Short Description / Description field, import Custom Attribute field

Question

Example:

A product has a custom attribute called "wheel_size_1mm" where I choose from a drop down the size of the wheel.

Is there an html code or similar I can use in "Description" / "Short Description" fields that will display that attribute?

In the WYSIWYG editor I've seen the following option "Insert/edit attributes" but I can't find any documentation for this and assume it's not actually related to pulling any information from custom attributes. I've played with it but no luck.

But:

I know you're going to say, why do you need that info when it's already displayed in the "Additional Info" section.

Well, I have an extension for bundled products that pulls images and the short description for bundled simple products, to show customers better what they're choosing instead of just a dropdown list. Here's an example you can check out: https://www.newtons-shred.co.uk/courtney-conlogue-carver-pro-model-surfskate.html

The extension is BunbledMojo IIRC.

So I really want to remove the hassle of manually updating product "Description" / "Short Description" fields, and work the product attributes instead.

Effectively turning catalogue updating into a data entry task.

So:

Can magento handle this with some built in feature I'm missing? Or do I need to look into export/import automated alternatives? Do I need to upgrade from 1.7 to a version with this feature?

My IT partner tells me the Magento database is a clusterfudge and a pain to work with, otherwise this kind of thing would be easy to do.

Answer 1

No, that's not possible with any built in feature, also not in later versions. You might have luck with this "insert/edit attributes" button in the WYSIWYG editor but this is not a core feature, and I have no idea from which extension it comes and what it does.

But if you are comfortable with Magento module development, you can add this feature with very little code:

Write an observer for catalog_controller_product_view like this:

public function replaceAttributePlaceholders(Varien_Event_Observer $observer)
{
    $product = $observer->getProduct();
    $attributeCodes = ['description', 'short_description'];
    foreach ($attributeCodes as $_code) {
        $product->setData(
            $_code,
            $this->_replacePlaceholders(
                $originalAttributeValue,
                $product->getData($_code)
            );
        }
    }
}
protected function _replacePlaceholders($value, $product)
{
    return preg_replace_callback(
        '/\{\{(\w+)\}\}/',         // matches "{{XXX}}"
        function($matches) use ($product) {
            return $product->getData($matches[1]);
        },
        $value
    );
}

Then you can use {{wheel_size_1mm}} within description and short description, it will be replaced by the attribute value before the product page gets rendered.