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Merge Descriptions

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  • Updated on May 22, 2026
  • Published on Mar 2, 2026
  • 11 minute(s) read
  • AF
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Feature Overview

Merge Descriptions automatically builds text fields on item records by combining values from selected Information Codes in a defined sequence. Instead of users manually typing an item description each time, the app reads the specifications already entered — such as brand, colour, size, and material — and assembles them into a single, consistently formatted description.

The feature supports four different output targets, each controlled separately on the Information Code Card. The Long Description target writes to the Long Description field on the item. The Report Description target writes to a field used specifically by Master Data on Documents when generating printed output. The Information Setup Description target controls how the merged value appears within the Information Setup page itself. The Type Description target writes to either the item's standard Description field or its Description 2 field — controlled by the Merge Item Description setting in Master Data Information Setup.

Two global settings in Master Data Information Setup are required for the Type Description target to work. Merge Item Description must be set to either Merge Item Description (writes to the Description field) or Merge Item Description 2 (writes to Description 2) — if left blank, the Type Description is never built regardless of how Information Codes are configured. Exclude Item Description controls whether the item's existing standard Description is included in the merged Long Description output — when enabled, the standard Description is excluded entirely.

The format of the merged output is controlled by a Description Setup code. Description Setup records define the building blocks: which parts of the Information Code and Information Value to include (the Information Value code, the Description, the Value, or combinations thereof), in what order, and with what separator characters between them. A typical setup might produce output like "Blue, Large, Stainless Steel" or "Colour: Blue | Size: Large | Material: Stainless Steel" — the exact format is entirely configurable. Standard Description Setup records are created automatically when the app is installed, and you can add your own.

When a specification value changes on an item, the relevant merged description fields are recalculated automatically. The Update Merge Descriptions action on the Information Code Card allows a manual bulk recalculation across all items if needed — for example after changing the Description Setup code linked to an Information Code.

Key Facts

Area Detail
Where to set up Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group; Description Setup page; Master Data Information Setup
Output targets Type Description (item Description or Description 2 field), Long Description field, Report Description field, Information Setup Description
Type Description prerequisite Merge Item Description in Master Data Information Setup must be set to Merge Item Description or Merge Item Description 2 — if blank, Type Description is never built
Exclude Item Description When enabled in Master Data Information Setup, the item's standard Description is excluded from the Long Description merge output
Format control Description Setup code (defines separator characters, field order, included fields)
Automatic update Descriptions recalculate when specification values change
Manual recalculation Use the Update Merge Descriptions action on the Information Code Card
Integration points Information Codes, Information Values, Master Data on Documents

Getting Started

  1. Open Master Data Information Setup and set Merge Item Description to either Merge Item Description (writes to the item's Description field) or Merge Item Description 2 (writes to Description 2). This is a global prerequisite — if left blank, the Type Description is never built regardless of Information Code configuration.
  2. Open Description Setup from the Master Data Information menu to review the available format codes. Standard setup records are created automatically on first open.
  3. Identify which Information Codes should contribute to merged descriptions (e.g. BRAND, COLOUR, SIZE).
  4. Open the Information Code Card for the first contributing code (e.g. BRAND).
  5. In the Merge Descriptions group, set Type Description to the Description Setup code that defines how this code's value should be formatted (e.g. IV to include only the Information Value description).
  6. Set Type Description Order to 10 — this controls where this code appears in the merged result.
  7. Repeat for the next code (e.g. COLOUR), setting Type Description Order to 20.
  8. Continue for all codes that should contribute, incrementing the order value.
  9. Open an item record, ensure it has specifications for the contributing codes, and verify the Description or Description 2 field has been populated automatically.
  10. Use Update Merge Descriptions on the Information Code Card to recalculate all existing item descriptions in bulk.
  11. Repeat steps 4–10 for the Long Description and Report Description targets if needed, using the corresponding fields on the code card.

Related Features

Merge Descriptions depends on Information Codes and Information Values — the merged output is built from the values assigned to items through those features. The Description Setup page is a core dependency that defines how each code's contribution is formatted; it is accessible from the Information Code Card via the Merge Descriptions Setup action. Master Data on Documents uses the Report Description target — when a document template is configured to include the report description, the merged text flows automatically to printed documents. If you use Extended Texts for longer content, note that Extended Text and Merge Descriptions are separate features: Merge Descriptions assembles short structured text from multiple codes, while Extended Text provides longer narrative content per code or value.

User Stories

US-01: Automatically generate item descriptions from specifications

As a Business Manager
I want to configure the app so that item descriptions are automatically built from the Colour, Size, and Material specifications
So that descriptions are always consistent and do not need to be typed manually

Setup:

  1. Open Master Data Information Setup and set Merge Item Description to Merge Item Description (to write the merged output to the item's Description field).
  2. Open the Information Code Card for COLOUR. In the Merge Descriptions group, set Type Description to IV and Type Description Order to 10.
  3. Open the Information Code Card for SIZE. Set Type Description to IV and Type Description Order to 20.
  4. Open the Information Code Card for MATERIAL. Set Type Description to IV and Type Description Order to 30.
  5. Open an item with all three specifications set and verify the Description field has been populated.
  6. Run Update Merge Descriptions to backfill existing items.

Note: If Merge Item Description is blank in Master Data Information Setup, the Type Description is never built regardless of the Information Code configuration. This must be set before the merged description will appear on items.

US-02: Build a Long Description that includes the attribute label and value

As a Business Manager
I want to generate a Long Description in the format "Colour: Blue, Size: Large"
So that the longer description field provides more context than the short Description field

Setup:

  1. Open Description Setup and identify or create a setup code that includes both the Information Code description and the Information Value description with a : separator (e.g. code IC_IV).
  2. For each contributing code, set Long Description to IC_IV and set Long Description Order sequentially.
  3. Run Update Merge Descriptions to generate the Long Description fields on all items.
US-03: Configure a separate Report Description for use on documents

As a Sales Manager
I want to create a Report Description that is formatted differently from the item Description
So that printed documents have a more customer-friendly presentation of specifications

Setup:

  1. For each Information Code that should contribute to printed documents, set the Report Description field on the Information Code Card to the desired Description Setup code.
  2. Set Report Description Order for each code.
  3. In the Master Data on Documents template, configure the template to use the Report Description field.
  4. Print a test document and verify the output format.
US-04: Change the merge format and recalculate all descriptions

As a Business Manager
I want to switch the Long Description format from values-only to "Label: Value" format
So that the Long Description is easier to read by internal users

Setup:

  1. Open the Information Code Card for each contributing code.
  2. Change the Long Description field to the new Description Setup code.
  3. When prompted to update existing records, confirm.
  4. Use the Update Merge Descriptions action to regenerate all Long Descriptions with the new format.
US-05: Set up merge descriptions for item variant descriptions

As a Business Manager
I want to generate descriptions for item variants based on their specific specification values
So that each variant has a distinct, accurate description without manual entry

Setup:

  1. Configure the contributing Information Codes with Item Description settings as described in US-01.
  2. Assign specifications at the variant level (using the Item Variant feature or Information Matrix).
  3. The app will generate the description per variant based on its own specification values.
US-06: Understand and customise the Description Setup format

As a IT Manager
I want to create a custom Description Setup code that separates values with a pipe character and includes the value field rather than the description
So that our export to the ERP integration uses a machine-readable format

Setup:

  1. Open Description Setup (via the Merge Descriptions Setup action on the Information Code Card, or from the Master Data Information Setup navigation).
  2. Choose New and enter a Code (e.g. PIPE-V).
  3. Enable Include Value and set Sign after Value to |.
  4. Set the Order field to control the sequence of components.
  5. Assign this Description Setup code to the relevant Information Codes in their Item Description, Long Description, or Report Description fields.
US-07: Configure a merged description to display within the Information Setup page

As a Business Manager
I want to set up the "Colour" and "Size" codes so that a combined label like "Blue / Large" appears directly in the Information Setup page on the item
So that users can quickly see a meaningful summary of the variant without having to read each specification line individually

Setup:

  1. Open the Information Code Card for COLOUR.
  2. In the Merge Descriptions group, set Information Setup Description to the Description Setup code that defines the format (e.g. IV).
  3. Repeat for the SIZE code.
  4. Open an item's specification page. The Information Setup Description column will now show the merged output for each relevant code.

Note: This target affects only the display within the Information Setup page and does not update any field on the item record itself.

US-08: Configure Merge Item Description to write to the item Description or Description 2 field

As a IT Manager
I want to configure which item field the merged Type Description is written to
So that the app populates the correct field in our BC setup

Setup:

  1. Open Master Data Information Setup.
  2. Set Merge Item Description to the appropriate option:
    • Merge Item Description — writes the merged Type Description to the item's Description field (replaces the standard description)
    • Merge Item Description 2 — writes to the item's Description 2 field instead
    • Blank — Type Description is not built at all; the standard Description and Description 2 fields are not touched by the merge engine
  3. Save.
  4. Configure the relevant Information Codes with Type Description and Type Description Order settings.
  5. Run Update Merge Descriptions to apply to all existing items.

Note: This is a global setting. Changing it affects all items and all Information Codes that contribute to the Type Description target.

US-09: Exclude the standard item Description from the Long Description merge

As a Business Manager
I want to configure the merge so that the item's standard Description field is not included in the Long Description output
So that the Long Description contains only the values from specifications, without repeating the item's short description at the start

Setup:

  1. Open Master Data Information Setup.
  2. Enable Exclude Item Description.
  3. Save.
  4. Run Recalculate Long Descriptions to update all existing items.

Note: When Exclude Item Description is disabled (the default), the item's standard Description is included in the merged Long Description at the position defined in Master Data Information Setup. Enabling this flag removes it entirely from the Long Description output — the Description field itself is unaffected.

Field Reference

Field Where to find it What it does Default
Merge Item Description Master Data Information Setup Controls whether the Type Description target is active and which item field it writes to. Options: blank (disabled), Merge Item Description (writes to Description field), Merge Item Description 2 (writes to Description 2 field) Blank
Exclude Item Description Master Data Information Setup When enabled, the item's standard Description field is excluded from the Long Description merge output. When disabled, the Description is included at the position configured in Master Data Information Setup Disabled
Type Description Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Links this code to a Description Setup for writing to the item's Description or Description 2 field (controlled by Merge Item Description in setup) Blank
Type Description Order Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Position of this code in the merged Type Description Blank
Long Description Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Links this code to a Description Setup for writing to the Long Description field Blank
Long Description Order Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Position of this code in the merged Long Description Blank
Report Description Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Links this code to a Description Setup for use in Master Data on Documents Blank
Report Description Order Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Position of this code in the merged Report Description Blank
Information Setup Description Information Code Card — Merge Descriptions group Links this code to a Description Setup for generating the description within the Information Setup page Blank

Description Setup fields (on the Description Setup page):

Field What it does Default
Setup Code Unique code identifying this format definition —
Include Information Code Description Includes the Information Code's Description in the output Disabled
Sign after Information Code Description Separator inserted after the Information Code description Blank
Include Information Value Description Includes the Information Value's Description in the output Disabled
Sign after Information Value Description Separator inserted after the Information Value description Blank
Include Value Includes the Value field in the output Disabled
Sign after Value Separator inserted after the Value Blank
Add description Includes a general description element Disabled
Order Defines the sequence of the three components (Information Code, Information Value, Value) in the output —

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