Manually Configured Template Functionality

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Manually Configured connections are retailers that do not have an existing connection with Syndigo’s network. These connections can be built for internal reporting purposes, to reach smaller retailers, or simply any connection that is not integrated into our network.

With these connection types, you get to explicitly set and adjust specific parameters, validations, and settings with the retailer.

Syndigo enables you to define and create specially formatted export files, such as an Excel spreadsheet to get your product data syndicated out of the platform and sent to a vendor contact or FTP address. Our system can generate other file types as well if needed. Some of the available file types are XML, CSV, JSON and Asset.zip.

Here, you have flexibility to create the preferences that best fit your business needs.

Review Retailer Spreadsheet

1. Retrieve the retailer template(s) from the retailer website, portal, or from your retailer contact if applicable.
2. Navigate to the Connection list page via the connections tab on the left. Click Add New Connection.
3. Open the retailer spreadsheet.
4. Analyze the attribution to identify attributes that are specific or exclusive to your retailer.
   • These could include retailer internal codes, categorizations, or any unique characteristics.
   • Consider both Required and Optional attributes noted by the retailer. What of the optional attributions does your organization want provided to the retailer?
5. Determine what attribution is common and may be shared across retailers and what attribution is unique to this retailer. Consider color coding the attributes in the spreadsheet to distinguish them. They will require different actions in future steps based on whether the data is shared across multiple connections.
   • For example, use distinct colors for public (shared) and private (internal) attributes.

Create a Manually Configured Connection

Before creating your private attributes, first establish a Manually Configured connection. This will allow you to tag your connection to your private attributes in the attribute library.

1. Navigate to the Connection list page via the Connections tab on the left.
2. Click Add New Connection.
   • In the pop-up window under Support Connection Type, if you do not see your desired connection in the list, that is when the creation of a Manually Configured connection is required.
3. At the bottom of the pop-up window, click the highlighted blue CLICK HERE button.
4. Enter the connection’s name and click Save and Finish.

Create Private Attributes

If you determine that there are attributes that should only go to this connection, you will want to create those attributes in our platform before continuing the process.

1. From the lefthand navigation panel, navigate to Configurations > Attribute Library > Private Attributes.
2. Click Create Private Attribute.
3. In the pop-up window, select the options for each information type:
   • Attribute Name: Begin typing a name for the new attribute. Give the attribute a unique name so you do not confuse it with existing attributes. As you type, a list of similar existing attribute names will appear to help prevent using an existing name.
   • Help Text: (Optional) Help Text, if entered, will be displayed in the platform to users in your account who will populate this attribute on the Product Details page. Enter useful information about how a user should complete the attribute correctly.
   • Connection Tags: (Optional) Select the connection(s) the private attribute is intended for. The connection must already be added to the Connections list.
   • Attribute Format: Select the appropriate format for the attributes Choice, Date, Image, Number and Text.
     • This format content is un-editable once the attribute is saved. Once a selection is made, complete the format-specific Formatting options that appear.
4. Click Save Changes. Once the attribute is saved, everything is editable, except the attribute format. If changes to the attribute format are required, click the Create Duplicate button and create a new attribute with the appropriate format. To delete an attribute in the mistaken format, unless it is used at another time, please submit a support ticket to remove the attribute from your account.

Create a Data View

To enable you to find your private attributes quickly in future steps, they can be added to a Data View. This will make it easier to find the private attributes you have created without having to search for each individually in our attribute library.

1. Using the left-hand navigation bar, hover over the Data Views icon and click Data Views.
2. Click Create New Data View.
3. In the top left of the screen, enter a name for the Data View requirement set, select a target locale applicable to the region in which you operate, and choose whether to exclude category attributes.
   • Syndigo’s taxonomy is unlikely to match what a non-integrated connection requires.
   • If category attributes are included, the user will need to assign a product category to an item before getting the readiness score.
   • If there is cross-population across taxonomies category attributes can be included. If you would like to add category attributes, please speak to your project manager.
4. Keep the Allow Duplicate Attributes toggle set to No.
   • When deciding whether to allow duplicates in a Data View, it is better to set the toggle switch to No. This prevents duplicate attributes from cluttering the view.
   • If you specifically want to include multiple taxonomies with shared attributes, you can select Yes.
   • For Private Attributes, it is recommended to keep the setting at No to maintain an accurate record of what is being created for your Manually Configured connections.
5. Create attribute sections. You can customize the names, change the order, and delete sections.
6. To add an attribute to a section, click Add Attributes in the upper right. This will open the Attribute Finder Modal. This modal will allow you to add attributes from any requirement set already linked to your account or from Syndigo’s entire attribute library.
   • Private Attributes can be located under the All Attributes option.
   • Search by name in the search box.
7. Select the private attributes you would like to use by clicking the check box and selecting a section to add them to, then click ADD (x).
   • Note: The More Info section of the Attribute Finder Modal will provide you with the help text and value found in the choice list of an attribute.
8. Define the attribute requirements:
   • Alias: This name will appear as the attribute name throughout the rest of the platform, which can be helpful to people adding content.
   • Editable: Yes, allows changes to the product data in the requirement set in single or bulk item edit. No, displays the product data but prevents modifications. (Recommended: Yes)
   • English (US): The default locale of Syndigo’s platform and attributes is English (US).
     • Mark the attribute as either Required or Optional.
   • Locale Requirements: If you use an additional locale for an attribute, select the globe icon and choose if it is required or optional.
9. To delete an unwanted attribute, click the trash icon to the right of the attribute.
10. Click Save Requirement Set at any time to save the set as a draft. It can be edited at any time. A draft version can be viewed in the Data Views tab.
11. Click Publish when the set is finished and ready to be used on the Product Details pages.

Create a Requirement Set

Once you have added your private attributes into a Data View, you can now build out your Manually Configured requirement set. Requirement Sets are lists of attributes that a connection has determined essential. When creating a Manually Configured requirement set, you will define attributes, attribute sections, required or optional statuses and required language locales.

1. Click the Requirement Sets tab.
   • Depending on your Manually Configured connection, if there are distinct categories spread across multiple tabs in the spreadsheet, it may be necessary to build separate requirement sets for each category.
   • If it is necessary to build separate requirement sets for e ach category, the recommendation is to build one category as a requirement set first, then, build the rest.
2. Click Create New.
3. In the box at the top left, provide the requirement set name and target locale.
4. Change the value in the Category Attr field to “Excluded”. Click Yes in the pop-up modal to confirm your selection.
   • Syndigo’s taxonomy is unlikely to match what a non-integrated connection requires.
   • If category attributes are included, the user will need to assign a product category to an item before getting the readiness score.
   • If there is cross-population across taxonomies, category attributes can be included. If you would like to add category attributes, please contact your project manager.
5. Create attribute sections. You can customize the names, change the order, and delete sections.
   • You can organize your attribute sections according to the connection guidelines. The goal is for the export to match the connection file.
6. To add an attribute to a section, click Add Attributes in the upper right. This will open the Attribute Finder Modal. This modal will allow you to add attributes from any requirement set already linked to your account or from Syndigo’s entire attribute library.
7. Select the attributes you would like to use by clicking the check box and selecting a section to add them to. Then, click ADD (x).
   • Note: The More Info section of the Attribute Finder Modal will provide you with the help text and value found in the choice list of an attribute.
8. Define the attribute requirements:
   • Alias: This name will appear as the attribute name throughout the rest of the platform, which can be helpful to people inputting content.
   • Editable: Yes, allows changes to the product data in the requirement set. No, displays the product data but prevents modifications. (Recommended: Yes)
   • English (US): The default locale of Syndio’s platform and attributes is English (US).
     • Mark the attribute is either Required or Optional.
   • Locale Requirements: If using an additional locale for an attribute, select the globe icon and choose if it is either Required or Optional in your chosen locale.
9. To delete an unwanted attribute, click the trash icon to the right of the attribute.
10. Click Save Requirement Set at any time to save the set as a draft. It can be edited at any time.
11. Click Publish when the set is finished and ready to be used on the Product Details pages and moved into a template.

Create a Template

Once you are done adding all your attributes to the requirement set, you will add them to a template. Distribution templates are exclusively for Manually Configured connections. They determine how data is delivered to a connection. You can customize the content, select the appropriate export format, design an excel spreadsheet with customized tabs, rearrange the order, confirm, or edit attribute column names, and add column header placeholders.

1. Click the Templates tab.
2. Click Create New.
3. Enter a name and select the format in which the data will be delivered to the connection. Click Continue.
4. Click Add A New Tab to get started.
5. Drag and drop the attributes from the left panel onto the main section or click the + button to drop all the attributes at once in the template.
6. Reorder the attributes (if applicable), enter aliases in the Rename section and create headers as necessary to match the layout specified by the connection in the spreadsheet.
   • Custom Headers can be used to accommodate space for hidden columns, so all the data is aligned and captured properly.
7. Enter any static values in the Autofill section that will be common across all products in the distribution. This will populate and override any values that may already be populated in the Product Details page.
8. Use the tabs in the panel on the left to complete the details about category attributes (if applicable) and the template settings.
   • In the template settings, you can add in an Asset Template if you are also distributing digital assets with new transformations, such as File Type, Resolution and Naming Conventions.
9. Add and manage tabs at the bottom if applicable.
10. Click Save Template at any time. Once saved, the template can be used to publish a product. The template can be edited at any time.

Creating Contacts & Linking Products

Now that you have set up your template that you want distributed out of the platform, you can add contacts you would like to distribute the output file to and Link products to your connection. Setting up a distribution for Manually Configured connections allows users to publish and syndicate data directly over to a particular individual or group.

Create Contact(s)

1. Click the Contacts tab.
2. Click Create New.
3. Enter values for Contact Name, Email Address (Required) and Description (Optional). Select the delivery method:
   • Email, FTP Address or combination of both.
4. Click Create Contact.

Link Products

1. Navigate to the Product Index page via the Products tab.
2. Click the checkboxes beside the product(s) you want to link. Click the checkbox in the title bar to select all products on the page.
3. Click Link to Connection in the Actions bar.
4. Check the box beside your Manually Configured connection and Requirement Set.
5. Click Apply Link.

Set Up a Distribution

Once you have linked your products to your connection, you can now set up a distribution and select your sending options.

1. Navigate back to the connections page and select your connection.
2. Click on the Distributions tab.
3. Click Create New.
4. Select either Distribute All Products or Select Products.
5. Click Continue.
6. Add the product(s) you would like to send in the distribution setup, select the template, contact(s) and sending options:
   • Products: Click Add Products to specify individual products to include in the distribution. By default, all products linked to this connection will be included.
   • Template:
     • Enter a value for File Name
     • Select the checkbox for your desired template
   • Contacts: Select the contact(s) to include in the distribution.
   • Sending Options:
     • (Optional) Input a message to be included in the email body.
     • Specify one time delivery or recurring. For recurring delivery, indicate the distribution name, description (optional), frequency, start date, end date (optional), time and time zone.
     • (Optional) Select the checkbox for Products Must Be At 100% Readiness To Be Included In The Distribution.
       • For Manually Configured connections, you can still distribute products that are not at complete readiness. If you would like to only include products at 100%, select this option.
7. Specify additional options:
   • Always Send On This Schedule indicates a consistent, regularly scheduled distribution, regardless of any changes that have been made in between distributions.
   • Only Send On This Schedule If And When The Products Have Been Updated gives you the choice to send the entire product record or only the changed attributes.
     • You can choose to include any changes made to an asset’s metadata to be considered an update.
8. Click Verify and Enable.