13.2 - Categories

Categories are used to add logic to your EMS. By adding categories to Features, you can simply retrieve specific lines of information into your quotation template. These categories will be added to your XML-scheme to have a clear path to certain quotation lines.

How to add categories to Features?

In this lesson, we're going to add categories to Features. We are also going to retrieve the information on by using the XML-scheme. he first thing we need to do, is to add some categories to the right Features. We're going to work with the Configuration Model, we have created in the Introduction. If you haven't done that already, please create this Configuration Model if you'd whish to work along with the video

The first step is to add a category to the EMS. To do this, follow the following steps:

1. Open the EMS 

2. Go to the Categories tab under Master Data

3. Click on the big plus icon in the lower right corner 

4. We will call this category: "Door Options"

5. Click on save

A new screen will pop up. This is the Category edit screen. From here you can assign the category to features. 

6. Click on assign Features and a pop-up will appear

7. Select to which feature you want to assign the category 

8. Click on save

There is another way to add a category to a Feature. Because you can also add a category from the Configuration Model. This method will be useful if you want to add a category to multiple Features at once. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Doors Configuration Model you created in the first lesson

2.  We’re going to assign the 'Doors option' category to all the possible options in the Configuration Model 

3. Select all the features under the Options parent feature

4. In the blue ribbon that appears, click on change category 

5. Click on the door options you want to assign the category to

6. Click on save

Adding a XML-scheme

Now that we’ve created a category, we want to retrieve this on a quotation template. So we’re going to do that. Before we’re going to work with the quotation template we first have to download a new XML-scheme and add this to our Word document. To download a XML-scheme, follow these steps:

1. Go to the templates page under the quotations tab

2. Click on the Download XML-scheme

3. Open a Word document

4. Go to the developers tab

5. Click on the XML-scheme button

6. Click on the dropdown in the XML-scheme pane

7. Click on Add new part

8. Select the XML-scheme you have downloaded

Note: when you make changes in your EMS, you have to download the XML-scheme and add it to your Word document.

Retrieving QuotationLines Configurations > Categories

In this lesson, we're going to show you how to work and retrieve the QuotationLines with the help of categories. These categories are added to several references. In this lesson, we're going to look at how you can retrieve the QuotationLines through the Configurations and Categories tabs of the XML-mapping. 

The first method we are going to look at, is the Configurations tab of the XML-scheme. When you open the Configurations > Configurations tabs, you will notice that the Categories are added at the bottom of the Configurations Tab. These references will retrieve the information of every configuration individually. In this example: We want to create a quotation that shows all the options from all the configurations that are added to the quotation separately. To create this, follow these steps:

1. Create a 1x1 table 

2. Click on the first Column of the table

3. Scroll down in the XML-scheme and open Configurations > Configurations > DoorOptions

4. Right click on description 

5. From the dropdown we choose plain text

We added the name of the DoorOptions. The second column will contain the quantity of the chosen option. So we add this reference by right clicking on Quantity under the DoorOptions and select a plain text from the dropdown.

We have specified that the quotation shows the options that are chosen plus the quantity of the chosen options. But, these references will stop after filling one QuotationLine with information of the Configuration. That is because we have not added a repetition. A repetion ensures that the Quotation Builder will repeat the process until is can't find any references with the DoorOptions anymore. To add a repetition, follow these steps:

1. Select the full line of the table. 

(Note: Be sure you also select the space below the table like you see in the video. Our tip would be to select from the beginning of the first column and select everything like this.)

2. Right click on the DoorOptions Category under the Configurations Tab

3. Click on repeating. 

4. Scroll up to configurations and add another repetition. 

5. Save the document

6. Upload the template into Elfsquad.

The table is done. Upload the template into the EMS and create a new quotation with the Door Configuration on it. Select the template you’ve just uploaded to Elfsquad and generate a document by clicking on the document button in the top banner. You can see that every product you have added to the quotation will be showed individually on the quotation.

Retrieving by Category 

There is also the option to create a quotation template through the categories tab in the XML scheme. This will allow you to bundle all the features with the chosen Category in one table on your Quotation. You can use this to create a Bill of material for Example. All the configurations will be collected in one table. To create such a Quotation, follow these steps: 

1. Open a Word Document

2. Create a 1x1 table

3. Click on the first Column

4. Search the XML-scheme for Categories tab 

5. Open the DoorOptions category

6. Look for the Category > Dooroptions > Description

7. Right click on Description 

8. From the dropdown we choose plain text 

9. Click on the second Column 

10. Look for the Category > Dooroptions > Quantity

11. Right click on Quantity

12. From the dropdown we choose plain text 

We have now specified that the Quotation Builder will collect all the Features with the Category DoorOptions from the configurations and bundles them in a table. We still need to add a repetition to retrieve all the features from the Configurations. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Select the full line of the table

Note: Be sure you also select the space below the table like you see in the video. Our tip would be to select from the beginning of the first column and select everything like this.

2. Right click on the DoorOptions Category under the Configurations Tab

3. Click on repeating

4. Scroll up to configurations and add another repetition 

5. Save the document

6. Upload the template into Elfsquad

Go to the quotation you’ve made earlier and generate a document with the newly uploaded template. You can see a clear difference between both methods. The second one will take all of the categories selected from all configurations and bundles them as one group.  As the first table we’ve made has all the options on a separate line because we’ve retrieved everything per configuration. So the solver will go over the Configuration models until it can’t find any features with the category anymore. With the categories, it will go over all the configuration and bundles them as one.