Product field formats

Use this page when you fill in a product’s custom fields (the misc fields) in cPanel. Maropost saves whatever you type. The altapac.com theme then decides how to read it, and when a value is in the wrong shape it usually shows nothing at all. There’s no error in cPanel and no error on the site.

The tables below cover every product custom field the theme reads, grouped by job. Each one gives the format, an example, what the field does on the site and the mistake that makes it silently disappear.

Examples are real values from the store unless marked otherwise. Counts come from a pull of the 163 bike-rack products on 21 October 2026.

Unconfirmed

• misc11 image size. 346 × 86 px comes from the original field reference. The theme doesn’t enforce a size. It scales the image to the width of the column.
• Feature lists of different lengths. What happens when misc43, misc44 and misc45 have different numbers of items hasn’t been tested. Keep the same number of positions in all three, as every bike rack with cards does.
• Back-office uses. “Ignored by the theme” only covers the website. Some ignored fields may still feed printed documents (misc5 on the delivery docket, per the original reference), Maropost search or filters, or the search index.
• Pre-order setting. The arrival-date behaviour depends on the store not using pre-orders by quantity. It wasn’t, when last checked (27 July 2026).

How to fill a field

1. In cPanel, open the product and find the custom field by its name or misc number. Custom fields are spread across the tabs of the product editor.
2. Check which product template the product uses. Bike racks use the bikeRacks template. Everything else uses the standard product template. Some fields only do something on one of the two (see Which fields work where).
3. Type the value exactly in the format shown in the tables. For lists, use the pipe character | between items and don’t put spaces around it. The theme doesn’t trim spaces.
4. Save the product. Saving also refreshes the product’s cached page and cards.
5. Open the live product page, and a category page that lists it, and check that the value shows. If a field shows nothing, compare it with the “Trap” column before you try anything else.

If a change doesn't appear, save the product again

The product page and product cards are cached. Saving the product refreshes them. The cPanel “clear cache” button doesn’t reliably clear these, so re-save the product instead. Changes sent through the API don’t refresh the cache on their own.

The rules every list field follows

• Pipe, not comma. Every list field splits on |. Older notes say comma-delimited. That’s out of date. A comma list is read as one single item.
• Paired lists match by position. In misc9 and misc19, the first name goes with the first URL, the second with the second, and so on. One missing item shifts every pair after it.
• Empty positions keep their place. A||C is three positions, and C is third. You can use this on purpose to skip a position (misc47 relies on it).
• No | inside the text of an item. A stray pipe in a sentence or description starts a new item and shifts everything after it.

Documents

Shown as a “Resources” panel on the standard product page, and as links in the Description and Specifications sections on bike racks.

Field	cPanel name	Format	Example	What it does	Trap
misc9	Document Names	Pipe list of link labels	Fitting Instructions|Dimensions	Link text for each document	Must have the same number of items as misc19, in the same order
misc19	Document URL’s	Pipe list of URLs, one per name in misc9	https://rockymounts.com/cdn/shop/files/AfterParty_Instruction.pdf|https://rockymounts.com/cdn/shop/files/AfterPartyDimension_Chart.pdf	Where each link goes. Opens in a new tab	Every URL must contain a / or that document is dropped. A bare part number like 610700 is dropped (not live yet, AUD-13)

Documents that silently vanish

• A document only shows when it has both a name and a URL containing /. Anything else is skipped with no error.
• On the standard product page, the whole Resources panel is hidden unless misc9 has something in it and misc19 contains a / somewhere.
• A comma-separated list becomes one link with a broken address.

All 163 bike-rack products have one to three documents, in matching pipe lists (2026-10-21). The examples above are the RockyMounts AfterParty (10270).

Not live yet

On altapac.com today, any misc19 value is linked, so a bare part number such as 610700 shows as a link that opens a page-not-found error, and the Resources panel shows whenever misc9 and misc19 both have something in them. Dropping URLs without a / arrives with the next theme release (AUD-13). Either way, put a real URL in misc19.

Features cards

A horizontal strip of cards, each with an image, a heading and a short description. On the standard page it’s titled “Key Features” and sits at the top of the Description section. On bike racks it’s in the Features section.

Field	cPanel name	Format	Example	What it does	Trap
misc43	Features - Image	Pipe list of image URLs	/assets/alt_5_thumb/50431.jpg|/assets/alt_9_thumb/50431.webp	Card image, one per card	One image per card, in the same order as misc44 and misc45
misc44	Features - Heading Text	Pipe list of short headings	Swing Up Stowage|Easy Boot Access	Card heading	Standard page: if this field is empty, no cards show at all
misc45	Features - Description Text	Pipe list of one-sentence descriptions	The Backstage can fold up when empty to reduce vehicle footprint and clutter|The industry’s first 180 degree swing away platform hitch rack	Card text	Don’t use | inside a description. It splits one card into two and shifts every later card

The examples are the first two cards of the RockyMounts BackStage (50431). 30 of the 163 bike racks have feature cards, and on 15 of them every heading is blank (2026-10-21).

The two templates apply different rules:

• Standard product page: all or nothing. The strip shows only when misc43, misc44 and misc45 all have something in them. Then every position becomes a card, even one with a blank heading or a missing image.
• Bike racks: card by card. A card shows when it has an image and at least a heading or a description. Cards with no image are skipped. The section shows the number of cards (“4 highlights”).

Features that work on one template but not the other

A bike rack can have images and descriptions with misc44 left empty, and its cards will show. Copy the same values to a standard product and nothing shows, because the standard page needs all three fields filled.

Promotion image and card badge

Field	cPanel name	Format	Example	What it does	Trap
misc11	Product Header Promo Image Zone	One image URL, 346 × 86 px	/assets/promos/rhino-nov.jpg (made up)	Campaign image on the product page. Standard page: under the title, above the price. Bike rack: below the buy button	Only shows while the product is on promotion (Maropost’s in-promo state). Outside the promo dates it’s hidden, even when filled
misc29	Product Header Promo Link	One URL	/promotions/rhino-rack-november/ (made up)	Where the misc11 image links to	Does nothing without misc11. If misc11 is set and this is blank, the image links back to the same page
misc21	Image Overlay Badge Name	Short text	Free Gift (made up)	Label on the badge over the product image on grid cards	Grid cards need both misc21 and misc22. misc21 alone shows nothing
misc22	Image Overlay Badge URL	One image URL, a PNG with a transparent background	/assets/badges/gift.png (made up)	Badge image over the product image on grid and list cards	List view ignores misc21 and always labels the badge “Free Gift”

Neither misc21 nor misc22 shows on the product page itself.

Stock flags and lead time

misc12, misc25 and misc26 are the only Boolean (yes/no) custom fields. cPanel calls them true/false. The store keeps them as y and n, which is what the API returns and the theme reads. Set them with the true/false control in cPanel and nothing else.

Field	cPanel name	Format	Example	What it does	Trap
misc12	Direct Ship Only	Boolean	True	Product page, at zero stock: “Shipped from supplier” (not live yet, AUD-52). Cards: always “See Options” instead of Add to Cart (not live yet, AUD-23). Cart: “Shipped from Supplier”	Product page applies it only at zero stock. Cards and cart apply it at any stock level. The product-page buy button ignores it, so at zero stock it can still say “Backorder”
misc25	Special Order Only	Boolean	True	Product page: “Special order” when out of stock or oversellable, “In stock” when held. Cards: “Special Order” button. Cart: “Special Order” badge	The product-page buy button ignores it
misc26	Discontinued Run Out	Boolean	True	”This product has been Discontinued” notice at any stock level. With stock: “Final stock” and “This model is being run out”. At zero stock: “No longer available”, with no buy button on the product page or cards, and a “No longer available” badge in the cart (cards and cart not live yet, AUD-25)	On cards, Direct Ship Only and variation parents are checked first, so a discontinued direct-ship product still shows “See Options” on cards
misc14	Estimated Lead Time	Whole number of days	5 (76 bike racks; 48 hold 0)	Adds a lead-time line under the availability label: “Usually leaves the supplier in 5 days” (direct ship), “Usually available in 5 days” (special order), “Expected in 5 days” (incoming stock with no future arrival date), “Usually back in stock in 5 days” (backorder)	Blank or 0 means no line. There is no default. It’s never shown on in-stock, sold-out or discontinued products
misc7	Dropship Statement	Text	Ships direct from the supplier in Melbourne. Allow 5 to 10 business days. (made up)	Any text adds an “Availability information for this product” button on both templates. It opens a pop-up showing this text	Not tied to misc12. It shows whenever it has text, whatever the stock state, except a lone N, which counts as off. 32 bike racks hold N and show no button

Not live yet

On altapac.com today, Direct Ship Only shows “Shipped from supplier” on the product page at any stock level, and cards ignore it and show the normal stock button, usually Add to Cart. A discontinued product with no stock left can still get a Backorder button on cards and “Backorder Available” in the cart. The product page’s Discontinued notice also ends with a “More info” link that goes nowhere. The behaviour in the table, and the notice without that link, arrive with the next theme release (AUD-52, AUD-23, AUD-25, AUD-49).

Card text

Field	cPanel name	Format	Example	What it does	Trap
misc4	Manufacturer’s Sku	Text	SBR002 (on Shingleback 2BLR)	Replaces the SKU shown on product cards	Cards show this instead of the store SKU. The product page still shows the store SKU, so the two won’t match
misc13	Vehicle Fitment	Vehicle text only	Toyota HiLux 2015 onwards (made up)	Fitment line on product cards. On bike racks, also in the “Good to know” box	Don’t type “For”. Grid cards add “For ” in front, so For Toyota HiLux shows as “For For Toyota HiLux”. List view and the bike-rack box print it as typed. Not shown on the standard product page
misc27	Thumb Description	Short text, about one sentence	Adds a third bike to the OutWay. (made up: no bike-rack product had one on 2026-10-21)	Bike racks: the reason line on an add-on card, read from the add-on product. List view: the hidden description for search engines, cut at 157 characters	Doesn’t replace the visible short description anywhere. To matter on an add-on card, set it on the add-on, not on the rack

Bike-rack only fields

These do nothing on the standard product template.

Field	cPanel name	Format	Example	What it does	Trap
misc2	Range Nudge	SKU|sentence: the SKU of the product you’re pointing to, a pipe, then one sentence	9012100|No hitch receiver? The OutPace 2-Bike mounts on a 50mm tow ball. (on the RockyMounts AfterParty; 103 racks have a nudge)	A callout in the Specifications section with the sentence and a link to that product. The link text is the target’s live product name	Hidden if the target SKU is deleted, disabled, unapproved or misspelt. No | inside the sentence. Only shows when the rack has a Bikes Carried, Max Weight Per Bike or Max Combined Bike Weight item specific
misc20	Video Attachments	One bare YouTube video ID	dPmdcvvhxr8 (the 11 characters after v= in a YouTube link; 61 racks have one)	Adds a video slide and thumbnail to the bike-rack gallery	A full URL, or two IDs separated by commas, gives a broken video slide. One video per product
misc47	Not recorded	Pipe list of four headings, in this order: description headline, Features heading, Specifications heading, Add-ons heading	Two bikes, any hatch, no towbar.||The Numbers| (the only rack using it, 994001: sets the headline and the Specifications heading)	Overrides the section headings on that rack	Leave a position empty to keep its default. A fifth or later position is ignored. Headings only, no sentences

misc47 defaults when a position is empty:

Position	Heading	Default
1	Description headline	”Bikes Carried, Vehicle Mount mounted” from the item specifics. If either is missing, the product name
2	Features	Built for the getaway
3	Specifications	The numbers
4	Add-ons	Finish the setup

Fields the theme ignores

These exist in cPanel but no part of the site’s theme reads them as product fields. Filling them changes nothing on the product page or cards.

Field	cPanel name	Note
misc16	Curated Image URL	Not used. Older notes say it is
misc28	Kit-Includes	Not used. Its cPanel description was copied from misc27
misc1, misc3, misc6, misc8, misc10, misc24	Testing, Shipping Notes, Upsell Field Name, Banner URL, MAPCODE, Vehicle Fitment Details	Deprecated
misc5	Flush Bar Measurements	Not used on the website
misc23, misc30, misc31, misc33	Colour, Compatibility Year Start, Compatibility Year End, Fitting Price	Not used on the website

Store Finder records have their own misc1 to misc5 fields (opening hours and the location page slug). They’re a separate field set and have nothing to do with the product fields of the same numbers.

Standard fields the theme repurposes

These are stock Maropost fields, but the theme gives them a job or a placement you wouldn’t expect.

Field	What the theme does with it	Trap
Subtitle	Grey line under the product heading on both templates, and under the name in variation rows	56 characters at most. The store cuts anything longer with no error
Page heading (SEO), API name SEOPageHeading	Replaces the product heading (H1) on both templates. Blank means the product name	Changes the heading shoppers see, not just the search listing
Short Description	Standard page: paragraph in the buying column. Bike racks: paragraph under the heading. List view cards: the card text. The store also builds the meta description from it (“Name - Brand - short description”)	Not shown on grid cards. The store cuts it at 255 characters, mid-word, so keep it to 250
Availability Description	Bike racks only: an “Availability Information” box under the short description	Ignored on the standard template. Use misc7 there
Date of arrival	Acts as the pre-order switch (see below)	Setting a future date on a product with stock turns it into a pre-order
Product Type	”Type” row in the standard Specifications table. On bike-rack add-on cards, the small label above the add-on’s name	—
Features, Warranty	Standard page: their own sections, with tabs at the top that only appear when filled. Bike racks: Features becomes a check list in the Features section, Warranty its own section	—
Terms	Bike racks only: its own section when filled	Ignored on the standard template
Weight	Shown as “Shipping weight”	On bike racks, the rack’s own weight comes from the Rack Weight item specific, not this field
Extra options, variations, editable kits	Cards show “See Options” instead of Add to Cart	—

Not live yet

On altapac.com today, the standard product page prints the Subtitle twice: once as the grey line under the heading and again as a paragraph below the buy button. Printing it once arrives with the next theme release (AUD-45).

Date of arrival is the pre-order switch

On this store, a future arrival date is what makes a product a pre-order. There isn’t a separate “this is a pre-order” setting. What the date does depends on stock:

Product state	A future arrival date means
Has stock	Product page reads “Pre-order available” and cards show a Pre-Order button (not live yet on grid cards, AUD-66)
Out of stock, incoming stock on a purchase order	”More on the way”, with “Arriving” and the date
Out of stock, nothing incoming	The date does nothing. The page shows “Backorder available” or “Sold out”

Incoming stock comes from purchase orders, not from anything you type on the product. A past date is ignored.

Not live yet

On altapac.com today, grid cards label the pre-order button “Special Order”. The “Pre-Order” label arrives with the next theme release (AUD-66).

Don't set an arrival date on a product that still has stock

Unless you mean it to be a pre-order. The product page switches to “Pre-order available” with no warning.

What breaks: common mistakes

All of these fail silently. The product saves, and the page just leaves the content out.

Silent failures

• Comma instead of pipe in misc9, misc19, misc43 to misc45, misc2 or misc47.
• misc9 and misc19 out of step. One missing name or URL shifts every later link onto the wrong document.
• A document URL with no /, such as a bare part number. That document is dropped (not live yet, AUD-13; today it’s a broken link).
• Only one or two of misc43, misc44, misc45 filled on a standard product. No feature cards at all.
• A | inside a feature description or nudge sentence. Shifts the list or cuts the sentence.
• A full YouTube link, or more than one ID, in misc20. Broken video.
• ”For” typed into misc13. Shows as “For For” on grid cards.
• misc21 without misc22. No badge on grid cards.
• misc11 filled on a product that isn’t on promotion. Image hidden.
• misc14 left blank and expecting a default lead time. There is none.
• misc2 pointing to a disabled or misspelt SKU, or on a rack with no capacity item specifics. Callout hidden.
• misc27 set on the rack instead of the add-on product. The add-on card has no reason line.
• A future arrival date on an in-stock product. It becomes a pre-order.
• Spaces around the pipe. The theme keeps them as part of the value, which matters most for the SKU in misc2.

Which fields work where

Field	Standard product page	Bike-rack page	Product cards
misc2	—	Yes	—
misc4	—	—	Yes
misc7	Yes	Yes	—
misc9, misc19	Yes	Yes	—
misc11, misc29	Yes, in promo	Yes, in promo	—
misc12, misc25, misc26	Yes	Yes	Yes (misc12 and sold-out misc26 not live yet, AUD-23, AUD-25)
misc13	—	Yes	Yes
misc14	Yes	Yes	—
misc20	—	Yes	—
misc21	—	—	Grid only
misc22	—	—	Grid and list
misc27	—	On add-on cards	List view, hidden
misc43, misc44, misc45	Yes, all three needed	Yes, card by card	—
misc47	—	Yes	—

For developers

This page is based on the development branch of Altapac-ReDev, read on 21 October 2026. Paths are relative to src/templates/.

• products/includes/documents.template.html, products/template.html (Resources gate)
• products/includes/product_information.template.html, products/includes/features.template.html
• products/includes/bikerack/template.html (feature count, misc47 defaults), bikerack/features.template.html, bikerack/labels.template.html, bikerack/specifications.template.html (misc2, documents), bikerack/description.template.html, bikerack/gallery.template.html, bikerack/addon_card.template.html, bikerack/buycard.template.html, bikerack/titlecol.template.html, bikerack/schema.template.html, bikerack/defaults.template.html
• products/includes/availability_state.template.html, products/includes/availability.template.html, products/includes/modals.template.html, products/includes/buying_options.template.html, products/includes/child_products.template.html, products/includes/reviews.template.html
• thumbs/product/template.html (grid), thumbs/product/list.template.html. thumbs/product/home-card.template.html exists, but nothing loads it on development or main
• cart/shopping_cart.template.html
• References: .claude/skills/base-templating/references/value-formats.md (Boolean y/n, field types, arrival date probes), tag-reference.md (empty split positions), caching.md (product save refreshes cache entries)
• Lint: scripts/base-lint.cjs BOOLEAN_MISC

Known theme bugs behind some of the traps: list view hard-codes “Free Gift”; misc12 stock gating differs between the product page and cards, cart and JSON-LD; the product-page buy button ignores misc12 and misc25; cards test misc12 before misc26.