功能
What are configurations?
If you have ever duplicated an artwork row just to add a second paper size, you have felt the problem configurations solve. A configuration is one sellable variant of a work: same artist and title on the parent, but its own price, stock, dimensions, and storefront listing. One record to describe the work; separate rows for each way it is offered.
The idea in one sentence
The parent artwork (or publication) holds what is shared: artist, title, year, medium, hero image. Each configuration holds what varies: size, paper, edition size, price, quantity on hand, whether it is listed online.
You are not creating a second artwork from scratch. You are saying: *this same work, configured this way for sale.*
Why "configuration"?
The name comes from configure: to set up a specific version of something. In software and manufacturing, a configuration is the same base product with different options applied. Here, the base is the catalogue entry; the options are how that work is printed, sized, numbered, or stocked.
Galleries might think of it as an edition run or print run. Makers might think of it as a size or SKU. The app uses one word: configuration: so both workflows share the same structure underneath, even when the tab is labelled Editions or Options.
That is also why we did not call them "child artworks." Duplicating rows forces you to maintain the same title and artist in five places. Configurations keep the bibliography in one place and put commerce details where they belong.
Where you see them
Open an Object or Catalogue work and go to the Configurations tab. Depending on your workspace, the tab may read Editions (galleries) or Options (makers): same feature, different labels.
Publications use configurations too: the book or catalogue is the parent; each print run or format is a configuration on its Editions tab.
Each configuration has its own detail page: price, shipping, stock, and (for numbered runs) the list of edition copies. Website Studio and the storefront list configurations, not duplicate parent rows.
What belongs on the parent vs a configuration
Keep shared story on the parent; keep sellable specifics on the configuration.
- Parent: artist, title, year, medium, primary photos, exhibition history, shared description.
- Configuration: variant label (paper, size), dimensions if they differ, edition size, price, stock, storefront on/off.
- Edition copy (discrete runs only): individual numbered impressions: created automatically; see copy tracking.
When you need one (or several)
You need a configuration whenever the same work is offered more than one way: or when a Catalogue work has anything to sell at all, since those parents never checkout on their own.
- One painting, nothing else: no configuration required; list the Object from Commerce.
- Photo in two sizes: two configurations on a Catalogue work.
- Numbered edition of 25: one discrete configuration; copies 1/25…25/25 appear underneath.
- Original plus reproduction prints: Object parent; original on Commerce, print run as a configuration.
How this fits the other choices
Configurations sit in the middle of a short decision chain:
- Work type: Object vs Catalogue work: is the parent row itself sellable, or only a master record?
- Configuration: this guide: what variant are you offering (size, run, option)?
- Copy tracking: Discrete vs aggregate: does each copy need a number, or just a quantity?
常见问题
- Is a configuration the same as an edition copy?
- No. A configuration is the run or option (for example "archival print, edition of 25"). Edition copies are the individual numbered impressions inside a discrete configuration: 1/25, 2/25, and so on.
- Why does my tab say Editions but the docs say Configurations?
- Both refer to the same thing. Editions and Options are workspace labels; configuration is the underlying record type.
- Can I add configurations to an Object?
- Yes. Objects can sell directly and have configurations: common for artists who sell the original plus prints.
- Do I need a configuration for every size on the storefront?
- Usually one configuration per purchasable variant. Three sizes online means three configurations, each with its own price and stock.
- Where do I set price and list on the storefront?
- On each configuration's Commerce panel: not on the parent Catalogue work. See online storefront art sales for listing strategy.