About the hierarchy of item classes /visma-net-erp/help/inventory/manage-stock-and-non-stock-items/about-the-hierarchy-of-item-classes section In Visma Net, item classes are used to group stock or non-stock items with similar properties and to provide default settings for new items. 2026-02-19T17:09:06+01:00 # About the hierarchy of item classes In Visma Net, item classes are used to group stock or non-stock items with similar properties and to provide default settings for new items. The item class: + is a required parameter of a stock item + includes the settings that are used for availability calculation, replenishment, price management, and posting to the general ledger, and + can be used for categorising items. In the [Item classes (IN201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/item-classes-in201000/) window, you can create item classes for stock items as well as for non-stock items of each type that is used in your business. A user specifies an item class when they define a new stock or non-stock item in the [Stock items (IN202500)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/stock-items-in202500/) or [Non-stock items (IN202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/non-stock-items-in202000/) window respectively, and the system fills in many values, thus saving users time and increasing the accuracy of the entered data. ## Planning the item class hierarchy The structure of item class IDs is defined by the **INITEMCLASS** segmented key, which you can review and modify in the [Segment keys (CS202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/common-settings-windows/segment-keys-cs202000/) window. This segmented key has a hierarchical structure which means that each segment of the segmented key defines the hierarchical level. You can review the item class hierarchy in the **Item class tree** pane in the [Item classes (IN201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/item-classes-in201000/) window. In this pane, you will be able to see if an item class is made up of one or more levels by the way the tree is structured. After you have defined the structure of the **INITEMCLASS** segmented key, the system shows the mask that corresponds to this structure in any field that requires the user to enter an item class ID. Here is an example of what a mask for the item class ID with three segments of two symbols each looks like: **-**-**. Segments that are not yet specified are denotated with *****. You can change the default character (**-**) that separates the segments in the [Segment keys (CS202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/common-settings-windows/segment-keys-cs202000/) window. The following diagram shows examples of different levels of item class hierarchy. ![IN_CON_ItemClassDiagram](/media/visma-net-erp/IN_CON_ItemClassDiagram.png)
IF the INITEMCLASS segmented key THEN
has one segment the item classes will have a plain structure with no nested levels. (See Example 1 on the diagram.)
has two or more segments

each segment after the first segment defines a subsequent level of hierarchy.

Note: Item classes that have the second segment specified are displayed at the second level of hierarchy.
An item class segment of the second level directly refers to the parent item class segment of the first level. That is, under different parent item classes, you can create child item classes with the same ID of the second segment but different settings; see **20-10 (Technical literature)** and **30-10 (Paper)** in Example 2 on the diagram above. By adding more segments to the segmented key, you can expand your ability to categorise items by item classes. For instance, you could add a third level (see the hierarchy in Example 3 on the diagram above) to make your inventory categorisation even more comprehensive and flexible. By using the **INITEMCLASS** segmented key, you can specify as many levels as you need. > [!NOTE] > You can append a new segment to the key at any time; however, we recommend that you carefully plan the structure of the segmented key before you start to create and use item classes. ## Entering item class ID segment values When you create a new item class or enter an item class ID in any appropriate field in the system, you have to specify the needed symbols according to the mask of the **INITEMCLASS** segmented key. If you skip any of the characters in any segment, the system shows \* instead of a blank symbol. When you enter an item class ID, you can either enter each segment value manually, or press **F3** and select the segment value from the list. ### First level segment values For the first segment, only the segment values of the first level of hierarchy are displayed in the selection field. ### Subsequent segment values For each subsequent segment, in the selection list, the system shows the child segment values that are appropriate based on the previous segment or segments selected. > [!NOTE] > The way the system narrows the list of segment values based on previously selected values is defined by the **By segments: Child segment values** option selected in the **Lookup mode** field in the [Segment keys (CS202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/common-settings-windows/segment-keys-cs202000/) window; this option is the default for the **INITEMCLASS** segmented key. ## Mass-updating settings of item classes When you change some settings of a parent item class, they will apply to all newly created item classes of this parent item class, but these changes do not influence the settings of the existing child item classes of this parent item class. To simplify the process and automatically apply the settings of the parent item class to all its child item classes: 1. Go to the parent class in the [Item classes (IN201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/item-classes-in201000/) window. 1. Click **Actions - Apply to children** in the window toolbar. 1. Confirm the action. **Result**: All the item classes of this tree node will have identical settings. ## Reviewing the items of the item class You can review the items that belong to a particular item class in the [Items by item class (IN408000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-reports/items-by-item-class-in408000/) window. ### The left pane The left pane of this window shows the tree of item classes. ### The right panel The right pane of the window offers the following views: + Default view, by selecting the **Only related to the current item class** option button, which shows only the items that belong to the selected item class. + Extended view, by selecting the **Related to the current and child item classes** option button, which shows the items that belong to the selected item class, along with items that belong to all child item classes of the selected item class. + Available connections by entering the ID of a particular item in the **Item ID** field, which will show which item class it belongs to and which other items belong to this item class.

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