Aliases for Item Names?

Hello, Is it possible to have one or more aliases for an Item name that is also searchable when entering an item in a Sales Order… but then is listed a the primary name when selected? Here is the scenario… the example below is related to the naming of gasoline.

We have an item named “97E10” which is the correct and industry standard name for this product (it stands for “97 Octane with 10% Ethanol” gasoline). However, we also have customers who have easier to remember names for the same product. One customer wants to call this “Super” and the next wants to call it “High Test”. These aliases are common slang names for gas in the US.

Is there a way to create an alias for an item name? When adding a product in the Sales order we would like to be able to type (search) for “97E10” or “Super” or “High Test”… however when it goes into the list of items for the order… we just want it to show “97E10”.

I do know that I can name the item “97E10 Super High Test”, which would allow the search capability to work… however, I really don’t want a concatenated list of the product name and aliases to be in the Sales Invoice. Instead, I really only want the industry standard name.

Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks!

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Good Afternoon Rich,

You pose an interesting question. And I think there might just be a way to “trick” ERPNext into doing this for you. :nerd_face:

So follow closely here…

Items (such as 97E10) can have more than one barcode to identify it in the system. In my system I use this function to allow multiple manufacturer UPC codes for the same product based on which supplier I buy them from. I also add the Item Code to the list of barcodes for an Item so that in the event of a missing label I can just print one of my own.

Regardless of which of the multiple barcodes I use to search, they all pull in the same Item.

Now, how does that apply to you, you may ask.

Well, when you are searching for Items to add to a list in a Sales Invoice, you can either scan the barcode into the search box or start typing the “contents of the barcode” and get the same result!

So, possibly create Code128 barcodes where the word “Super” is what is encoded into the barcode and add it to the list of barcodes for the “97E10” Item.

Now when you either scan the “Super” code or type “Super” into the search box it should bring up the “97E10” Item.

It is really quite a simple solution even if it is a little off center of a direct alias that you ask about.

Your thoughts?

Hope this helps, and as always–> Your Mileage May Vary! :sunglasses:

BKM

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BTW… (it is nice to know there is another ERPNExt user so close and just north)

Just to be even more specific about the barcodes,

You do NOT have to select one of the default barcode types available in the ERPNext list of valid barcodes. All you have to add is the "contents’ of the barcode and leave the actual barcode type field blank. ERPNext doesn’t police the barcode type field ‘unless’ you actually try to put something into it. :grin:

The secret is that a barcode scanner is really viewed as a really fast keyboard. So whatever you scan is just like you typed it super fast.

This really does work.

BKM

brilliant solution.

BKM, this is awesome… thank you for thinking outside of the box. I will definitely try this!

RE: another ERPNext user so close and just north. I’m in Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. I’ll message you. :slight_smile:

Hi!

I think you could solve this by entering alternative references in “Customer details” section, on Item form. You will found the “main” item by searching this secondary references.

You can assign the secondary reference to a specified customer, but ERPNext will find the item anyway, even working with a different customer (i don’t know if it is a desired behavior or maybe a bug)

Hope this helps you!

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Jeez. That’s a real good solution. Thank you.

Hi there @avc,

When I had some time yesterday I played around with your idea for helping to find items using the alternative references in Customer Details section.

You are correct that this does seem to work. However, reading the documentation on the feature, it does not appear that it was supposed to work with any customer other than the one specified.

This is really another amazing discovery of a way to find Items based on alternate references, but in this case I believe you guessed correctly that this may be a bug that will likely get fixed at some point. We probably should not try to depend on it for very long as a solution.

:100: points for thinking outside the box!

BKM :nerd_face: