Selection of category and type is important, because many things are dependent on these values. Specifically:
Phase and Install Hours - in CMS, these are determined automatically based on Category and Type. These values are stored in a lookup table (see Administration > Subcategories). Both Category and Type are required - if Type is blank, then both Phase and Install Hours will be blank.
Data Type - during import, the type of new products created depends on Category. Specifically:
- Category = Speaker creates a Speaker product, which has an extra Dispersion data field
- Category = Wire and Cable creates a Wire product, which has length rather than height-width-depth
- All other categories create an Equipment product, with normal data fields
Per unit or per length pricing - For Wire products only, whether a product is priced by the unit or by the length is determined by the Phase. If Phase=Rough-In, wire is priced by length. In CMS, categorization affects this, since phase is automatically determined based on type. At present, Category="Wire and Cable" and Type="Rough In" will result in a wire that is priced by length.
Component ID - by default, in SI5.5, component ID's include three letters for type (users can change this)
Default Shapes - when a product is added to a drawing page, the shape is determined by the Category and Type
- Wires - have a special shape (line) on all pages. Completely different from all other categories. Type does not matter.
- Speakers - have a special shape on Schematic, Elevation, and Plan View pages
- Plan View icons - the shape of the icon dropped depends on the Category/Type. This is based on industry standards. For example, CATV drops as a triangle. Audio Sources drop as a hexagon. Most others are square. Also, the icon label is determined by the category.
- Elevation view - many Category/Types have custom elevation shapes. For example, Amplifiers/Multichannel has a different shape than Amplifiers/Stereo, which is different from Audio Sources/DVD
Data Requirements
- UNDER DISCUSSION. Depending on the Category/Type, different data is required. For example, Brackets don't need I/O's. Dimensions are not required for Service products. We're considering adding this to the Administration > Subcategories table so that we don't bother trying to add data for products that don't need it. Specifically this is the information that needs to be determined on a per Type basis:
- Dimensions - Does this subcategory need dimensions to be represented in plan or elevation view? Another way to ask is does this subcategory need to be represented in a drawing?
- I/O's - Does this subcategory need to have inputs and outputs configured? Another way to ask is does this subcategory need to represented on a schematic page?
- Thumbnail - Is a Thumbnail image needed for reports and flow view?
- Custom Elevation Shape - Does this subcategory need a custom elevation shape or will the category specific shape suffice? note: I need to create rules for this.
- Custom Plan Shape - Does this subcategory need a custom plan shape?