Advice on attribute combinations?

Newbie here...  I need to interface with an outside vendor, tying a combination of (for example) product + color + size to a single 'Variant Id.'  Any advice on the best way to do that?

In a similar vein: when I copied a product it created new size and color attributes but I would like just one set of size and color attributes - at least for variations of a product (variations meaning it is the same product from the vendor's point of view - but different products in Nop based on the different designs I apply).  I assume that's possible?

But my real issue is (beside the gnarly, manual, unsustainable approach I have now) - how to easily tie together product and attribute combinations to unique 'id's.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

ldl01031 wrote:
If you generate the attribute combinations you can assign Sku, Manufacturer part number and GTIN fields to the individual variants.

As an example go to this page, select the Product Attributes tab, select the Attribute Combinations sub-tab and hit the Generate all possible combinations button.

Thanks!  I just stumbled on that last night.  It seems like the best I'm going to do, but it should be quite helpful.  I guess Nop must be parsing the AttributeXml to figure out what to show on that screen (Color: Green, Size: XS, etc.).  I don't see an easy way to figure it out from the Sql tables - maybe I need a couple of self-joins?

On a side note, I didn't realize the color squares were new to 3.8 (if you start with 3.8, you assume most things have been there for a while).  It would sure be nice to associate a color value when adding pre-defined colors (rather than having to do it over and over).  Few people are going to know what they are getting when they order the color Lapis, for instance, so showing them the colors is essential.  However, if I have 50 designs of the same 39 colors (which I do) - well, that's a lot of combinations to define over and over.  Maybe the export/import will help?

Thanks!  I just stumbled on that last night.  It seems like the best I'm going to do, but it should be quite helpful.  I guess Nop must be parsing the AttributeXml to figure out what to show on that screen (Color: Green, Size: XS, etc.).  I don't see an easy way to figure it out from the Sql tables - maybe I need a couple of self-joins?

On a side note, I didn't realize the color squares were new to 3.8 (if you start with 3.8, you assume most things have been there for a while).  It would sure be nice to associate a color value when adding pre-defined colors (rather than having to do it over and over).  Few people are going to know what they are getting when they order the color Lapis, for instance, so showing them the colors is essential.  However, if I have 50 designs of the same 39 colors (which I do) - well, that's a lot of combinations to define over and over.  Maybe the export/import will help?

ldl01031 wrote:
Color squares on product attributes (which you're using) have been around for a while, but color squares for specification attributes were added recently.

If you find yourself adding the same attribute values over and over again it might be better to use the Copy product button from the product edit page. This will just copy an existing product with all associated product attributes and then you can just edit the fields that have actually changed.

Oh, I see.

As far as copy - correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that copying a product creates new attribute Ids for the colors and sizes?  This actually make my problem a bit bigger.  That's why I'm hoping that export/import will allow me to make copies in a more controlled way.  Hopefully that's true?

Just to close this off - I think I have everything I need to make my situation work.  There is manual work I can't avoid but I believe I can eliminate a lot of tedium with a few routines, scheduled tasks, and the outside vendor's API.

So - thanks much for the suggestions - very appreciated.

-ldl-

I have photographic prints to sell, and they can be framed as well.  I set up grouped variants by size (so for example 24 x 36 - either a matted print, or framed - with two paper types as well, so 4 possibilities for that size).  

The issue is that if I set the base price to say $20 (for the print), and set the overridden price (attribute combination) for the framed photo to $100 - I think nop will calculate my profit to be $80, right?  Ideally I could set a base price on the attribute combinations.

Any easy way to accomplish that goal that I've missed?

ldl01031 wrote:
I should have said 'Product Cost' rather than base price (sometimes I can edit a message, sometimes I can't ?)