What are articles?

In pCon.planner, the term used so far has always been “objects” and the focus has always simply been on graphic representation of a certain product, such as a stool or a table. In the case of objects which can be configured (because they consist in OFML data) the expression "article” is now being introduced. “Articles”, in contrast to "ordinary" objects are equipped with a certain number of commercially relevant features which may or may not be interdependent.

Imagine, for instance, that a manufacturer is marketing a table in three different versions. Each will be priced differently. If one of the versions is selected, not only the graphic representation will be altered in the Property Editor but also the price because this feature has been programmed to depend on the version of the table.

The screenshot below gives an example of an article. This is a table with nine features which can be configured to a certain extent by the user of pCon.planner.

From manufacturer to manufacturer, an “article’s” properties may vary in quantity, nature or interdependency.