The rules engine can radically boost your productivity in the PIM by automating actions. As explained in this article, a rule enables you to automatically apply one or several actions to a specific list of products and product models. To set the targeted products, you have to define conditions (that are composed by fields and operators).

The rules are defined in a YML file that you can import in the PIM, using a dedicated job profile.

This feature is very, like, really powerful, and the use cases are countless. In order to guide you in the rules engine usage, we wrote this article where you will find out what you can use it for and how it works.

Name your rules

Each rule must have a unique code. It can also have a label per enabled PIM locale. This label will appear under Settings/Rules and be also visible in your product form under your smart attributes. You can add the labels settings anywhere in your rule. In the example below, it is placed at the end of the rule, and it adds labels for your American English and French locales, here is the expected format:

 camera_copy_name_to_model:
                priority: 0
                conditions:
                    - field: family
                      operator: IN
                      value:
                        - camcorders
                    - field: camera_model_name
                      operator: EMPTY
                actions:
                    - type: copy
                      from_field: name
                      to_field: camera_model_name
                labels:
                    en_US: 'Copy name to model'
                    fr_FR: 'Copie nom vers modèle'

If you do not want to add labels to your rule, leave the labels settings with { }.

labels: {}

You will also be able to search on your rule labels under Settings/Rules.

Define a status for your rule

Thanks to the status, you can define if the rule must be automatically executed or not. 
A status can be defined with the enabled key. When the value is false, the rule cannot be executed from cronjob or manually. 
In the rule import, this key is not mandatory. If it's not specified, the rule is enabled, set to true, by default. 
To define the rule status, please follow this format:

camera_copy_name_to_model:
                priority: 0
                enabled: true
                conditions:
                    - field: family
                      operator: IN
                      value:
                        - camcorders
                    - field: camera_model_name
                      operator: EMPTY
                actions:
                    - type: copy
                      from_field: name
                      to_field: camera_model_name
                labels:
                    en_US: 'Copy name to model'
                    fr_FR: 'Copie nom vers modèle'
        

As of today, 7 actions are available in the rules engine:

• copy
• add
• set
• remove
• concatenate
• clear
• calculate

What are these actions for? Let's discover it 😉

Copy

The Copy action enables you to copy an attribute value in another one.

The expected values are:

• from_field: the code of the attribute to be copied
• to_field: the attribute code where the value will be copied
• from_locale: the locale code of the value to be copied (optional)
• from_scope: the channel code of the value to be copied (optional)
• to_locale: the locale code where the value will be copied (optional)
• to_scope: the channel code where the value will be copied (optional)

It is possible to copy values from an attribute type to another attribute of the same type (for example: from a text attribute type to another text attribute type).

You can go even further. It is possible to copy attribute values in another attribute value field even if they are two different types of values. There are some exceptions mind you! Take a look at the list below.

You can copy the given attribute to a selection of attribute types that we defined based on logical criteria:

You can copy the option code of a simple select attribute to:

• a reference entity single link attribute (the record must already exist)
• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute

You can copy the option codes of a multi select attribute to:

• a reference entity multiple link attribute (the records must already exist)
• a text attribute (the codes are separated by a comma)
• a textarea attribute (the codes are separated by a comma)

You can copy the value of a text attribute to:

• a textarea attribute
• a simple select attribute (the option code must already exist)
• a reference entity single link attribute (the record must already exist)

You can copy the value of an identifier attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute

You can copy the value of a date attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute

You can copy the value of a measurement attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute
• a number attribute

You can copy the value of a number attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute
• a measurement attribute

You can copy the value of a price attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute

You can copy the value of a reference entity single link attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute
• a simple select attribute (the option code of the simple select attribute must already exist)

You can copy the value of a reference entity multiple links attribute to:

• a text attribute
• a textarea attribute
• a multi select attribute (the option codes of the multi select attribute must already exist)

Specificity regarding simple select / multi select attributes

In a list, an option is defined by a code and a label (the label is not mandatory). When the rule engine performs a copy action, it uses the option codes.

To copy values from a simple select attribute to another, or from a multi select attribute to another, every options you want to copy must already exist in the target attribute.

Let's say you have 2 attributes: attribute 1 and attribute 2, both containing sizes. You want to copy the size filled in Attribute 1, to Attribute 2. Both have an option with code "S", but this option doesn't have the same label: in attribute 1, the label is Small whereas is Attribute 2, it is S.

When your perform a copy action on one or several products to copy this size, the option with code S will be copied from attribute 1 to attribute 2 in your Product Edit Form and the result will be:

Attribute 1: Small 
Attribute 2: S

EXAMPLE

You have a scopable and localizable attribute called description. You can copy its content from the en_US locale and the print channel to the en_US locale and the e-commerce channel. The action will be defined as follows:

actions:
              - type: copy
                  from_field: description
                  from_locale: en_US
                  from_scope: print
                  to_field: description
                  to_locale: en_US
                  to_scope: ecommerce

Add

The Add action allows you to add values to a multi-select attribute or a reference entity multiple link attribute. Also, it makes it possible to add a product to categories and to groups too.

The expected values are:

• field: the attribute code or property
• items: the value codes. It has to be an array of the items you need to add.
• locale: the locale code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• scope: the channel code for which the value is assigned (optional)

EXAMPLE

To add the “t-shirts” category to a set of products, the action will be as follows:

actions:
              - type: add
                  field: categories
                  items:
                    - t-shirts

Add associations

The add action can also associate products/product models/groups without removing previously associated ones. You can choose to only associate products or product models or groups, or any combination you like.

For instance, the following action will associate the product_42 product and the tshirt group to your product (while keeping previously associated products and groups), and won't update the associated product models.

actions:
              - type: add
                field: associations
                items:
                    X_SELL:
                        products:
                          - product_42
                        groups:
                          - tshirts

Set

The Set action assigns values to attributes but also to the following properties: categories, status (enabled/disabled), groups, family, associations. Beware, the previous values will be replaced by the new ones.

The expected values are:

• field: the attribute code or property
• value: the attribute value or property value
• locale: the locale code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• scope: the channel code for which the value is assigned (optional)

EXAMPLE

To set the “My very new description for purple T-shirt” value to your description attribute in the en_US locale and for the e-commerce channel, the action will be as follows:

For instance, the following actions will disable the product and set its family to shoes. It will also categorize it in casual and women (while uncategorizing it from its previous categories), and add it to the summer group (while removing it from its previous groups).

actions:
              - type: set
                field: enabled
                value: false
              - type: set
                field: family
                value: shoes
              - type: set
                field: categories
                value:
                   - casual
                   - women
              - type: set
                field: groups
                value:
                  - summer

Set associations

Just like for the add action, you can choose to associate any combination of products, product_models or groups for each association type. You can decide which associated products, product_models or groups you want to update. The other ones will not be updated.

In the example below, you can see that the following action will replace the associated products for the X_SELL association, but won't replace associated product models or groups. 
And for the UPSELL association, it will replace the associated product models and groups but not the associated products.

actions:
              - type: set
                field: associations
                value:
                    X_SELL:
                        products:
                          - product_42
                          - another_product
                    UPSELL:
                        product_models:
                          - amor
                        groups:
                          - tshirts

Remove

The Remove action enables you to remove values from a multi-select attribute, a reference entity multiple link attribute, an asset collection attribute, a price collection attribute, a product category or a group.

The expected values are:

• field: the attribute code or “categories”
• items: the value codes to remove
• locale: the locale code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• scope: the channel code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• include_children: if true, then it also applies the removal of the children to the given categories. It is only applicable if the field is set to “categories” (It's optional. By default, it is set to false)

EXAMPLE

To remove the “t-shirts” category, the action will be as follows:

actions:
              - type: remove
                  field: categories
                  items:
                    - t-shirts

To remove the “clothing” category and its children, the action will be as follows:

actions:
              - type: remove
                  field: categories
                  items:
                    - clothing
                  include_children: true

To unclassify products from the whole “Master catalog” tree, the action will be as follows:

actions:
              - type: remove
                  field: categories
                  items:
                    - master
                  include_children: true

Concatenate

The Concatenate action concatenates at least two values into a single value. A space separates each source value.

The possible source attribute types are:

• text
• textarea
• date
• identifier
• measurement
• number
• price collection
• simple select
• multi select (values are separated by a comma)
• reference entity single link
• reference entity multiple link

The possible target attribute types are:

• text
• textarea

The parameters from and to are required in this format. Depending on the source attribute type, some optional keys can be added.

The expected values are:

from

• field: the attribute code.
• locale: the locale code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• scope: the channel code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• format: format of the date following the PHP format specification (optional, only relevant for date attributes). By default, it is Y-m-d (e.g. 2020-01-31)
• currency: the currency code for which the price is assigned (optional, only relevant for price_collection attributes). By default, all the prices in the collection are displayed, separated by a comma.
• label_locale: the locale code for the label of the option or record (optional, only relevant for simple select, multi-select, reference entity single link and reference entity multiple link attributes). By default, the code of the option is used.
• unit_label_locale: the locale code for the unit of the measurement (optional, only relevant for measurement attributes). By default, the code of the unit is used.

Here is an example:

actions:
            - type: concatenate
              from:
                  - field: brand
                  - field: color
                    label_locale: en_US
                  - field: name
                    scope: ecommerce
                    locale: en_US

to

• field: the attribute code.
• locale: the locale code for which the value is assigned (optional)
• scope: the channel code for which the value is assigned (optional)

EXAMPLE

To concatenate the brand (non localizable and non scopable) and the model in the en_US locale into the product title value in the en_US locale, the action will be as follows:

actions:
            - type: concatenate
              from:
                  - field: brand
                  - field: model
                    locale: en_US
              to:
                  field: product_title
                  locale: en_US

Clear

This action clears the value(s) assigned to an attribute, product categories, product groups, or product associations.

The expected values are:

• field: the attribute code, "categories", "groups" or "associations".
• locale: the locale code for which the value is assigned (optional).
• scope: the channel code for which the value is assigned (optional).

EXAMPLES

To clear the brand in en_US locale, the action will be as follows

actions:
            - type: clear
              field: brand
              locale: en_US

To clear all the categories that are linked to products, the action will be as follows:

actions:
            - type: clear
              field: categories

To clear all the product associations, the action will be as follows:

actions:
            - type: clear
              field: associations

Calculate

This action allows calculating numeric attribute values, with simple mathematical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).

This action only accepts number, measurement or price collection attributes for both the source and the destination.

The action is split into 3 required steps, and 1 optional:

destination: the value you want to update. It is composed of:

• field: the attribute code (required)
• locale: locale code if the attribute is localizable (optional)
• scope: channel code if the attribute is scopable (optional)
• currency: currency code if the attribute is a price collection (required if the destination attribute type is a price collection)
• unit: unit code if the attribute is a measurement (optional, the default measurement unit of the attribute will be used if not set)

source: the first operand of the operation. It requires at least either a value or a field and additional items. For instance, you can have:

• value: a constant numeric value - decimal separator: dot, no thousands separator, e.g: 1515.14 (required)

OR:

• field: attribute code of the source value (required)
• locale: locale code if the attribute is localizable (optional)
• scope: channel code if the attribute is scopable (optional)
• currency: currency code if the attribute is a price collection (required if the source attribute type is a price collection)

operation_list: the list of operations to execute (at least one operation is required)

It is exactly the same format as the source property, with an additional required field:

• operator: can be either add, subtract, multiply or divide (required)

If a product value required in an operation is empty, or if a division by zero occurs, the product won't be updated.

round_precision (optional): rounds the final result of the operation(s)

If this parameter is not specified or if the value is null, the final result will not be rounded. The round precision can be:

• a positive number: it represents the number of decimals to keep
• 0: rounded with no decimal
• a negative number: the rounding will occur before the decimal point (example with precision of -1: 81 becomes 80, with precision of -2: 81 becomes 100)

If the destination attribute does not allow decimals, the action can be applied only when the result is an integer. This behavior can be changed by setting up the round_precision to 0: the result will be rounded and the action will be applied.

EXAMPLES

For instance, in order to calculate the volume of a cone (volume = (π x R² x h) / 3), given a radius and a height, you can use the following action:

actions:
              - type: calculate
                destination:
                  field: volume
                  unit: CUBE_CENTIMETER
                source:
                  value: 3.14
                operation_list:
                  - operator: multiply
                    field: radius
                  - operator: multiply
                    field: radius
                  - operator: multiply
                    field: height
                  - operator: divide
                    value: 3
        

The following action will calculate a price in euros, based on the price in dollars and a ratio, and round the result to the nearest integer value:

actions:
              - type: calculate
                round_precision: 0
                destination:
                  field: price
                  scope: ecommerce
                  currency: EUR
                source:
                  field: price
                  scope: ecommerce
                  currency: USD
                operation_list:
                  - operator: multiply
                    field: ratio
        

Available fields

Now that you have discovered all the available actions, you can easily see which ones can be useful in your daily work 😉. But, to write a rule, you have to define your product selection. To do so, you need to know what are the available fields and their operators.

As of today, the following fields are supported in the rules engine, and each of them has its own business rules. Here we go!

Created

The possible operators for the created field are:

• =
• ≠
• ‘>’
• <
• BETWEEN
• NOT BETWEEN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

- field: created
          operator: =
          value: "2015-01-23 00:00:00"
        - field: created
          operator: <
          value: "-10 days"

Updated

The possible operators for the updated field are:

• =
• ≠
• ‘>’
• <
• BETWEEN
• NOT BETWEEN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

-
          field: updated
          operator: =
          value: "2015-01-23 00:00:00"
        -
          field: updated
          operator: '>'
          value: "-1 year"

The relative date format allows to specify dates that are relative to the rule execution date, it is formatted as follows:

<+/-><count> <unit>, with:

• "+" means a date in the future, "-" a date in the past
• count is an integer
• unit is one of the following values: minute, hour, day, week, month or year with an optional final s

For instance, +1 month means in one month, and -2 days means 2 days ago

Enabled (status)

The possible operators for the enabled field are:

• =
• ≠

EXAMPLE

field: enabled
        operator: =
        value: false

Completeness

The possible operators for the completeness field are:

• =
• ≠
• ‘>’
• <

EXAMPLE

field: completeness
        locale: fr_FR
        scope: print
        operator: =
        value: "100"

Family

The possible operators for the family field are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: family
        operator: IN
        value:
         - camcorders
         - digital_cameras

Family variant

The possible operators for the family_variant field are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: family_variant
        operator: IN
        value:
         - shoes_by_size
         - clothing_by_color

Parent

The possible operators for the parent field are:

• IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: parent
        operator: IN
        value:
         - model_tshirt_red
         - model_pants_blue

Identifier

The possible operators for the identifier field are:

• STARTS WITH
• CONTAINS
• DOES NOT CONTAIN
• =
• “!=”
• IN
• NOT IN

EXAMPLE

field: identifier
        operator: IN
        value:
         - model_tshirt_red
         - tshirt_red_xxl

Entity type

The only accepted operator for the entity_type field is:

• =

EXAMPLE

field: entity_type
        operator: =
        value: Akeneo\Pim\Enrichment\Component\Product\Model\ProductModelInterface

Groups

The possible operators for the groups field are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: groups
        operator: IN
        value:
         - oro_tshirts
         - akeneo_tshirts
        

Categories

The possible operators for the categories field are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• UNCLASSIFIED
• IN OR UNCLASSIFIED
• IN CHILDREN
• NOT IN CHILDREN

EXAMPLE

field: categories
        operator: IN
        value:
         - C0056
         - F677

Attribute types

Now that the actions and the fields don't have any secret for you anymore, you can discover which attribute types you can use as targets for your rules. It means that these attributes can receive the values you defined in your rules.

Text/Textarea

The possible operators for the text/textarea attribute types are:

• STARTS WITH
• CONTAINS
• DOES NOT CONTAIN
• =
• ≠
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: description
        operator: CONTAINS
        value: "Awesome product"

text can be written with or without quotation marks.

Identifier

The possible operators for the identifier attribute type are:

• STARTS WITH
• CONTAINS
• DOES NOT CONTAIN
• =
• “!=”
• IN
• NOT IN

EXAMPLE

field: sku
        operator: CONTAINS
        value: "AKNTS_PB"

Measurement

The possible operators for the measurement attribute type are:

• <
• ≤
• =
• ≠
• ‘>’
• ‘>=’
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: weight
        operator: =
        value:
         amount: 0.5
         unit: KILOGRAM

We expect numeric value and measurement unit code in the following format:

dot “.” is the decimal separator, 
there is no space between thousands. 

Boolean 

The possible operators for the boolean attribute type are:

• =
• ≠

EXAMPLE

field: shippable_us
        operator: =
        value: false

Simple select list / Reference Entity single link

The possible operators for the Simple select list / Reference entity single link attribute types are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: size
        operator: IN
        value:
         - xxl

We expect option code as value.

Multiselect list / Reference Entity multiple link

The possible operators for the Multiselect list / Reference entity multiple link attribute types are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: material
        operator: IN
        value:
         - GOLD
         - LEATHER

We expect option code as value.

Number

The possible operators for the Number attribute type are:

• <
• ≤
• =
• ≠
• ‘>’
• ‘>=’
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: min_age
        operator: =
        value: 12

We expect a number as value.

Date

The possible operators for the Date attribute type are:

• <
• ‘>’
• =
• ≠
• BETWEEN
• NOT BETWEEN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

-
          field: release_date
          operator: =
          value: "2015-01-23"
        -
          field: creation_date
          operator: '>'
          value: "-1 year"
        

Focus on the “relative date format”

The relative date format allows to specify dates that are relative to the rule execution date, it is formatted as follows:

<+/-><count> <unit>, with:

• "+" means a date in the future, "-" a date in the past
• count is an integer
• unit is one of the following values: day, week, month or year with an optional final s

For instance, +1 month means in one month, and -2 days means 2 days ago

EXAMPLE

field: created_date
        operator: '>'
        value: "2016-05-12"

Price collection

The possible operators for the Price collection attribute type are:

• <
• ≤
• =
• ≠
• ‘>’
• ‘>=’
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: basic_price
        operator: <=
        value:
          amount: 12
          currency: EUR
        
        field: null_price
        operator: NOT EMPTY
        value:
          amount: null
          currency: EUR

We expect numeric value and currency code in the following format:

• dot “.” is the decimal separator,
• there is no space between thousands.

Picture or file

The possible operators for the Picture or File attribute types are:

• STARTS WITH
• CONTAINS
• DOES NOT CONTAIN
• =
• ≠
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: small_image
        operator: CONTAINS
        value: ../../../
         src/PimEnterprise/Bundle/InstallerBundle/Resources/fixtures/icecat_demo/images/AKNTS_PB.jpg

We expect a text as value (it should match the filename).

Asset collection

The possible operators for the Asset Collection attribute type are:

• IN
• NOT IN
• EMPTY
• NOT EMPTY

EXAMPLE

field: packshot
        operator: IN
        value: [my_product_packshot]

In this example, we select all the products that have the "my_product_packshot" asset in their "packshot" asset collection.

We expect an array of asset codes as value.

A real example

You're done with all these specifications!

We hope that you perfectly understand the rules engine operation now. But to make it crystal clear, we thought it would be better to take a real example of a rule 😉.

Let's say that, among all the attributes of your product form, you have one price collection attribute type and a boolean attribute type. In the price collection, you define the price of your product in USD. The boolean attribute is used to define if your product is ready to be sent to your ecommerce platform (if it is set to "yes", it means that the product is ready).

Manually changing the status of the boolean attribute is time-consuming and a very repetitive task... But for the rules engine, it's a perfect match! The mission of the rules engine here is to automate the status change of the boolean once the price attribute has a value.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open a text editor to write the YML code of the rule.
2. Write this:

my_rule:
          priority: 90
          enabled: true
          conditions:
            - field: basic_price
              operator: NOT EMPTY
              value:
                amount: null
                currency: EUR
          actions:
            - field: ecommerce_ready
              value: true
              type: set
          labels:
              en_US: 'Set ecommerce_ready'
              fr_FR: 'Définir ecommerce_ready'

And finally, import your YML file using the Akeneo rules import job.

If you want to directly execute the rule:

1. Go to Settings, Rules
2. Click on the "play" button on your rule line and confirm.

The rule is executed 😉.