Export of BMEcat 2005 ETIM[Files / Export / BMEcat 2005 ETIM]

It is the default format for product data exchange, recommended by ETIM International. The file is exported in a compressed form (zipped).

All products are exported as the distributor's products. It is not possible to execute the export for an indicated product supplier. The distributor becomes a new supplier of the exported product data. The products are exported without any information about the previous supplier (the fields "Supplier", "Product ID by supplier", "Product name by supplier" and "Alt. product ID by supplier" are not exported, because they are not part of the BMEcat structure).

The following export options are available here (the default values can be customized in the "Settings / Export / BMEcat 2005 ETIM" page):

• Filter – possibility to export only products that satisfy the defined filter condition.
• Export as a supplier – possibility to export product information "as a supplier", so that the "Product ID by supplier" becomes the "Product ID" (for details see "Export products as a supplier" subsection).
• Export as a subsidiary – possibility to generate BMEcat files "as a subsidiary", i.e., with subsidiary data in the header of the BMEcat file as the author/sender of the file.
• Buyer – possibility to export a file for a single predefined buyer.
• ETIM version – products are exported by default in the current version of the ETIM. You can select previous ETIM versions (only classes, features, and values, which exist also in the current version of ETIM will be exported).
• Guidelines version – the current version of the guidelines is set by default. For compatibility reasons, you can select a previous version of the guidelines.
• Languages – only selected at this point language versions of products will be exported (it concerns elements like name, description long, keywords, etc.).
• Default language – the default language is placed in the header file BMEcat and identifies the main language of the BMEcat file.
• Exported price territories – the exported file will contain prices that conform to territories given in this field. Eg. if the territories for the specific price of the product is set to EN, DE, FR, while the export option is set to EN, FR, IT, the price will be exported with the territory EN, FR (the common part of price setting and export setting).
• Prices without territories – the exported file will contain prices without territories (no territory assigned to the price).
• Default price territories – default territories for prices without territory explicitly set (mandatory field required in the header of the BMEcat file).
• Default price currency – default currency for prices without currency explicitly set (mandatory field required in the header of the BMEcat file).
• Catalog – possibility to select a previously defined catalog, which identifier, name and version will be used in the exported BMEcat file.
• With "Not applicable" values – the possibility to export "not applicable" empty values marked as "-" (dash) or to omit them during export (see the section "Empty values" for more information).
• Filename – the name of the exported file (the timestamp is always added to the name).

In general, product description fields that have no assigned value are not exported to the BMEcat file. To avoid errors when validating the BMEcat file, we recommend providing values for mandatory product description fields.

Export products as a supplier

It is possible to export products "as a supplier". This mode allows you to retrieve production information as if it was generated from a supplier account, that is, if the main product identifier is "Product ID by supplier".

When exporting a file as a supplier, only the products of the supplier with non-empty "Product ID by supplier" are exported.

To use this export mode you have to select a supplier in the "Export as a supplier" field. The supplier must be previously defined on the "Configuration / Suppliers" page.

As stated above, when exporting product information "as a supplier" the "Product ID by supplier" becomes the main product identifier. This way of accessing data forces also the substitution of some other fields. The following fields of the exported product information are treated differently:

• "Product ID by supplier" overwrites "Product ID"
• "Alt. product ID by supplier" overwrites "Alt. product ID"
• "Product name by supplier" (if any) overwrites "Product name"
• "Supplier", "Product ID by supplier", "Product name by supplier" and "Alt. product ID by supplier" (if any) are skipped

Export of Excel[Files / Export / Excel]

It is the auxiliary product data exchange format used for the export/import of all product data. The file is exported in a compressed form (zipped).

All products are exported as the distributor's products. It is not possible to execute the export for an indicated product supplier. The distributor becomes a new supplier of the exported product data. The fields "Supplier", "Product ID by supplier", "Product name by supplier" and "Alt. product ID by supplier" are exported in the corresponding columns.

The following export options are available here (the default values can be customized in the "Settings / Export / Excel" page):

• Filter – possibility to export only products that satisfy the defined filter condition.
• Export as a supplier – possibility to export product information "as a supplier", so that the "Product ID by supplier" becomes the "Product ID" (for details see "Export products as a supplier" subsection).
• Exported elements (product description values) – user can select what kind of product data information should be exported to an Excel file:
  • General – general product information (identifiers, descriptions, codes, numbers, groups, etc.).
  • ETIM class code – ETIM class of the product.
  • ETIM – detailed ETIM classification of products. ETIM classification can be exported in the form of ETIM codes or the form of ETIM description.
  • Order – ordering information.
  • Packing – multi-level packaging information.
  • Price – pricing information.
  • MIME – pictures, certificates, declarations, etc.
  • Attributes – user-defined product attributes.
  • Additional technical description – additional and unclassified technical information (beyond ETIM) assigned to products.
  • SEO – product information that can be useful for positioning pages for a particular product.
  • WWW – product description that can be directly used on product-related WWW pages.
  • Related products – products being in a relationship with the source product.
  • Relations by attribute – relations by attribute to which the product belongs.
  • Categories – product categories.
  • Labels – product labels.
  • Measures of the product description completeness – percentage indicators of product information completeness for every mask and category tree. Measures for masks (general and user-defined) consist of: 1 overall indicator ("Total") and 7 indicators for each category of information ("General", "ETIM", "Order", "Packing", "Price", "MIME" and "Attributes"). Measures for category trees consist of 1 indicator based on the required attributes.
  • Data on modification and creation of products – details of the product modification and creation: the date and user making the modification in each category of product information and the date and user who created the product.
• Optional elements:
  • General – this option is available only if "General" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". It is possible to select multiple fields from the general product information. Only the selected fields will be exported.
  • ETIM codes/descriptions – this option is available only if "ETIM" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". Depending on the user’s choice, either ETIM codes or ETIM descriptions are exported for classes, features, and values.
  • MIME codes – this option is available only if "MIME" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". It is possible to select multiple MIME codes. Only the MIME elements of the selected codes will be exported.
  • Attributes – this option is available only if "Attributes" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". It is possible to select multiple identifiers of attributes. Only the selected attributes will be exported.
  • Relations by attribute – this option is available only if "Relations by attribute" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". It is possible to select multiple identifiers of relations by attribute. Only the selected relations by attribute will be exported.
  • Categories – this option is available only if "Categories" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". It is possible to select multiple identifiers of category trees. Only the categories from selected category trees will be exported.
  • Labels – this option is available only if "Labels" is chosen in "Exported elements (product description values)". It is possible to select multiple identifiers of labels. Only the selected labels will be exported.
• Exported elements (definitions) – user can select what kind of definitions should be exported to an Excel file:
  • Labels – list/definition of labels currently available on the account.
  • Attributes – list/definition of attributes currently available on the account.
  • Attribute groups – list/definition of attribute groups currently available on the account.
  • Relations by attribute – all relations are listed containing their identifiers, identifier of the attribute and names.
  • Suppliers – list/definition of suppliers currently available on the account.
  • Buyers – list/definition of buyers currently available on the account.
  • Category trees – a full structure of category trees.
  • Completeness mask (user-defined) – settings of required ETIM features and BMEcat/attribute fields taken into the user-defined measure of the completeness.
• Exported languages – if a multilingual product description is available for your account, you can choose one or more languages to be exported.
• Field description language – the language of the field descriptions in the grey information headline and in the signification columns.
• Additional product identification column – option to add an additional column with a selected product identifier (for easier identification of products by a different identifier than the main product ID).
• With "Not applicable" values – the possibility to export "not applicable" empty values marked as "-" (dash) or to omit them during export (see the section "Empty values" for more information).
• Filename – the name of the exported file (the timestamp is always added to the name).

Export of system product cards (up to 200 products)[Files / Export / System product cards]

You can export the product description in the form of a PDF file (system product cards). The cards are generated according to the system product card settings (for more information read the section "Settings / System product cards"). The product cards are exported in a compressed form (zipped).

The following export options are available here (the default values can be customized in the "Settings / Export / System product cards" page):

• Filter – possibility to export only products that satisfy the defined filter condition.
• Export as a supplier – possibility to export product information "as a supplier", so that the "Product ID by supplier" becomes the "Product ID" (for details see "Export products as a supplier" subsection).
• Language of the product description – the products are exported only in one selected here language version.
• Filename – the name of the exported file (the timestamp is always added to the name).

Export of local product cards (up to 200 products)[Files / Export / Local product cards]

You can export the product description in the form of a PDF file (local product cards). The cards are generated according to the local product card settings (for more information read the section "Settings / Local product cards"). The product cards are exported in a compressed form (zipped).

The following export options are available here (the default values can be customized in the "Settings / Export / Local product cards" page):

• Filter – possibility to export only products that satisfy the defined filter condition.
• Export as a supplier – possibility to export product information "as a supplier", so that the "Product ID by supplier" becomes the "Product ID" (for details see "Export products as a supplier" subsection).
• Language of the product description – the products are exported only in one selected here language version.
• Filename – the name of the exported file (the timestamp is always added to the name).

BMEcat 2005 ETIM file validation[Files / Validation / BMEcat 2005 ETIM]

Before importing BMEcat files into the application, they can first be analyzed for syntactic correctness and validity of the value format. Analysis of a BMEcat file provides information on whether the file is correct and on any existing errors.

The validation of BMEcat files is carried out on three different levels:

• syntax of the XML file,
• validity of the XML file against the detected or indicated XSD schema (compliance of the format and range of acceptable values, dependencies between values),
• observance of additional rules arising under the "ETIM International Guidelines for suppliers to provide product data" (country-specific validation variants are supported).

Errors are aggregated, showing the total number of occurrences and the line number of the first occurrence.

The validation report is returned to the user in text form (text file). The report can be used for evaluation of the file's correctness or its correction.

Excel file validation[Files / Validation / Excel]

In the validation process, the indicated Excel file is checked for recognizable fields to be imported and for their corresponding values. The following aspects of value correctness are checked: conformity of format, consistency, and range of acceptable values.

The user can choose the scope of file validation (selection of Excel file data sheets that are analyzed). The scope of validation can exceed the permissions of a given user (e.g., in the "Products" data sheet, all elements are validated, even if the user does not have permissions, e.g. for MIME; similarly, the user can validate ECxxxxxxxx data sheets without having permissions for ETIM product data).

Files are not imported, only analyzed, without any reference to the current product data in the application database, then based on this analysis, a corresponding report is generated giving the total number of all errors found in the file. The report contains up to 10000 detailed descriptions of the first errors found.

The validation report is returned to the user in text form (text file). The report can be used for evaluation of the file's correctness or its correction.

Excel templates[Files / Excel templates]

Excel templates are Excel files containing the structure for managing the whole information about products and their classification. They allow to prepare any data information in Excel and then to import it into the application. It is possible to choose which type of product information should be included in the template. The Excel templates are structured in sheets containing different types of information:

• Products – this sheet provides a structure suitable for preparing data imports for the following product information groups: "General", "ETIM" (class code), "Order", "Packing", "Price", "MIME" (by code), "Attribute", "LCA", "Add. technical description", "SEO", "WWW", "Related products", "Relations by attribute", "Categories" and "Labels". This Excel sheet is common for all products, regardless of ETIM classification. The first column should contain identifiers of products (column named "Product ID"). The first row indicates the group of product information. The second row contains the exact name of the information in each group. Other rows should be filled with values corresponding to products.
• ECxxxxxx – separate Excel sheet for every ETIM class (EC). The generated template file contains a separate Excel sheet for each requested ETIM class. Because each ETIM class can have a different number of features, there is a two-rows header on each sheet, indicating the meaning of every column corresponding to features. The features (EF) required by ETIM for the given class are displayed in the second row of the header (each feature in a separate column) and a list of possible values (EV) that can be used in each column is displayed in the first row.
• Labels – Excel sheet used to define labels. The allowed values for letter and color (as well as their default values) are given in the first line of the worksheet.
• Attributes – Excel sheet used to define attributes. Acceptable, as well as default values for columns that have them, are given in the first line of the worksheet.
• Attribute groups – Excel sheet used to define attribute groups. The purpose of the subsequent columns is as follows: group identifier, group names (language dependent), list of unconditional attributes, conditional logical attribute (question), list of attributes for the answer "yes", list of attributes for the answer "no".
• Relations by attribute – Excel sheet used to define relations by attribute. Every row represents one relation by attribute and should consist of: an identifier of the relation (in the first column), followed by the identifier of the global attribute (used in relation) and name of the relation (in languages available for the user).
• Suppliers – Excel sheet used to define suppliers.
• Buyers – Excel sheet used to define buyers.
• Category trees – this sheet contains the following columns (defined in the first row): "Category tree identifier", "Parent category identifier" and "Category identifier"; these columns are followed by columns corresponding to names of categories in languages available for the user and then by one column corresponding to identifiers of attributes (separated by commas) that are assigned to the category tree or the categories. In this sheet, it is also possible to provide SEO attributes that can be used for positioning pages for particular product categories, as well as descriptions that can be directly used on WWW pages dedicated to these product categories.
• User-defined completeness mask – used to import user-defined completeness mask. It is possible to set the weight of ETIM class, mandatory language(s) and BMEcat/attribute/ETIM fields. The weight of ETIM class is counted in the number of ETIM features, for example, "0 EF" means that ETIM class has no value, "2 EF" means that ETIM class is counted as 2 ETIM features. All mandatory fields should be listed in the appropriate column, according to their scope and settings (+/-). To start modifying the user-defined mask, we recommend to export the current mask and modify the default settings.
• Info – this worksheet is added by default to every generated template and to each Excel product information file. The "Info" worksheet contains the information about the application version, used to generate a file as well as a lists of acceptable values that can be used for the product description.

Important: when importing product information from Excel templates, the names of the Excel sheets must be preserved; sheets with different names will be omitted.

Export links[Files / Export links]

User can view, edit and delete defined export links. Export links can be used by data receivers to download files without having to log on to the application. Export links can be created on the export pages.

Disk space[Files / Disk space]

Each account is provided with a disk space remaining at the disposal of the users. The size of the disk space can be adjusted to the requirements of the account owner. The application allows the uploading/downloading of files to/from the disk space and its management (creation of subdirectories). The disk space is available in reading mode for non-logged-in users, so it is mostly used as a storage place for MIME files (photos, drawings, certificates, index cards, etc.). File references (access paths) are placed in the MIME_SOURCE field which allows MIME files to be downloaded by contractors or external systems.

Important: The original names of uploaded files may contain "language-specific" or "system-specific" characters. On the other hand, file names are also used as links in the application and as such can be a potential source of threats. Therefore, file names must not contain any characters other than the permitted ones: [a-zA-Z0-9_-]. If files uploaded to disk space contain non-permitted characters in their names, any single or multiple occurrences of a non-permitted character will be replaced by a single underscore character.

Selected files and subdirectories can be deleted individually or in bulk (continuous selection with the Shift key or selective selection with the Ctrl key). Deleting a directory deletes all its contents (files and subdirectories). Note: deleting files does not remove any MIME elements containing links to the deleted files. The remaining MIME paths pointing to deleted files can be removed using a dedicated administrative procedure (for more information read the section "Settings / Procedures").

For accounts with an active "suppliers" option, subdirectories with names corresponding to supplier identifiers are created in the disk space. In the case of using also the "supplier users" option, each supplier user has access to a subfolder corresponding to a given supplier.

Products by ETIM[Products / Products by ETIM]

A list of classified products is available on this page. Products are grouped according to the ETIM classification. A list of products classified in a single class helps to check the correctness of filling of individual parameters of every product.

This view allows you to sort, filter, selectively delete products or globally modify parameters of selected products.

To delete product(s), select the product(s) to remove and choose the option "Remove products" from hamburger menu .

To collectively modify parameters of selected products, you must:

• expand the group modification panel (group modification button is in the upper right corner),
• select the column(s) to be modified in the panel, and then specify a new value(s) for the selected column(s) (headers of the modified columns are highlighted in blue),
• select the products for which the new value is to be applied (the modified product values are highlighted in blue),
• click the "Modify" button on the group modification panel to perform the modification.

A quick access icon is available for group modification related to the selected column - just click the group modification icon in the column header to open the modification form of that column.

By default, all ETIM features are displayed. Anyway, you can modify this view by choosing the ETIM features (columns) to be displayed: just select the option "Arrangement of columns" from hamburger menu , then click on the selected column names to hide them or make them visible again.

Products by categories[Products / Products by categories]

Products can be accessed by the category trees. After selecting a category tree it is possible to navigate in its structure, seeing all subcategories or products assigned to the current category.

The application allows assigning products at all levels of the category-tree structure (not only at the leaves-level).

Products for synchronization[Products / Products for synchronization]

In this view, the user can set the range (scope) of the selected synchronization and trigger it for selected products between the current account (source) and target account (target).

Only products having at least one synchronization label are visible here. If any synchronization is set by the administrator (configuration of source-target relation between accounts), the synchronization label is created and available in the source account. Synchronization labels can be attributed to products that are subject to synchronization.

Migration ETIMv8/ETIMv9[Products / Migration ETIMv8/ETIMv9]

On this page, there is a list of classified products, affected by the migration. They are called "products for confirmation". The following changes in the classification of products are shown:

• ETIM class change – a remapping of ETIM class is shown in the format: "ETIMv8 class ➤ ETIMv9 class" (for example, class of version 8 is not present in version 9),
• deleted feature within the class – such features are shown as "dimmed" on the screen,
• a new feature within the class and an alphanumeric feature with new values – such features are marked in green,
• a new value of the alphanumeric features – such values are marked in green,
• deleted value of alphanumeric feature – such values are marked in red.

In the case of non-unique mappings (when a deleted class has multiple successors), the product is migrated to the best-fitting class, and alternative successors are listed after the selected class.

The user can filter products and modify values globally for multiple products (group modification button is in the upper right corner) and confirm its migration (select the option "Confirm the migration" from hamburger menu ). In this way, the modification and the approval of all migrated products can be done in one place.

All the products confirmed by the user are no longer visible on this page. It is recommended to review and confirm all products affected by the migration. Click the "list ul" icon to check the initial number of products for confirmation.

Edit product

Click the "pencil" icon on the left of the product (on each "Products" view) to open its modification view. The view consists of the following tabs:

• General – possibility to add, modify or remove general information of the product.
• ETIM – here you can select the class, appropriate to the selected product. Finding the appropriate class is a difficult task, even for a small number of products. Therefore, the software has a mechanism suggesting the possible ETIM classes, appropriate for the selected product on the base of his name and imported information. Displaying classes can be sorted or limited by a filter. When the appropriate class is selected for the product, all the features required by this ETIM class are displayed. The user’s job is to provide appropriate values for each feature. For missing/empty values it is possible to indicate the reason, by choosing either:
  • not applicable (NA) – if the feature doesn’t apply to the current product,
  • unknown (UN) – if the value is not delivered by the supplier/manufacturer.
  Any useful technical information that may be helpful for the ETIM classification can be imported from the Excel file as an additional technical description. This information can be automatically or manually associated with the technical features required by the ETIM class of the product. In this way, the application "learns" by associating additional technical description to the ETIM features, so the next time (for the next product of the same class) the corresponding values can be automatically suggested. The values suggested by the application are indicated by a grey/blue/yellow background (for more information read the section "Settings / ETIM classification"). Suggestions can be turned on/off. All fields which are automatically filled in the classification process must be accepted by the user.
• Order – possibility to modify ordering information of the product.
• Packing – possibility to add, modify or remove packing information of the product.
• Price – possibility to add, modify or remove pricing information of the product.
• MIME – possibility to add, modify and delete photos, datasheets, and product safety cards. The MIME items are displayed in the order of the MIME codes; in the case of several items with the same code, it is possible to set any of them as the first (click on the "up arrow" icon ).
• Attributes – possibility to add, modify or delete product attribute values, also within attribute groups (for more information read the section "Configuration / Attributes" and "Configuration / Attribute groups").
• LCA – possibility to add, modify or remove LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of the product.
• Additional technical description – possibility to add, modify or remove entries of product additional technical description.
• SEO – possibility to enter data to improve the positioning in search engines results.
• WWW – possibility to enter information to facilitate and enrich the presentation of product information on websites.
• Related products – displays all related products with their identifier, name, relation type and quantity. Every relation can be modified or deleted. The relation is a part of the ETIM/BMEcat standard.
• Relations by attribute – displays all existing relations by attribute (group of products related by an indicated global attribute). You can assign the current product to any of these relations or remove it if it is already there. The relation is out of the ETIM/BMEcat standard (for more information read the section "Configuration / Relations by attribute").
• Categories – possibility to assign the product to the categories (for more information read the section "Configuration / Category trees").
• Labels – possibility to mark the product with previously defined labels (for more information read the section "Configuration / Labels").
• Description completeness – displays all elements taken into account for the product description completeness. The measure of product description completeness is related to the default or user-defined completeness mask. However, it can also be related to the category tree. If any category tree has been previously defined, it is possible to change the display of the completeness measure for the selected tree. In this case, the attributes required for the category tree are taken into account.
• Local product card – displays the selected information about the product in the chosen language (for more information read the section "Settings / Local product cards").
• System product card – displays the system product card in a new browser tab, according to the current settings of the content and the default language, with the possibility to change the language (if available) and to download the card as a pdf file (for more information read the section "Settings / System product cards").

Not applicable values

The application allows you to mark empty values as "not applicable", which means permanently missing values, to clearly indicate values that cannot be provided (it is useless to ask for them in the future). These values are marked with a dash "-" (see the section "Empty values" for more information).

Description completeness[Products / Description completeness]

This page shows the total average product description completeness.

Since products may differ in the total number of elements of the product description (a number of features depending on ETIM class; a number of attributes; a number of multiple elements), the total completeness of the product description is calculated as a weighted average of the respective product description groups. The following percentage share of product information groups was assumed:

• General - 15%,
• ETIM - 20%,
• Order - 15%,
• Packing - 15%,
• Price - 15%,
• MIME - 15%,
• Attributes - 5%.

By default, the measure of product description completeness is related to the default or user-defined completeness mask. In each case, the average completeness description is shown also in every information group. The product description completeness can be calculated and displayed also concerning the previously defined category trees.

The product description completeness can be calculated for all products (it is the option by default - no filter selected) or for selected products (a previously defined filter should be used).

Besides the numerical completeness indicators, bar charts are showing the distribution of products in a few groups of the description completeness:

• 0%,
• 1%-20%,
• 21%-40%,
• 41%-60%,
• 61%-80%,
• 81%-99%,
• 100%.

This product distribution can be helpful to improve and monitor the product description completeness for the selected point of view: completeness mask or category trees, for all or filtered products.

Accounts with suppliers can generate statistics by individual suppliers. In order to generate such a report, in the field "Report type" you should select option "per supplier".

Filters[Configuration / Filters]

User can view, rename, delete or activate defined product filters. Some filters can be marked as "favorites" (by clicking on the "hollow star" icon ). The favorite filters always appear first, making them easier to find when you have a large number of filters in use.

Attributes[Configuration / Attributes]

User can define, modify or delete additional product attributes.

The attribute can be defined as:

• multilingual text,
• text,
• number,
• range,
• logical value,
• date,
• select,
• reference.

Each attribute can be assigned to:

• category tree as the attribute required for each product which belongs to at least one category of this tree.
• category as the attribute required for each product which belongs to this category.

When creating an attribute, it is possible to choose whether it is global or not:

• a global attribute is visible (in the "Attributes" tab in the "Edit product" view) for all products (additionally, it is possible to indicate whether the global attribute will be synchronized).
• a non-global attribute is visible (in the "Attributes" tab in the "Edit product" view) only for products that are assigned to the appropriate categories (which have this attribute indicated as required).

It is also possible to set the importance of the attribute (used for example by e-commerce system). The importance can be set as a numerical value within the range: 0-9.

If an attribute is to be exported in a BMEcat file, it must be marked as a product characteristic. Attributes marked this way are exported in the UDX.EDXF.PRODUCT_CHARACTERISTIC element.

Each attribute of type "reference" is a reflection of a selected BMEcat field from the "General" section. Physically, it is the same field, visible under a different name, as a user-defined attribute. Changing the value of one of these attributes alters the value of the indicated BMEcat field.

Attribute groups[Configuration / Attribute groups]

Attribute groups can be used to group user-created attributes. This makes it easier to organize and complete attributes, especially when there are a large number of attributes. In the basic version, an attribute group has an identifier, a (language-dependent) name, and a list of identifiers of the attributes that belong to the group. Attribute groups are not hierarchical, they are all created at the same level. In the product edit view, attributes are displayed according to the definition and order of the groups and attributes within each group, set by the user when defining the groups. Attribute groups with the same name are displayed together under a common name.

In a more advanced version, it is possible to make the list of attributes in a group partially or completely dependent on a logical attribute (question). In this case, lists of attribute identifiers are provided, which are valid for a positive or negative answer to the attribute used in the question. One or both lists can be used simultaneously in the group definition.

Relations by attribute[Configuration / Relations by attribute]

User can view/create/modify the relations by attribute. All existing relations by attribute are listed here with their identifiers, names, grouping attribute and related products. User can add a new relation or modify the existing relation(s). To add a new relation it is necessary to select one of the global attributes as the grouping attribute, add a relation identifier and enter the name(s) of the relation. Once the relation is created it appears on the list of relations. Here, there are two buttons to modify the relations by attribute: one for basic modification (grouping attribute, identifier or name) and the second to assign product(s) to the relation by indicating/searching their identifiers.

It is also possible to add a virtual product to the relation by attribute. A virtual product is a concept used to represent a group of similar products that differ in only one parameter (e.g. color, size). All virtual products have a system label "Virtual" (letter V in the gray circle). An existing virtual product can be added to the relation or a new virtual product can be created and added to the current relation by copying one of the products already present in the relation - in such case all fields of the source product are copied into the new virtual product, except the labels and the grouping attribute (the grouping attribute in the virtual product should be empty; only real products should have it assigned).

Removing a virtual product from a relationship does not remove it from the product database.

Suppliers[Configuration / Suppliers]

Allows users to manage the information concerning the product data suppliers. When a user creates a supplier, a unique alphanumeric identifier must be assigned to the supplier. This identifier is then used for referencing a supplier in the application (for example in import options).

Buyers[Configuration / Buyers]

With this option it is possible to define product information recipients (buyers). This allows to generate dedicated product information for specific buyers.

Catalogs[Configuration / Catalogs]

The word "catalog" refers to files containing product information, transmitted in a standard format (e.g. BMEcat, xChange). The supplier can manage the names and versions of the catalog files in a structured way, often in agreement with the recipient of the product data. For this purpose, it is possible to create catalogs (ID, name, version) in the application and use them throughout the cycle of exchanging product information with the contractor(s).

Category trees[Configuration / Category trees]

This setting option allows us to define or modify category trees to be able to assign a product to categories.

To create a category tree it is necessary to give a unique identifier. Optionally, it is possible also to define a tree name (in every language available for the user). Then, it is possible to define a hierarchy of categories by giving their identifiers and names. Categories can be nested (every category can have one or more subcategories). It is possible to cut (remove) categories or subcategories together with the whole branch or move it into another place in the category tree (important: cutting a category or subcategory removes all the assignments of product for the removed branch).

Every additional product attribute can be assigned to:

• category tree as required for all products belonging to this tree.
• category as required for all products belonging to this category.

These attributes are the basis for calculating the measure of product description completeness from the category tree point of view.

Category trees can be also imported and exported via Excel files or API.

API Gateway[Configuration / API Gateway]

An option typically used by wholesalers, or product data centers, to allow commercial access to their own products via APIs for third parties. This option allows you to:

• provide API access to selected products (visible are only products marked with the system label "API_Gateway" or alternatively specified by a special rule).
• define different levels of access to product data (specify the fields to be available at each level).
• manage API Gateway users at each access level.
• get access to a web page that describes the available access levels and the API Gateway documentation.

Translations[Configuration / Translations]

Designated, trusted users, in agreement with the administrator, may be permitted to modify the translation of phrases used in the application, in one or more languages.

Logs[Administration / Logs]

The regional manager can view here the system logs for:

• product operations,
• label operations,
• attribute operations,
• attribute group operations,
• relations by attribute operations,
• supplier operations,
• buyer operations,
• category tree operations,
• user-defined completeness mask operations,
• synchronization trigger operations.

API[Administration / API]

The regional manager can view here the API request statistics (broken down by the request type: "GET", "PUT", "DELETE") made by API users during the last seven days.

Companies[Administration / Companies]

Here, the regional manager can create/edit/delete companies in his region and create/edit/delete GUI and API users.

Supplier users (GUI)[Administration / Management / Supplier users (GUI)]

Manager can create GUI users for suppliers to allow them to modify their own products (applies to accounts with the supplier management option). GUI supplier users only have access to the products of a particular supplier (they cannot see the products of other suppliers).

The permissions of GUI supplier users are restricted to modification of production information only. The scope of product information available for editing or viewing is defined by the manager ("Permissions" button). The settings for visible and editable fields are common to all GUI supplier users (there are no personalized settings for individual suppliers or individual GUI users).

The manager can define a pop-up visible to supplier users, appearing at login. The defined window can contain a title and content, with no formatting options. It is possible to insert line break characters (enter) and URL links, placed in square brackets, which will be automatically converted into active links (clicking on the link will open a new tab in the browser with this URL).

Supplier users (API)[Administration / Management / Supplier users (API)]

Manager can create API users for suppliers to allow them to access or modify their own products (applies to accounts with the supplier management option). API supplier users only have access to the products of a particular supplier (they cannot see the products of other suppliers).

The permissions of API supplier users are restricted to modification of production information only. The scope of product information available for editing or viewing is defined by the manager ("Permissions" button). The settings for visible and editable fields are common to all API supplier users (there are no personalized settings for individual suppliers or individual API users).

GUI users[Administration / Management / GUI users]

Manager can grant or withdraw permissions to regular users.

API users[Administration / Management / API users]

Manager can manage API user permissions (if only such users have been created in the account).

Procedures[Administration / Procedures]

The concept of adding predefined administrative procedures to the application has been introduced. Such procedures can be executed on all products or selected by a filter.

The first of them is the procedure of deleting MIME paths to non-existent files in disk space. This procedure allows clearing MIME elements from paths pointing to non-existent files in the disk space of a given account. If the MIME element corresponding to the deleted path has no other paths, it will be deleted. This procedure was introduced in conjunction with the ability to delete files from disk space in bulk, which is done without deleting any MIME paths associated with the deleted files. It helps to maintain the consistency of files and MIME paths.

Submissions[Administration / Submissions]

The application allows you to report issues concerning the operation of the application or product description.

Every submission contains user (author), type of report (products/application/other), title, status (open/closed), creation date, closing date, and discussion (entries added by users or administrators).

It is possible to sort/filter submissions by status, submission type, author, submission title, creation date, closing date, last entry date.

For submissions concerning products, it is possible to indicate the products concerned by the submission.

New notifications are indicated to other users by dots placed in the menu. Dots are also visible next to new notifications or notifications to which a new entry has been added (next to the column "Last entry"). After entering/reading such a submission the dot indicative will disappear from this submission. Once you have read all the entries, the dots also disappear from the menu item ("Administration / Submissions").

It is possible to add submissions of "products" type directly from the product list. After selecting the products (up to 5 products can be selected), the "Add submission" option must be selected. This creates a new submission of "products" type with pre-selected products. The remaining fields in the form must be completed manually.

Permissions[Settings / Permissions]

User can see here his permissions to different functionalities, assigned to him by the administrator.

Company[Settings / Company]

User can edit the information concerning his company.

If the account has the user-defined mask option enabled it is also possible here to choose which mask (default or user-defined) is taken to indicate mandatory fields in Excel files downloaded via export links.

User can specify which types of MIME files (which MIME codes) are to be displayed in the application (local and system product cards, product catalog).

It is possible to define subsidiaries assigned to an account in the company data. This enables the generation of BMEcat files with subsidiary data in the BMEcat file header as the author/sender of the file.

ETIM classification[Settings / ETIM / ETIM classification]

User can personalize here the settings corresponding to ETIM classification, such as ETIM classification language (the language in which the ETIM classification is processed and displayed), display settings or settings for automatic suggestion rules. Suggestion rules provide hints at different levels of trust:

• "similarity" matches coming from the previous classifications (rules and hints are displayed in grey),
• exact matches (rules and hints are displayed in blue),
• fuzzy matches (rules and hints are displayed in yellow).

Every suggestion rule can be activated or deactivated, and it is also possible to set the priority of the rules - by setting their order (using the drag-and-drop method).

ETIM override[Settings / ETIM / ETIM override]

An option that allows you to replace the original feature (EF) and value (EV) names of the ETIM standard with your names. It is also possible to override units (EU) of some numeric and range features (within the allowed conversion range).

Override of features and values is done in the context of particular classes: first, the user has to select the class where the overrides are to be done, then the user has to enter new names for selected elements in individual languages. Once saved, such a class is placed in the list of overridden classes with an indication of the number of overridden features, values and units.

The user can select the languages in which the predefined override is to be applied. The overridden names will be used/visible in:

• the local/system product cards,
• exported Excel files (with ETIM descriptions)
• API GET requests (product(s) data in a language-dependent version).

It is also possible to hide selected ETIM features. A user-defined completeness mask is used for this purpose. In this case, only the mandatory features from the completeness mask are displayed.

Import - default options[Settings / Import]

User can edit default values for import options.

Export of BMEcat 2005 ETIM - default options[Settings / Export / BMEcat 2005 ETIM]

The user can edit default values for export options of BMEcat files, such as the filter to be used for exporting products, in which ETIM version, guideline version, and in which languages the file is to be exported; which prices are to be exported, whether the version number of the exported catalog is to be given (provided that a catalog with its name and version has been previously created - section "Configuration / Catalogs"). These settings are set by default and will be pre-selected when exporting the BMEcat file, making it easier and faster to perform regular exports.

One of the available options is the possibility to define dedicated settings of exported BMEcat files for specific buyers (section "Configuration / Buyers"). This allows you to quickly export BMEcat files for specific buyers, using pre-defined settings dedicated to particular recipients (buyers).

Export of Excel - default options[Settings / Export / Excel]

User can edit default values for export options of Excel files.

Export of system product cards - default options[Settings / Export / System product cards]

User can edit default values for export options of system product cards.

Export of local product cards - default options[Settings / Export / Local product cards]

User can edit default values for export options of local product cards.

BMEcat 2005 ETIM file validation - default options[Settings / Validation / BMEcat 2005 ETIM]

User can edit default values for validation options of BMEcat files.

Excel file validation - default options[Settings / Validation / Excel]

User can edit default values for validation options of Excel files.

Synchronizations[Settings / Synchronizations]

User can edit default values for all options of product synchronizations and define the synchronization triggers. For each synchronization trigger, a configuration is defined and saved. Defined synchronization triggers can be started via API or scheduled for an auto-start time.

Completeness mask[Settings / Completeness mask]

User can choose here the mask of product description completeness (default or user-defined) and view/edit the settings of the masks. Mandatory fields determined by the current completeness mask are marked in bold in the application.

The default mask is based on all ETIM features and selected (most frequently used) BMEcat fields. The view of the default completeness mask is "read-only" (user can only see mandatory fields).

The user-defined mask, however, is available in the "read/write" mode. This mask is an alternative to the default completeness mask. It allows us to selectively indicate the required ETIM features and BMEcat/attribute fields. It is also possible to set the weight for the ETIM class, select the languages and indicate the MIME types taken into the measure of the completeness:

• attribution of the ETIM class for a product can be considered as a part of ETIM description and counted in the number of ETIM features (for example, "0 EF" means that ETIM class has no value, "2 EF" means that ETIM class is counted as 2 ETIM features),
• if multiple product description languages are enabled for a user account, it is possible to indicate which language(s) should be taken into the measure of the completeness,
• for MIME files, it is possible to indicate what type of MIME should be counted; a user can choose among following MIME groups:
  • any image of the product (MD01; MD10; MD12; MD18),
  • product card (MD22),
  • product picture (MD01).
  If MIME groups are specified, a MIME with at least one code from each selected MIME group is required.

There is a possibility to copy the default mask settings to the user-defined mask, using the corresponding buttons.

In accounts with a user-defined completeness mask enabled, on the "Settings / Company" page it is possible to choose which mask (default or user-defined) is taken to indicate mandatory fields in Excel files downloaded via export links.

System product card[Settings / Product card / System product card]

Allows to personalize the contents of the system product card by selecting the elements (fields) to be visible on the product card. It is possible to choose a template for the system product cards between default or dedicated for the company (if it was ordered and created). It is also possible to select a range value separator.

System product cards are used to present information about the products to be seen by people downloading information directly from the system. A link to the system product card allows you to download a product card generated on-line, containing current product information. Settings of the system product card are common for the whole company account (changes made by one user are visible for another user of the same company). System product cards can be exported as external links.

Local product card[Settings / Product card / Local product card]

Allows to personalize the contents of the local product card by selecting the elements (fields) to be visible on the product card. It is possible to choose a template for the local product cards between default or dedicated for the company (if it was ordered and created). It is also possible to select a range value separator.

Local product cards allow the user to select and present only product information that is visible to him (only the user can generate a product card according to local settings). The local card settings are individual for each user (changes made by one user are not visible for other users). Local product cards cannot be exported as external links.

Filtering with special values

In addition to filtering products with specific values (which may involve wildcards), it is also possible to filter products with special values. These include:

• empty values ("barred circle" icon ).
• not empty values ("asterisk" icon ).
• values marked as "not applicable" ("dash" icon ).
• in addition, when filtering ETIM values, there is the option to select "unknown" values ("question mark" icon ).

There is a fairly significant difference between the special symbol for not empty values ("asterisk" icon ) and the wildcard symbol * (multiple characters). The first one (not empty value) will match all values other than empty values, so also "not applicable" or "unknown" values. In contrast, the second one (wildcard *) will only match values containing at least one arbitrary alphanumeric character; so in this case, there will be no match to special values "not applicable" or "unknown".

Filtering by a chain of values

Filters imposed on text fields have a new option ("chain" icon ) to specify a list/chain of values separated by a semicolon (a maximum of 200 can be specified). The filtering results in products that match at least one of the specified values (logical "OR"). This option can be useful e.g. for filtering products according to the indicated identifiers.

The value chain is also available for selecting values when filtering using "select" type fields.