Catalog content

11 min

Access catalog content as IContent

Optimly Commerce Connect provides a content provider that can serve any catalog content as IContent. That means that you can use an IContentRepository to work with the content as you do in Optimizely Content Management System (CMS).

Sample code

public ContentReference CreateNewSku(ContentReference linkToParentNode)
      {
        var contentRepository = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentRepository>();
        //Create a new instance of CatalogContentTypeSample that will be a child to the specified parentNode.
        var newSku = contentRepository.GetDefault<CatalogContentTypeSample>(linkToParentNode);
        //Set some required properties.
        newSku.Code = "MyNewCode";
        newSku.SeoUri = "NewSku.aspx";
        //Set the description
        newSku.Description = "This new SKU is great";
        //Publish the new content and return its ContentReference.
        return contentRepository.Save(newSku, SaveAction.Publish, AccessLevel.NoAccess);
      }

For information about displaying Commerce Connect content, see Commerce Connect rendering templatesCommerce Connect rendering templates.

Content model

To get the full feature set, you need to connect a content type to the meta-class. Do that by creating a model class that inherits from the appropriate type in the EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.ContentTypes namespace and decorating it with the CatalogContentTypeAttribute attribute.

Sample code

using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.ContentTypes;
    using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.DataAnnotations;
    using EPiServer.Core;
    using EPiServer.DataAnnotations;
    
    namespace CodeSamples.EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.Provider
      {
        [CatalogContentType]
        public class CatalogContentTypeSample : VariationContent
          {
            [CultureSpecific]
            [Tokenize]
            [Encrypted]
            [UseInComparison]
            [IncludeValuesInSearchResults]
            [IncludeInDefaultSearch]
            [SortableInSearchResults]
            public virtual string Description { get; set; }
    
            public virtual int Size { get; set; }
    
            [DecimalSettings(18, 0)]
            public virtual decimal Discount { get; set; }
          }
      }

The following types are available when you create Commerce Connect models.

Type name	Description
VariationContent	A type for variant/SKU models.
ProductContent	A type for product models.
BundleContent	A type for bundle models.
PackageContent	A type for package models.
NodeContent	A type for category/node models.

You should not inherit from the following types because they exist only to show various states in the system:

Type name	Description
CatalogContent	A type for catalog models.
EntryContentBase	A base type for VariationContent, ProductContent, BundleContent, PackageContent and DynamicPackageContent.
NodeContentBase	A base type for NodeContent and CatalogContent.
RootContent	The virtual root in Optimizely's hierarchical representation of commerce content.

During the synchronization process, specific CLR types generate meta-fields of a specific MetaDataPlus type. You can modify the default mapping by using the BackingTypeAttribute. The following table shows mappings for all supported types.

Mappings for all supported types

CLR Type	MetaDataPlus Type
Byte	Integer (SmallInt, TinyInt and Int are also supported)
Int16	Integer (SmallInt, TinyInt and Int are also supported)
Int32	Integer (SmallInt, TinyInt and Int are also supported)
Int64	Integer (SmallInt, TinyInt and Int are also supported)
Double	Float
Single	Float
Float	Float
Decimal	Decimal
String	LongString (ShortString and Text are also supported)
Boolean	Boolean
DateTime	DateTime (Date and SmallDateTime are also supported)
Url	Url
XhtmlString	LongHtmlString
ContentReference	ShortString
PageReference	ShortString

Commerce Connect-specific attributes

Any attribute you can use in CMS can also be used in Commerce Connect content type models. You can decorate your model with the following Commerce Connect-specific attributes:

CatalogContentTypeAttribute To connect the content type to an existing meta-class, use the CatalogContentTypeAttribute. Connect them by defining the name of the meta-class that should be connected to the content type.

Sample code

using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.ContentTypes;
        using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.DataAnnotations;
        
        namespace CodeSamples.EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.Provider
          {
            [CatalogContentType(MetaClassName = "WineSKU")]
            public class CatalogContentTypeAttributeSample : VariationContent
              {
              }
          }

EncryptedAttribute. Use to declare a property to enable Use Encryption. This encrypts the value when stored in MetaDataPlus.

UseInComparisonAttribute. Use attribute to declare a property to be used for comparison.

IncludeInDefaultSearchAttribute. Use to declare a property to include the value in default search results. This will be used by the search provider system.

IncludeValuesInSearchResultsAttribute. Use to declare a property to be included in search results. This will be used by the search provider system.

SortableInSearchResultsAttribute. Use to declare a property to be flagged as index sortable. This will be used by the search provider system.

TokenizeAttribute. Use to declare a property to be tokenized (word breaking).

DecimalSettingsAttribute. Use to declare a property to have precision and scale.

Commerce Connect-specific types

The types you can represent in MetaDataPlus are not directly mapped to a CLR type. Properties that are backed by meta-fields of these MetaDataPlus types need to be specified beyond return type. The following table lists such MetaDataPlus types and additional requirements.

📘 Note The use of Commerce Connect-specific types is not supported within blocks.

MetaDataPlus Type	CLR Type	Additional Requirements
Dictionary	string	Decorated with [BackingType(typeof(PropertyDictionarySingle))]
Dictionary, multiline	ItemCollection<string>	Decorated with [BackingType(typeof(PropertyDictionaryMultiple))]
StringDictionary type is new in Commerce Connect 13.1
StringDictionary	IDictionary<string,string>	Decorated with [BackingType(typeof(PropertyStringDictionary))]

📘 Note To define a property that maps to a StringDictionary metafield, use this example: [BackingType(typeof(PropertyStringDictionary))] public virtual IDictionary<string, string> StringDict { get; set; }

To change the values of that StringDictionary metafield, update the property as a normal dictionary. Example: content.StringDict = new Dictionary<string, string>() {{ "abc", "xyz" }, {"hello", "world"}};

Limitations in synchronization

The synchronization of catalog models works the same way as with content types in CMS, except the data is backed in MetaDataPlus. However, there are some limitations due to technical differences. The following are not done automatically. They require manual steps:

Change a property type. Causes an exception.

Rename a model class. Unless specified by the CatalogContentTypeAttribute, a new meta-class is added, but the old one is left in the system.

Rename a property. Adds a new meta field, but the old one is left in the system.

Remove a property.

Different properties with the same name must have identical definitions. For example, you cannot have a property called Description on two different classes and make it culture-specific on one, but not the other. This is because, in MetaDataPlus, meta fields are shared across meta classes. Hence, they can only have one definition. See SynchronizationSynchronization.

List properties

Beginning with CMS 11, Commerce Connect has a PropertyValueList that lets editors input multiple primitive values. Available types are:

String

Double

DateTime

You can add a list as a new property in your model.

Sample code

[BackingType(typeof(PropertyIntegerList))]
    [Display(Name = "List of int", Order = 5)]
    public virtual IList<int> IntList { get; set; }
    
    [BackingType(typeof(PropertyDateTimeList))]
    [Display(Name = "List of date time", Order = 8)]
    public virtual IList<DateTime> DateTimeList { get; set; }
    
    [BackingType(typeof(PropertyStringList))]
    [Display(Name = "List of string", Order = 6)]
    public virtual IList\<string> StringList { get; set; }
    
    [BackingType(typeof(PropertyDoubleList))]
    [Display(Name = "List of double", Order = 7)]
    public virtual IList<double> DoubleList { get; set; }

Sample results