Styles
The Styles application in the Supplier Portal is your central list of product styles your customer has shared with your supplier account. Use the style search view to find development records quickly, monitor season and status progress, export data for internal planning, and open individual styles for specifications, samples, comments, and files.
Quick Check - Before You Start
- Confirm you are logged in to the correct Supplier Portal account and customer connection — open Active Instance if you work with more than one brand.
- Check that Styles appears in the left navigation menu; if it is missing, your Supplier Portal role may not include View access for Style.
- Enable Style notifications in Profile › Notification Preferences so you are alerted when new styles are shared or sample reports are updated.
- Have style numbers or descriptions ready if you plan to search by keyword; avoid spaces in style identifiers where possible.
Who This Helps
The Styles search view serves different audiences across the supply chain. Understanding how each group uses it reduces missed sample deadlines, duplicate emails, and incorrect assumptions about what can be changed in the portal.
| Audience | How Styles helps them | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Suppliers | See every style your customer has shared with your factory or agent account; filter by type, gender, size scale, season, and status; export lists for development planning; save favourite searches for recurring workflows (for example, active styles in the current season). | Styles are view-only by default. You only see records explicitly shared with your supplier account — not your customer's full style library. |
| Supplier staff | Designers, sample coordinators, and merchandisers can use the same shared list without asking instance users for spreadsheets. Favourite Searches and Export support hand-offs between teams. | Each staff member needs their own portal login via Invite Staff. Favourites are saved per user, not shared across your organisation automatically. |
| Instance users (your customer's internal team) | When suppliers monitor styles in the portal, product developers and merchandisers spend less time sending status spreadsheets. Suppliers who complete sample requirements and reports on time improve development visibility on the customer side. | You must assign your supplier as the Factory or Agent on each style and grant a Supplier Portal role with Style View enabled. Unshared styles never appear for the supplier. |
| Brand customers | Indirect benefit: their instance users collaborate with suppliers through a single platform, improving sample turnaround and visibility into shared development work. | Customers do not log into the Supplier Portal; they work in the Production Portal through their instance users. |
| Administrators | Site Settings › Company › Suppliers, Site Settings › Portal › General Settings, and Site Settings › Style › General Settings control which modules, pricing fields, sample permissions, and documents suppliers see on styles. | Misconfigured roles, portal display settings, or missing style member assignments are the most common reasons suppliers report "missing" styles or unexpected pricing visibility. |
View-Only Access by Default
Most Supplier Portal applications are view-only. Instance users create and manage styles in the Production Portal. In the Supplier Portal, you review shared records, respond through Comments, Chat, and Activity, and — where your customer has enabled it — enter sample costs, edit sample reports, or update selected fields. If you need access to an area that is not visible, contact your customer's administrator or instance user.
Accessing Styles
Open Styles from the left navigation menu in the Supplier Portal. The style search view opens by default and lists every style currently shared with your supplier account.
You can also reach styles from:
- Dashboard: Click the Styles card to open the application and review summary counts (styles, samples, activities, and comments). Click Activities to open Outstanding Activities.
- Activity: Click a style-related notification to open the linked record in context.
- Favourite Searches: Reopen a saved style search view you created earlier.
Style Search View
The style search view is designed for day-to-day development monitoring. It combines keyword search, advanced filters, layout options, and export tools so you can work with large style volumes without losing context.
Keyword Search
Use the search bar at the top of the view to find styles by keyword. Keywords typically match style numbers, descriptions, and other indexed fields on shared records.
Common Pitfall
Style numbers and other key identifiers should not contain spaces. Spaces in these fields can cause inconsistent search results and make filtering less reliable. Use a hyphen (-) or underscore (_) as a separator instead (for example, STY-001 rather than STY 001). If a search returns no results, try the exact style number your customer quoted in email or on a tech pack.
Advanced Filters
Open Advanced Search to narrow the list with structured filters. The following filters are available in the Supplier Portal style search view:
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | Filter by product or style type. Options depend on what your customer configured in Site Settings › Style › Type. |
| Gender | Filter by target gender for the style. Options come from Site Settings › Style › Gender. |
| Size Scale | Filter by the size scale assigned to the style. Options come from Site Settings › Style › Size Scales. |
| Season | Filter by the fashion season assigned to the style. Options depend on Site Settings › Style › Season. |
| Status | Filter by current style status (for example, Draft, Approved, Cancelled). Status values are defined in your customer's Site Settings › Style › General Settings. |
Combine filters to build precise views — for example, all Approved styles for a given Season and Gender with a specific Size Scale.
Common Pitfall
Overly narrow filter combinations are a frequent cause of empty search results. If Type, Gender, Size Scale, Season, and Status do not match the values on your shared styles, the list will appear blank even though records exist. Clear filters one at a time to identify which criterion is excluding results.
Grid and List View
Switch between Grid and List view using the layout toggle in the search view toolbar.
| View | Best for |
|---|---|
| List | Scanning many styles quickly, comparing columns side by side, and exporting structured data. |
| Grid | Visual review when preview images are available and you want a card-style layout. |
Your selected layout preference is retained for the current session. Saved Favourite Searches restore the layout that was active when you saved the favourite.
Results Per Page
Control how many styles appear on each page of results. Choose 25, 50, or 100 styles per page from the pagination control at the bottom of the search view.
Use a smaller page size when you need faster load times on slower connections. Use 100 when reviewing a large shared season and exporting is not required.
Common Pitfall
Pagination affects what you see on screen, not what exists in the platform. A style on page three is still a valid shared record — do not assume it is missing because it is not on the first page. Use filters or keyword search to locate specific styles, or increase the page size temporarily.
Refresh
Click Refresh in the search view toolbar to load the latest data. Use this after your customer tells you they have shared a new style or updated statuses, especially if you have had the search view open for a long time.
Columns Available
The default style search view includes the following columns. Your customer may expose additional columns depending on portal and role configuration.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Style | The style number — the primary identifier for the product record. Click to open the full style. |
| Description | A short description of the style or product. |
| Type | The product or style type assigned to the record. |
| Gender | The target gender for the style. |
| Size Scale | The size scale used for sizing and grading on the style. |
| Season | The fashion season assigned to the style. |
| Status | The current workflow status of the style. |
Pricing and Extended Fields
Buy prices, sell prices, and other commercial fields may be hidden from the Supplier Portal depending on your customer's Site Settings › Portal › General Settings › Style Pricing configuration. If pricing columns are missing, this is usually intentional — contact your instance user rather than assuming a system error.
Save as Favourite Search
Save frequently used filter and layout combinations so you can reopen them without reconfiguring the view each time.
- Open Styles and apply the filters, columns, and sort settings you want to keep.
- Click the Love icon in the upper-right corner of the search view.
- Enter a descriptive name (for example,
SS26 approved womenswear) and click Save.
Saved favourites appear in Favourite Searches in the left navigation menu. See Supplier Portal › Favourite Searches for managing, renaming, and deleting favourites.
Common Pitfall
A favourite restores the configuration saved at the time you clicked Save — not live data. If you change filters after saving, the favourite still opens with the original layout until you update and save it again. Record counts change when your customer shares new styles or updates statuses; click Refresh after opening a favourite to load the latest results.
Export the Style Search View
Export the current search view to Excel for offline analysis, development meetings, or internal reporting.
- Apply the filters and columns you want included in the export.
- Click the Download icon in the upper-right corner of the search view.
- Open the downloaded file in Excel or a compatible spreadsheet application.
The export includes the columns currently visible in your search view and the records that match your active filters. It does not include fields you have not added to the view.
Common Pitfall
An export is a snapshot of the filtered list at export time — not a substitute for an official tech pack or specification document. Measurements, BOM details, and document content may be controlled separately through your customer's Site Settings › Style › General Settings and Site Settings › Portal › General Settings settings. Use exported data for planning; refer to shared specification PDFs and files in Drive for authoritative product details.
Opening a Style Record
Click a Style number in the search view to open the full style record. From there you can review tabs and side widgets your customer has shared — such as specifications, samples, critical path milestones, comments, and files — depending on your Supplier Portal role and your customer's portal configuration.
For the Details, Colours, Pricing sections and side widgets on an open style, see Supplier Portal › Style. For Definition, Specification, Samples, and Critical Path tabs, see Definition, Specification, Samples, and Critical Path.
Typical supplier workflows from an open style:
- Review Comments and reply to instance user questions without leaving the record.
- Download tech packs and manuals from linked Drive files when shared.
- Enter Sample Cost and Currency on Sample Requirements when your customer has shared sample requests. See Supplier Portal › Style › Samples.
- Complete or review Sample Reports when edit access is enabled. See Supplier Portal › Style › Samples.
- Monitor Activity for status changes posted by your customer's team.
- Review and complete Critical Path milestones when your customer has shared portal activities. See Supplier Portal › Style › Critical Path.
Common Pitfall
A style visible in the search view does not guarantee every tab is available. Specification, Samples, and pricing sections depend on portal configuration and what your customer has shared on that style. If a tab is missing or read-only, ask your instance user to confirm Style portal permissions and member assignment before raising a support ticket.
Styles and Orders Are Separate Records
Styles and orders are linked but maintained as separate records. Sharing a style with your supplier account does not automatically share every order raised against that style, and vice versa. Confirm both records are assigned to your factory or agent if your workflow spans development and production.
Staying Informed About Style Changes
Configure notifications in Profile › Notification Preferences so you are alerted when style activity affects your team:
| Notification | When it fires |
|---|---|
| Shared Style Notification | A new style is shared with your company. |
| Style Sample Report Update Notification | The style sample report document is updated. |
See Supplier Portal › Profile for full notification settings.
Related Actions
- Supplier Portal › Overview
- Supplier Portal › Dashboard
- Supplier Portal › Orders
- Supplier Portal › Activity
- Supplier Portal › Favourite Searches
- Supplier Portal › Profile
- Supplier Portal › Style › Samples
- Search › Style Search (Production Portal reference for instance users)
Related Settings
These Site Settings pages are maintained by your customer's administrators. Share them with your instance user contact if styles, samples, or visibility do not match expectations.
- Site Settings › Company › Suppliers
- Site Settings › Company › Roles & Permissions
- Site Settings › Style › General Settings
- Site Settings › Portal › General Settings
Troubleshooting
Why can I not see any styles in the search view?
The style list only shows records your customer's instance users have shared with your supplier account. An empty list usually means no styles are shared yet, you are on the wrong connection, or your role lacks Style View access.
Steps to resolve:
- Open Active Instance and confirm you are connected to the correct customer.
- Check the Dashboard — if number of Styles is zero, no styles have been shared with your account.
- Contact your customer's instance user and ask them to verify your Supplier Portal role in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers includes Style with View enabled.
- Ask them to confirm the styles are assigned to your factory or agent on each record.
- Log out and back in after access changes, then click Refresh on the style search view.
Why is the Styles module missing from my navigation menu?
Module visibility is controlled by the Supplier Portal role on your supplier record. If Style is not granted View permission, Styles will not appear in the menu.
Steps to resolve:
- Ask your customer's administrator which modules you should have access to.
- Request an update to your Supplier Portal role in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers.
- Log out and back in, then confirm Styles appears in the left navigation menu.
Why does keyword search not find a style I know exists?
Search only returns styles shared with your supplier account. Keyword matching can also fail when identifiers contain spaces or when filters still restrict the result set.
Steps to resolve:
- Clear Advanced Search filters and retry the keyword.
- Search using the exact Style number your customer provided — try with and without hyphens if unsure.
- Confirm the style is assigned to your factory or agent and shared on the customer side.
- Click Refresh to load the latest shared data.
Why are my advanced filters returning no results?
Active filters — especially combinations of Type, Gender, Size Scale, Season, and Status — can exclude every record in the list when values do not match your customer's naming.
Steps to resolve:
- Clear all filters and confirm styles appear without restrictions.
- Reapply filters one at a time to identify which criterion is too narrow.
- Verify Season and Status values match your customer's naming in Site Settings › Style.
- Click Refresh after your customer confirms they updated statuses or season assignments.
Why can I open a style but not see Specifications or Samples?
Tab visibility and edit permissions are controlled separately from the style search view. Your customer configures portal access in Site Settings and shares specific sample requirements or reports on each style.
Steps to resolve:
- Confirm whether the tab is missing entirely or visible but read-only.
- Ask your instance user to verify Style portal permissions and that sample requirements or reports are shared on the Samples tab.
- For sample report editing, confirm Site Settings › Style › General Settings › Sample Reports allows supplier edits.
- See Supplier Portal › Style › Samples for tab-specific issues.
Why does my export not include all styles or columns?
Exports reflect the current filter set, pagination context, and visible columns — not the entire shared style library.
Steps to resolve:
- Clear or adjust filters so every style you need is included in the filtered result count before exporting.
- Confirm the columns you need are visible in the search view; add any missing columns before clicking Download.
- Click Refresh, then export again if your customer recently shared new styles.
Why does a favourite search show outdated results or the wrong layout?
Favourites restore saved filters and column layout from the time you clicked Save. They do not automatically pick up changes you make afterwards.
Steps to resolve:
- Open the favourite and click Refresh to load current data.
- Adjust filters or columns to match your current workflow.
- Click the Love icon and save again — use the same name to replace the favourite, or delete the old entry from Favourite Searches and create a new one.
Why can I see a style in the portal but not the linked order?
Styles and orders are shared independently. Your customer must assign your supplier to both records for you to see them in Styles and Orders.
Steps to resolve:
- Search for the order in Orders using the order number your customer provided.
- Ask your instance user to confirm the order is shared with your factory or agent assignment.
- See Supplier Portal › Orders if the order search view is empty.
Why was I notified about a style but cannot find it in the list?
Notifications can arrive before a share completes, or the style may be filtered out of your current search view.
Steps to resolve:
- Click the notification in Activity to open the style directly.
- Clear all search filters and click Refresh on the Styles search view.
- Confirm you are on the correct customer connection in Active Instance.
- If the record still does not open, ask your customer's instance user to verify the style is shared with your supplier account.
Why are pricing fields missing on a style I can otherwise view?
Style Pricing visibility is controlled by your customer in Site Settings › Portal › General Settings. Restricted pricing is intentional in many workflows to protect margin information.
Steps to resolve:
- Confirm with your instance user whether pricing should be visible to your supplier role.
- Ask them to review Style Pricing toggles in Site Settings › Portal › General Settings.
- Use Costings and Quotes for buy-price entry when your customer shares costings separately from style records.