An item feature is a named option group of a package item, such as Colour or Accessories. The product configurator lists the package's components under these names, so a user choosing optional parts sees them in labelled sets rather than in one long list.
Features belong to the package side of the item master. You create the package item and its item components first, then add features for the item and put each component into one of them. The groups appear when someone opens the configurator on an order, invoice, quote, opportunity, purchase order or requisition line; see Product configurator and demos.
Overview
A feature record holds a Name, the Item it belongs to and a few more settings. The link runs the other way round: each item component has a Product Packages field that names its feature. The configurator reads only that link and the feature's Name.
Item features are not in any app or menu as shipped, and the App Launcher does not list them. You open the list by its address: type /ItemFeature after your tenant address. The list is All Item Features.
When to use it
Use features when a package has enough optional components that grouping them helps the user, for example a machine whose buyer chooses a colour, an attachment and an extended service. A package with only mandatory components gains nothing from features, because the configurator locks those components anyway.
Features do not limit what a user can choose. If you need to say how many components a user may pick, or hide a group for some companies, xMatix does not support that with features; see Business rules.
How xMatix handles it
When the configurator opens for a package line, it receives the package's applicable components in their Sort Order. Each component carries the Name of its feature, and the configurator groups the components by that name:
- Group headings are the feature names. A component with no feature is listed under its Feature Type name, Product Configurator.
- Group order follows the components: a group appears where its first component falls in Sort Order. The feature's own Sort Order is not used.
- Within a group, mandatory components come first, then components with a Sort Order above 0 in that order, then the rest by name.
- Same name, same group. Components are grouped by the feature's name, so two features with the same name, even on different items, show as one group.
The web and mobile configurators group in the same way. Nothing else in xMatix reads item features: adding component lines to a document, pricing, stock and the commerce catalogue ignore them.
Prerequisites
- The package item exists and has Package switched on. See Items.
- The item's components exist. See Packages and item components.
- Your security profile lets you create item features and edit item components.
Procedure
Step 1 — Open the item features list
Type /ItemFeature after your tenant address. The All Item Features list opens.
Step 2 — Create a feature
Choose New. The form has three sections:
- Information — enter the Name that users should see as the group heading, for example Accessories. Choose the Item (the package) the feature belongs to. Feature Group is optional free text.
- Partner Account — leave Partner Account and Partner Account Group empty. They are stored but have no effect.
- Behaviour — enter Min Components and Max Components of at least 1 each. Both start at 0, and 0 is refused when you save. Leave Sort Order and Show in Catalog as they are; neither changes what users see.
Save. The feature is added to the list.
Step 3 — Put components into the feature
Open the package item, go to its Related tab and open a component from the item components list. Under Information, set Product Packages to the feature and save. Repeat for each component of the group. The field is on the component's record page only, not on its New form.
The Product Packages picker lists the features of every item, not only this item's. Give features names that make clear which item they belong to, or check the item before you choose.
Step 4 — Check the result on a document
Add the package item to a quote or order and open the configurator for the line. The optional components appear under their feature names, and components without a feature appear under Product Configurator.
Step 5 — Change or remove a feature
On the All Item Features list, use the row's Edit to change a feature in a dialog, or the row's Delete to remove it. A renamed feature shows its new name the next time the configurator opens. The feature's record page has no buttons as shipped, so edit and delete from the list.
Before deleting a feature, clear Product Packages on the components that use it. Those components then show under Product Configurator again.
Fields
Information
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The group heading shown in the configurator | Required. Up to 100 characters. |
| Feature Group | A free-text label for a higher level of grouping | Stored only; nothing reads it. |
| Item | The package item the feature belongs to | Needed in practice: the record can't be saved without an item. The picker lists all items. |
Partner Account
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Partner Account | A company the feature was meant for | Stored only; the configurator shows the feature to every company. Hidden when your organisation runs one company. |
| Partner Account Group | An account group the feature was meant for | Stored only. To limit components by company, use the component's own Partner Account and Partner Account Group fields. |
Behaviour
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Min Components | Intended smallest number of components to choose from the group | Must be 1 or more to save. The configurator does not enforce it. |
| Max Components | Intended largest number of components to choose from the group | Must be 1 or more to save. The configurator does not enforce it, and nothing checks that it is above Min Components. |
| Sort Order | Intended position of the group | Defaults to 0. Not used; groups follow their components' Sort Order. |
| Show in Catalog | Intended to show the group in the catalogue | Stored only; nothing reads it. |
The record also has a Related Item field, which no form shows and nothing reads.
Business rules
- Min Components and Max Components must be above 0. A value of 0 or less is refused with Minimum Quantity cannot be Negative!! or Maximum Quantity cannot be Negative!!. Because both fields start at 0, a new feature can't be saved until you enter at least 1 in each.
- The counts are not enforced. A user can choose any number of a group's optional components in the configurator, whatever the counts say.
- Only the name and the component link have an effect. Feature Group, Sort Order, Show in Catalog, Partner Account and Partner Account Group are stored and shown, but no process reads them.
- Features never decide which components are added. Lines are added from the component's own Feature Type, Is Mandatory, Is Selected, Item SKU, Applicable For and partner settings. See Packages and item components.
- Documents keep no copy of the feature. Renaming or deleting a feature changes only how the configurator groups components the next time it opens; existing document lines stay as they are.
Example
A garden-equipment dealer sells a Ride-On Mower Pack package. Its components are the mower (mandatory), three seat-cover colours and two attachments, all optional.
The administrator creates two features for the mower pack item: Mower Pack – Seat colour and Mower Pack – Attachments, each with Min Components 1 and Max Components 1. They open each seat-cover component and set Product Packages to Mower Pack – Seat colour, then do the same for the attachments.
A sales user adds the pack to a quote and opens the configurator. The mower appears under Product Configurator, with the seat covers and attachments in their own groups. The user picks two attachments. xMatix accepts this even though Max Components is 1, because the counts are not enforced. The user removes one attachment before applying.
Training
Practice exercise
In a sandbox, use a package item that has at least two optional components (see the practice exercise on Packages and item components). Open /ItemFeature, choose New, name the feature Practice – Extras, choose the package item and save with both counts at 0. Then enter 1 in both and save again. Set Product Packages on the two optional components to the new feature. Open the configurator on an order line for the package.
Expected result: the first save is refused with Minimum Quantity cannot be Negative!! and Maximum Quantity cannot be Negative!!; the second succeeds. In the configurator, the two optional components are listed under Practice – Extras, and the mandatory one under Product Configurator.
Quick reference
- A feature is a group heading for components in the configurator, nothing more.
- Open the list at
/ItemFeature; it is in no app. - Enter at least 1 in Min Components and Max Components, or the save is refused.
- Link components to a feature through their Product Packages field, on the component's record page.
- Groups are ordered by their components' Sort Order, not the feature's.
- Feature names are unique per configurator: same name, same group.
- Partner scoping, catalogue visibility and counts on a feature have no effect.
Permissions
Viewing, creating, editing and deleting item features follow your security profile's access to the Item Feature entity. Setting Product Packages needs edit access to Item Component. The configurator's grouping needs no access to item features: it is built on the server for anyone who can open the configurator. Access is set under Security profiles.
Configuration
- Reaching the list — item features are in no app. To give users a menu entry, add the Item Feature entity to an app in Setup → Design Studio → Apps; see Create an entity.
- Forms — the New form and the record page can be changed in the layout designer; see Design a form layout. The shipped record page has no header buttons; edit and delete from the list rows.
- Product Packages on the component — this field is on the item component's record page only. To set the feature when creating a component, add the field to the component's New form in the layout designer.
- Validations — the two count checks are the shipped Maximum Quantity Rule Validation and Minimum Quantity Rule Validation of the Item Feature entity; see the field reference.
Common problems
"Minimum Quantity cannot be Negative!!" or "Maximum Quantity cannot be Negative!!" when I save a feature
Min Components or Max Components is 0, which is its starting value. Enter 1 or more in both fields and save again.
My components still show under "Product Configurator"
The component's Product Packages field is empty. Open the component from the package item's Related tab and set it under Information. Then reopen the configurator.
Two different groups show as one
Both features have the same name. The configurator groups by name, so rename one of them.
The groups appear in the wrong order
Groups follow their components' Sort Order, not the feature's. Give the components of the group you want first the lowest Sort Order values on the item component records.
A user picked more components than Max Components allows
The counts are not enforced. Use the component's Is Mandatory, Is Selected and quantity limits to control what is added; see Packages and item components.
Common questions
Do item features change which components are added to a document?
No. Which components are added, and with what quantity, depends only on the item component records: their Feature Type, Is Mandatory, Is Selected, Item SKU, Applicable For and partner settings. A feature only gives the configurator a heading to list a component under. Removing every feature from a package changes the configurator's layout, not the lines on any document.
Can I limit a feature to some dealers or companies?
Not with the feature. Its Partner Account and Partner Account Group fields are stored but nothing reads them, so every company sees the group. Set Partner Account or Partner Account Group on the components themselves instead. A component that does not apply to the document's company is left out, and a group with no applicable components does not appear.
What is the "Item Feature" account group type for?
Item Feature is one of the shipped Account Group Type values, but nothing in xMatix reads it, and a feature's Partner Account Group has no effect either. See Account groups for the types that price lists, discounts, taxes and schemes use.
Does the feature appear in the online store or catalogue?
No. Show in Catalog is stored only, and the commerce catalogue does not read item features. Catalogue entries are built from store categories; see Catalogue and pricing.
Related topics
- Packages and item components — the components a feature groups.
- Product configurator and demos — where the groups appear.
- Items — the package flag and the item's Related tab.
- Item Feature field reference.
- Item — entity reference