What are “Nested Specs” and how can they help me link products within a given project?

3 min. readlast update: 01.26.2024

 “Nested Specs” are specs that have a “child to parent” relationship with a product. Examples include finishes like upholstery fabric (nested spec to a sofa or armchair), surfacing material (nested spec to a table), and items that require assembly of multiple products–a faucet to a sink, for example, or a shower head to a shower. 

There are two ways to create Nested Specs.

Option #1- Defined: Add Nested Specs via Projects

Add the “child” product to the desired project just as you would with any other product and edit the desired fields. Next, enter the Edit Spec page of the prospective parent product. Scroll down to the +Nested Spec. Notice that the field shows the word "DEFINED". This tells the system that you want to select/browse a product that’s already inside the project. Enter the model name or code/tag of the desired product and select it. This action will nest the product you’ve selected to the product whose Edit Spec page you’re on. The newly nested spec will contain all of the specification details you entered previously. If you’d like to make further edits to it, you’ll need to enter the Edit Spec page of the product itself, as there’s no Edit option for Nested Specs added this way, only a "Label" to possibly indicate the relationship to the parent (e.g. Back Upholstery vs Seat Upholstery) and a “#” symbol that allows you to assign the quantity of that nested product for that parent.

Adding nested specs using option #1 will potentially save time. With this method, if you make edits to the “child” spec, you need only do this once, since the nested spec’s info. will update in every parent product it’s been assigned to, rather than requiring you to re-input spec details each time the “child” is assigned to any “parent” item as in option #2.  

Option #2- Undefined: Add Nested Specs via Parent Product

Enter the Edit Spec page of the “parent” product, or the product that will host the other products. Scroll down near the bottom and find a button that says +Nested Spec. Click on the word that says "DEFINED" and it will change into "UNDEFINED" which is what you're looking for. Now you can enter the model name of the “child” product and the system will browse our database catalog for it. When the product appears, click on it to save it in this section. At the very bottom of the list, you’ll also find the option to create a stub. Once the new nested spec has been saved, you’ll be able add additional information by clicking the “Edit” button on the right. This action will display information fields for specifying the nested product in more detail. 

Please note, on August 12, 2022, Options 1 and 2 were reversed.

 

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