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Custom entity attributes

Use single- and multi-value custom entity attributes in Adobe Target Recommendations to define additional information about items in your catalog.

Limits

You can include up to 100 custom entity attributes to define additional information about items in your catalog. For example, you might create a custom attribute called entity.genre to define a book or movie. Or, a ticket vendor might create attributes for an event venue to include a secondary performer, such as a visiting team in a sporting event or an opening act at a concert.

The maximum length of single-value entity custom attributes is 15,000 characters (for one- and two-byte UTF-8 encoded languages such as English and other Latin-script alphabets) or 10,000 characters (for three-byte UTF-8 encoded languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean).

Multi-value entity custom attributes can contain no more than 500 values. Each individual value is limited to 100 characters. The total number of characters across all values must conform to the limitations for the maximum length of single-value entity custom attributes (see above.)

Custom entity attribute values

Custom entity attributes can contain a single value or multiple values. Entity attribute values are displayed in the product view.

A custom entity attribute with a single value is formed the same way as a single-value predefined entity attribute:

entity.genre=genre1

A multi-value custom entity attribute must be sent as a valid JSON array:

entity.genre=["genre1", "genre2"]

Examples of valid JSON arrays supported by Recommendations:

• ["AB","BC"] all values are strings
• [1,2] all values are numeric

After a custom attribute is sent as a valid JSON array, the attribute is treated as a multi-value attribute for all products in the catalog.

Restrictions:

• You cannot use predefined entity attribute names for custom entity attributes. (See Entity Attributes.)
• The attribute entity.environment is reserved by the system and cannot be used for custom entity attributes. Attempts to pass entity.environment using targetPageParams, feeds, or APIs will be ignored.
• Arrays must contain a single value type. Mixed-value arrays ( ["AB",1,true]) are not supported.
• A multi-value attribute that includes a nested JSON array ( [10,12,[1,2,3]]) is treated as a single-value attribute.

Implementing multi-value attributes

Multi-value custom entity attributes are supported when using feeds (CSV), targetPageParams, and the Delivery API to upload products. New values replace current values; they are not appended. Empty arrays ( [] ) are treated as having no values.

Double quotes must be escaped. For example, "[""test"", ""value""]" is a valid JSON array that can be used in CSV.

You can include up to 500 values in a multi-value attribute.

Using targetPageParams

The following example shows how to use targetPageParams

function targetPageParams() {
  return {
    'entity.id':                   '123',
    'entity.categoryId':            '["A", "A:B", "A:B:C", "A:B:C:D"]',
    'entity.MultiValueAttribute':   '["X", "Y", "Z"]',
    'entity.event.detailsOnly':     'true',
    'excludedIds":                  '[123, 3232, 2323, 4344]',
    'orderId":                      '123456',
    'orderTotal":                   '195.32',
    'productPurchaseId":            '[001,002,003]'
  };
}

Using CSV

You can manage your CSV files in raw form using a text editor, or you can use spreadsheet software.

The raw CSV will look like this:

The same catalog will look like this in a spreadsheet:

When converting to .csv format, the spreadsheet software adds double quotation marks around cell contents to prevent commas within the cell from acting as column separators. It also adds double quotation marks around JSON string values you include in custom multi-value attributes. This can make working directly with the raw file unwieldy. For example:

• Spreadsheet: ["1","2","3"]
• Raw: "[""1"",""2"",""3""]"

Use caution when editing a raw catalog CSV file directly.

Using APIs

You can pass multi-value attributes using the Delivery API in an mbox parameter as a string value containing an escaped JSON array.

"execute": {
    "mboxes": [
      {
        "index": 0,
        "name": "first-mbox",
        "parameters": {
          "entity.id": "32323",
          "entity.categoryId": "My Category",
          "entity.MultiValueAttribute": "[\"X\", \"Y\", \"Z\"]"
        }
      }
    ]
  }

See the Adobe Recommendations API documentation for information about using the Delivery and Save entities APIs.

Using operators with multi-value attributes

When you apply operators to multi-valued custom attributes in algorithm inclusion rules, catalog rules, and exclusion rules, the result will be true if at least one value in the list passes the operation (boolean or).

In the following example, the rule is message contains abc.

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is false because no value contains abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abcde","de","ef"]. The result is true because one value contains abc.

For negative operators, all attribute values must pass (boolean and). For example, if the operator is notEquals, the result will be false if any value matches.

Refer to the following sections for operator behavior in algorithm inclusion rules, catalog rules, and exclusion rules.

Equals

If any attribute value equals the input value, results in true.

Example: genre equals abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is false because no value is equal to abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abc", "de", "ef"]. The result is true because one value is equal to abc.
• Case 3: entity.genre = ["abcde", "de", "ef"]. The result is false because abc is not equal to any element in the list.

Does not equal

If no attribute value equals the input value, results in true.

Example: genre not equals abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is true because no value is equal to abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abc", "de", "ef"]. The result is false because one value is equal to abc.
• Case 3: entity.genre = ["abcde", "de", "ef"]. The result is true because abcis not equal to any element in the list.

Contains

If any value of attribute contains the input value, results in true.

Example: genre contains abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is false because no value contains abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abcde", "de", "ef"]. The result is true because one value contains abc.

Does not contain

If no value of attribute contains the input value results in true.

Example: genre does not contain abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is true because no value contains abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abcde", "de", "ef"]. The rule will result in false as one value containsabc.

Starts with

If any value of attribute starts with the input value results in true.

Example: genre starts with abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is false because no value starts with abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abcde", "de", "ef"]. The result is true because one value starts with abc.
• Case 3: entity.genre = ["ab", "de", "abc"]. The result is true because one value starts with abc (not necessarily the first element in the list).

Ends with

If any value of attribute ends with the input value results in true.

Example: genre ends with abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is false because no value ends with abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["deabc", "de", "ef"]. The result is true because one value ends with abc.

Greater than or equal to (numeric values only)

Attribute value is converted to double. Attributes that cannot be converted are skipped while running the rule.

After processing, any attribute value greater than or equal to the input value results in true.

Example: price greater than or equal to 100

• Case 1: entity.price = ["10", "20", "45"]. The result is false because no value is greater than or equal to 100. The value de is skipped because it cannot be converted to double.
• Case 2: entity.price = ["100", "101", "90", "80"]. The result is true because as two values are greater or equal to 100.

Less than or equal to (numeric values only)

Attribute value is converted to double. Attributes that cannot be converted are skipped while running the rule.

After processing, any attribute value less than or equal to the input value results in true.

Example: price less than or equal to 100

• Case 1: entity.price = ["101", "200", "141"]. The result is false because no value is less than or equal to 100. The value de is skipped because it cannot be converted to double.
• Case 2: entity.price = ["100", "101", "90", "80"]. The result is true because two values are less than or equal to 100.

Dynamically matches (only available in item-based algorithms)

If any attribute value matches the input value results in true.

Example: genre matches abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is false because no value matches abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abc", "de", "ef"]. The result is true because one value matches abc.

Dynamically does not match (only available in item-based algorithms)

If any attribute value matches the input value results in false.

Example: genre does not match abc

• Case 1: entity.genre = ["ab", "bc", "de"]. The result is true because no value matches abc.
• Case 2: entity.genre = ["abc", "de", "ef"]. The rule will result in false as one value matches abc.

Dynamically ranges (only available in item-based algorithms, numeric values only)

If any numeric attribute value lies within the specified range results in true.

Example: price dynamically ranges in 80% to 120% of 100

• Case 1: entity.price = ["101", "200", "125"]. The result is true because 101 is in the range of 80% to 120% of 100. The value de is skipped because it cannot be converted to double.
• Case 2: entity.price = ["130", "191", "60", "75"]. The result is false because no value is in the range of 80% to 120% of 100.

Multi-value attributes in designs

Multi-value attributes appear as a comma-separated list when referenced in a design.

Example:

When entity.genre=["genre1","genre2"] is referenced in a design as $entity<N>.genre, the result is genre1, genre2.

Related topics:

• Entity Attributes