Define Blending Rule Sets and Rules

Blending rules must be created as part of a blending rule set, and the blending rule set must be associated with the entity containing the attribute whose value you want to control through blending rules.

Defining Blending Rule Sets and Rules: Procedure

To define a rule set and rules for a blending rule:

1. In the Product Information Management work area, select the Manage Item Rule Sets task.

2. Select Create from the Manage Rule Sets task bar.

3. In the Create Rule Set dialog box, make the following required selections:

   • Set Composite to No.

   • Set Type to Blending.

4. When you set the Type to Blending, the available rule association types are restricted to attribute groups or item classes. In the Association Type field, select either Attribute Group or Item Class.

5. For an association type, you can select multiple attribute groups or item classes to associate with the rule set. In the Associations field, click the edit control.

6. In the Select Associations dialog box, click Add, to add an association with the rule set.

   In the Association Name list, search for and select the name of the entity that contains the attribute whose value you want to control with blending rules.

   • For an attribute group association, this entity is the attribute group containing the attribute.

   • For an item class association, this entity is the item class associated with the attribute group containing the attribute.

7. If you select Draft, then the rule set won't be triggered at all during import.

8. Click Save and Continue.

9. In the Rules tab of the Edit Rule Set page for the new rule set, select Create from the Actions menu.

10. In the Create Rule dialog box, enter an integer in the Sequence field. The sequence number determines the order in which the rule will be triggered when the rule set is triggered.

11. Using the Attribute list, select the attribute whose values you want to blend during import.

    If you selected multiple associations, then the rule applies to all attributes in the attribute group or item class, and you can't select an individual attribute. Accordingly the Attribute Group and Attribute lists are restricted to the value All.

    Note: The following rule fields aren't used by blending rules:

12. In the Details region for the rule, select Create from the Actions menu. Create a blending priority for the rule's associated attribute by selecting a value from the Spoke System list and entering a number in the Priority field.

    Lower priority numbers produce a higher blending priority. A spoke system with priority number 10 has a higher blending priority than a spoke system with priority number 20.

    If the blending rule is associated with an attribute group, you can deselect the Ignore Null check box to enable synchronization of attributes. By default, the check box is selected. Accordingly, attributes aren't synchronized unless you choose to do so.

13. Repeat the previous step for each spoke system that supplies attribute values that you want to blend.

14. Define more rules in the rule set, as needed.

15. Click Save to save the rule set.

16. Add the rule set to the master blending rule set, to enable its operation during import.

Enabling Blending Rule Sets: Procedure

To enable the triggering of a blending rule, you must add its rule set to the master blending rule set, which is named BLENDING_MASTER_RULE_SET. This composite rule set is predefined. You can't create any other composite blending rule sets. Only rule sets with a Type of Blending can be added to this master set. When a blending rule set is added to the master blending rule set, its blending rules are triggered when you import items into Product Hub.

To add a rule set to the master blending rule set:

1. In the Product Information Management work area, select the Manage Item Rule Sets task.

2. On the Manage Rule Sets page, search for and select the rule set named BLENDING_MASTER_RULE_SET.

3. Select Add from the Actions menu.

4. In the Select and Add: Rule Sets window, use the desired criteria to search for the rule sets that you want to add to the master.

   Tip: You can find all blending rule sets by specifying Blending in the Type field. You can search for your blending rule sets by specifying the association type or association name that you used in your rule sets.

5. Select the rules sets you want to add, then click OK to add them to the master blending rule set.

6. The rules sets you added are place at end of the sequence of blending rule sets in the master blending rule set, and are run in that sequence. If there are multiple blending rules defined for an attribute, only the first rule is run.

7. To change the place of a blending rule set in the sequence, select it and select Edit Sequence from the Actions menu. In the Edit Sequence dialog box, enter the desired sequence number in the Sequence field and click OK. You must first edit the sequence of other rule sets to ensure that the desired sequence number isn't already in use.