sorting is alphabetical, for example, then the "Sorting" plays no role. |
Value type | yes | - | This field tells you what type of data is saved in a feature. Once you have created a feature you can no longer change the value type. The value type (also: data type) determines the operations you can carry out with it. For example, number values can be larger or smaller than a reference value. A date can be within a certain time period. A string can contain a certain set of characters. A boolean value can be true or false. In censhare, there are also special value types that reference an asset ID or an asset resource key. A complete list with explanations of the value types can be found in the table "Notes regarding value types". |
Language | no | - | This field specifies whether a language can or must be indicated for the feature. The language here relates to the content or value of the feature. The field can therefore exist multiple times if multiple languages exist. |
Colour | no | - | This field specifies whether a color can or must be indicated for the feature. |
Storage | no | Versioned | This field specifies how a feature is saved. It can have the values "Versioned", "Unversioned", "Attribute", "Full-text", "Function", "Out-of-band" or "External". For more information see the section "Storage options". |
Attribute mapping | no | - | Note: This field is only displayed if in the "Storage" field you selected the entry "Attribute" or "Function". For a function, enter the formula for Calculating the feature value here. For attributes here, a mapping of the feature is created in the censhare database (cdb). This variant is only used internally by censhare. |
Value expression | no | - | In this field, you can enter an XPATH expression that establishes a value for the feature from the asset metadata. This value is indexed and users can then search for it. For example, you can add the expression censhare:like-count-calc as the feature value in a product asset in order to count the likes on a product page. |
Master data value list | no | - | Note: This field is only displayed if in the "Value type" field you selected the entry "Hierarchical value list (String)" or "Value list (String)". Here you enter the table and column in the master data from which the values were taken, for example, "domain@pathid". |
Value list resource key | no | - | Note: This field is only displayed if in the "Value type" field you selected "Number without decimal places (integer)", "Text (string)", "Asset key reference" or "Asset reference". |
XML attribute | no | disabled | This field tells censhare how the feature is managed in the SQL database. This is done differently for a set of basic features defined internally. For basic features, the field has to be activated. As such, when you create a new feature, the field cannot be selected. The only exception is if you expanded the set previously to include basic features. For more information see the section "Attributes". |
Multiple values | no | disabled | If the field is activated, the feature can appear more than once for one asset. |
Searchable | no | enabled | If this field is activated, users can search for this feature via the user interface. Otherwise, the feature doesn't show up in the selection list for features in the expert search in the Client. |
Relevance | no | disabled | If you check this field, users can enter a percentage of relevance when filling in this field. This is then taken into consideration in the search. For more information see Relevance in asset features. |
Modifiable by user | no | disabled | If you check this field, users with the appropriate rights can make changes to the feature in the Admin Client, for example to the name. If the field is deactivated, this is not possible. |
Classification system
These parameters contain key and references of a Product classification system, for example GPC. When you import a Product classification file, censhare creates or updates the respective features and populates these fields automatically. Be aware that, if you change anything here, you can damage your product classification system.
Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
System | mandatory when a product classification is imported | This field references the third-party product classification system that is used in censhare PIM. |
Version | mandatory when a product classification is imported | This field contains the version of the product classification that was imported into censhare. |
Key | mandatory when a product classification is imported | This field contains the key of the feature that was provided by the Product classification system. Do not change this value, otherwise the mapping of the censhare feature to the third-party Product classification does not work correctly. |
Unit key | optional in some product classification systems | This field contains the unit key provided by the third-party product classification. |
Asset reference
This area is only displayed if you have selected the "Asset reference" or "Asset resource key reference" value types.
Here you can give asset references a name for parent or child relations and define asset filters for parent or child assets. For more information on asset references see the article Working with asset relations and references. A description of the fields for defining asset filters is in the article Configure asset filters.
Child features
In the "Child features" section you specify hierarchical features. You can define existing features as child features. For example, you create a feature address and assign the street, postal code and city to it as child features.
When you assign child features to a feature, then you need to select "Without" in the parent feature because this feature displays the grouping and does not contain any value itself. As such, the "Address" feature itself contains no address, for example. It groups the child features "Street", "Number", "Postal code", etc., which contain the various feature values.
The naming convention for the feature key also reflects the feature hierarchy. Keys to the child feature are derived from the feature key of the parent feature and from an identifier for the child feature. The two are separated by a period.
To add a child feature to a feature click 
. Select the desired feature from the list. Add other child features the same way.
Index configuration
Indexing determines how users are able to search for features or feature values. You can configure one or more indexes for a feature. For more information see the article Configuring an index in asset features.
The configuration plays a significant role in full-text indexes. The full-text index determines which data or files are indexed and how the censhare quick search and automatic search suggestions behave. For more information on configuring these see the article Creating a full-text index.