Data Service ID Generators

What is a Unique ID Generator?

The Unique ID Generator creates an individual ID, based on the columns you chose.

When do you use it?

You use it to identify the products later by reference to their ID.

And also if you sell a product in different colors and sizes: to identify the product perfectly, you would need three (3) columns: ID, size, and color.

But if you create the Unique ID based on the size and color of the column, you can identify the product exactly by its Unique ID, one cell only.

You can find instructions on how to add a service, define its position, and the stage it is executed on in our general Data Services section.

After selecting Add, the setup opens automatically.

Now you have to chose if your ID pool should be based on Account, Project, or Site.

Account: Each site in the account shares the same product IDs for similar products. If there are no similar products each product in your entire account will have a unique ID.

Project: Each site in the site's project has the same product IDs for similar products. If there are no similar products, each product in the project will have a unique ID.

Site: Each site gets its own set of unique product IDs. The same product ID could exist in another unrelated site.

If all chosen columns for products are equal, the products receive the same ID.

If you want to edit one of the services, go to Data Sources, Services, and select Setup.

After choosing which ID pool to base your account, project, or site on, recognize the difference between a normal and distinct unique ID.

An example, for an account, you can select two (2) ID pool choices, Account, and Account (Distinct). From site-level, set the ID pool base in Data Services and add the service Unique ID Generator. Next, select the ID pool based on button to display the following levels used with the unique ID service:

The difference between a normal and distinct ID pool is how they rely on a shared ID between an item in an account, project, or site. For instance, you can reference an item’s ID that is shared by different sites.

Normal unique IDs generate individual IDs that aren't shared with another site. Distinct IDs are shared when used by two or more sites.

Normal

Look at the following example to see how a normal Site-based ID pool behaves:

The Unique ID Generator creates the following unique IDs:

As a result, both Site A and Site B contain the value foo, which produces two different unique IDs. This indicates that the Site A and Site B unique ID isn't shared by either site.

Distinct

Look at the following example to see how an Account (Distinct) or Project (Distinct)-based ID pool behaves:

The Unique ID Generator creates the following unique IDs:


As you can see, both Site A and Site B contain a matching unique ID, as referenced by 1. This indicates that the Site A and Site B unique ID is shared.