at /admin/store/settings/products/edit/fields you can set which fields are applicable to products. It is here that you can turn off fields like "image" "dimensions" "weight" "sku"
One would expect that these settings would effect all products AND all product class nodes too since there is no option to set these on a per-product class level. However these field settings do not effect product classes at all.
In most of my experiences with ubercart, i am creating a product class specifically BECAUSE the "product" does not conform to ubercart's notion of a "product". I am creating a ticket, or other event or class registration. These are not shipable. They do not need a SKU or any of the dimensions, for example.
Either these field settings should apply to products and product classes, or probably BETTER, one should be able to set "product field settings" on a PER-PRODUCT CLASS basis. On the product class "Edit" screen there would be a tab or section for selecting which fields are applicable. Additionally, a product class should be able to be set as "not shipable".
I would suggest that each product class should have its own:
1. product settings
2. product fields
3. product features
Comments
Comment #1
GregoryHeller commentedUPDATE: After doing a little more testing, it appears that the "product field settings" are actually about DISPLAYING the fields when the product node, or product class node is displayed, NOT about whether the fields are collected or not.
This should be made more clear on the page.
Comment #2
tm01xx commentedI have the same confusion as you. If the fields are set to not display on the node view then they should not be shown in node form as well. That may confuse users a lot.
Comment #3
longwavehttp://drupal.org/project/uc_product_power_tools will help you hide unwanted fields on the node edit form.
The display settings should be kept separate, because for example you may want to use the product weight or dimensions in shipping calculations, but not display the details to the customer.
The point made in #1 that these are display settings only and this should be explained on the page is still valid, though.
Comment #4
longwaveHelp text added to /admin/store/settings/products/edit/fields in 6.x, not needed in 7.x.