How can I customize variant dropdown options on products?

[smjacoby]

I have been adding variants for titles by an author, specifically entering "Format" and then options such as Book, ePub, Kindle, etc. So far so good, but now when I type "Format" it reverts back to the first option given by default, Size. The dropdown contains Size, Color, Material, and Style.

Is there a way to change this? I suspect that my typing of "Format" on various products has created enough (behind the scenes) new but identically named options that I've hit an internal limit, even though they are all "Format" and I would gladly use that as my one and only variant option for everything.

How can I fix this? If I have to go back over all my work and redo the options/variants, so be it, but for now I am completely stuck.

PS - the list Size, Color, Material, and Style seems very oriented toward clothing. Perhaps there's a setting that will tell Shopify I'm working with other types of products and get me some better options. I want "Format" but I can imagine all kinds of other needs, like Pulp: Extra Pulp/No Pulp for orange juice or Finish: Matte/Satin/High Gloss for paint! I see a million articles about people needing more than 100 variants on a single product but can't believe the entire world is satisfied with Size, Color, Material, and Style!