Table of Contents

Channel

A channel acts as a pointer that determines in which publication an item can or cannot be published.
Channels have their own table, where you can assign checklists for different Pimics categories. In practice, the main task is to assign one or more channels to an item. By doing this, you link the item to a specific sales channel and ensure the right product data is delivered to the correct publication.
Before publishing products, you decide which data set should appear in each sales channel. The selection is made automatically based on user-defined rules. It’s logical that an e-shop requires a different scope of product information than, for example, a printed catalog or eBay. Users maintain full control over what is displayed in each channel and can view historical data through publications.
Because each publication may require slightly different data, Pimics provides flexible configuration options. Users can define what data should be included for specific channels by using Publication Groups and related settings, which help ensure the correct data is published to the right place.

In Publication Setup set you can define the what it means when Channel is empty.

  • Empty channel = no channel, you need to set the field Channel is Required to Yes.
  • Empty channel = channels leave this configuration as No.

Define the channel on the Publication Card in the field Data Channel. Only categories and other data that have this channel will be included in the publication.

Usage Type

There is a possibility to define Usage Type Code on the Publication Card. When the field contains a value, the publication will contain only data with the selected Usage Type and all sub-types. To see the definition of the sub-types go to Usage Types and open the card.

System Status

If System Status is Certified or Partially Certified and the channel is Certified it will be inserted always. Otherwise, it depends on a configuration in field When not certified. Every item or category has the field System Status or eventually also system status on channels. Records with System Status equal Archived are removed from the publication.

Publication Groups

Field Description Possibilities
Data Allocation Type An option for each additional mastar data
Data Source Variant, Item, Item Group, Product Group, Chapter, Catalog Group, Catalog Item
Function Type Empty, Resolution: all data (publication groups and allocations) will be inserted into a publication
Referencing: only publication groups with data will be inserted. Allocations will be skipped
When not certified When System Status on the data is not Certify it can behevier differntly Insert: It ignores field System Status
Skip: It keeps old data and not update it until data is certified
Delete: It deletes data from publication when it is not certified

Only one field of those fields Data Allocation Type, Data Source can contain a value.

Publication Types

  • Old
    • This type is obsolete, and it is here just for back compatibility. Don't use it for new publications.
  • No Details
    • This type doesn't containt any specific data
    • You can use it when you want to hold the structure without any details, usually for custom actions and exports.
  • Multilanguage Print
    • This type is used for print and InDesign
    • It contains all data with translations which are relevant to brochures and other prints
    • Use this if you want to print data in Adobe InDesign
  • API (simple)
    • This type is used in API
    • When you select this you will get the main language without any translations
    • Use this if you want to have an data in 1 langauge
  • API Translations
    • This type is used in API
    • It contains data without an translations, but the data is not in your default langauge.
    • Use this if you want to have an data in 1 langauge, but the language is not your default language
  • Multilanguage API
    • This type is used in API
    • It contains the main language so similiar with type API (simple) but it contains also translations.
    • Use this if you want to have data in more languages
  • Sana Commerce
    • This type is used for integration for Sana Commerce
    • It contains all relevant data which are synchronize with Sana Commerce

Deletion Method

Publication Export Channels support two deletion methods that control how publication lines are removed during reorganization. Configure the deletion method on the Publication Export Channel card in the Deletion Method field.

Hard Delete (Default)

  • Lines are permanently deleted immediately during reorganization
  • This is the default behavior when no deletion method is specified
  • May be slower for large publications with many deletions
  • Use when immediate removal is required for compliance or data management reasons
  • Changes are logged in the Publication Line Change Log

Soft Delete (Performance Optimization)

  • Deleted lines are marked with State = Deleted but remain in the database
  • Significantly improves reorganization performance, especially for publications with frequent updates
  • Lines are permanently removed by a scheduled job queue after a retention period
  • Recommended for dynamic publications with frequent updates (e-commerce, API integrations)
  • Deleted lines are excluded from publication tree view and API endpoints
Note

When a channel has no deletion method configured, the system defaults to Hard Delete. To benefit from the performance improvements, explicitly configure channels to use Soft Delete.