8.1 - What are Feature Properties?

What are Feature properties

By default, a feature has a number of Characteristics, such as: a minimum value; a maximum value and a price. These Characteristics say something about the quantity or price of a Feature. All Characteristics of a Feature can be found at the bottom of the Edit page of that Feature, in the boxes below:

Qualities

Feature Properties are additional properties of Features. Feature properties say something about certain qualities of features, such as color or diameter. To avoid confusion, properties will be translated as qualities instead of characteristics. The Feature Properties of a Feature can be found in the following box, on the right side of the Edit page of that Feature:

Possibilities of Feature Properties 

Feature Properties can be assigned to multiple Features. For example, multiple Features in your Configuration Model can have a color. The fact that Feature Properties can be assigned to multiple Features does not mean that a Feature Property is the same for all Features. 

One Feature Property can have different values for multiple Features. For example, Features 1 to 5 can all have the Feature Property Color, while the Features are respectively: red, yellow, green and blue.

Feature Properties of type: Input and Associated Features are used by Dynamic Groups to make filter selections. 

There are three types of Feature Properties: Input, Text and Associated features. Below, you can find a description of all types.

Input

You choose a Feature Property of this type when:

• Calculations must be made with the values of the Feature Property.

For each assigned Feature, the value of this Feature Property must be typed.

Feature Properties of type Input are used, for example, to calculate required quantities of materials. For example, table legs of type 1 have a length of 80 cm. Table leg type 1 has a Feature Property of type Input assigned to it, called Length. For the value of that Feature Property, 80 is typed in

Associated features

You choose a Feature Property of this type when:

• No calculations need to be performed on the values of the FeatureProperty.

• No actions have to be performed on the values of the Feature Property. 

• The values of the Feature Property must be easily retrievable. 

The value of a Feature Property of type: Associated Features can be selected from a drop-down list for each assigned Feature. This is because the values of the Feature Property are stored in the configurator as Features, hence the name: Associated Feature or Associated Feature.

A Feature Property of this type thus expresses a certain quality of features through other Features. The Associated Feature then says something about a quality of the assigned Feature.

For example, the Feature Property: Color can be expressed by the Associated Features: red, yellow, green and blue.

Text

You choose a Feature Property of this type when:

• Operations need to be performed with the values of the External Applications

For each assigned Feature, the value of this Feature Property must be typed.

Feature Properties of type Text are used, for example, to assign file locations to Features that are used in the Showroom.

In these videos we're going to work with the Input and the Associated Features Properties.