Attribute types

Attributes are used to describe properties of objects. For example, customers have attributes such as salutation, username or e-mail address. Attributes can be divided into different attribute types. You can set the usage and allowed values of an attribute over the attribute types.
When creating attributes for products or customers, you need to define the attribute type. This means that you define whether this attribute should be displayed and processed as, for example, a character string (text), a number, or a date in the system. In other words, you define what kind of values you or the customer can enter into the fields. The individual attribute types have the following meanings:
Table 4: overview of the attribute types for entry fields

Type
Description
Usage
Example
Text
Character string, word, sentence
Entry fields for names, addresses, text and so on. You can use any character.
There are no length restrictions.
Text field
Language-dependent text
Language-dependent text
Can be used as Text; one value can be entered for each active language
Invoice
Rechnung
Text with value selection
Text for building a set of possible values
Multiple values can be assigned to the attribute. The values are displayed in a drop-down menu. The user selects one of these.
For more information, see Using text with value selection, below.
Material:
Wool
Linen
Leather
Language-dependent text with value selection
Language-dependent text for building a set of possible values
Can be used as Text with value selection; one value can be entered for each active language
Material:
Wool/Wolle
Linen/Leinen
Leather/Leder
Options
Selection
Multiple values can be assigned to the attribute. Every value is displayed with a check box. The user can select multiple values. See Using options, below.
CD
DVD
Language-dependent options
Selection
Can be used as options; one value can be entered for each active language
Optical mouse
Optische Maus
English keyboard
Englische Tastatur
Customer options
Selection
This allows you to offer options for appointments that the customer can select when booking an appointment. See Resource details - Options, below.
 
Integer
Integer
 
255
Decimal number
Floating-point decimal numbers
 
15.23
Yes/No
Decision
Option buttons. At this point, the user makes a Yes or No decision.
Option button Visible
Money
A fixed-point number with a specific number of decimal places for saving money amounts.
Entry field for prices
€21.95
Date
Date fields for days from 01.01.0001 up to 31.12.9999.
 
12.06.2008
Time
Time field for the range 00:00:00 to 23:23:59
 
11:11
Date and time
Combination of date and time
Entry fields for exact times. The entry format is defined by the current country setting. For Germany the format is DD.MM.YYYY hh:mm:ss
12.6.2008 11:11
File
File name
You can use this field to assign a file to a product.
Productinfo.pdf
Language-dependent file
File name
Can be used as File; one file can be assigned for each active language
Productinfo_de.pdf
Productinfo_en.pdf