Set up Scruff's metafields

Scruff's features read three kinds of data, none of which needs an app:

• Metafields in the custom namespace (the one Shopify admin uses when you create a definition): seven on products and one on variants.
• Theme settings in Theme settings › Pet profile, Sizing, Personalisation and Feeding and autoship, and the blocks' own settings: your size names and weight ranges, your default size table, your breeds, threads and tag fonts.
• Product option names and values, for sizes, tag shapes and finishes, and strap colours, and a product tag, personalise, for the products you engrave or embroider.

Scruff doesn't use metaobjects, so there is nothing to set up under Content › Metaobjects. You only need the data for the features you use, and nothing breaks while you fill it in: each part of a feature shows only when it has data, and the theme settings give every product sensible defaults.

In Shopify admin, metafield definitions live under Settings › Custom data (called Metafields and metaobjects in newer versions of the admin).

The metafields Scruff reads

Keys are exact and case-sensitive. The name is yours to choose: it's what you see when you edit a product.

A Specification row block can show any other product metafield you create, such as a material (chapter 6).

How to fill them in

Size weights (custom.size_weights): only for a product whose sizes don't match your theme-wide Weight range per size, such as a harness that runs small. One size per line, the size name exactly as in the product's Size option, a |, then the weight range:

XS | 0–4 kg
S | 4–9 kg
M | 9–18 kg
L | 18–32 kg
XL | 32+ kg

• Write the range with a dash (0-4 or 0–4) or "to" (4 to 9 kg), and end it with kg or lb. A range without a unit is read as kg.
• 32+ kg means 32 kg and up, with no upper limit.
• Pounds work too, and are converted to kilograms at 0.45359237: S | 9–20 lb, XL | 70+ lb.
• A header line such as Size | Weight is ignored, and so are blank lines and lines starting with #.
• Sizes not listed get no range. If none of the product's sizes match a line, cards show "Check size".

Species (custom.species): Dog, Cat, or both for a product that suits either. Capitals don't matter, and "Dogs" and "Cats" work too. A product with no species shows for every pet; leave it empty on bowls, beds and anything else that suits both. Make it a list: a single line "Dog, Cat" reads as one value that matches neither.

Size table (custom.size_table): only for a product whose measurements differ from your Default size table. The header line first, then one size per line, columns separated by |:

Size | Neck cm | Chest cm | Weight kg
XS | 20–26 | 28–36 | 0–4
S | 26–32 | 36–46 | 4–9
M | 32–42 | 46–60 | 9–18
L | 42–52 | 60–76 | 18–32
XL | 52–62 | 76–92 | 32+

• The first column is the size, written exactly as in the product's Size option.
• A column whose heading says cm or in is a measurement: shoppers can switch it between centimetres and inches. Write Neck in for a table in inches.
• A column whose heading says kg, lb or weight is a weight. It's shown as written, never converted. The size guide's suggestion uses your weight ranges instead (chapter 9), so keep this column the same as them. 32+ means 32 and up.
• Any other column, such as Fits, is shown as written. Add more measurement columns the same way, such as Back length cm.
• A table with no header line gets the default headings, so always write one.

Feeding guide (custom.feeding_guide): copy the feeding table from the bag. One line per weight, the pet's weight in kilograms, a |, then grams of food per day. A header line is skipped:

Weight kg | Grams per day
2 | 55
5 | 105
10 | 165
15 | 215
20 | 265
30 | 350
40 | 430

The weights must be in kilograms even if your bag lists pounds, and the amounts in grams. Write plain numbers (165, not 165 g or 150–180); for a range on the bag, use the middle. Chapter 11 shows how the calculator reads between the lines.

Net grams (custom.net_grams): on each variant, the food in that bag in whole grams: 6000 for 6 kg, 1500 for 1.5 kg, 800 for 800 g. A variant without it shows the daily amount but not how long the bag lasts.

Free from (custom.free_from): short phrases, one per value, such as "Grain free", "Chicken free", "No added sugar". Each becomes a chip.

Ingredients (custom.ingredients): the ingredient list as it's printed, with line breaks if you want paragraphs (such as a second paragraph for the analysis). Use Multi-line text, not Rich text.

Card meta (custom.card_meta): one short line, such as the material. It replaces the type and size count on that product's card.

Step 1: create the definitions

In admin, go to Settings › Custom data › Products and click Add definition for each product metafield you need:

1. Type the Name: Size weights, Species, Size table, Feeding guide, Free from, Ingredients or Card meta.
2. Check the Namespace and key under it and change it to exactly the key in the table. Shopify suggests custom. plus the name, so "Size weights" gives custom.size_weights, but a name like "Feeding guide (grams)" would give something like custom.feeding_guide_grams, which the theme won't find. Change it to custom.feeding_guide.
3. Click Select type and choose the type in the table: Multi-line text for size weights, size table, feeding guide and ingredients; Single line text for species, free from and card meta. For Species and Free from, change One value to List of values.
4. Save.

Then go to Settings › Custom data › Variants and add Net grams: key custom.net_grams, type Integer, One value. Add a minimum of 1 under the validations, if your admin offers it, so a wrong number can't be saved.

If Search & Discovery later doesn't offer Species as a filter source, open the definition again and check its access and filter options: the wording depends on your admin version.

Step 2: fill them in

Open a product in admin and scroll to Metafields. For Net grams, click each variant in the product's Variants list and fill it in on the variant's page. To fill in many at once, select your products, use Bulk edit and add the metafield columns there. Metafields can also go through a product CSV, once they're defined.

The multi-line fields keep line breaks: press Enter between lines.

Step 3: set up the filters

Install Shopify's free Search & Discovery app and add Size, Species (from custom.species) and Colour as filters. Shop by size links to the Size filter. Chapter 13 has the steps.

Step 4: check

• Save a pet in the header chip, then open a collection: products with a Size option should show "Fits Mabel", "Too small for Mabel" or "Check size". A product for the other species shows no bone.
• Open a product with its own custom.size_weights: the fit row should give its range ("M fits 9 to 18 kg").
• Open a product with custom.size_table and click Size guide: the table should be yours, and the size tiles should show your neck ranges.
• Open a food on product.food: the calculator should say "About 185 g a day" and "This 6 kg bag lasts about 32 days." for a 12 kg pet with the sample guide above, the chips should sit under the price, and the Ingredients accordion should open.

If a value doesn't show, check the namespace and key first, then the owner (product or variant), then the type.