Category User Fields

Overview

Category User Fields allow you to add custom fields to entire product categories. Unlike Item User Fields (which apply to individual products), Category User Fields apply to all products within a category, making it efficient to collect the same information across multiple related products.

Purpose

• Category-Wide Custom Data: Collect the same information for all products in a category
• Consistent Customer Experience: Ensure all products in a category ask for the same details
• Efficient Management: Define fields once for an entire category instead of per product
• Product Specifications: Gather category-specific information (e.g., clothing sizes, electronics specs)
• Bulk Configuration: Apply custom fields to many products at once

Accessing Category User Fields

Navigate to: System Settings > Category User Fields from the sidebar

Key Differences from Item User Fields

Category User Fields:

• Apply to ALL products in a category
• More efficient for large catalogs
• Ensure consistency across similar products
• Defined at category level

Item User Fields (Section 27):

• Apply to ONE specific product only
• For product-unique customization
• More granular control
• Defined at product level

List View

The list displays all custom fields configured for categories across your store.

Table Columns

Category

• Shows: Category name that this custom field belongs to
• Format: Category name (e.g., "Electronics", "Clothing", "Books")
• Clickable: Links to the category details page
• Sortable: Yes
• Purpose: Identify which category has which custom fields
• Note: All products in this category will show these fields

Field Name

• Shows: Technical identifier for the field
• Format: Lowercase with underscores (e.g., "size", "color", "warranty_period")
• Purpose: Internal reference name used by the system
• Requirements:
• Must start with a letter or underscore
• Can contain letters, numbers, and underscores only
• No spaces or special characters
• Automatically converted to lowercase with underscores
• Searchable: Yes

Field Label

• Shows: The display name shown to customers
• Format: Human-readable text
• Translatable: Yes - can be different in each language
• Purpose: What customers see when providing information
• Clickable: Yes - opens edit form
• Searchable: Yes

Field Type

• Shows: Type of input field displayed to customers
• Format: Color-coded badge
• Values:
• Text (Gray badge): Single-line text input
• Number (Orange/Warning badge): Numeric input only
• Select List (Green/Success badge): Dropdown selection
• Date (Blue/Info badge): Date picker
• Time (Purple/Primary badge): Time picker
• Sortable: Yes
• Filter Available: Yes

Required

• Shows: Whether customers must fill this field
• Format: Checkmark icon (✓) if required, empty if optional
• Interactive: Click to toggle required/optional status
• Quick Toggle: No confirmation needed - immediate update
• Purpose: Control which fields are mandatory for purchase
• Impact: Affects ALL products in the category

Created At

• Shows: When the field was created
• Format: Date and time
• Sortable: Yes
• Visibility: Hidden by default (toggle via column selector)

Updated At

• Shows: Last modification date and time
• Format: Date and time
• Sortable: Yes
• Visibility: Hidden by default (toggle via column selector)

Search Functionality

Use the search box to find fields by:

• Category name
• Field name
• Field label

Filters

Field Type Filter

Filter by input type:

• Text: Show only text input fields
• Number: Show only numeric fields
• Select List: Show only dropdown fields
• Date: Show only date picker fields
• Time: Show only time picker fields
• Clear: Show all field types

Required Filter

Filter by requirement status:

• Required: Show only mandatory fields
• Optional: Show only non-mandatory fields
• All: Show both required and optional fields

Row Actions

Edit

• Function: Opens edit form to modify field settings
• Available: For all fields
• Can Modify: All field properties
• Impact: Changes affect all products in the category

Delete

• Function: Permanently removes the custom field
• Warning: Shows confirmation dialog
• Impact:
• Customers will no longer see this field on any product in the category
• Previously collected data is not deleted
• Cannot be undone
• Use Case: Remove fields no longer needed

Bulk Actions

Select multiple fields using checkboxes:

Delete

• Function: Remove multiple custom fields at once
• Warning: Requires confirmation
• Impact: Same as individual delete
• Use Case: Clean up obsolete fields across categories

Export

• Function: Export field data to Excel/CSV
• Exported Data: All visible columns
• Use Case: Backup configuration, documentation, analysis

Creating Category User Fields

Click "New Category User Field" button in the top-right corner.

Form Fields

Category Required

• Type: Dropdown selection
• Purpose: Select which category this field belongs to
• Validation: Required - you cannot create a field without selecting a category
• Display: Shows category name
• Note: The field will apply to ALL products in this category

Example:

• Category: "Clothing"
• Field will appear on: All shirts, pants, dresses, etc. in the Clothing category

Field Name Required

• Type: Text input
• Purpose: Internal identifier for the field
• Validation:
• Required
• Maximum 100 characters
• Must match pattern: letters, numbers, underscores only
• Must start with letter or underscore
• Auto-Format: Automatically converts to lowercase and replaces invalid characters with underscores
• Helper Text: "Only letters, numbers, and underscores. Must start with a letter or underscore."
• Placeholder: "e.g. custom_field_1, user_note"

Examples:

• Good: size, color, warranty_period
• Bad (will be converted): Product Size → product_size
• Bad (will be converted): Color! → color_

Best Practices:

• Use descriptive names
• Keep it short but meaningful
• Use underscores for spaces
• Follow consistent naming convention

Field Label Required

• Type: Text input
• Purpose: Display name shown to customers
• Validation:
• Required
• Maximum 100 characters
• Translatable: Yes - can be different in Arabic and English
• Format: Can include any characters, spaces, special characters

Examples:

• English: "Size", "Color", "Warranty Period"
• Arabic: "الحجم", "اللون", "فترة الضمان"

Best Practices:

• Be clear and specific
• Use customer-friendly language
• Keep it concise
• Match industry standards for the category

Field Type Required

• Type: Dropdown selection
• Purpose: Determines what input control customers see
• Default: Text
• Options: Text, Number, Select List, Date, Time

(Same detailed descriptions as Section 27)

Select Options

• Type: Multi-line text area
• Visibility: Only appears when Field Type is "Select List"
• Purpose: Define the options available in the dropdown
• Format: One option per line
• Helper Text: "Enter each option on a new line"

Example for Clothing Category:

XS
S
M
L
XL
XXL

Required

• Type: Toggle switch (On/Off)
• Default: Off (optional)
• Purpose: Make the field mandatory for purchase
• Impact:
• ON: Customers cannot add ANY product in this category to cart without filling this field
• OFF: Field is optional - customers can leave it blank
• Best Practice: Only make fields required if absolutely necessary for ALL products in the category

Create Actions

Create

• Function: Saves the custom field and returns to list view
• Validation: All required fields must be filled
• Impact: Field immediately applies to all products in the selected category

Create & Create Another

• Function: Saves the custom field and opens a blank form
• Use Case: When adding multiple fields to the same or different categories
• Efficiency: Avoids returning to list view between creations

Cancel

• Function: Discards changes and returns to list view
• Warning: No confirmation - changes are lost immediately

Related Sections

• Categories - Add custom fields to categories
• Products - Product management
• Item User Fields - Custom fields for products