Including Base Catalogs in a Virtual Catalog

After you create a virtual catalog, you must include one or more base catalogs in the virtual catalog. When you include a base catalog in a virtual catalog, the virtual catalog inherits the categories and products, as specified by the inclusion/exclusion rules.

After you specify which categories and products to include in or exclude from the virtual catalog, you specify the price to apply to the products and categories.

For information about adding new categories and products to a virtual catalog, see Adding Categories to a Virtual Catalog.

Notes

• A virtual catalog can include content from up to 80 base catalogs; it cannot include content from other virtual catalogs.
• A virtual catalog can include up to one million products.
• A virtual catalog can support up to 10,000 price rules.
• A category or product can have only one inclusion/exclusion rule. If you add a second rule, it automatically overrides the first rule.
• You can edit virtual catalog properties to specify the default and reporting languages. You do not need to edit the base catalog.
• When you change a value of a category or product in a base catalog, it is automatically changed in the virtual catalog, if it is included.
• When you delete a base catalog that is included in a virtual catalog, no message is displayed. After you delete the base catalog, in the Catalog Editor screen, the virtual catalog will be flagged Rebuild = Required.

To include base catalogs in a virtual catalog

1. Create the base catalogs you want to include in the virtual catalog. For instructions, see Creating a Base Catalog.

2. In Catalogs, click Catalog Editor.

3. In the Catalogs screen, select the virtual catalog you want to work with, and then click on the toolbar.

4. In the Catalog Content - <virtual catalog> screen, in the Include/exclude section, click New.

5. In the Catalog box, click the ellipsis button […].

6. In the Catalog Picker dialog box, select the base catalog you want to include in the virtual catalog, and then click Select.

7. In the Rule box, select whether you want to include all the products in the base catalog, or whether you want to include or exclude specific categories or products.

8. If you selected to include or exclude a product or category, in the Item box, click the ellipsis button […]. In the Product Picker dialog box, select the product or category you want to include or exclude, and then click OK.

   Note

   • In the Product Picker dialog box, Commerce Server truncates product names longer than 30 characters. If you have multiple products with the same first 30 characters, they will appear as duplicates.

9. To save the inclusion rule, click Done.

   The base catalog is now included in the virtual catalog. Repeat this process to include as many base catalogs in the virtual catalog as needed.

To add a price rule to the catalog product or category

1. In the Catalog Content - <virtual catalog> screen, in the Price rules section, click New.
2. In the Item box, click the ellipsis button […].
3. In the Product Picker dialog box, select the category or product you want to price, and then click OK.
4. In the Type box, select one of the following:

   Type	Description
   Set price	Specify the price of the item.
   Add	Specify the amount to add to the base price of the item.
   Add percentage	Specify the percentage to add to the base price of the item.
   Discount	Specify the amount to discount the base price of the item.
   Discount percentage	Specify the percentage to discount the base price of the item.

5. In the Amount box, specify the amount you want the price to be, or the amount you want to modify the price from the base catalog.
6. To save the price rule, click Done.

The price rule is added to the virtual catalog. Repeat this process to price as many categories and products as needed.

See Also

Creating a Virtual Catalog

Adding Categories to a Virtual Catalog

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