In this chapter, you will learn how to do the following:

• Configure item classes to be used for matrix items
• Create template items for matrix items
• Create matrix items based on template items

You may need to create matrix items in the following cases:

• Your organization purchases items or services with multiple variants
• Your organization sells items or services with multiple variants
• Your organization sells items online

Template items are high-level items that contain default settings for matrix items. Each template item exists solely to provide default settings for a group of matrix items; template items cannot be added to inventory transactions or to AP, AR, sales, or purchase documents. You use the Template Items (IN203000) form to create, modify, and delete template items.

Template items are based on item classes, which are created on the Item Classes (IN201000) form. When you create a template item, you specify an item class, which provides the default settings for the template item. For the item class, you need to specify attributes that have the Variant attribute category (which indicates that the attribute is used to generate matrix items) and the Combo control type; you will use these variables to generate matrix items based on the template item. Before you create an item class, you must create the attributes to be used for matrix items on the Attributes (CS205000) form, if they do not already exist.

For each template item, you specify the following settings in addition to the item class (from which other settings are inherited):

• The attribute whose values will be displayed in the matrix columns by default, and the attribute whose values will be displayed in the matrix rows by default when you generate the matrix items on the Item Creation tab of the Template Items form. For other attributes of the Variant category (if there are any), you select the particular value when creating matrix items.

Suppose that matrix items are used for a T-shirt of various sizes, colors, and materials. You want sizes to be displayed by default in the rows, and colors to be displayed by default in the columns. For a material, you select a particular value (such as cotton). In the matrix table, you select combinations of particular sizes and colors for the selected material.

• The settings that determine the identifiers of the matrix items that will be generated by using the template item. The identifiers of matrix items can be segmented and are generated automatically. To compose the segments, you can use attribute values and captions, the template ID and description, constants, automatically generated numbers, and spaces.
• The settings to be used for the descriptions of matrix items. Descriptions are generated automatically when you create matrix items. These descriptions can be segmented, and the segments can be composed based on the same entities as the segments of item identifiers can.

You can specify the prices and discounts for a template item on the Sales Prices (AR202000), Sales Price Worksheets (AR202010), Discounts (AR209500), Vendor Prices (AP202000), Vendor Price Worksheets (AP202010), and Vendor Discounts (AP205000) forms. These prices and discounts will be applied to the matrix items related to this template item if specific prices and discounts are not specified for the individual matrix items of the template item.

When a template item is created and its settings have been specified, you create matrix items either on the Create Matrix Items tab of the Template Items (IN203000) form or on the Create Matrix Items (IN203500) form. It is not necessary to create matrix items with all possible combinations of attributes at once. You can create only the set of items that is currently required and then create other items later as they are needed. Then on the Matrix Items tab of the Template Items form, you can view the list of items that have been created based on the selected template item.

To check if a particular item is a matrix item, you can open the Stock Items (IN202500) or Non-Stock Items (IN202000) form and view the value of the Template ID box on the General tab. If the box is empty, the item is not a matrix item; if the ID of a template item is specified in this box, the item is a matrix item.

The settings of an individual matrix item can be changed on the Stock Items or Non-Stock Items form (depending on whether the item is a stock or non-stock item). If you need to change a particular setting for all matrix items of a template item, you can make these changes in the template item settings on the Template Items form and then apply these changes to all related matrix items by clicking the Update Matrix Items button on the form toolbar.

If you need to completely remove a particular matrix item from the system, you can do this on the Matrix Items tab of the Template Items form by selecting the Included check box in the table row of the matrix item and clicking Delete on the table toolbar. You can also remove the item on the Stock Items or Non-Stock Items form by selecting the item and then clicking Delete on the form toolbar.

You can add any number of matrix items to purchase orders on the Purchase Orders (PO301000) form and to sales orders on the Sales Orders (SO301000) form by clicking the Add Matrix Items button on the table toolbar of the Details tab.

In the Add Matrix Items dialog box, which opens, you can use either a table view or a matrix view for adding matrix items to the documents. In the table view, you select a template item and specify the attribute values of the matrix items that you need to add to the document. In this view, you can select any set of available attribute values, even if a matrix item with this set does not exist in the system; for a new item, in the table of the Add Matrix Item: Table View dialog box, the New check box is selected. The system generates the new items on the fly when you close the dialog box and add the items to the document.

In the matrix view, which is opened when you click the Open Matrix View button in the Add Matrix Item: Table View dialog box, you can select existing matrix items by entering the required quantities in the matrix.

You may need to delete redundant attributes from the settings of an item class in the following cases:

• An attribute has been erroneously added to the item class.
• A large number of redundant attributes complicates the creation of new matrix items.

To delete an attribute from the settings of an item class on the Item Classes (IN201000) form, you must make it inactive on the Attributes tab first. For attributes with the Attribute category, you can clear the Active check box on this tab at any time. For attributes with the Variant category, you need to make them inactive for all template items of the current class on the Attributes tab of the Template Items (IN203000) form. You can deactivate a Variant attribute for a template item only if one of the following conditions is met:

• The template item doesn’t have generated matrix items, and the attribute is not the last active variant of the template item.
• All matrix items of the template item have the same value for the attribute, and the attribute is not the last active variant of the template item.

Before you deactivate the Variant attribute on the Template Items form, make sure that it hasn't been added to one of the following tables on the Configuration subtab of the Matrix Items tab.

• Inventory ID Segment Settings
• Description Segment Settings

If you have just started implementing matrix items and there are no inventory transactions including them, you can delete all matrix items with the incorrect Variant attribute. After that, you can deactivate and delete this attribute on the Item Classes form.