Configuration characteristics define a product feature or attribute used to describe configurable parts (see About Configurable Parts). A configuration characteristic indicates how the attribute is expressed in terms of data. This data is used both the front and back office configuration rules in defining and evaluating part configurations (see About Back Office Configuration Rules).
When entered in a configuration specification, characteristics are expressed in various ways: as numbers, a list of choices, and as free text (see About Configuration Specifications). Characteristics with the Discrete Option value type indicate a finite list of possible values for the characteristic. For example, the characteristic COLOR might include discrete option choices of RED, BLUE and YELLOW. Characteristic values defined in the application represent the total possible range of values, shared by all parts that use the characteristic. Individual parts can further limit the possible discrete option values, but must be available from this list. Characteristics with the Variable Value value type indicate the characteristic can have a range of values. For example, the numeric characteristic LENGTH might include values from 2 to 200 centimeters. Alternatively, an alphanumeric variable value can be used to express free text for the configuration. Limits on the range of variable values are expressed as front office configuration rules.
Note: Using the characteristics ' (apostrophe) and " (quotation marks) in the Characteristic ID or Option fields will result in an error.
After the configuration characteristics are defined, they can be grouped into a configuration family, which is a collection of configuration characteristics used by parts in the family (see About Configuration Families).