Description
Products in the same category usually need the same attributes – only the values differ. Every shoe needs brand, material, size and colour, every laptop needs processor, RAM and storage.
Auto Attribute Assigner lets you define these attributes once per product category, optionally with a default value. When you create a product in that category, the attributes are added automatically. You only fill in the values – no more searching and adding the same attributes by hand, and no forgotten attributes that break your shop filters.
Example
Rule for “Shoes” (incl. sub-categories): Brand, Material (default: Leather), Size, Colour.
You create a product in “Shoes > Women” and save it – the four attributes are already there, material is set to “Leather”. You only enter brand, size and colour.
Features
- Unlimited category rules, each with as many attributes as you need.
- Optional default value per attribute.
- Rules can apply to all sub-categories – one rule for a whole category branch.
- Attributes are assigned automatically when a product is first created.
- Attributes are not re-added on later updates, so attributes you removed stay removed.
- Manual “Assign” button in the product’s attribute section.
- “Assign presets to all products” button for your existing catalogue.
- Category selection with the full hierarchy and slugs.
- Role based permissions: decide per user role who may see the plugin, edit or delete rules and run assignments.
- Available in English and German.
This plugin is completely free with no feature limits. If it saves you time, you can support its development with a small donation using the “Support / Donate” button – thank you!
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to
/wp-content/plugins/, or install it directly from the WordPress plugin directory. - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.
- Make sure WooCommerce is installed and activated.
- Create your product categories and attributes in WooCommerce (Products > Categories / Attributes).
- Go to Auto Attribute Assigner in the admin menu and create your category rules.
FAQ
-
How do I assign attributes to a category?
-
Open Auto Attribute Assigner, select a product category, check the attributes you want (optionally with a default value) and save the rule. New products in that category receive the attributes automatically.
-
Does a rule also apply to sub-categories?
-
Only if you check “Also apply to sub-categories” in the rule. Then a rule for “Shoes” also applies to “Shoes > Women”, “Shoes > Men” and all deeper levels. If a sub-category has its own rule, both are combined; for an attribute set in both, the rule of the closer category wins.
-
Why don’t my existing products get the attributes automatically?
-
Attributes are assigned automatically only when a product is first created, so the plugin never changes existing products on its own. Use the “Assign presets to all products” button or the “Assign” button on a single product.
-
Are existing attribute values overwritten?
-
No. Neither the automatic assignment nor the “Assign” buttons overwrite attribute values that are already set.
-
Does the plugin remove attributes?
-
No. Deleting a rule never removes attributes that were already written to your products.
-
Does it create variations?
-
No. The plugin adds attributes to products. Values used for variations (e.g. the sizes and colours of a variable product) are still set up by hand.
-
Who can use the plugin?
-
By default administrators and shop managers. Administrators can change this per user role at the bottom of the settings page.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Auto Attribute Assigner” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Auto Attribute Assigner” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
3.1
- New: “Also apply to sub-categories” per rule – one rule for a whole category branch. Rules with this option are marked in the list of saved rules.
- New: If several rules set the same attribute, the rule of the closest category wins.
- Improved: “How to use” page with an explanation of what the plugin is for and a practical example.
- Improved: Assigned attributes are now linked to their attribute ID, exactly like attributes added by hand.
- Fix: The plugin menu is only registered for roles with the “See plugin” right, and the plugin is hidden in the plugins list for all other roles.
- Fix: Translations are loaded from the plugin’s languages folder.
- Fix: Uninstall also removes the permission settings.
- Fix: Roles with the “manage_options” or “delete_users” capability no longer bypass the permission matrix. Only the administrator role (or a Super Admin on multisite) always has full access.
- Fix: Saving a rule right after deleting another one on the same page no longer deletes the new rule again.
- Removed: Unused code and styles from the former free/pro version.
3.0
- New: Role based permission matrix – decide per user role who may see the plugin, create or edit rules, delete rules, use the “Assign” button on a product and run the bulk assignment.
- New: Roles without the “See plugin” right get no menu entry and no entry in the plugins list – for them the plugin looks as if it were not installed.
- Security: Only real administrators (manage_options + administrator role, or Super Admin) can change the permissions. A shop role with manage_options can no longer grant itself more rights.
- Security: Every action is checked again on the server side (saving, deleting, bulk assign, AJAX assign), not only hidden in the interface.
- New: Filters for developers – autoatas_user_can, autoatas_permissions_capability, autoatas_permissions_require_administrator_role and autoatas_user_can_manage_permissions.
- Improved: The capability setting of 2.2 is migrated into the new matrix automatically.
- Improved: “How to use” page extended and all output escaped.
- Improved: German and English translations updated.
- Removed: Unused stylesheet style/banner.css.
2.2
- Improved: Attribute selection uses a grid layout with white cards and highlighted active attributes.
- New: Column switcher (Auto / 1 / 2 / 3), remembered per browser.
- New: The “Assign presets to all products” button can be restricted to a capability (default: install_plugins).
2.1
- Improved: The category select shows the full category hierarchy – sub-categories are indented below their parent category.
- Improved: Each category name is followed by its slug in brackets, so categories with the same name can be told apart.
- Improved: The full path is shown on hover and below the select after selection (e.g. “Shoes > Women”).
- Improved: The saved rules table shows the full category path; categories that no longer exist are marked.
2.0
- The plugin is now completely free with no feature limits.
- Attributes are assigned automatically only when a product is first created, so removed attributes no longer reappear.
- Existing products are no longer modified automatically; use the manual or bulk assign buttons.
- New: Manual “Assign” button in the product’s attribute section.
- New: “Assign presets to all products” button.
- New: English and German language packs.
- New: “Support / Donate” button.
- Security: Deleting a rule is protected with a nonce.
- Now maintained by Norix IT Support & Webdesign e.U.
1.3
- Bug fixes.
- German language pack.
1.2
- Bug fixes and optimizations.
1.1
- Initial release.