Custom fields for products not categories?

Do custom fields just work with categories of products please? I'd like to add different custom fields to specific products (irrespective of their main category), but I can only see an option to limit what the field applies to by category.

Thanks

I think I have figured out how to do what I want, but if this looks wrong then please someone let me know I've misunderstood!

I read on another post that you can create categories but leave them unpublished (I would never have thought of that) so I have created unpublished categories for my different custom field option types. Then I've created a custom field of type Item for each different option I want customers to choose from (mostly dropdown lists) and limited those fields to the corresponding category. I've then added the relevant categories to each product.

This means that my products may have lots of different categories, depending on which customs fields apply, but I am assuming that is OK?

Dear Nicolas,

I have the same need. I have done the described steps above. but the custom fields won't show on the front-end.

I have a product which is part of a published category "Tourism". I added a category called "Other Details" which is unpublished. I then added a custom field called Other Details to the category. And finally assigned multiple categories to the product.

Still i failed to get this to work.

Would like to hear your feedback .