Installation
A Craft CMS plugin for managing Craft Commerce variants as combinations of attributes and options.
Requirements#
- Craft CMS
^5.10.0 - Craft Commerce
^5.7.0 - PHP
>=8.2.0
Install#
In the control panel, go to Plugin Store, search for Variant Manager, and press Install.
With Composer:
composer require fostercommerce/variant-manager
./craft plugin/install variant-managerWith DDEV:
ddev composer require fostercommerce/variant-manager -w && ddev craft plugin/install variant-managerAfter install the CP navigation gets a Variant Manager item with Dashboard and Variants. Variant Attributes appears above Variants for users who can save at least one product type in Commerce. Settings appears for admins.
Configure#
Every setting has a default, so the plugin runs without a config file.
In a config file#
Create config/variant-manager.php to change any of these. The file is multi-environment aware, the same as general.php.
| Key | Default | Controls |
|---|---|---|
emptyAttributeValue |
'' |
What an empty attribute cell writes. |
attributePrefix |
'Attribute: ' |
The CSV header prefix for attribute columns. |
inventoryPrefix |
'Inventory' |
The CSV header prefix for inventory columns. |
activityLogRetention |
'30 days' |
How long activity log rows are kept. |
productFieldMap |
title, slug, status | Which CSV columns map to which product fields. |
variantFieldMap |
title, sku, inventoryTracked, basePrice, height, width, length, weight | Which CSV columns map to which variant fields. |
defaultVariantTableAttributes |
[] |
Extra columns on the Variants index. |
bulkEditableVariantFields |
[] |
Which fields the Bulk edit action can set. Empty hides the action. |
availableDisplayTypes |
['*'] |
Which display types an attribute can use. '*' allows all six, and an empty list allows only Dropdown. |
defaultDisplayType |
'dropdown' |
The display type a newly registered attribute gets. |
variantMakerProductTypes |
[] |
Which product types show the Variant Maker tab. Empty hides it everywhere. |
src/config.php ships a copy to start from. It sets activityLogRetention to '1 week', while the plugin’s own default is '30 days'.
For what each key does in full, see configuration reference.
In the control panel#
Variant Manager -> Settings has three settings and requires an admin account:
- Available Display Types, which display types an attribute can be given.
- Default Display Type, what a newly registered attribute starts as.
- Variant Maker Product Types, where the Variant Maker tab appears.
A config file entry overrides the matching screen setting, and the screen shows a warning where one does.
The same screen lists every field set by name. A field set holds two field layouts that any number of attributes share. To give an attribute a field set, choose one under Field Set in the attribute’s sidebar at Variant Manager -> Variant Attributes. A field set is project config; the assignment is stored on the attribute in the database. For field sets, see variant attributes.
One more is set elsewhere: an attribute’s display type, on the attribute itself at Variant Manager -> Variant Attributes, stored in the database.
Add the Variant Attributes field#
The plugin ships a Variant Attributes field type. Add it to every Commerce product type whose variants have attributes.
- Settings -> Fields -> New field.
- Set the Field Type to Variant Attributes. Give it a name and handle, for example
variantAttributes. The field has no settings of its own. - Commerce -> Settings -> Product Types -> {product type} -> Variant Fields and drag the field into the variant field layout.
The plugin reads one Variant Attributes field per variant field layout, and skips any others.
For how the field stores data, see Variant Attributes field reference.
Permissions#
Grant accessPlugin-variant-manager to any group that needs the Variant Manager section. Everything that changes catalog data uses Commerce’s commerce-saveProductType, granted per product type. Creating a product from a CSV also needs commerce-createProductType.
For the full list, see permissions reference.
Console commands#
./craft variant-manager/activities/clearDeletes activity log entries older than activityLogRetention.
./craft variant-manager/attributes/backfillRegisters an attribute and option for every name and value already stored on a variant.
./craft variant-manager/attributes/orphansLists attributes and options no longer used by any variant.
For every argument and flag, see console commands.