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Perfion PIM · Complete Feature Guide

Item Creator and Default Values Perfion Item Creation Guide

Create every variant in one step, start each new item with the right values, and prepare changes beside the live data.

The Item Creator, default values and staging decide how new product data enters Perfion. The Item Creator takes the values of selectable features, called dimensions, and creates an item for every combination you keep, as a flat list or grouped under virtual items. Default values fill in the standard values new items need, set once per feature in the configuration. Staging holds a draft version of an item beside the active one, and a compare search shows what changed before it is approved.

At a glance

Perfion name
Item Creator, Default Values and Staging
Where
The grid and the configurationItem CreatorDefault ValuesStagingThe Item Creator needs Perfion 4.5.3 or later
Used by
Product editors and administratorsAdministrators set up default values, stages and Dimension Sets
Default value data types
7 data types supportedDateLinkNumberStringTextTableBoolean
How It Works

How item creation works in Perfion, from combinations to a checked draft

The Item Creator makes the items. Default values complete them. Staging keeps work in progress apart from what is live.

  1. Pick the dimensions

    Choose the selectable features to combine, such as Colour, Size and Fit. In the Item Creator they are called dimensions.

  2. Create every combination

    Pick values for each dimension. Every combination is listed, and one item is created for each one you keep: 6 × 5 × 2 makes 60.

  3. Keep them flat, or group them

    Items can be created as a flat list, or grouped under virtual items, with inheritable values set once on the parent.

  4. Default values fill the rest

    Default values set once in the configuration are filled in on new items, including items created through the Perfion API.

  5. Stage and compare

    With Staging, a draft version of an item sits beside the active one, and a compare search shows what differs.

An illustration of the Item Creator, not a screenshot: pick the dimensions, keep the combinations you make, and new items start with their default values.
Manual Entry vs Perfion

Manual entry vs Perfion item creation: what changes when items are generated, not typed

Typed one row at a time, every new item is a chance to miss a combination or a standard value. In Perfion, items are generated from the values you pick and start with their defaults.

Creating new product items by hand, compared with the Perfion Item Creator, default values and staging as described in Boyum IT Solutions' Perfion documentation.
Task Typed by hand Perfion Item Creator, defaults and staging
Creating every variant Each colour, size and fit typed as its own row, and one combination always missed. The Item Creator creates one item for every combination of the values picked.
Leaving out what is not made Rows deleted afterwards, if anyone notices them. Every combination has its own checkbox. Only the selected ones are created.
Grouping variants under a parent Parent rows built by hand, with shared values copied down to each child. Virtual items can be created in the same step, with inheritable values set on the parent.
Putting new items in a category Assigned afterwards, one by one. Items created from a grid showing a category are assigned that category.
Standard values on new items Copied from an old row, or typed again every time. Default values set in the configuration fill in on every new item.
Standard values per product type A separate template sheet for each category. With item dependencies, one feature can carry a different default for each category.
Items created by other systems They arrive with whatever the other system sends. Items created through the Perfion API get default values too. Items from the Perfion Import tool do not yet.
Preparing changes to live items A copy of the file, merged back by hand before launch. Staging keeps a draft beside the active item, and a compare search shows what changed.

See how your next range would be created in Perfion.

See it on your product range
Capabilities in Depth

Perfion item creation capabilities: eight ways to get new items right the first time

Each capability shows what it does in Perfion and what it is worth to the business.

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The Item Creator is a quick way to create many new items with very few clicks. It takes the values of selectable features, called dimensions, and creates an item for every combination of them. Pick 5 colours, 3 materials and 4 brands, and it offers 60 items, because 5 × 3 × 4 is 60. Boyum’s documentation states that items created this way are indistinguishable from items created one by one.

  • One item for each combination of values
  • Any selectable feature can be a dimension
  • Created items are ordinary Perfion items

Executive ROI Value

A new range of variants is created in minutes, complete, with no combination typed twice or left out.

  • Hours saved on every range launch
  • No variant missed or mistyped

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Before anything is created, the Item Creator lists every combination, each with its own checkbox, and only the selected combinations become items. All of them can be selected or cleared at once, and Perfion asks for confirmation before it creates the items. Dimensions can be reordered or removed. When the Item Creator is opened from a grid showing a category, every new item is assigned that category.

  • Every combination listed before creation
  • Only the selected combinations are created
  • New items placed in the category being viewed

Executive ROI Value

Combinations the business does not make never become items, so nothing has to be found and deleted later.

  • No unsellable items in channels
  • New items filed in the right category

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

By default, items are created as a flat list. The Item Creator can also create virtual items for every dimension except the last, chosen from left to right. With 5 colours, 3 materials and 4 brands, grouping by colour and material adds 20 virtual items, 5 for the colours and 15 for the materials under them, above the 60 items. Values of inheritable features are set on the virtual item, so its children inherit them. Values of features that are not inheritable are set on the virtual item and on each child.

  • A flat list, or virtual items per dimension
  • Every dimension except the last can be grouped
  • Inheritable values held once on the parent

Executive ROI Value

The product hierarchy channels show, one style with its colours and sizes beneath it, exists the moment the items do.

  • No parent items built by hand
  • Shared values held in one place

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The Item Creator remembers the last set of dimensions used for each feature, such as Products or Categories, and opens with it next time. To keep several sets, an administrator or super user can add a feature that stores them. Named Dimension Sets are then saved and picked from a list, much like views and filters, and can be organised in a hierarchy and in a custom order.

  • Last set remembered for each feature
  • Named sets saved like views and filters
  • Sets in a hierarchy and custom order

Executive ROI Value

Each product family is created with the same dimensions every season, so ranges stay consistent from one launch to the next.

  • Consistent ranges, season after season
  • Less set-up for every new range

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Default values apply values to new items automatically. They are set per feature in a configuration and are meant for data that many items share, which saves editors from entering the same value again and again and is less error prone, because the correct value is set for them. They work on Date, Link, Number, String, Text, Table and Boolean features that are explicit, selectable or selectable with multiple values. Localizable features can have a default in each language, and a default can also be a formula. A feature that is copied when an item is copied cannot also take a default value.

  • Set once per feature in the configuration
  • Seven data types, including Table and Boolean
  • A default per language for localizable features

Executive ROI Value

Standard values such as country of origin or a tax classification are right from the first save.

  • Less typing on every new item
  • Fewer wrong standard values

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Where a configuration has item dependencies, the same feature can appear more than once, each time with its own default. New items in one category start with one value and new items in another category start with another, from the same configuration. When a feature appears twice at the same level, the default of the first occurrence is used. When it appears at different levels, the deepest default wins.

  • A different default per category or brand
  • At the same level, the first occurrence is used
  • Across levels, the deepest default wins

Executive ROI Value

One configuration serves every product type, each with the standard values that are right for it.

  • One model, every product type
  • No category templates to maintain

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Default values are not only for items created in the main grid. Items created with the Perfion API are enriched with default values as well, using the defaults that match the item, such as those for its category. Items created with the Perfion Import tool are not enriched with default values; Boyum states that this will be added in a later release.

  • Items created through the API get defaults
  • Category-specific defaults applied there too
  • Not yet for items from the Import tool

Executive ROI Value

Items that arrive from another system through the API carry the same standard values as items created in Perfion.

  • One standard, whichever route an item takes
  • A known gap, planned for

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

In most implementations each item exists once in Perfion. Staging adds a dimension to items, so the same item can exist in several stages, such as a draft and an active version. The stages are the values of one selectable feature named Stage, and every categorizer gets a stage quick filter. A compare search compares items with the same key, such as the item number, in two stages: those that differ, those that are the same, those in both stages, or those in only one. The same comparison is available in standard API searches.

  • Draft and active versions of the same item
  • A quick filter for each stage on every categorizer
  • Changed, same, new or missing, between two stages

Executive ROI Value

Imported data and next season’s range are prepared and checked without touching the items that are live.

  • Live data stays live while work goes on
  • Every change seen before approval
Core Concepts

5 Core Concepts of Creating Items Right the First Time

The first three are about creating items. The fourth is about starting them complete. The last is about changing them safely.

  1. Concept 01 · Describe the range, and let the items follow

    Think in Combinations, Not Rows

    The product data problem it solves

    Merchandisers type every variant as its own row. Six colours, five sizes and two fits make 60 rows for one shirt style, and one of them is always missed or mistyped.

    The concept explained

    A range of variants is not 60 separate facts. It is three short lists, colours, sizes and fits, and every combination of them. Described that way, the range is easy to check and impossible to half-type. The Item Creator works exactly like this: you pick the values of each dimension, and it creates one item for every combination. Because the values come from pick lists, every item uses the same spelling of the same colour.

    Everyday analogy

    A car configurator. Choose the colour, the engine and the trim, and every variant follows from the choices. Nobody writes out each car.

    In Perfion

    The Item Creator creates items for all combinations of the values selected in its dimensions. Dimensions are selectable features, whose values are managed in Feature Data. Items created this way are indistinguishable from items created normally.

    Think in combinations, not rowsThree dimensions: Colour with six values, Size with five values and Fit with two values. Multiplied together they give 60 combinations, shown as a grid of 60 squares, one for each new item, such as Navy, L, Slim.Three short lists define the whole rangeColour6 valuesWhiteSkyNavyOliveGreyBlackSize5 valuesSMLXLXXL×Fit2 valuesSlimRegular×= 60 itemsOne for every combinationHighlighted: Navy · L · Slim12 × 5 = 60 squares, one per new item
    6 colours, 5 sizes and 2 fits: 60 combinations, one item each.
  2. Concept 02 · Decide before the items exist

    Create Only What Exists

    The product data problem it solves

    Bulk creation that makes every combination also makes the ones the business does not sell, such as a slim fit in XXL, and they reach the web shop as items nobody can order.

    The concept explained

    Not every combination is a real product. A fit may not be cut in the largest size, or a colour may be made only in some sizes. Deciding which combinations exist is a product decision, and it is cheapest to make before the items are created, not after they have spread to channels. The Item Creator lists every combination first, each with its own checkbox, and only the selected ones become items. Opened from a grid showing a category, it files every new item in that category too.

    Everyday analogy

    Ticking a restaurant order before it goes to the kitchen. The menu offers every combination; the order lists only what the table will eat.

    In Perfion

    Combinations can be selected or cleared one by one or all at once, Perfion asks for confirmation before creating the items, and items created from a grid showing a category are assigned that category.

    Create only what existsLeft: the combinations listed by the Item Creator, each with a checkbox. The slim fit in XXL is not made, so those combinations are cleared. Right: 60 combinations listed, 6 cleared, 54 selected and created, all assigned the category Shirts.Combinations · each with a checkboxWhite · L · SlimWhite · XL · SlimWhite · XXL · SlimWhite · XXL · RegularNavy · XL · SlimNavy · XXL · SlimNavy · XXL · Regular+ 53 more combinationsWhite · XXL · Slimnot madeNavy · XXL · Slimnot made60combinations listed− 6slim fit in XXL cleared54selected and createdCategory: Shirtsassigned to every new item
    60 combinations listed, 6 cleared, 54 items created in the Shirts category.
  3. Concept 03 · Parents and children, created together

    Build the Family, Not Just the Items

    The product data problem it solves

    Variants are created as one long flat list, and someone then builds the parent products by hand and copies the colour onto every child.

    The concept explained

    Channels often show one style with its variants beneath it: each colour, and each size within that colour. The Item Creator can build that hierarchy in the same step, by creating virtual items for every dimension except the last. A value of an inheritable feature, such as the colour, is then set once on the virtual item and passed to its children, so it is held in one place. Features that are not inheritable get the value on the virtual item and on every child.

    Everyday analogy

    Folders on a computer: one folder for each colour, a folder for each fit inside it, and the files for each size inside that.

    In Perfion

    Virtual items can be created for each dimension except the last, from left to right. Inheritable values are assigned at the virtual level; values of features that are not inheritable are assigned on the virtual item and on its children.

    BPAS method · toolDeploy EnterpriseDesign before configurationThe data model is designed and signed off before anything is configured: the Design phase of toolDeploy Enterprise.
    Build the family, not just the itemsA tree created by the Item Creator. The virtual item White sits at the top, with the colour set once and inherited. Under it are the virtual items White Slim and White Regular, and under White Slim the items in sizes S, M and L. On the right: 6 colour virtual items, 12 fit virtual items and 54 items.Virtual items for Colour and Fit; the items are the sizesWhitevirtualColour: WhiteWhite · SlimvirtualWhite · Slim · SWhiteWhite · Slim · MWhiteWhite · Slim · LWhite+ XL and XXLWhite · Regular5 sizes+ 5 more colours, each built the same wayInherited byevery child6colour virtual items12fit virtual items54items, one per size
    Colour and fit become virtual items. The colour is set once and inherited by every size below it.
  4. Concept 04 · Standard values without typing

    New Items Start Complete

    The product data problem it solves

    Every new item starts empty, so the same tax classification, country of origin and care text are typed hundreds of times, and some are typed wrong.

    The concept explained

    Many values are the same for whole groups of products. Typing them again on every new item wastes time and invites mistakes that are hard to see. Default values solve this: each is set once, per feature, in the configuration, and filled in on every new item. With item dependencies, each product type can start with its own value, and when a feature appears at several levels the deepest default wins. Items created through the Perfion API get the same treatment.

    Everyday analogy

    A pre-printed invoice book. The company name, address and GSTIN are already on every page; you write only what changes.

    In Perfion

    Default values are set at feature level in a configuration, for Date, Link, Number, String, Text, Table and Boolean features. They are applied to new items created in the grid and through the Perfion API, but not yet to items created with the Perfion Import tool.

    New items start completeLeft: the Product configuration. Country of origin has the default India and Care text the default Machine wash cold. Under the item dependency Category Shirts, HSN code defaults to 6205; under Category Trousers, to 6203. Right: a new shirt starts with India, the care text and HSN 6205. The deepest default wins.Configuration · ProductProductDefault valueCountry of originIndiaCare textMachine wash coldCategory: ShirtsHSN code6205Category: TrousersHSN code6203New item · ShirtsCountry of originIndiaCare textMachine wash coldHSN code6205Deepest default wins.A new trouser starts with 6203.
    A new shirt starts with India, the care text and HSN 6205. A new pair of trousers starts with HSN 6203.
  5. Concept 05 · Work in progress, kept apart from what is live

    Prepare the Draft Beside the Live Item

    The product data problem it solves

    Next season’s changes are typed straight into live items, so channels show half-finished data, or they are prepared in a copy of the file and merged back by hand.

    The concept explained

    Some changes take weeks to prepare: a new version of a whole product series, or a large import from a supplier. Made on live items, they show before they are ready. Made in a copy, they have to be merged back, and something is always lost. Staging lets the same item exist in two stages, a draft and an active version, side by side in Perfion. A compare search then lists what is different between them, what is new, and what is missing, before anyone approves the change.

    Everyday analogy

    A newspaper page proof. Tomorrow’s edition is laid out and checked while today’s paper is on the stands.

    In Perfion

    Staging uses one selectable feature named Stage, whose values are the stages. Every categorizer gets a quick filter for each stage. Compare searches, also available in standard API searches, compare two stages by a key feature such as the item number.

    From BPAS · prodRecord newsletterprodRecordKeeping the record straight.One product data practice every month, written in plain English for product data teams.
    Prepare the draft beside the live itemTwo stages of the same items. Active: SH-1042 in Cotton and SH-1043 in Cotton. Draft: SH-1042 in Cotton linen, SH-1043 in Cotton and a new SH-1050 in Linen. A compare search by item number shows SH-1042 changed, SH-1050 new and SH-1043 the same.Stage: ActiveFabricSH-1042CottonSH-1043CottonStage: DraftFabricSH-1042Cotton linenSH-1043CottonSH-1050LinenCompareby item number!=ChangedSH-1042NOT INNew in DraftSH-1050=The sameSH-1043
    The draft and active versions compared by item number: one changed, one new, one the same.
Best Practices

10 Best Practices for the Item Creator and Default Values in Perfion

Each practice says what good item creation looks like and what it costs to ignore it. Setting them up for your team is what BPAS consultants do.

  1. 01Agree the dimensions of every product family

    Item Creator · Dimensions

    The rule

    Each product family has an agreed set of dimensions, such as colour, size and fit, and every value it needs already exists in its pick list.

    Risk if ignored

    When dimensions are decided item by item, variants of one family are built differently, and filters and channels cannot treat them alike.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  2. 02Create only the combinations you sell

    Item Creator · Combinations

    The rule

    Combinations the business does not make are cleared before items are created, so every new item is one that can be sold.

    Risk if ignored

    Unwanted combinations become items that have to be found and deleted, or reach channels as products nobody can order.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  3. 03Create new items straight into their category

    Item Creator · Category

    The rule

    New items are created in the category they belong to, not left to be sorted later.

    Risk if ignored

    Items created without a category sit among the untagged items and are missed by every category view until someone notices.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  4. 04Decide the hierarchy before creating variants

    Item Creator · Virtual items

    The rule

    For each product family it is decided, before its variants are created, whether they form a flat list or sit under virtual items, and at which levels.

    Risk if ignored

    Changing the structure after hundreds of variants exist means regrouping and re-checking them by hand.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  5. 05Make shared values inheritable

    Data model · Inheritance

    The rule

    Values that every variant under a parent shares, such as the colour of a colour group, are on inheritable features, so they are held once on the virtual item.

    Risk if ignored

    Values that are not inheritable are set on the parent and on every child, so a later correction has to be made in many places.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  6. 06Save a dimension set for every recurring range

    Item Creator · Dimension Sets

    The rule

    Product families created every season have a saved, named dimension set that editors reuse.

    Risk if ignored

    Rebuilt from memory each season, ranges come out with a dimension missing or in a different order.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  7. 07Give every standard value a default

    Configuration · Default Values

    The rule

    Values most new items share, such as country of origin or tax classification, have a default value in the configuration, set per product type where they differ.

    Risk if ignored

    Typed by hand, a standard value is entered hundreds of times, and the wrong ones are found in a return, an audit or a tax query.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  8. 08Know which routes apply default values

    Defaults · Data routes

    The rule

    The team knows that items created in the grid and through the Perfion API get default values, while items created with the Perfion Import tool do not yet, and covers that gap.

    Risk if ignored

    Imported items arrive without the standard values everyone assumes they have, and the gap shows up first in a channel.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  9. 09Prepare large changes in a draft stage

    Staging · Draft

    The rule

    Imported data and new versions of a product series are prepared in a draft stage, beside the active items, until they are approved.

    Risk if ignored

    Large changes made straight on live items reach channels half-finished, and there is no clean version to compare against.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  10. 10Compare stages before approval

    Staging · Compare

    The rule

    Before a draft is approved, a compare search lists the items that changed and the items that are new.

    Risk if ignored

    Without a comparison, one unintended change in a draft of thousands of items goes live unnoticed.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your team? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
Self-Audit · 10 Best Practices

Item creation self-audit: how many are in place today?

Tick each of the ten practices above that your product team already follows. Your score updates as you go.

Practices in place
0 of 10

Tick the practices that are in place.

Book an item creation review

Nothing you tick is stored or sent.

Illustrative scenario · not a client case study A Business Like Yours

Illustrative scenario: an Indian menswear brand, with every variant typed by hand

A menswear brand sells shirts, trousers and knitwear through its own stores, a web shop and two marketplaces, and launches two new ranges a year, each with hundreds of new variants. Orders, stock and invoicing are in the ERP. Product data is kept in spreadsheets.

The Operational Challenge

Merchandisers type every new variant as its own row: six colours, five sizes and two fits make 60 rows for one shirt style. The HSN code, country of origin and care text are copied from older rows, and next season’s range is prepared in a copy of the sheet and merged back the week before launch.

Last season, 180 shirts went live with the trouser HSN code, and a slim fit in XXL that the brand does not make appeared on the web shop.

  • Every variant typed by hand, row by row
  • Standard values copied, and copied wrong
  • Combinations listed that the brand does not make
  • Next season merged back from a copy at the last minute

The Financial Transformation

In Perfion, each shirt style is created with the Item Creator from a saved Dimension Set: the combinations the brand does not make are cleared, and the rest are created in their category, grouped under virtual items by colour and fit.

Default values give every new shirt its country of origin, care text and HSN code, with a different code for trousers. Next season’s range is prepared in a draft stage, and a compare search lists every change before it is approved.

  • A shirt style created in one step
  • Standard values right from the first save
  • Only combinations the brand makes
  • Next season prepared beside the live range
Illustrative figures for a typical Indian menswear brand of this size. They add up, but they are not a client case study.
Cost line Before (per month) After (per month) Difference (per year)
Merchandiser time creating and keying new variants₹ 1,20,000₹ 30,000₹ 10,80,000
Corrections to wrong or missing standard values₹ 60,000₹ 15,000₹ 5,40,000
Launch rework when a new range goes live₹ 80,000₹ 30,000₹ 6,00,000
Total₹ 2,60,000₹ 75,000₹ 22,20,000
Illustrative saving a year₹ 22,20,000Same figures as the table, not a client result

See your own next range created in Perfion.

Book an item creation review
From BPAS

prodRecord Live

Enterprise product data insights from BPAS

Keeping the record straight, live every month

prodRecord Live is a monthly webinar series on product information management, held on the second Wednesday of every month from January 2027. Each session takes one product data topic and works through it in plain English with time for your questions.

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Who Benefits

Who benefits from better item creation: one range, three answers

  • Promoter & CXOs

    How fast can a new range go live?

    Variants are created in one step and start with their standard values, so a range is ready for channels sooner, and next season is prepared without disturbing this one.

  • Product Data Manager

    Will every new item start with the right values?

    Default values set per product type fill in standard values on new items, and a compare search shows every change in a draft before it is approved.

  • Merchandiser

    How do I create 60 variants without 60 rows of typing?

    Pick the colours, sizes and fits in the Item Creator, clear the combinations you do not make, and create the rest in one step.

Vocabulary

Item Creation Vocabulary and Definitions

From the tool that combines values into items, to the stages that keep a draft apart from what is live. Each term shows what it means, why it matters, and a household comparison.

  1. Item Creator

    Creating items · in bulk

    One item per combination

    Operational definition

    A tool that creates many new items using very few clicks, one for every combination of the values selected in its dimensions.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Combinations can be selected or cleared before creation, and the items created are indistinguishable from items created normally.

    Everyday analogy

    A car configurator: the choices define every variant, so nobody writes out each car.

    See it in action:Item Creator under Capabilities →

  2. Dimension

    Item Creator · input

    A selectable feature

    Operational definition

    A selectable feature, such as Colour, Size or Material, whose selected values the Item Creator combines into new items.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Several dimensions can be selected, reordered or removed. The number of items is the values of each dimension multiplied together.

    Everyday analogy

    The sizes and colours on a garment order sheet: each list is short, and together they define every piece.

    See it in action:Concept 01 under Core Concepts →

  3. Flat list

    Item Creator · output

    The default

    Operational definition

    New items created side by side, with no virtual items above them. This is how the Item Creator creates items unless virtual items are chosen.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Suits ranges that channels show item by item, with no parent product above the variants.

    Everyday analogy

    A class register: every student on one list, with no sections.

    See it in action:Flat lists or virtual items under Capabilities →

  4. Virtual item

    Item hierarchy · parent

    Groups other items

    Operational definition

    An item that groups other items as its children. The Item Creator can create one for each value of every dimension except the last.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Values of inheritable features are set on the virtual item and passed to its children.

    Everyday analogy

    A folder on a computer: it holds the files, and its name tells you what they share.

    See it in action:Concept 03 under Core Concepts →

  5. Dimension Set

    Item Creator · saved sets

    Kept like views and filters

    Operational definition

    A saved, named set of dimensions for the Item Creator, picked from a list the next time a similar range is created.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Without named sets, the Item Creator remembers the last set used for each feature. Named sets need a feature added by an administrator or super user.

    Everyday analogy

    A saved shopping list for the monthly provisions run.

    See it in action:Dimension Sets under Capabilities →

  6. Default value

    Configuration · new items

    Set per feature

    Operational definition

    A value set per feature in a configuration and filled in automatically on new items, so the same value is not typed again and again.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Supported for Date, Link, Number, String, Text, Table and Boolean features. Applied to items created in the grid and through the Perfion API, not yet through the Perfion Import tool.

    Everyday analogy

    A pre-printed invoice book, with the company details already on every page.

    See it in action:Concept 04 under Core Concepts →

  7. Staging

    Items · versions

    Draft and active

    Operational definition

    A Perfion function that adds a dimension to items, so the same item can exist in several stages, such as a draft and an active version.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Used to hold imported data as a draft for approval, to keep different status codes for one item, or to prepare a new product series in parallel to the active one.

    Everyday analogy

    A newspaper page proof, checked while today’s edition is on the stands.

    See it in action:Concept 05 under Core Concepts →

  8. Stage

    Staging · values

    Values of the Stage feature

    Operational definition

    One version of an item, such as Draft or Active. The stages are the values of one selectable feature named Stage.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Stages can be added, edited and removed later, like other pick list values; favourite searches that depend on a stage need checking when they change.

    Everyday analogy

    The rough, fair and final copies of a school project.

    See it in action:Staging and compare searches under Capabilities →

  9. Stage quick filter

    Staging · finding

    On every categorizer

    Operational definition

    A quick filter that each categorizer gets once stages are set up, showing only the items in one stage.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Editors see the draft and the active versions separately, so work in progress is never confused with what is live.

    Everyday analogy

    The “drafts” folder in an email app, kept apart from the sent mail.

    See it in action:Staging and compare searches under Capabilities →

FAQ

Item Creator and default values: questions product teams ask

Short answers, each with a link to the part of this guide that explains it.

  1. It creates many new items at once, one for each combination of the values you pick in selectable features such as colour and size. Five colours, three materials and four brands give 60 items.

    More on Item Creator
  2. No. Every combination is listed with its own checkbox before anything is created, and only the selected combinations become items.

    More on Concept 02
  3. No. Boyum’s documentation states that items created by the Item Creator are indistinguishable from items created normally. They can also be created under virtual items in the same step.

    More on Item Creator
  4. Items created in the grid and items created through the Perfion API get the default values set in their configuration. Items created with the Perfion Import tool do not get default values yet; Boyum states this will be added in a later release.

    More on Default value
  5. Yes. With item dependencies, the same feature can appear more than once in a configuration, each time with its own default. At different levels the deepest default is used; at the same level, the first.

    More on Defaults per item dependency
  6. Yes, with Staging. The same item can exist in several stages, such as a draft and an active version, and compare searches find the items that differ between two stages or exist in only one.

    More on Concept 05
  7. Yes. The Item Creator, default values and staging are part of Perfion itself, so this guide applies whichever ERP your product data comes from. What changes from one ERP to another is the integration that brings ERP data into Perfion.

    More on ERP integration

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