Variant Editor

Variant Editor

The Variant Editor allows you to manage product options (like Size, Color) and their resulting variants.

Understanding Options and Variants

  • Options - Attributes like Size, Color, Material (max 3 per product)
  • Option Values - Specific choices like "Small", "Medium", "Large"
  • Variants - Combinations of options that customers can purchase

Example:

  • Options: Size (S, M, L), Color (Red, Blue)
  • Variants: S/Red, S/Blue, M/Red, M/Blue, L/Red, L/Blue (6 total)

Opening the Variant Editor

  1. Select a product in the grid
  2. Open using one of these methods:
    • Click the Variants column
    • Click Edit Variants in the toolbar
    • Right-click and select Edit Variants

Interface Layout

The editor has two main sections:

Options Panel (Left)

  • Lists all product options
  • Shows values for each option
  • Add/edit/delete options and values

Variants Grid (Right)

  • Lists all variant combinations
  • Edit price, SKU, inventory, etc.
  • Enable/disable specific variants

Managing Options

Adding a New Option

  1. Click Add Option
  2. Enter the option name (e.g., "Size")
  3. Enter initial values (e.g., "Small, Medium, Large")
  4. Click Add

New variants are created automatically for all combinations.

Editing Option Names

  1. Click the option name
  2. Type the new name
  3. Press Enter to confirm

Adding Option Values

  1. Click Add Value next to the option
  2. Enter the new value
  3. Click Add

New variants are created for the new value combined with all other options.

Reordering Option Values

You can reorder option values using drag and drop:

  1. Hover over the value you want to move
  2. Click and drag the value to the new position
  3. Release to drop it in place

The order of option values affects how variants appear in Shopify and on your storefront. For example, reordering sizes from "Small, Medium, Large" to "Large, Medium, Small" changes the dropdown order customers see.

Tip: Common orderings are Small→Large for sizes, Light→Dark for colors, and Low→High for quantities.

Removing Option Values

  1. Click the X next to a value
  2. Confirm when prompted

Warning: Removing a value deletes all variants using that value.

Removing an Option

  1. Click Delete next to the option name
  2. Confirm when prompted

If only one option remains with one value, the product becomes a simple product.

Editing Variants

Inline Editing

Edit variant fields directly in the grid:

Field Description
Price Variant selling price
Compare At Original price (for sales)
SKU Stock keeping unit
Barcode UPC, EAN, or ISBN
Weight Shipping weight
Inventory Stock quantity
Taxable Whether tax applies
Requires Shipping Physical product flag
Country of Origin 2-letter ISO country code for customs
Province of Origin Province/state code for customs (validated against country)
HS Code Harmonized System code for customs (6-13 digits)

Bulk Editing Variants

Apply the same value to multiple variants:

  1. Select multiple variants (Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click)
  2. Right-click and select Set Value
  3. Choose the field to update
  4. Enter the value
  5. Click Apply

Inventory Management

Setting Inventory

  1. Click the Inventory cell for a variant
  2. Enter the quantity
  3. Save changes

Inventory Tracking

  • Tracked - Shopify manages stock levels
  • Not tracked - Unlimited quantity (services, digital)

Toggle tracking in the variant row.

Multi-Location Inventory

If you have multiple locations:

  1. Click Manage Locations for a variant
  2. Set quantity per location
  3. Click Save

Variant Images

Assign specific images to variants:

  1. Select a variant
  2. Click Assign Image
  3. Choose from product images
  4. Click Apply

This helps customers see the right image when selecting options.

Auto-Generate Variants

When adding options, variants are generated automatically:

  • 1 option with 5 values = 5 variants
  • 2 options with 3 values each = 9 variants
  • 3 options with 3 values each = 27 variants

Shopify limit: Maximum 100 variants per product

Deleting Variants

  1. Select variant(s) in the grid
  2. Click Delete or press Delete key
  3. Confirm when prompted

Note: You cannot delete all variants. At least one must remain.

Saving Changes

Click Save to apply all changes:

  • Option changes (add/remove)
  • Variant field updates
  • Inventory changes

Changes are batched and sent to Shopify efficiently.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Tab Move to next field
Enter Confirm edit, move down
Escape Cancel edit
Delete Delete selected variants
Ctrl+S Save all changes
Ctrl+A Select all variants

Best Practices

  1. Plan options carefully - Changing options later can be complex
  2. Use consistent naming - "Small" not "S" or "Sm"
  3. Set SKUs - Unique identifiers help with inventory
  4. Add barcodes - Required for some sales channels
  5. Don't exceed 100 variants - Shopify's limit

Common Scenarios

Converting Simple to Variable

Add an option to a simple product:

  1. Open Variant Editor
  2. Click Add Option
  3. Enter option name and values
  4. Variants are created automatically

Splitting by Attribute

Create separate options from a combined attribute:

Before: Size option with "Small Red", "Large Blue"

After:

  1. Size option: Small, Large
  2. Color option: Red, Blue

Price by Variant

Different prices for different variants:

  1. Edit each variant's price individually
  2. Or use bulk edit for groups
  3. Use Compare At for original prices

Troubleshooting

"Cannot add more options"

Shopify allows maximum 3 options per product. Consider:

  • Combining related options
  • Using metafields for additional attributes
  • Creating separate products

"Too many variants"

Maximum 100 variants per product:

  • Reduce option values
  • Remove rarely-used combinations
  • Split into multiple products

"Variant SKU already exists"

SKUs must be unique across your store:

  • Check for duplicates
  • Use a consistent SKU format
  • Include option codes in SKU

"Inventory not updating"

  • Ensure inventory tracking is enabled
  • Check if product is managed by another app
  • Verify location settings

See Also