Effective Template

In Actualog, every product belongs to one product-level category.

The category is not only a place in the taxonomy. It also defines the rules for product data: which attributes describe the product, which values are required, which attributes identify variants, how product names are built, and how product identity is checked.

The Effective Template is the final saved version of those rules for a product-level category.

You can think of it this way:

  • Category answers: what kind of product is this?
  • Category template answers: which data must describe this kind of product?
  • Effective Template answers: which exact saved version of those rules is active for products now?

Why Actualog needs an Effective Template

Category rules are assembled from several places. A product-level category can inherit attributes from parent categories, receive rules from universal categories, and have its own local category settings.

That live structure can change while products already exist.

Actualog therefore saves the resolved result as an Effective Template version. This gives Product Governance a stable contract:

  • product creation uses a known set of category rules;
  • Check data validates products against a known template version;
  • Product Name Template and identity rules can be reviewed before they affect existing products;
  • history and audit can show which template version was active;
  • large product sets can be updated through Mass Update instead of changing silently.

Without a saved Effective Template version, every category edit would immediately change the meaning of product data. That would be unsafe for catalogs, imports, approval, publication, and audit.

What belongs to the Effective Template

An Effective Template contains the product-data rules that come from the category:

  • attributes inherited from parent categories;
  • attributes linked directly to this category;
  • attributes inherited from universal category links;
  • required and optional attribute rules;
  • attribute order and groups;
  • locked attributes;
  • value-list and value-filter rules;
  • measurement units for numeric attributes;
  • variant axes;
  • Product Name Template references;
  • identity and duplicate-detection rules.

These rules are used by Product Governance when Actualog decides whether a product is complete, ready, incomplete, invalid, conflicted, approved, published, or blocked from public visibility.

Template version on a product

Each product can be stamped with the Effective Template version it was last checked or updated against.

That stamp matters because a product can be correct for one version of the category rules and no longer correct for a later version.

For example:

  • if a new required attribute is added, existing products may become incomplete until the attribute is filled;
  • if a required attribute is removed, some products may become ready again;
  • if a Product Name Template changes, generated product names may need recalculation;
  • if variant axes change, variant families and identity may need recalculation.

The product template stamp helps Actualog know whether the product is current or needs processing.

Template changes are not all equal

Not every category template change should trigger product updates.

Some changes affect the saved template version but do not change existing product data. For example:

  • moving an attribute to another group;
  • changing the order of attributes;
  • adding an optional attribute that products do not need immediately.

Other changes do affect Product Governance and may require products to be processed:

  • adding or removing required attributes;
  • changing allowed values;
  • changing measurement unit rules;
  • changing Product Name Template;
  • changing identity rules;
  • changing variant axes.

This is why Actualog separates template versioning from product enforcement.

SchemaHash in simple words

Actualog stores a technical fingerprint called SchemaHash for each Effective Template version.

SchemaHash answers:

Did the saved template document change?

It is useful for audit and for deciding whether a new Effective Template version must be created.

But SchemaHash does not by itself mean products must be updated. A display-only template change can change SchemaHash while product data remains valid.

For product processing, Actualog also compares internal product-impact markers. These help determine whether existing products need:

  • no processing;
  • only a template stamp update;
  • Check data;
  • name regeneration;
  • identity recalculation;
  • variant-family recalculation.

Key idea

The Effective Template is the active product-data agreement between a category and its products.

It lets Actualog change category rules carefully: first save and review the new version of the rules, then update existing products only when Product Governance actually needs it.