5.21. products
This is the main table for product data. See also 'The Product Database' section in the database documentation.
The sku is also the master key in many of the related tables.
Fields
| Field | Description |
| sku | Unique product ID |
| description | Short description for list display |
| title | Full title for book, CD, artwork, etc. |
| template_page | Not used in foundation catalog. No description. |
| comment | Longer description for item display (e.g., flypage.html) |
| thumb | Thumbnail image |
| image | Regular-sized image |
| price | Retail quantity one price |
| wholesale | Dealer minimum quantity price |
| prod_group | Product supercategory |
| category | Product category |
| nontaxable | Boolean. Set true (1) if nontaxable |
| weight | Weight in your units. Should match shipping table. |
| size | List of options used with accessories tag. |
| color | List of options used with accessories tag. |
| gift_cert | Boolean. Set true (1) if this is a gift certificate. |
| related | Deprecated in favor of merchandising.upsell_to |
| featured | Deprecated. Use merchandising table. |
| inactive | Boolean. Set true (1) to inactivate a product |
| url | Not Documented |
5.21.1. sku
Example Data
gift_cert os28004 os28006 os28057c
Unique identifier for the product. You should use only characters of the class A-Z a-z 0-9 _ - (i.e., matching the regular expression, '[-A-Za-z0-9_]+'). Although Interchange itself does not impose this restriction, you may have problems with SQL databases, file systems, and URL encoding if you use other characters. For example, a slash (/) can interfere with URLs and filenames, a colon (:) can interfere with database representations (or file names on some operating systems), i<etc.>
5.21.2. description
Example Data
Brush Set Disposable Brush Set Ergo Roller Gift Certificate Painters Brush Set Painters Ladder Spackling Knife Trim Brush
A short description for the product that is used for displaying in the shopping cart, receipt, and order report.
5.21.3. title
Example Data
Brush Set Disposable Brush Set Ergo Roller Gift Certificate Painters Brush Set Painters Ladder Spackling Knife Trim Brush
This column is not used in the foundation catalog. Previously used in the Art store (simple) demo for a painting title. You probably want to use description instead.
You should modify the products and other tables to suit your catalog's requirements. You might use this field if you want to show titles for books, music, or other titled merchandise. If you do not use a title that is distinct from the short description, then you probably do not need this column in the table at all.
5.21.4. template_page
Not used in foundation catalog.
No Description.
5.21.5. comment
Example Data
A must have for all painters! This spackling knife is ergon... Enjoy the perfect feel and swing of our line of hammers. Thi... This set includes 2" and 3" trim brushes and our ergonomical... This set of disposable foam brushes is ideal for any stainin...
This is the field for a long description of the product. If you are using an Interchange text/gdbm database, the field size is unlimited; if using another type of database, the length will be dependent on the field type selected. If you are using a SQL database, see the appropriate cat_root/dbconf subdirectory for a place to set COLUMN_DEF values. See also the database documentation, 'Importing from an ASCII File', for details about defaults for columns that you do not define.
5.21.6. thumb
Example Data
gift_certificate.gif os28004_b.gif os28005_b.gif os28006_b.gif
This is the filename for a small (thumbnail) image of the product.
5.21.7. image
Example Data
gift_certificate_large.gif os28004.gif os28005.gif os28006.gif
This is the filename for a regular-sized image of the product, as it should appear in an HTML <img src="image"> tag. You do not need to specify the path if the image files are in the usual Interchange image directory.
5.21.8. price
Example Data
1.00 12.99 14.99 9.99
The quantity-one price of the product. See the wholesale field and the price table for dealer and quantity pricing.
5.21.9. wholesale
Example Data
1 10 11 12
This is the minimum dealer price for the item. For quantity pricing, see the price table.
5.21.10. prod_group
Example Data
Hand Tools Hardware Ladders Measuring Tools Miscellaneous Painting Supplies Safety Equipment Tool Storage
Product group (supercategory). This indicates the grouping of product categories, for example in the navigation bars created from the area table (note the match with the name data in the area table).
5.21.11. category
Example Data
Brushes Gift Certificate Hammers Ladders Nails Paintbrushes Putty Knives Rollers
This is the category the product should appear in when you select a list. You can put a product in more than one category, but you may need to accommodate this in display and banner headings. Embedded perl is helpful for this.
5.21.12. nontaxable
Boolean value. If true (1), the sales tax calculation for an order will not include the cost of the product. See also the salestax tag.
5.21.13. weight
Example Data
1 2 3
This is a numeric value of the weight used for determining shipping costs (with UPS, for example). In the US, this is typically the weight in pounds in order to match the UPS, Fed Ex and other standard shipping tables.
5.21.14. size
Example Data
1", 2", 3" 1', 1.5' 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", 1", 2", 3" 10oz, 15oz, 20 oz 2" 6' set standard, metric
This is where the old Construct Something demo store kept the 'size' options for a product. The foundation catalog now uses the options table instead to handle product options (also sometimes called product attributes).
The accessories tag can build HTML widgets from the comma-delimited list of product options. You can use a delimiter other than comma (if compatible with the table) as long as you also set the delimiter in the accessories tag.
You probably do not need this field if you use the options table (for example, if you are building from the foundation catalog).
5.21.15. color
Another product option column. No longer used in the foundation catalog. See size above for description.
5.21.16. gift_cert
Boolean value. If true (1), specifies that this product is a gift certificate. See also the gift_certs table.
5.21.17. related
Used for displaying "upsells," opportunities to purchase an additional item when this one is purchased. Contains a comma-separated list of SKUs to be offered.
The foundation catalog now instead uses the upsell_to field of the merchandising table for upselling.
5.21.18. featured
Deprecated in favor of the merchandising table.
5.21.19. inactive
If true (1), renders the product inactive (i.e., it will not appear in the catalog).
5.21.20. url
Not Documented