Facets and Community Facet Tree (Facet Classifier)

A Facet in Actualog is a tag-like classification concept used to describe what something is related to without changing its product data template.

Facets are designed for flexible, multi-dimensional classification across the platform. They help people find and filter:

  • Products
  • Categories
  • Companies
  • Users / Experts
  • (Where enabled) Catalogs and other published collections

Facets are intentionally different from Categories:

  • Category = “What is this product?” (a product class with an attribute template)
  • Facet = “Which dimension does it belong to?” (industry, application, function, market, technology, etc.)

Why facets exist

In industrial product data you often need to classify the same item from multiple perspectives, for example:

  • Industry / vertical (Oil & Gas, Food & Beverage, Healthcare)
  • Application (HVAC, Automation, Power Distribution)
  • Technology (IoT-enabled, Laser-based, Composite materials)
  • Compliance or standards (ATEX-ready, IEC-related)
  • Market segmentation (OEM, Aftermarket, MRO)

A single product category cannot express all these “views” safely. Facets solve this by providing orthogonal classification dimensions that are searchable and reusable.

Community Facet Tree

Each professional Community has its own Facet Tree (also called the Facet Classifier).

Think of it as a curated hierarchy of tags designed for that community’s domain.

  • The tree usually starts with a small number of top-level branches (broad dimensions).
  • Each branch contains deeper levels, so users can select more precise facets.
  • The same facet can be reused in multiple communities, or a facet can be unique to a specific community if needed.
  • The ordering of facets in the tree is controlled by the community so navigation stays predictable.

Important: the facet tree is about how to browse and filter; it does not change the category template or attribute model.

How facets relate to other entities

Facets are a cross-cutting classification layer. In practice:

Facets + Users (Experts)

  • Add facets to your profile to describe your expertise and domain focus.
  • This makes you discoverable when colleagues search within a community.

Facets + Companies

  • Companies use facets to describe their market presence and capabilities (industries served, technologies, services).
  • This improves partner discovery and matching in the ecosystem.

Facets + Categories

  • Facets can tag categories to improve browsing and to help users navigate large taxonomies.
  • They act as “fast navigation handles” without creating redundant category nodes.

Facets + Products

  • Products inherit their facet scope from their Categories. Actualog does not maintain a second Product-to-Facet relationship.
  • Choose the correct Category facets to improve Product search, filtering, and discovery consistently across every Product in that taxonomy scope.

Facets + Catalogs (where enabled)

  • Catalogs can be facet-tagged to describe what the catalog is about (event theme, customer segment, procurement program, etc.).
  • This makes catalogs easier to find and reuse.

How to add facets (picker and autocomplete)

Actualog provides two complementary ways to select facets:

  1. Autocomplete (fast add)
  • Start typing in a facet box.
  • Select the facet from the suggestions list.
  • Best when you already know the term.
  1. Facet Tree selection (guided browsing)
  • Click the pencil icon to open the tree view.
  • Expand branches and pick facets from the hierarchy.
  • Best when you want to browse the community’s classification structure or you’re unsure which facet is best.

Selected facets are shown as tags and can be removed if needed.

Best practices

  • Prefer specific (leaf) facets over broad top-level facets.
  • Don’t duplicate meaning: if two facets mean the same thing, merge them (use synonyms at the term level where supported).
  • Use facets for “perspectives”, not for product structure:
    • Structure → Categories
    • Dimensions → Attributes
    • Discovery/segmentation → Facets
  • Keep your profile and company facets up to date—it directly affects discoverability and relevant recommendations.

What facets enable (today and next)

Facets are not only “tags”. They unlock platform capabilities such as:

  • consistent filtering across lists (companies, users, categories, products)
  • community-specific navigation experiences (the curated facet tree)
  • better marketplace organization (segment-based storefront browsing)
  • (Planned/expanding) personalization, recommendations, and notifications based on facet interest