Each refinement configuration file represents a set of facets used for one or more catalogs or categories. The number of refinement configuration files generated depends on several factors:
The structure of the product catalog repository
The number of facets specified in Oracle ATG Web Commerce Merchandising
Whether facets are global or local
The inheritance settings in the facet definitions
For example, if all facets are global and are inherited by all catalogs and categories, then only a single refinement configuration file is generated, because the same set of facets is always used. But if you have created a large number of facets and many are local to specific catalogs or categories, a large number of refinement configuration files may be required, because a different facet set may be needed for each category.
Generating the refinement configuration files involves two main steps:
The first step is the collection process, which is performed during ATG Content Administration deployment. For each
catalog,category, andcategory-infoitem in the product catalog repository, acommerceRefineConfigitem is created in the refinement repository. The value of therefineConfigproperty of thecatalog,category, orcategory-infois set to the correspondingcommerceRefineConfigitem.The second step is the actual generation process, which is performed as a post-index customization after indexing is completed. For each
commerceRefineConfigitem in the refinement repository, a refinement configuration XML file is generated and submitted to Oracle ATG Web Commerce Search.
Updates to the catalog repository and the refinement repository are performed only during the collection process, not during the generation process. This ensures that the data on the online data source remains in sync with the offline source.
The sections that follow describe the collection and generation processes in more detail.
