> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wisepim.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Product Variants > How parents and variants work in WISEPIM: expand them in the products table, choose variant options, preview every combination and group look-alikes. ![WISEPIM products table with a configurable jeans product expanded to show its five size variants, each a simple product with its own SKU](https://mintcdn.com/swiftsyncai/MJhIcuPvHFtY9cDn/images/marketing-screenshots/products/products-variants-expanded-light-branded.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=MJhIcuPvHFtY9cDn\&q=85\&s=45c8085661afd4eedf489431f90fe88b) A product that comes in several sizes or colors is stored in WISEPIM as one parent with variants. The parent is a **Configurable** product. Each variant is a **Simple** product linked to that parent, with its own SKU, price, stock, photo and values. The attributes that tell the variants apart, such as size or color, are the parent's variant options. **What this page enables:** you can find and expand variants in the products table, set and check the options that tell variants apart, give a variant a photo from its parent, and turn look-alike products into one product with variants. **Where to find it:** variants show in **Catalog** > **All Products** under their parent. Variant options live on the parent's **Relations** tab in the product editor. ## How variants work | Part | What it is | | - | - | | **Parent** | A product with **Product Type** set to **Configurable Product**. It groups the variants and carries the shared content. | | **Variant** | A simple or virtual product whose **Parent product** points at the parent. It has its own SKU, price, stock and photo. | | **Variant options** | The attributes that make each variant different, such as Size or Color. Every variant needs a value for each option, and no two variants may share the same combination. | A variant can't have variants of its own, and the parent must be a top-level product in the same project. > [!NOTE] > > WISEPIM doesn't create variant products for you from a list of options. **Preview combinations** checks the variants you already have. To add a missing size, create the product and link it to the parent. ## Variants in the products table A parent row shows the number of variants under its name, for example "5 variants". Click it to expand the variants beneath the parent, and click again to collapse them. The **Product Type** column shows **Configurable** for the parent and **Simple** for each variant. The footer counts variants separately, for example "Showing 1-1 of 1 ยท 6 products incl. 5 variants". * **Search** by the parent SKU to find the parent and all its variants at once. * **Filter** with **Has Variants** to find parents, or **Is Variant** to find variants or standalone products. The smart filter **Parent Products** does the same in one click. See [Filtering & Searching Products](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/filtering-products.md). * **Collapse variants** in [Product Views](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/settings/product-views.md) groups variant matches under their parent during search, so a search for "jeans" doesn't list every size. > [!WARNING] > > Deleting a product also deletes its variants. Detach the variants first if you want to keep them. ## Make a product a variant Open the product you want to turn into a variant and go to the **Pricing** tab. The **Product structure** section holds **Product Type**, **Product family** and **Parent product**: "Type, family and parent decide which attributes and variants apply." **1. Pick the parent** In **Parent product**, search by name or SKU. The list shows configurable products. Turn on **Show all products, not just configurable ones** to pick a simple product instead. **2. Save** If you picked a simple product, WISEPIM warns you first that saving will convert it to a configurable (parent) product. Save to link the variant. To detach a variant, clear **Parent product** and save. The product becomes standalone again. On a variant, the **Relations** tab shows a banner "This product is a variant of" with a link to the parent. ### Use the parent's photo A variant without its own photo can borrow one. On the variant's **Relations** tab, click **Use a photo from the parent product** and pick the image. It becomes the variant's main image, and WISEPIM confirms with "Variant photo set". ## Choose variant options ![WISEPIM Variant options card with Color selected as option attribute, detected from variant values as Blue and Red, and Preview combinations and Save options buttons](https://mintcdn.com/swiftsyncai/jl7-7OUIcGOW7dTY/images/marketing-screenshots/products/product-editor-variant-options-light-branded.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=jl7-7OUIcGOW7dTY\&q=85\&s=3e0793cdd645e320988267e3bdbda600) On a configurable parent, the **Variant options** card sits at the top of the **Relations** tab: "Choose the attributes that distinguish these variants. Preview every combination before saving." **1. Pick the option attributes** Open **Option attributes** and choose the attributes that tell the variants apart, such as Color and Size. **2. Preview combinations** Click **Preview combinations**. WISEPIM lists each option with its values, for example "Color: Blue, Red", and warns you about problems: * "1 variant needs an option value." A variant has no value for one of the options. * "1 duplicate combination needs attention." Two variants have the same values. **3. Save options** Fix any warnings on the variants, then click **Save options**. The button stays disabled while there are warnings. WISEPIM confirms with "Variant options saved." The line under the field tells you where the current options come from: | Source | Meaning | | - | - | | **Set on this product** | Someone chose the options on this parent. | | **From the product family** | The parent's [product family](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/product-families.md) marks these attributes as variant axes. | | **Detected from variant values** | No options were set, so WISEPIM looked for attributes every variant has with different values. | | **From the imported grouping** | The options came with the import that grouped the variants. | | **No option attributes found** | Nothing to go on yet. Choose the options yourself. | When every variant shares the same family and nothing conflicts, WISEPIM saves the options on that family, so other parents in it get them too. Otherwise it saves them on this parent only. > [!NOTE] > > A parent can have up to 32 option attributes. As the card warns, products without option attributes cannot be published as grouped variants. Without write access to the project, you can view the options but not change them. ## Group look-alike products Imports often arrive flat, with every color or size as a separate product. There are three ways to turn them into one product with variants: | Way | Best for | How | | - | - | - | | **Group as variants** (bulk edit) | You know which products belong together and which parent to use. | Select up to 500 products on the page, then **Bulk edit** > **Group as variants**. See [Group as Variants](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/essentials/bulk-editing/group-as-variants.md). | | **Turn look-alikes into variants** (Catalog Job) | You want WISEPIM to find the groups across your catalog. | Start the job on the [Catalog Jobs](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/catalog-jobs.md) hub. Every group waits in the [review queue](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/catalog-jobs-review.md) for you to accept. | | **Guided setup** | You are organizing families, fields and categories at the same time. | Select products in [Catalog Structure](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/catalog-structure.md) guided setup and pick the **Create variant group** suggestions. | ### Turn look-alikes into variants The job looks for top-level simple products that share a name or the start of their SKU. It never groups across brands or categories. AI checks each member is the same model in another color or size, and can read a missing option from the photo for 1 credit per product. You set **What makes a group** (**We pick**, **Same name** or **Same start of the SKU**), the allowed **Price difference**, and under **In this shop** whether to change only WISEPIM (**Only in WISEPIM**) or also **Merge the pages in my shop**. When you accept a group, WISEPIM creates the parent and links the members as its variants. | Limit | Value | | - | - | | Products per group | 50 | | Groups per run | 2,000 | | Options per group | 3 | > [!WARNING] > > A group with products that are already listed on your Shopify shop can't be accepted yet. > [!TIP] > > Grouping links the products but doesn't set the variant options. After grouping, open the parent and check **Variant options**, or mark the variant axes on the [product family](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/product-families.md) first. ## Variants on export When a variant has no value of its own for its description, short description, brand, meta title, meta description, images, categories or FAQs, the export uses the parent's value. SKU, price, stock and the variant options are never taken from the parent. Nothing is copied into the variant itself: the fallback only happens on export. How variants arrive in your shop depends on the channel. For Shopify, switch on **Export variants as options** on the connection to send a parent as one product with options. See [Shopify Integration](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/integrations/shopify.md). ## Act on what you find > **Preview combinations says a variant needs an option value** > > Open that variant and fill in the missing attribute, for example its size. Then preview again on the parent. > **Two variants have the same combination** > > Either one of them is a duplicate, or the options miss an attribute that tells them apart. Delete the duplicate, or add the missing attribute to **Option attributes**. > **Your catalog has hundreds of look-alikes** > > Run **Turn look-alikes into variants** from [Catalog Jobs](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/catalog-jobs.md) and accept the High groups in the review queue in one go. Check the Unsure groups with **Edit group**. > **A variant shows no photo in the shop** > > Click **Use a photo from the parent product** on the variant, or leave its images empty so the export falls back to the parent's images. ## Related > **[Group as Variants](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/essentials/bulk-editing/group-as-variants.md)** > > Attach many products to one parent in a single action. > **[Catalog Jobs](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/catalog-jobs.md)** > > Let WISEPIM find look-alikes and group them for you. > **[Product Families](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/product-families.md)** > > Mark variant axes once for every product in a family. > **[Editing Products](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/editing-products.md)** > > Every tab of the product editor. > **[Catalog Structure](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/products/catalog-structure.md)** > > Find variant groups that miss their options. > **[Shopify Integration](https://docs.wisepim.com/en/integrations/shopify.md)** > > Send parents as one Shopify product with options. 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