Product Catalog System

  • Article

You use the Product Catalog System to import, export, create, and manage online catalogs. By using the Catalog modules in Commerce Server Business Desk, business managers can create catalogs of products, and add and update product data.

Business Desk users do not need any specialized knowledge about the databases that store product data, even if they are assembling a catalog of products from different sources, such as several different suppliers.

Using the Business Desk Catalog modules, for example, you can do the following:

  • Create catalogs that support multiple languages and multiple currencies.
  • Import or export catalogs that are in Extensible Markup Language (XML) or comma-separated value file (CSV) format.
  • Export changes applied to a catalog since a specified date.
  • Aggregate content from multiple catalogs.
  • Exchange catalogs with trading partners using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 and later editions.
  • Apply multiple search mechanisms so users visiting your site can find what they need in your catalog.

The Product Catalog System includes the following key components:

  • Business Desk Catalog modules. Use these modules to build and manage your catalogs.

  • CatalogManager object. When developing your site, you use this object to work with the entire Product Catalog System. The methods and properties of this object effect all catalogs contained in the Product Catalog System.

    A new CatalogManager object feature in Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 is support for join keys, which you use link to external tables to retrieve inventory data at run time, and to associate multiple values with a product.

  • MSCS_CatalogScratch database. The Product Catalog System uses the MSCS_CatalogScratch database to store temporary catalog tables.

  • CatalogCleanup.vbs script. Use this script to delete temporary tables from the MSCS_CatalogScratch database. The CatalogCleanup.vbs script is located in \Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2002.

  • Updatefulltextcatalogs.vbs script. Use this script to update full-text indexes on all product catalogs in one full-text catalog. The Updatefulltextcatalog.vbs script is located in \Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2002.

  • UpdateLanguageInfo.vbs script. Use this script to populate the CatalogLanguageMap table. Configure the word-breaker for each column that is full-text indexed in the neutral language table.

The following table lists key Commerce Server Help topics to help you learn more about Catalogs.

To learn about See
Concepts Catalog Concepts

Best Practices for Catalogs
Programming Programming Best Practices for Catalogs

Example Code for the Microsoft.CommerceServer.Catalog Namespace

Example Code for Product Catalog Objects

ASP-Based Catalog Sitelet

Integrating a Third-Party Product Catalog
Programming references Microsoft.CommerceServer.Runtime.Catalog

Microsoft.CommerceServer.Interop.Catalog

Product Catalog Objects

Catalog XML Structures
Security for catalogs Securing the Product Catalog Database

Business Desk Security
Deploying the Product Catalog System Replicating Catalog Content

Importing an XML Catalog File
Creating catalogs and updating catalog content Creating a Catalog Definition

Creating a Base Catalog

Creating a Virtual Catalog

Creating a Multilingual Catalog

Pricing a Product in a Base Catalog

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