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Overview

Real-time collaboration lets multiple team members edit the same merchandising rule or sort order at the same time. You can see who else is on the page, track their cursors, leave threaded comments, and receive in-app notifications — all without overwriting each other’s work. Collaboration is available on:
  • Merchandising rule editor — presence avatars, live cursors, field locking, drag locking, and comments
  • Sort order editor — presence avatars, live cursors, field locking, and comments
  • Notification center — comment replies, store invite notifications with accept/decline actions
Real-time collaboration is enabled by your account administrator. If you don’t see collaboration features, contact your admin or reach out to support.
The example below shows teammates working in the same merchandising rule with live collaboration visible in the editor. Animated example of teammates collaborating in real time on a merchandising rule

Presence avatars

When two or more people are viewing the same page, colored avatar circles appear in the page header showing who is currently active. Each avatar displays the user’s initials in their assigned color. Colors are drawn from a curated palette designed for maximum contrast, so every teammate is easy to distinguish at a glance.
  • Up to three avatars are shown at once. If more people are present, a +N badge indicates additional viewers.
  • Click the avatar row to open a list of everyone on the page.
  • Users who have been inactive for 60 seconds appear faded and are labeled Away.
  • Each user keeps the same color across avatars, cursors, field locks, drag ghosts, and comment pins for the duration of a session.

Live cursors

As teammates move their mouse across the page, you see their cursor in real time. Each cursor is color-coded and labeled with the user’s first name so you always know who is working where.

Field locking

When a teammate focuses on a form field, that field is automatically locked for everyone else. This prevents two people from editing the same setting at the same time.
  • A colored border appears around the locked field, matching the editor’s assigned color.
  • A name badge floats above the field showing who is editing it.
  • Locked fields are non-interactive for other users until the editor moves to a different field.
Fields protected by locking in the merchandising rule editor include the rule name, enabled toggle, collection handle, sort order, sell-out deletion, sequential grouping, variant breakouts, and scheduling settings. Fields protected by locking in the sort order editor include the sort order nickname and code.

Drag locking

In the merchandising rule editor, when a teammate drags a product to reorder it, that item is locked so no one else can move it at the same time. The lock is released as soon as the drag is complete.

Live drag preview

While a teammate is dragging, you see their action in real time:
  • A ghost card follows their cursor, showing the product being moved along with the teammate’s name badge.
  • The product grid reorders live as the dragger hovers over different positions, so you can preview where the product will land before it is dropped.
  • The original slot shows a colored dashed placeholder in the dragger’s assigned color, making it easy to see where the product came from.

Comments

Leave threaded comments anywhere on a merchandising rule or sort order page. Comments are pinned to specific positions on the page so your team can discuss changes in context. This example shows how to enter comment mode, place a comment, and continue the conversation in context. Animated example of adding threaded comments to a merchandising rule

Place a comment

  1. Click the comment icon in the toolbar, or press C on your keyboard to enter comment mode.
  2. Click anywhere on the page to place a comment pin.
  3. Type your message in the composer that appears and submit.

View and reply to comments

  • Click any comment pin to open the thread and see all replies. Each pin shows the author’s initials in their assigned color so you can quickly identify who started the conversation.
  • Pins display a counter badge when a thread has multiple messages.
  • Resolved threads appear faded to distinguish them from active discussions.

Exit comment mode

Press Escape or click the comment icon again to leave comment mode. An unresolved comment count badge appears on the toolbar button when there are open threads.

Notification center

The notification center is accessible from the bell icon in the dashboard header. It collects all of your real-time notifications in one place so you never miss an update from your team.

What triggers a notification

  • Comment replies — when a teammate replies to a thread you started or participated in, you receive a notification with a preview of the message. You can reply directly from the notification panel without leaving your current page.
  • Store invites — when you are invited to a new store, a notification appears with the inviter’s name and the store name. You can Accept or Decline the invite directly from the notification.

Using the notification center

  1. Click the bell icon in the top-right corner of the dashboard to open the notification panel.
  2. An unread count badge appears on the bell when you have unread notifications.
  3. Click Mark all as read at the top of the panel to clear the unread count.
  4. Click any comment notification to expand it. Use the Reply button to respond inline without navigating away.
  5. Store invite notifications display Accept and Decline buttons. Once you act on an invite, the notification is removed.

Form state recovery

The sort order, merchandising rule, and attribute editors automatically save your unsaved changes in the background. If you navigate away or close the browser before saving, your work is preserved and can be restored when you return.

How it works

When you make changes to a form without saving:
  1. After one second of inactivity, your unsaved edits are saved locally in your browser.
  2. When you return to the same editor, a notification appears showing when the unsaved changes were made (for example, “From 2h ago”).
  3. Click Restore to reload your unsaved changes, or dismiss the notification to discard them and start fresh.
Saved form data expires automatically after 24 hours. If another team member updates the same record while you are away, the stale local data is discarded to avoid overwriting their changes.
Form state recovery is disabled when real-time collaboration is active on a merchandising rule. In that case, changes are synced live between collaborators instead.

Where form state recovery is available

  • Sort order editor — form fields and configuration
  • Merchandising rule editor — form fields, pinned products, and expression settings
  • Attribute editor — form fields and configuration

Graceful degradation

If real-time collaboration is not enabled for your account, the merchandising rule and sort order editors work exactly as before — you won’t see any collaboration UI elements, and all editing features remain fully functional. Form state recovery works independently and is always available.

Next steps