Automatic property distribution across catalog sections

What this solution does

In large-scale trade catalogs, information blocks often contain numerous properties, resulting in cluttered element edit forms. All available properties are displayed on the screen, including those irrelevant to a specific product. Manually binding properties to sections in such cases is time-consuming.

The module automatically analyzes filled properties in products and binds them to the corresponding catalog sections. This ensures that only relevant data is displayed during editing.

Users can also pre-select properties to be shown in the smart filter.

For common properties (such as 'Manufacturer') or service properties (YouTube video code, 'Popular product' status, rating, forum review topic), a specific setting is provided. If the 'Do not process this property' flag is set for a property, the module ignores it, keeping it available across all product cards without binding it to specific sections.

Catalog structures vary across sites: products may be displayed only at the final hierarchy levels or excluding subcategories, or they may include all nested categories. This module allows flexible configuration of property display in the smart filter. Properties can be bound either only to the sections where products are directly located or propagated to all parent categories. This is controlled by the option "Bind properties selected for the smart filter to all parent sections of the item section." If this option is disabled, properties will appear in the smart filter only in sections containing products. For example, in a hierarchy "Footwear" → "Men's" → "Sneakers" with the property "Country of origin," disabling the option ensures the property is shown in the smart filter only within the "Sneakers" section.

The module controls where the 'Country of Origin' property appears in the smart filter for catalog sections. When the option is disabled, the property is visible only in the 'Shoes-Men-Sneakers' section and is absent in parent sections 'Shoes-Men' and 'Shoes'. When enabled, the property appears in all hierarchy levels, from 'Shoes' down to 'Shoes-Men-Sneakers'.

For scenarios requiring mixed behavior, where some properties are visible at all hierarchy levels while others appear only at the lowest level, use manual editing. Select the appropriate setting for the 'Bind properties selected for the smart filter to all parent sections of the element section' checkbox based on your priority. After processing, manually set or clear the 'Show in smart filter' checkbox in the settings of the required sections.

After the module processes the data, you must reconfigure the fields of the information block element edit form. Clear previously assigned properties and retain only 'Property Values'.

Over time, new properties or sections without property bindings may appear in the catalog. In such cases, the property distribution process must be run again. The module retains information about the last configuration, so for new elements, only the necessary settings need to be specified.

The module is compatible with PHP versions from 5.6 to 8.2.

General iT can install and configure this module and check how it works on your website.