Setting up a product configurator
This guide explains how to set up a product configurator in the Expivi backoffice. It's written for people who know webshop systems (products, options, variants, price lists, categories) and want to know how Expivi models the same ideas, and what it adds on top: rules, 3D and 2D visualization, bills of materials and offer flows.
Each page follows the backoffice menu. Pages start with what a feature is for, then cover how to set it up, then give best practices.
How Expivi compares to a webshop
| Webshop concept | In Expivi | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Product catalog or assortment | Catalog | Catalog › Catalogs |
| Configurable product | Product | Catalog › Products |
| Product option or variant axis (colour, size) | Attribute | Catalog › Attributes |
| Option value (red, XL) | Attribute value | Inside an attribute |
| Category or product group | Product, attribute and attribute value categories | Catalog › Categories |
| Option compatibility or business logic | Rules (rule builder and decision tables) | Catalog › Rules |
| Saved cart or preset | Configuration | Catalog › Configurations |
| Product images | Media, Media gallery, 2D visualization | Assets, Visualization |
| Interactive product viewer | 3D visualization | Visualization › 3D Visualization |
| Parts list sent to ERP | Bill of materials (parts and components) | Bill of Materials (BOM) |
| Store languages, countries, currencies | Global properties | Global Properties |
| Quote request or checkout flow | Offer configurations, Templates, Form builder | Offer inquiry |
Recommended setup order
Several parts depend on each other, so this order saves you from going back and forth:
- Global properties: add your localizations, countries, currencies and units of measure. Everything else uses them. See Localizations, Countries, Currency and UOM.
- Catalog: create the catalog your products belong to. See Catalogs.
- Categories: set up the product, attribute and attribute value categories you need for structure and filtering. See Categories.
- Assets: upload the images, media, materials and textures you'll need. See Media gallery, Materials and Textures.
- Attributes: create the options customers choose from, with their values. See Attributes.
- Product: create the product, add attributes, and build the layout customers will see. See Products.
- Rules and dependencies: control which options are available, visible or required. See Rules and Dependencies.
- Prices: define how the configured product is priced. See Prices.
- Visualization: build the 3D scene or 2D images, then map attribute values to materials and visual changes. See 3D visualization, 2D visualization, Material mapping and Visualization mapping.
- Bill of materials (optional): describe the parts and components a configuration is made of. See Parts and Components.
- Offer inquiry: set up the templates, forms and offer configurations that turn a configuration into a quote or order. See Templates, Form builder and Offer configurations.
- Configurations (optional): save ready-made starting points for your product. See Configurations.
Build one product end to end first: a few attributes, a simple layout, one rule and a price. Then scale up. It's much easier to fix structural choices (attribute naming, categories, identifiers) before you have hundreds of attributes.
Conventions in this guide
- Bold text is a label, button or tab exactly as it appears in the backoffice.
- Admonitions highlight best practices (tip), background information (note, info) and things to watch out for (warning).