What is inheritance?

An item’s main variation differs from its other variations. The main variation can pass data on, i.e. other variations can inherit its data. As such, the main variation is a parent variation that passes on settings to its children.

By default, this inheritance function is active. When a new variation is created, this variation inherits settings from the main variation, as long as no other data is saved.

1. Types of inheritance

There are two types of inheritance in plentymarkets:

Individual inheritance
1-to-n inheritance

Individual inheritance means the main variation passes individual settings on to the sub-variations. For example, the VAT rate is saved for the main variation. The sub-variations will inherit this VAT rate, assuming you don’t save a different VAT rate for the sub-variation.

1-to-n inheritance means the main variation passes entire data records on to the sub-variations. For example, various combinations of prices and conditions are saved for the main variation. As long as you don’t save different prices for a sub-variation, it will inherit all of the prices and conditions from the main variation.

2. Controlling inheritance behaviour

When a variation is created, it will inherit settings from the main variation. If you want to use different settings for a variation, then you will need to deactivate the inheritance function and configure new settings.

Table 1 shows the different types of settings that can be inherited. The table lists the visual appearance, the behaviour and the process for deactivating the inheritance.

The following video also explains the different types of inheritance

Table 1. Inheritance settings
Type of setting	Display	Deactivation
Drop-down list	The first value in the drop-down list is the setting for the main variation. Inherited values are displayed in grey font. Empty fields can also be inherited.	Inheritance is deactivated as soon as you select a different value.
Checkbox	Inherited check boxes can have three states: Activated = Check mark Deactivated = No check mark Inherited = Red and crossed out with additional check box showing the main variation’s setting	Click on the crossed out check mark to deactivate inheritance.
Text field	Inherited values are displayed in grey font. Empty fields can also be inherited.	Inheritance is automatically deactivated if a text field is cleared, filled with text or if the inherited content is edited. If you want to have an empty value in the variation, you need to leave the field blank in the main variation and manage this data on the variation level instead.
Text fields with 1:n links	Inherited values are displayed in grey font. Either all or none of the data is inherited. It is not possible to only inherit some of the data.	Use the button in the header area to deactivate the inheritance. The inheritance is automatically deactivated if a value is changed or added to the variation. Unchanged values are inherited and saved directly for the variation. If the inheritance is activated again, then all of the values will be deleted and taken from the main variation again.

3. Switching the main variation

You can turn a different variation of an item into the main variation. The current main variation will become a normal sub-variation. Sub-variations have the following button:

Turning another variation into the main variation:

Go to Item » Edit item.
Search for and open the item.
Click on the Variations tab.
Open the variation you want to turn into the new main variation.
Click on Make main variation () in the lower row of symbols.
Confirm your decision.
→ The variation will become the new main variation.

Inheritance when the main variation is switched

The inheritable values of the new main variation are compared to the values of the other variations of the item. When you switch the main variation, all values are saved and the following inheritance logic is applied:

Inheritance is automatically activated for values that are identical to the values of the new main variation.
Values that are not identical to those of the new main variation are saved with the variation, i.e. inheritance is not activated.

Open the variations and deactivate inheritance if this behaviour does not meet your needs.