PDG Commerce - PDG Software

Transcription

PDG Commerce
User Guide
PDG Software, Inc.
1751 Montreal Circle, Suite B
Tucker, Georgia 30084-6802
Copyright ©2014 PDG Software, Inc.; All rights reserved.
PDG Software, Inc. (“PDG Software”) retains all ownership rights to the software programs
(referred to herein as “Software”) offered by PDG Software and related documentation. Use of the
Software and related documentation is governed by the license agreement accompanying the
Software and applicable copyright law.
THIS DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
IN NO EVENT SHALL PDG SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS
OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, OR FOR
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND,
ARISING FROM ANY ERROR IN THIS DOCUMENTATION.
PDG Software, Inc.
http://www.pdgsoft.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Welcome to PDG Commerce
21
What's New in PDG Commerce?................................................................................ 21
Site Design ............................................................................................................... 21
Import/Export Utility ............................................................................................... 22
Administrator Passwords ......................................................................................... 22
Recurring Billing ..................................................................................................... 22
Search Result Limitation ......................................................................................... 22
Product Description and Thumbnail Image on Basket ............................................ 22
Web Store Logo ....................................................................................................... 23
ThankYou Page Font ............................................................................................... 23
Macintosh OS X....................................................................................................... 23
Moneris .................................................................................................................... 23
Pricing Category Discounts ..................................................................................... 23
About this Guide ......................................................................................................... 24
Getting Help............................................................................................................. 24
Chapter 2
PDG Commerce Basics
25
Storefronts on the Internet ....................................................................................... 25
What is a Shopping Cart? ........................................................................................... 26
A Database ............................................................................................................... 26
A Basket................................................................................................................... 26
A Checkout Counter ................................................................................................ 26
How do Shopping Carts Work ? ................................................................................. 27
Browsers, cookies, and AOL ...................................................................................... 28
Chapter 3
Installation
29
Backing Up ................................................................................................................. 29
System Requirements ................................................................................................. 29
Chapter 4
Merchant Administrator
31
Reminders ................................................................................................................... 31
Accessing the Merchant Administrator ...................................................................... 32
Navigation Sidebar ..................................................................................................... 33
Admin Users Section .................................................................................................. 33
Adding a New User.................................................................................................. 34
Managing Existing Users......................................................................................... 34
Making “Live” Changes to Your Web Store .............................................................. 35
Backups....................................................................................................................... 36
Replicating and Restoring Master Data ................................................................... 37
Chapter 5
Database Configuration
39
Database Requirements............................................................................................... 39
Configuring Database Settings ................................................................................... 39
Database Settings for Windows versions................................................................. 40
Database Settings for UNIX versions ...................................................................... 41
Setting Up the Database.............................................................................................. 42
Chapter 6
Customer Maintenance
45
Customer and Customer Category Configuration ...................................................... 45
Customer Management ............................................................................................... 46
Number of customers to Display Per Page .............................................................. 46
Searching for Specific Customers............................................................................ 46
Browsing a Customer Category ............................................................................... 47
Browsing the Entire Customer List ......................................................................... 47
Adding a New Customer.......................................................................................... 47
Moving All Customers in One Category to Another ............................................... 47
Deleting All Customers in a Specific Category....................................................... 48
Customer Display screen ............................................................................................ 48
Customer Data Management screen ........................................................................... 49
Customer Page screen ................................................................................................. 50
Customer Category Management ............................................................................... 51
Category List and Basic Operating Rules................................................................ 51
Adding a New Category .......................................................................................... 53
Renaming a Category............................................................................................... 53
Changing the Registration Code of a Category ....................................................... 53
Customer Category Pricing Configuration ................................................................. 53
Reset Customer Category Pricing............................................................................ 54
Do Not Change Taxable Price ................................................................................. 55
Apply Discount Amount to Both Unit Price Price Discount and Taxable Price
Discount ................................................................................................................... 55
Set as Tax Exempt ................................................................................................... 55
Set Taxable Price Discount Manually ..................................................................... 56
Customer Category Pricing per Product Category .................................................. 56
Chapter 7
Commerce Options and Secure Settings
59
Commerce Options .................................................................................................... 60
Product Configuration.............................................................................................. 60
Site Design and Display Elements........................................................................... 61
Place your web store’s site name here. This value is used in the Merchant
Administrator pages and in emails as well. ............................................................. 61
Site Configuration.................................................................................................... 65
Secure Settings............................................................................................................ 68
Complete URL to a SSL Secure PDG Commerce Executable ................................ 69
Complete URL to a SSL Secure PDG Commerce Log Executable ........................ 70
Alternate SSL Checkout HTML Template .............................................................. 70
Alternate SSL Verify HTML Template................................................................... 70
SSL Thank You Template File ................................................................................ 70
Encryption................................................................................................................... 71
IP List.......................................................................................................................... 71
Chapter 8
Maintaining Products
75
Product Categories ...................................................................................................... 76
Staging Product Category ........................................................................................ 76
Grouping Product Categories................................................................................... 76
Product Categories Page ............................................................................................. 76
Start At Category ..................................................................................................... 77
Creating a New Product Category ........................................................................... 77
View Products Button .............................................................................................. 78
Details Button .......................................................................................................... 78
Remove Button ........................................................................................................ 78
Editing User Defined Field Names .......................................................................... 78
Display a Specific Product....................................................................................... 78
Product Category Details Page ................................................................................... 79
Product Category Specific Details ........................................................................... 79
Product Category Discounting................................................................................. 81
Products Page.............................................................................................................. 81
Product Position List................................................................................................ 81
Creating a New Product ........................................................................................... 82
Details Button .......................................................................................................... 83
Remove Button ........................................................................................................ 83
Move To Button....................................................................................................... 83
Product Definition Page.............................................................................................. 84
Product Settings Section ............................................................................................. 84
Product Code............................................................................................................ 85
One-line Description................................................................................................ 85
Keywords ................................................................................................................. 85
Product Displayed in Searches ................................................................................ 86
Unit Price ................................................................................................................. 86
Taxable Price ........................................................................................................... 86
Additional Unit Shipping......................................................................................... 87
Minimum Number to Order ..................................................................................... 87
Maximum Number to Order .................................................................................... 87
Weight...................................................................................................................... 87
Unit of Measure Label ............................................................................................. 88
Frequent Shopper Points .......................................................................................... 88
Number of Items Per Box ........................................................................................ 88
Product Dimensions ................................................................................................. 88
Allow Fraction Quantity? ........................................................................................ 88
URL of Product Image............................................................................................. 89
URL of Thumbnail Image........................................................................................ 89
Item Template .......................................................................................................... 90
Specific Product Text............................................................................................... 90
Dynamic Pricing ......................................................................................................... 91
Allow Dynamic Pricing for This Product ................................................................ 91
Set Dynamic Taxable Price to Zero ......................................................................... 91
Up Sales ...................................................................................................................... 91
Cross Sales .................................................................................................................. 92
Softgoods Section ....................................................................................................... 94
Softgood Data to Display on ThankYou / CreditAccept Template ......................... 95
Location of Softgood Payload ................................................................................. 96
MIME Type of Softgood Payload ........................................................................... 96
Maximum Number of Allowed Downloads of Softgood Payload .......................... 96
Duration of Download Window (in Minutes) of Softgood Payload........................ 97
Inventory Settings ....................................................................................................... 97
Track Inventory for Product .................................................................................... 97
Track Inventory for All Option Variations .............................................................. 98
Discounts Settings....................................................................................................... 98
Customer Category Settings ....................................................................................... 98
Product Options .......................................................................................................... 99
Shared Options....................................................................................................... 100
Creating a New Option .......................................................................................... 100
Copy Options From Other Products ...................................................................... 100
Details Button ........................................................................................................ 101
Remove Button ...................................................................................................... 101
Invalid Option Combinations................................................................................. 101
Default Option Combination ................................................................................. 101
User Defined Data .................................................................................................... 102
Cross-selling With User Defined Fields ................................................................ 102
Option Definition Page ............................................................................................. 103
Selection Number .................................................................................................. 105
Available Selection ................................................................................................ 105
Sku Suffix .............................................................................................................. 105
Price Change if Chosen.......................................................................................... 105
Taxable Price Change ............................................................................................ 106
Weight Change if Chosen ...................................................................................... 106
Custom Text........................................................................................................... 106
Cost/Letter of Text................................................................................................. 107
Taxable Custom Text Price.................................................................................... 107
One Time Price Change? ....................................................................................... 107
Display Selection Name if Chosen ........................................................................ 107
Display Option Description Name if Chosen ........................................................ 107
Invalid Option Combinations.................................................................................... 109
Default Option Combination .................................................................................... 110
Quantity Discounting ................................................................................................ 111
View All Quantity Discounts................................................................................. 111
Edit Selected Quantity Discount............................................................................ 112
Copy Selected Discount......................................................................................... 112
Copy All Discounts................................................................................................ 113
Quantity Discount Table ........................................................................................... 113
Chapter 9
Gift Certificates
115
Adding Gift Certificates............................................................................................ 115
Modifying Gift Certificates ...................................................................................... 116
Viewing Outstanding Gift Certificates ..................................................................... 116
Deleting Gift Certificates.......................................................................................... 117
Viewing Gift Certificate Usage ................................................................................ 117
Chapter 10
Tracking Product Inventory
119
Inventory by Option Selection .................................................................................. 119
Enabling Inventory Tracking .................................................................................... 120
Viewing Product Inventory....................................................................................... 120
Position Inventory List........................................................................................... 121
Product Code.......................................................................................................... 121
In Stock .................................................................................................................. 121
Do Not Allow Backordering? ................................................................................ 121
Do Not Display in Searches If Out Of Stock? ....................................................... 122
Display Inventory By Options .................................................................................. 122
Product Code.......................................................................................................... 123
Track Inventory...................................................................................................... 123
In Stock .................................................................................................................. 123
Do Not Allow Backordering? ................................................................................ 123
Inventory Status Messages........................................................................................ 123
Adding Inventory ...................................................................................................... 124
Implementing Changes to Inventory Settings........................................................... 124
Rapid Inventory Update............................................................................................ 125
Chapter 11
Import/Export
127
CSV File Layout ....................................................................................................... 127
The Discount Record ............................................................................................. 128
The Option Record................................................................................................. 129
The Option Lock Record ....................................................................................... 131
The Category Record ............................................................................................. 133
The Product Record ............................................................................................... 134
Getting Help........................................................................................................... 144
Locating CSV File .................................................................................................... 145
Uploading CSV File.................................................................................................. 145
Removing CSV Files ................................................................................................ 145
Downloading CSV Files ........................................................................................... 146
Synchronizing Products with CSV File .................................................................... 146
Append CSV file to Products.................................................................................... 147
Update Products with CSV File................................................................................ 147
Importing the File ..................................................................................................... 147
Create PDG Export File ............................................................................................ 148
Create Froogle Data Feed File .................................................................................. 149
Create Yahoo Product Feed File ............................................................................... 149
Selecting Products..................................................................................................... 149
Downloading the CSV File....................................................................................... 150
Chapter 12
Payment Methods
151
Payment Methods Setup ........................................................................................... 151
Rule # ..................................................................................................................... 152
Method Description ............................................................................................... 152
Specifiers ............................................................................................................... 152
Using an Internet Payment Service........................................................................... 154
Authorization vs. Authorization and Capture ........................................................ 154
AVS ....................................................................................................................... 155
Payment Methods ..................................................................................................... 155
USA ePay.................................................................................................................. 156
USA ePay Source Key ........................................................................................... 157
USA ePay Server Name......................................................................................... 157
USA ePay Authorization Type .............................................................................. 157
USA ePay Operating Mode ................................................................................... 157
File to Which USA ePay Transactions are Logged ............................................... 157
VeriSign ................................................................................................................... 158
Necessary VeriSign Files for Payflow Pro ............................................................ 158
Recurring Billing ................................................................................................... 159
VeriSign Account Type ......................................................................................... 159
VeriSign Account Login ID................................................................................... 160
VeriSign Account Password .................................................................................. 160
VeriSign Partner .................................................................................................... 160
VeriSign Vendor Name ......................................................................................... 160
VeriSign Authorization Type................................................................................. 160
VeriSign Host ........................................................................................................ 160
VeriSign Port ......................................................................................................... 161
File to which VeriSign Transactions are Logged .................................................. 161
Send the Maximum Amount of Data when Using Pfpro....................................... 161
Allow "Show Confirm" PayFlow Link page ......................................................... 162
Payflow Fraud Protection Service Settings ........................................................... 162
Payflow Link Settings in the Merchant Administrator .......................................... 163
Payflow Link Settings in the VeriSign Manager ................................................... 163
SurePay ..................................................................................................................... 165
Your SurePay Merchant ID ................................................................................... 165
SurePay Account Password ................................................................................... 165
SurePay Server Name ............................................................................................ 165
SurePay Authorization Type.................................................................................. 165
File to which SurePay Transactions are Logged ................................................... 166
PayPal ....................................................................................................................... 166
PayPal Account...................................................................................................... 166
PayPal Server Name .............................................................................................. 167
PayPal IPN Notify URL ........................................................................................ 167
PayPal Redirect Template...................................................................................... 167
Page to Display When Returning to Your Site from PayPal After a Payment has been
Completed .............................................................................................................. 167
Page to Display When Returning to Your Site from PayPal After a Payment has been
Canceled................................................................................................................. 167
PayPal Temporary Directory Maximum Size........................................................ 168
File to Which PayPal Transactions Are Logged.................................................... 168
Send items ordered to PayPal ................................................................................ 168
Log Pending PayPal transactions to log files......................................................... 168
Configure PayPal Manager .................................................................................... 169
WorldPay .................................................................................................................. 169
WorldPay Account Installation ID ........................................................................ 170
WorldPay Preferred Account................................................................................. 170
WorldPay Server Name ......................................................................................... 170
Transaction Language............................................................................................ 170
WorldPay Authorization Type............................................................................... 171
WorldPay Transaction Mode ................................................................................. 171
WorldPay template for redirect back to site .......................................................... 171
Template for Post to WorldPay ............................................................................. 171
WorldPay secret password for md5 signature ....................................................... 171
WorldPay callback password................................................................................. 172
WorldPay temporary directory maximum size ...................................................... 172
WorldPay connection type (buyit action only) ...................................................... 172
File to which WorldPay Transactions are Logged................................................. 172
WorldPay Administrator Settings .......................................................................... 173
LinkPoint .................................................................................................................. 174
LinkPoint API Version .......................................................................................... 175
LinkPoint Store Name ........................................................................................... 175
PEM File Name ..................................................................................................... 175
LinkPoint Server Name ......................................................................................... 175
Port Number........................................................................................................... 175
LinkPoint Authorization Type ............................................................................... 175
File to which LinkPoint Transactions are Logged................................................. 175
AIM Gateway Protocol ............................................................................................. 176
AIM Version .......................................................................................................... 177
AIM Account Login ID ......................................................................................... 177
AIM Account Password......................................................................................... 177
AIM Transaction Key ............................................................................................ 177
AIM Gateway URL ............................................................................................... 178
AIM Authorization Type ....................................................................................... 178
AIM MD5 Hash ..................................................................................................... 178
File to which AIM Transactions are Logged ......................................................... 178
CyberCash................................................................................................................. 178
CyberCash Merchant ID (CYBERCASH_ID) ...................................................... 179
URL of CyberCash CashRegister (CPPS_HOST)................................................. 179
SSL URL of CyberCash CashRegister (CPPS_SSL_HOST)................................ 179
CyberCash Merchant Key (MERCHANT_KEY) ................................................. 179
Merchant's Authorization Type ............................................................................. 180
File to which CyberCash Transactions are Logged ............................................... 180
EFTSecure ................................................................................................................ 180
EFTSecure Account Login ID ............................................................................... 181
EFTSecure Account password............................................................................... 181
EFTSecure Gateway Server Name ........................................................................ 181
File to which EFTSecure transactions are logged ................................................. 181
Moneris ..................................................................................................................... 182
Moneris Store ID ................................................................................................... 182
Moneris Gateway ................................................................................................... 182
Moneris Authorization Type.................................................................................. 182
Moneris Test Mode ................................................................................................ 182
Include Items Ordered with Transaction Details ................................................... 183
File to which Moneris transactions are logged ...................................................... 183
Moneris Gateway Email Settings .......................................................................... 183
Metacharge................................................................................................................ 183
MCPE Installation ID ............................................................................................ 184
MCPE Account ID................................................................................................. 184
Gateway ................................................................................................................. 184
Authorization Type ................................................................................................ 184
File to which metacharge transactions are logged ................................................. 185
Test mode............................................................................................................... 185
Chapter 13
VeriSign Recurring Billing
187
Introduction............................................................................................................... 187
Configuring a Product............................................................................................... 188
Number of Payments ............................................................................................. 188
Amount to be Charged per Payment...................................................................... 189
Frequency of Payments.......................................................................................... 189
When Billing Begins.............................................................................................. 190
Customizing Templates ............................................................................................ 190
Chapter 14
Configuring Shipping
193
Charging for Shipping .............................................................................................. 193
Product setup.......................................................................................................... 194
Shipping Method setup .......................................................................................... 194
Shipping Charges setup ......................................................................................... 194
Shipping Methods ..................................................................................................... 195
Rule # ..................................................................................................................... 195
Description............................................................................................................. 196
Additional Cost ...................................................................................................... 196
Requires Shipping Info .......................................................................................... 196
Add Subtotal Rules? .............................................................................................. 196
Add Weight Rules? ................................................................................................ 196
Add Quantity Rules?.............................................................................................. 197
Do Not Display on Checkout Page ........................................................................ 197
Real Time Shipping Settings ................................................................................. 197
Discount Shipping?................................................................................................ 198
Adding Shipment Rules ......................................................................................... 199
Modifiying Shipment Rules................................................................................... 199
Deleting Shipment Rules ....................................................................................... 199
UPS Configuration.................................................................................................... 199
Allowing Package Tracking for your Customers ..................................................... 200
Tracking Results Template .................................................................................... 200
TRACK_RESULTS (Required) ............................................................................ 200
Shipping with United States Postal Service.............................................................. 201
Shipping Charges by Subtotal................................................................................... 202
Shipping Charges by Weight .................................................................................... 203
Shipping Charges by Quantity .................................................................................. 203
Establishing Rules for Shipping Charges Under More Than One Method .............. 204
Chapter 15
Working with UPS OnLine® Tools
207
UPS® Options .......................................................................................................... 207
Registration ............................................................................................................... 208
UPS® Details............................................................................................................ 210
Pick Up Selections .................................................................................................... 210
Notification Options .............................................................................................. 211
Address Verification For Customer Checkout....................................................... 211
UPS® Tracking......................................................................................................... 212
Shipping Methods ..................................................................................................... 213
Schedule Shipment ................................................................................................... 213
Validate an Address .................................................................................................. 218
View UPS 1Z (tracking) Numbers and Shipped Invoices ........................................ 219
Void a Scheduled Shipment (within 24 hours of scheduling) .................................. 219
Manage/View Ship Labels........................................................................................ 220
Show Labels for Printing All .................................................................................... 221
Show Labels for Individual Printing......................................................................... 221
Schedule All New Orders ......................................................................................... 221
Create a Shipment ..................................................................................................... 221
Chapter 16
HTML Template Files
223
Template Directory Location................................................................................. 224
Template Header and Footer Settings.................................................................... 224
Row Color Settings ................................................................................................ 224
Standard HTML Templates ...................................................................................... 224
Basket HTML Template ........................................................................................ 225
Basket Empty HTML Template ............................................................................ 225
Add Item HTML Template.................................................................................... 225
Inventory Option Template.................................................................................... 226
Item HTML Template............................................................................................ 226
Checkout HTML Template.................................................................................... 226
Verify HTML Template......................................................................................... 227
Alternate SSL Checkout HTML Template ............................................................ 227
Alternate SSL Verify HTML Template................................................................. 228
Thank You HTML Template ................................................................................. 228
Template to Display if Authorization Fails ........................................................... 229
Template to Display if Authorization Succeeds .................................................... 229
SSL Thank You Template ..................................................................................... 229
Search Results HTML Template ........................................................................... 229
Advanced Search HTML Template ....................................................................... 230
Search Results Empty HTML Template................................................................ 230
Category Template File ......................................................................................... 230
Multiple Add Template File .................................................................................. 230
Error Template ....................................................................................................... 230
Verify Inventory Error Template ........................................................................... 230
Shipping Rate Compare Template ......................................................................... 231
UPS Tracking Result Template File ...................................................................... 231
UPS Tracking Request HTML Template .............................................................. 231
UPS Address Validation Template File................................................................. 231
Top Navigation HTML Template.......................................................................... 231
Left Navigation HTML Template.......................................................................... 231
Right Navigation HTML Template ....................................................................... 232
Bottom Navigation HTML Template .................................................................... 232
About Us HTML Template.................................................................................... 232
Contact HTML Template....................................................................................... 232
Home HTML Template ......................................................................................... 232
User 1 HTML Template ........................................................................................ 232
User HTML Templates ............................................................................................. 232
User Login Template File ...................................................................................... 233
Successful Login Template File ............................................................................ 233
Login Failed Template File.................................................................................... 233
Checkout Select Template File .............................................................................. 233
Guest Template File............................................................................................... 233
Register New User Template File.......................................................................... 233
Registration Successful Template File .................................................................. 233
User Update Template File .................................................................................... 234
Unauthorized Action Template File ...................................................................... 234
Anonymous Check-out HTML Template File....................................................... 234
Alternate Anonymous SSL Check-out HTML Template File............................... 234
Multiple Shipment Templates................................................................................... 234
Multiple Shipment Check-out Template................................................................ 234
Multiple Shipment SSL Check-out Template........................................................ 235
Multiple Shipment Verify Template...................................................................... 235
Multiple Shipment SSL Verify Template .............................................................. 235
Multiple Shipment Thank You Template .............................................................. 235
Multiple Shipment SSL Thank You Template ...................................................... 235
Multiple Shipment Credit Accept Template .......................................................... 236
Chapter 17
Sales Tax Configuration
237
Sales Tax Rules......................................................................................................... 237
Chapter 18
Multiple “Ship To” Options
239
Adding Multiple Recipients to Customer Account................................................... 239
Choosing Multiple Recipients for an Order.............................................................. 240
Adding Shipping Addresses...................................................................................... 241
Modifying Multiple Recipient Addresses................................................................. 242
Deleting Multiple Recipients .................................................................................... 242
Multiship Templates ................................................................................................. 243
Chapter 19
Custom Buttons and Frames
245
Custom Buttons Settings........................................................................................... 245
Frames Settings......................................................................................................... 246
Name of Frame Containing Cart Contents ............................................................ 247
Name of Main Window Frame .............................................................................. 247
Name of Checkout Window Frame ....................................................................... 247
Chapter 20
E-mail Settings
249
E-Mail Settings ......................................................................................................... 249
Do Not Include Credit Card Data .......................................................................... 250
E-mail Customer Notifications To......................................................................... 250
Template File for Customer Notifications ............................................................. 250
E-mail Vendor Notifications To ............................................................................ 251
Template File for Vendor Notifications................................................................. 251
Email Program ....................................................................................................... 251
Sendmail Client Program Location........................................................................ 251
E-mail Server ......................................................................................................... 251
Full Name From Which E-mails Are Sent............................................................. 252
QMAILUSER Environment Variable ................................................................... 252
‘From Address’ for Sent E-mails........................................................................... 252
HTML Emails ........................................................................................................ 253
Chapter 21
E-mail Template Files
255
Call Tags in the E-mail Template ............................................................................. 256
 Tag............................................................................................. 256
 Tag ........................................................................................... 256
 Tag ............................................................................................ 256
<invoicenumber> Tag............................................................................................ 257
<contactname> Tag................................................................................................ 257
<billtext> Tag ........................................................................................................ 257
 Tag ............................................................................. 257
<sitename> Tag...................................................................................................... 257
 Tag ....................................................................... 257
Chapter 22
Order Settings and Logging
259
Order Logging/Retrieval........................................................................................... 259
Do Not Include Credit Card Data .......................................................................... 260
Log Orders to Database ......................................................................................... 260
Order Log File ....................................................................................................... 261
Order Log CSV File............................................................................................... 261
Order Log XML File.............................................................................................. 261
CSV Text Delimiter ............................................................................................... 261
CSV Delimiter ....................................................................................................... 262
Invoice Number Prefix........................................................................................... 262
Invoice Header File................................................................................................ 263
Create Relational-Ready CSV File? ...................................................................... 263
Create One-line CSV File ...................................................................................... 263
Add One-Line Product Description to CSV File ................................................... 263
Order Log Reports .................................................................................................... 263
Select Data Source ................................................................................................. 264
Select Date Range .................................................................................................. 264
Show Order Invoices / Sales Reports .................................................................... 264
Chapter 23
Configuring Product Search Results
267
Search Result Style ................................................................................................ 268
Display Price for Thumbnail Searches .................................................................. 268
Search Product Description ................................................................................... 269
Number of Results Per Page .................................................................................. 269
Number of Results Per Row .................................................................................. 269
Order of Search Results ......................................................................................... 269
Maximum Number of Search Results.................................................................... 270
Use Product Category Templates for Category Search Results Display .................. 270
Search Display Optimization .................................................................................... 271
Load Minimum Product Information..................................................................... 271
Load All Product Information................................................................................ 272
Allow Searches of User Defined Fields.................................................................... 272
Chapter 24
Exporting the Order Log
273
Standard CSV Order Log.......................................................................................... 273
Relational CSV ...................................................................................................... 274
Delimiters.................................................................................................................. 274
Records ..................................................................................................................... 275
The A Record......................................................................................................... 275
The F Record ......................................................................................................... 275
The B Record ......................................................................................................... 276
The P Record ......................................................................................................... 276
The X Record......................................................................................................... 277
The S Record ......................................................................................................... 277
The I Record .......................................................................................................... 279
The T Record ......................................................................................................... 280
The D Record......................................................................................................... 280
One-Line CSV Order Log......................................................................................... 281
PDG Accounting Accelerator ................................................................................... 283
Preparation ................................................................................................................ 283
Installation ................................................................................................................ 284
Setting Up QuickBooks for PDG Accounting Accelerator ...................................... 285
Importing Orders....................................................................................................... 287
Customizing Invoice Display................................................................................. 290
Importing PDG Orders Into UPS Worldship ............................................................ 291
Overview of Importing Process ............................................................................. 291
Overview of Setting Up the Import Process .......................................................... 291
Setting up the Data Source Name .......................................................................... 292
Installing the Worldship Mapping file................................................................... 293
Importing the Order CSV ...................................................................................... 295
Importing the Shipments into Worldship............................................................... 296
Chapter 25
Configuring Order Discounting
297
Pricing Category Discounting................................................................................... 297
Order Subtotal Discounting ...................................................................................... 298
Edit Discount Table ............................................................................................... 299
Remove Discount Table......................................................................................... 299
Copy All Discounts................................................................................................ 299
Copy Selected Discount......................................................................................... 300
Subtotal Discount Table............................................................................................ 300
Chapter 26
International Settings
303
Currency Accepted ................................................................................................ 303
Secondary Currency............................................................................................... 304
Secondary Currency Conversion Factor ................................................................ 304
Percentage of Final Total Added to Order to Cover Currency Fluctuations ......... 304
Default Country selected when entering customer information ............................ 304
Countries Selection Configuration............................................................................ 305
Chapter 27
Working with Zones
307
Zone Options.......................................................................................................... 307
Zone Actions.......................................................................................................... 308
Editing Zones ......................................................................................................... 309
Chapter 28
Affiliate Tracking
313
Implementing Affiliate Tracking ........................................................................... 313
Third-Party Affiliate Tracking............................................................................... 315
Chapter 29
Embedding PDG Commerce
317
Calling PDG Commerce with HTML Forms ........................................................... 318
Calling PDG Commerce with Hypertext References ............................................... 318
PDG Commerce Storebuilder ................................................................................... 319
PDG Commerce Actions .......................................................................................... 319
PreAdd Action ....................................................................................................... 320
MultiPreAdd Action .............................................................................................. 321
Add Action............................................................................................................. 322
Display Action ....................................................................................................... 323
Checkout Action .................................................................................................... 323
Embedding PDG Commerce's Search Function ....................................................... 324
Embedding a Soft Search....................................................................................... 325
Embedding a Hard Search with Form Tags........................................................... 326
Embedding a Hard Search with Images or Text Links .......................................... 327
PDG Commerce Actions for Logging In and Registering........................................ 327
Login Action .......................................................................................................... 327
Register Action ...................................................................................................... 328
Update User Action ............................................................................................... 329
Chapter 1
Welcome to PDG Commerce
An introduction to PDG Commerce and Internet commerce
W
hether you are a retailer or a wholesaler, a global company or a small
shop, PDG Commerce is the commerce solution for marketing your
products on the World Wide Web. Developed with the merchant in
mind, PDG Commerce integrated into your Web store allows your customers
to log in, easily browse the available products, choose a product to buy, specify a desired attribute (size, color etc.), select payment and shipment options,
submit the order and then sit back and anticipate delivery from you.
What's New in PDG Commerce?
As Internet commerce continues to evolve, so do the demands placed on our
e-commerce software packages. In response to customer input and market
trends, our development team has spent countless hours installing new features and capabilities that have made PDG Commerce a premier Internet commerce tool.
Already one of the most robust shopping carts and database-oriented Internet
catalog software packages, these new features will help set your Web store
apart from the competition, allowing you to maximize sales.
Site Design
PDG Commerce now offers the Site Design feature, allowing you to configure the entire look and feel of your web site and Commerce templates directly
through your Commerce Administrator. You can apply a pre-defined skin to
your templates, which automatically sets button images, template layouts,
font attributes, and web site colors for all Commerce generated pages. You
may also choose different attributes from several different skins to install, or
PDG Commerce -- User Guide
21
1 -- Welcome to PDG Commerce
configure your own custom site design. You may even save multiple custom
skins and change between them with ease. PDG Commerce also allows you
to define your own templates to be used with your Commerce, so even your
static web pages can be displayed using the Site Design features. This new
option allows you to specify your home page, contact information page, store
information page, UPS tracking request page, and advanced searching page.
There are also three available user defined templates that may be used for any
purpose.
Import/Export Utility
New in PDG Commerce is the ability to import and export product CSV
(comma delimited) files within the Commerce Administrator. These files
may be edited within a spreadsheet application. Import new product lists to
your Commerce database, add to your existing lists, and update existing products by simply importing a new CSV file. You may also quickly and easily
download backup files of any or all current product categories. Finally, the
Import/Export utility allows you to export your product lists in Froogle or
Yahoo sales formats for direct import into these applications.
Administrator Passwords
PDG Commerce now offers the ability to create several users for the Commerce Administrator. The Admin user may create additional user accounts
with separate usernames and passwords. The Admin user will determine
which sections of the Commerce Administrator are accessible to each user,
and restrict access as necessary. User accounts may be created, modified, or
deleted at any time by the Admin user.
Recurring Billing
VeriSign Payflow Pro users now have the ability to configure recurring billing
products. You may set your products to charge specific initial payments, as
well as determine how much each additional payment will cost, how often
they will be charged, how many payments will be required.
Search Result Limitation
When a customer attempts a search that returns more than your set maximum
number of search results, the maximum number of available search results
will be displayed. An error message will appear indicating that not all of the
search results were returned, so the customer will need to refine the searching
criteria.
22
1 -- Welcom to PDG Commerce
Product Description and Thumbnail Image on
Basket
PDG Commerce now offers the option of displaying additional information
on your default Basket page. You may now specify that you want the thumbnail of each product to be displayed in the customer's basket. You may also
choose to display the product descriptions in the cart as HTML links that open
each product's details page.
Web Store Logo
In the Commerce Administrator, you may specify the location of your web
store's logo image. This image will be displayed on the default templates, and
you may specify its use on any custom templates.
ThankYou Page Font
You may now choose not to use the mono space font on the default ThankYou
template. Disabling the mono space font will cause the ThankYou template to
display in the same font used on the rest of the default Commerce templates.
Macintosh OS X
PDG Commerce is now available for use on Macintosh OS X Servers. Many
companies that host graphics-intensive web sites prefer to offer Macintosh OS
X Servers, and now they may integrate these sites with PDG Commerce.
Moneris
The Moneris payment gateway has been added as an integrated payment service for use in PDG Commerce. Moneris offers the ability to send additional
customer and vendor e-mails, and you may choose to send these e-mails in
your Commerce Administrator..
Pricing Category Discounts
PDG Commerce now allows separate discount customer categories to be configured with a discount code. Merchants may send emails to their preferred
customers with a link containing the appropriate code. Accessing the web site
in this manner will temporarily move the customer to the discount category.
After an order is placed, customers will be returned to their original customer
categories. This new option allows you to provide temporary discounts and
sales to existing customers.
23
1 -- Welcome to PDG Commerce
About this Guide
This book is the general user's guide for PDG Commerce. It provides an
overview of the installation, and an explanation of the configuration and
administration of PDG Commerce.
Conventions used in this guide:
Convention
Explanation
Monospaced font
this typeface is used for any excerpts from
configuration or data files
Bold monospaced font
boldface type indicates items that should
appear in the file exactly as it appears here
[bracketed monospaced font]
bracketed text indicates text should be
replaced with what it represents
;monospaced font
lines preceded by a semicolon indicate text
that is a comment line - these lines are not
processed, they are added for readability
A companion manual entitled ‘Installation Guide’ accompanies this user
guide and details the actual installation of PDG Commerce.
Getting Help
Technical support is available at our web site at http://support.pdgsoft.com.
Additionally, there is a message forum available for PDG Commerce users, at
http://msgboard.pdgsoft.com.
24
Chapter 2
PDG Commerce Basics
An overview of Web stores and how shopping carts facilitate Internet commerce
U
ntil the advent of the World Wide Web, selling goods and services has traditionally meant securing physical space or creating a mail order catalog,
hiring salespeople and managers, investing in point-of-sale equipment
and supplies and, of course, advertising – all to operate just ONE location for
twelve or so hours a day.
Storefronts on the Internet
With Internet access to the World Wide Web, all of this has changed. Large
and small companies alike have seized the opportunity created by the Web
and developed what are known as Web stores – sites where products and services are available to be bought and sold – worldwide, 24 hours a day. Getting started requires very little capital investment, virtually no physical space
requirements and minimal human intervention. Indeed, a level playing field
for companies of all sizes has been established.
While it may seem simple, creating a Web store presents its own set of unique
challenges. First, the site itself has to be created. From there, a Webmaster
must continuously maintain the site, inputting changes and updates. Further,
the product offering needs to be kept current (statistics, pricing, information
on availability) and orders need to be fulfilled. And finally – create it and
they will come? Not exactly. You must get the word out. Advertising is still
necessary, even with a Web store.
But, for this discussion, let's say you have created a magnificent site – complete with nice graphics and text touting your company's products. You've
registered with all of the necessary search engines and have even done some
advertising external to the Web. Once visitors land on your site, how do they
tell you, “Hey, I want to buy that nice blue gadget, so here's my credit card
25
2 -- PDG Commerce Basics
number and here's where to ship it?” This is where a shopping cart completes
the picture.
What is a Shopping Cart?
In general terms, an Internet shopping cart (sometimes referred to as a virtual
shopping cart) is a software program that, when integrated into your Web
store, enables customers to choose one or more items from the Web store,
specify particular options that might be available and then purchase those
items collectively in just a few steps – all online.
A Database
Of course, if you are already familiar with the general operation of a virtual
shopping cart – you might consider the aforementioned an overly simplified
explanation. The shopping cart needs to be able to obtain product descriptions
and inventories, and store and retrieve orders and customer information. PDG
Commerce stores all of this information in a third party commercial database.
The database is specifically designed to hold large amounts of data efficiently
and allow it to be stored and retrieved quickly. PDG Commerce takes advantage of this by connecting to popular database packages.
A Basket
Just as you might choose grocery items from several different aisles at your
local supermarket, a visitor to your Web site can navigate through your site,
choosing items which may appear on different pages from one another. Continuing this analogy, as you walk down different aisles in a supermarket, items
are placed in a shopping cart, which serves as a “holding basket” for those
items until you are ready to check out. Similarly, shopping cart software
keeps track of the chosen items as a customer navigates through your Web
store.
A Checkout Counter
Once the customer is finished shopping, the shopping cart summarizes the
items and facilitates the checkout process – allowing him to pay for all items
at once – just like the checkout counter at your favorite supermarket. It totals
the items placed in the “basket,” applies any necessary discounts and sales
taxes, and adds shipping costs according to the shipment method specified by
the customer (i.e.: US Mail, Next Day Air, UPS Ground, etc.). Fields are provided to input ‘ship to’ addresses and credit card numbers – if the customer is
paying by credit card. PDG Commerce can be configured to communicate
directly with Internet payment services such as USA ePay or Verisign or others to provide real-time authorization of credit cards or checks during the
checkout process.
26
Of course, the analogy above assumes that the customer can rely on the shopping cart's “permanence” – that is, once items are placed in the cart, they
remain there as the customer navigates from page to page until he is ready to
check out. What's more, if the customer leaves the Web store without checking out, the items remain in the cart and are still there upon his return. PDG
Commerce operates on this very notion of permanence.
As is the case with real life shopping carts, virtual shopping carts exist in
many different varieties. Some are very sophisticated technically, and have a
professional appearance about them, while others are very easy to use. Unfortunately, these attributes do not always co-exist within the same product.
PDG Commerce has the flexibility to meet the needs of virtually every type of
Internet storefront. It is customizable from the template pages right down to
the type of navigational buttons you choose to use. This helps create a seamless connection between the main body of your Web site and the e-commerce
software itself.
How do Shopping Carts Work ?
Just as there are many different types of virtual shopping carts on the market
today, the ways in which these carts function also differ. Some work by using
simple data collection forms and passing the information through the URL of
the Web store. Others work by storing the customer's shopping cart in a database on the Web store's server. Further still, many work by using “cookies” –
small pieces of information sent by a Web store's server to a customer’s Web
browser so that it can be read back from that browser. Each method in and of
itself has its advantages and disadvantages.
While relatively easy to implement, passing the information through the URL
of the Web store involves using form variables in the URL and a listening CGI
component on the Web store side. This method by itself can be messy, as
URLs can get cluttered and unorganized.
Storing the customer's shopping cart in a database on the server allows Web
store owners to see the existing shopping carts at any time, before or after purchase. This information can be valuable, allowing Web store administrators
to gauge future product needs – based on the contents of shopping carts
belonging to customers who, for whatever reason, did not complete the checkout process on their last visit, but may intend to complete the process at a later
date.
By using cookies, a virtual shopping cart can be stored in the customer's Web
browser, instead of the server – eliminating any database maintenance that
would normally be necessary, and thus any potential functionality issues.
PDG Commerce uses a combination of these methods, capitalizing on the
strengths of each in order to deliver a robust, flexible Internet commerce solution. As for cookies, PDG Commerce uses them only to implement its cart
technology.
27
Browsers, cookies, and AOL
You must have cookies enabled on your browser in order to use PDG Commerce. If you or your customers attempt to use the webstore without cookies
enabled, it will not function properly. Most likely, your customers will be
unable to check out if they are not using a cookie-enabled browser.
To use the Merchant Administrator, your browser will also need Javascript
enabled. Certain administrator functions rely on Javascript to preload data
form fields.
AOL Browsers have several difficulties, particularly with a framed environment. If you are having difficulties with your Web site and your site is
designed using frames, try navigating through your site with the frames disabled. You may also want to try removing the target names from the ‘Frames
Settings’ in the Merchant Administrator. If these steps solve your problem,
your browser is probably at fault.
28
Chapter 3
Installation
This section provides an overview of the installation process, which is covered in
depth in this guide's companion piece, 'Installation Guide.’
B
efore you begin the installation and setup process for PDG Commerce,
you should verify that the system which will be running the software
meets certain requirements. Likewise, just as software is written one way
for Windows computers and another way for Unix based systems, PDG Commerce is available for a variety of platforms. Be sure that the copy you are
installing is compatible with your Web server’s platform.
Backing Up
If you are upgrading from a previous version of PDG Commerce or PDG
Shopping Cart, the importance of backing up your entire Web store cannot be
stressed enough. If you encounter difficulties with the installation, or should
you accidentally overwrite your product database file, a backup copy can be
utilized to quickly restore your Web store’s functionality.
It is recommended that you duplicate all of your Web store’s files regularly.
Optimally, this should be done in a directory that is not on your Web server. If
this is not possible, then back up your files in a directory other than your Web
store’s root directory. The files that need to be duplicated are located in the
‘PDG_Commerce’ directory.
System Requirements
Generally, the following requirements should be met in order for PDG Commerce to function properly on your Web server:
•
A Web server that is Common Gateway Interface (CGI) compliant (most
major Web servers, including Netscape, Apache, IIS 4.0, NCSA, Cern, etc.)
29
3 -- Installation
The CGI directory on your web server must be able to execute compiled
binary scripts in the web browser.
•
A database product compatible with PDG Commerce: For Windows based
machines, this is an ODBC compliant database, like Access and Microsoft
SQL Server. For UNIX, this will be mySQL.
•
•
At least 6 Mb of hard drive space available in the CGI directory
•
A Web server that is SSL (secure socket layer) compatible to be able to view
order information through the Merchant Administrator
Ability for the Web server to access and write to the PDG_Commerce directory and subdirectories for retaining logs, invoice numbers, and using other
temporary data files.
PDG Commerce is capable of sending emails itself, without the use of
sendmail, blat, or any other 3rd party email program.
As for your customers, they will need to use a Web browser that supports client-side cookies and tables in order for PDG Commerce to display and function properly while visiting your Web store. For the vast majority of your
customers today, this will not be an issue as Netscape Communicator, Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are table and cookie capable.
The installation of PDG Shopping Cart follows these general steps:
1.
Install PDG Commerce onto your Web server
2.
Verify that PDG Commerce has installed its license, or manually install the
PDG Commerce license if necessary
3.
Setup database, and configure PDG Commerce to access this database.
4.
Configure PDG Commerce using the Merchant Administrator (this includes
defining store settings, products, shipping options and payment methods)
5.
Embed PDG Commerce calls into your current HTML pages
6.
Create custom HTML template pages for your Web store (optional)
7.
Test your Web store
At this point, we recommend that you refer to this guide's companion piece
“Installation Guide” for more detailed instructions on the PDG Commerce
installation procedures.
30
Chapter 4
Learning your way around your Web store's “central office”
T
he Merchant Administrator for PDG Commerce is your Web store's “central office.” It is here that you will perform “store manager” duties such
as inputting or deleting products, updating product prices, configuring
shipping options, tracking inventory, setting the operational parameters of
PDG Commerce and much more.
Since it is a “Web-based administrator,” the PDG Commerce Merchant
Administrator is easily accessed through your favorite Web browser such as
Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you are using a
browser other than Navigator or Explorer, make sure that it is capable of displaying forms and tables, as the configurable settings in the Merchant Administrator are embedded in HTML forms. In order to take advantage of all of the
Merchant Administrator’s functions, using a JavaScript enabled browser is
also recommended.
Reminders
Check with your ISP and verify the operating system (OS) used on their servers. PDG Software supports the following platforms: Windows NT, Linux,
BSDi, FreeBSD, Solaris, Digital Unix and IRIX.
Make sure you are using the correct PDG Commerce version for that OS, e.g.
if your ISP is using Microsoft Windows 2000 on their host server, you must
download the Microsoft Windows version of PDG Commerce.
The name of the PDG Commerce executable (in your CGI directory) should
be commerce.exe on Microsoft Windows NT systems. The PDG Commerce
executable (in your CGI directory) should be commerce or commerce.cgi on
the various UNIX systems. Note that you can rename these executables to
31
4 -- Merchant Administrator
suit your website. You may need to check with your Web host to verify which
extension your executables require.
Note: Once you have explored the introduction provided on your ‘commerce.html’ page, it is suggested that you remove that page from your Web
server. You may also rename it on your Web server and continue to use it. If
you do remove the ‘commerce.html’ page, you may access your Merchant
Administrator by directing your browser to the following address:
www.[yourwebstore].com/CommConfig/index.html
If you suspect that there may be some corruption in your configuration files,
DO NOT MAKE CHANGES LIVE! Doing so may make it impossible to
recover the old settings without contacting your system administrator for a
backup copy. See the section on ‘Backups’ later in this chapter for more
details.
Accessing the Merchant Administrator
To enter the Merchant Administrator, point your Web browser to the ‘/CommConfig’ directory of the server where your Web store resides. For example,
if your Web store's address is “http://www.webstorename.com,” then the Merchant Administrator is accessed by pointing your browser to “http://
www.webstorename.com/CommConfig/index.html”. This will load the login
page for the PDG Commerce Merchant Administrator.
Login Screen
L
At this point, if the login page for the Merchant Administrator does
not load, revisit the installation procedures and make sure that you
copied all of the files from the archive’s ‘Your_document_directory’
subdirectory into your Web server’s primary document directory.
Also, your Web server should be configured to use the filename
‘index.html’ as the default document for directories. Otherwise,
PDG Commerce Merchant Administrator may not function
properly. If you are using a 3rd party ISP to host your Web store,
check with them to verify this setting
32
Once the login screen appears, type your Merchant Administrator account’s
user name and password and click the ‘Login’ button.
Navigation Sidebar
When logging in, you have the option enabling the “Navigation Bar.” This is
a frame on the left side of your browser, which allows you to quickly navigate
the main sections of the Merchant Administrator. All of the sections are listed
in the Navigation Bar, as well as a “log out” link, and a “Make Live” link (see
below concerning “Make Live”). Additionally, product and product category
quick-search boxes are added for ease-of-use. For the box labeled “SKU”
enter in the product code or partial sku of the product or product’s inventory
you wish to view. If you enter a partial sku, PDG Commerce will list the best
matches (up to 50 maximum). You can then choose which product to view.
The functionality is similar for product categories, except PDG Commerce
uses the product category code.
Admin Users Section
Within the PDG Commerce Administrator you may create several users with
varying access capabilities. The Admin user will determine which sections of
the Commerce Administrator are accessible to each user as accounts are created, and restrict access as necessary. User accounts may be created, modified, or deleted at any time by the Admin user.
You may access the Admin Users section of the Commerce Administrator by
clicking the 'Users' link from the Main Menu.
Note: All changes made in the Admin Users section are live as soon as the
appropriate button is clicked to input the information. You do not need to
"Make Changes Live" to update user information.
33
Adding a New User
New users are created in this section. Enter the new user's name in the "User
Name" field, the password in the "Password" field, and enter the password
again for accuracy in the "Confirm Password" field. Next click the 'Add New
User' button to create the user account.
Add New User section
User names may only contain alphanumeric characters. Only the following
characters are allowed:
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1234567890
Passwords may contain any characters. Each password must contain at least
eight characters, one of which must be either a digit (1234567890) or a special
character (non-alphanumeric character).
When created, new users do not have access to any sections of the Commerce
Administrator. Please see the following section entitled "Configuring User
Access" for further information on these settings
Managing Existing Users
The Admin user password, user passwords, and user settings may be configured in the Current Users section of the Admin Users page. You may also
delete existing users in this section.
Current Users section
34
Changing the Administrator Password
The Adminstrator of the accounts will always maintain a user name of Admin.
When logged in as the Admin user, you may change the password in the
Admin Users section of the Commerce Administrator. If you have forgotten
the Admin user password and cannot log in, it may be reset by modifying the
ConfigPW file located within the PDG_Commerce folder. It is strongly suggested that you change the password immediately upon gaining access to the
Commerce Administrator so the Admin password will once again be
encrypted.
Enter the new password in the "Password" field. Enter it again for accuracy in
the "Confirm Password" field. Click the 'Update Password' button to change
the password.
The Admin user password may contain any characters. Each password must
contain at least eight characters, one of which must be either a digit
(1234567890) or a special character (non-alphanumeric character).
Changing User Passwords
User passwords may be changed in the individual user's section on the Admin
Users page. Only the Admin may change users' passwords. Enter the new
password in the "Password" field for the appropriate user. Enter it again for
accuracy in the "Confirm Password" field. Click the 'Update Password' button to change the password.
Configuring User Access
After creating a new user, the Admin will choose which sections of the Commerce Administrator may be accessed by that user. Check the boxes next to
the appropriate Administrator sections to grant access, then click the 'Update
User' button to set the access.
The Users section of the Commerce Administrator does not appear in this list,
as the Admin is the only user allowed to make changes to user accounts.
Removing a User
To remove an existing user, click the 'Remove User' button in the appropriate
user's settings on the Admin Users page.
Making “Live” Changes to Your Web Store
As you navigate through the various pages of the Merchant Administrator
making changes or updating items, you should notice a ‘Status’ message on
the top left-hand side of each page. This message indicates whether or not
certain settings within the Merchant Administrator are “live” on your Web
site. This is a global status message which means that a change to any indi-
35
vidual setting will cause a “not live” status message to be displayed, regardless of which page you happen to be on within the Merchant Administrator.
Certain changes in your Merchant Administrator take effect immediately, and
do not need to be made live. In general, these are settings that are stored in
your database and are not staged. Things that you can change, that take affect
without making changes live, include:
•
•
•
•
•
Customer information (including any address information)
Customer Categories
Order Discounting (by subtotal)
Product Inventory
Product Categories
For example, let's say that you access the Merchant Administrator and make a
change to a sales tax rule. Then, before clicking the ‘Make Changes Live’
link on the main menu, you go to the Shipping Rules page to review your settings. The status message on the top of the Shipping Rules page indicates that
the settings are not live, even though you have not made any changes to the
shipping settings. This is because the sales tax change you made earlier has
not yet been “made live” or implemented.
Product definitions are different in regards to making changes live. When a
product is added to the database, it is initially not live, although it is stored in
the database. Clicking “Make Live” will then make the product available for
your customer base. Products added to the database can also be made live by
moving them temporarily to the Staging Product Category, and then moving
them to their proper product category.
The “not live” message will remain until you click the ‘Make Changes Live’
link on the Merchant Administrator’s main menu, then the message will read
“These settings are live.”
Of course, if you make any number of changes and then decide to discard
them; you can do so by clicking “Discard Changes” on the main menu. This
action will produce a confirmation screen. Once you have confirmed that you
want to discard the changes, the Administrator clears all changes since the last
time you clicked “Make Changes Live” – you do not have the ability to pick
and choose which changes to discard.
Warning: Use of the “Back” button on your browser may cause the improper
status message to be displayed. It is recommended to avoid the use of your
browser’s “Back” button when at all possible. Instead, use the links within
the Administrator’s pages to navigate through your Merchant Administrator.
Backups
You should back up your PDG Commerce files often. In the event of a server
crash or an accidental deletion of a file, backup files can be used to restore
36
your fully functioning PDG Commerce. There are several files you should
back up. All are under your ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory located in your Web
server’s CGI directory. The following files, in particular, should be backed
up.
•
•
•
shopper.conf
shipping.conf
All of your Template files
Generally, it is a good idea to backup your entire ‘PDG_Commerce’ subdirectory, if you have the space. Such a backup can be performed inside many
popular FTP programs, and several HTML editors. If you need more help
with this topic, please contact your Web host for your required method to
access/copy these files.
Replicating and Restoring Master Data
PDG Commerce has the ability to replicate your Web store’s master data files
with a single click. From the Merchant Administrator’s main menu, the
“Maintenance” link will lead you to a page with two links that control this
feature: “Replicate Master Data” and “Restore Master Data.”
Clicking “Replicate Master Data” will make a duplicate copy of many of the
files located in the “PDG_Commerce” directory, including the following files:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
shopper.conf
•
•
•
ProdText folder
shipping.conf
countries.txt
currency.txt
configPW
shopper.txt
cartconfig.txt
Templates folder (if located in the PDG_Commerce directory)
Note: If you are using Site Design or if your PDGCommTemplates or Templates folder is not located in your PDG_Commerce directory, your template
files will not be copied by replicating master data.
EmailTemplates folder
All zone files in use
Warning: The “Replicate” and “Restore” function DOES NOT back up or
restore your database. If you wish to backup and/or restore you database, you
will need to do so through the database itself. (In the case of Microsoft
Access databases, you can just make a copy of the .mdb file.)
Note: The “Replicate” and “Restore” features will not be available to users
testing locally on Windows 95 or Windows 98. If you are using a Windows
95/98 machine to test your Web store’s settings, the Replicate and Restore
actions will have to be done ‘live’ on your Web server.
37
These replicated files will be stored in a ‘ReplicaData’ folder within the
‘PDG_Commerce’ directory. It is recommended that you replicate your master data files after each session of changes to your Web store’s settings in the
Merchant Administrator.
Once you have replicated your master data files, they remain in the
‘ReplicaData’ directory until they are needed. If any of your master data files
become corrupt at any time, simply click the “Restore Master Data” link on
the Maintenance page of your Merchant Administrator. This will replace the
active files with your replicates.
Warning: The ‘Replicate’ and ‘Restore’ features should not be considered
an alternative to backing up all of your Web store’s files. To avoid losing any
important data, you should backup your entire ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory
regularly.
38
Chapter 5
Database Configuration
An explanation of the Database Configuration Settings in the Merchant Administrator
T
he database is a critical part of the PDG Commerce program. Without a
database, you would not be able to store and retreive information on your
product catalog, customer information, and placed orders. With PDG
Commerce, you use a third party database application, and configure PDG
Commerce to communicate with it. PDG Commerce will then send queries
and requests to the database as it needs to retreive and store data.
Database Requirements
PDG Commerce supports the following databases:
For the Microsoft Windows version of PDG Commerce, any ODBC compliant database is supported. PDG Commerce is specifically tested with
Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server.
For any UNIX version of PDG Commerce, mySQL is supported.
If you require support for a database not listed above, please contact PDG
Software for availability.
Configuring Database Settings
Depending on the operating system of the web server, different settings will
be present on the page.
39
5 -- Database Configuration
Database Configuration Screen
Database Settings for Windows versions
For the Windows versions of PDG Commerce, you can have PDG Commerce
access your database in one of three ways:
•
•
•
Using a Data Source Name (DSN)
For most ODBC databases, specify the server name and the database
name
For Microsoft Access, specify the .mdb file
In any of the three cases, you may also need to specify a username and a
password to access your database.
Note: You only need to use one of the three mechanisms listed above. So, for
example, you have a DSN setup to a Microsoft Access file located on the web
server. You can use either the DSN, or specify the Access filename. You do
not need to do both.
Database Driver Type
This is a list of the database drivers installed on the web server’s system. This
list is generated for PDG Commerce by the operating system. Choose the
appropriate driver for the database you are using.
DSN
If you are using a Data Source Name to identify your database to PDG Commerce, place the DSN here. If you are not using a DSN, leave the field blank.
40
SQL Server
If you are specifying an ODBC connection to a database program, such as
Microsoft SQL Server, place the name of the server’s fully qualified domain
name here. If you are using the DSN or the Access filename, leave this field
blank.
SQL Server Database
If you are specifying an ODBC connection to a database program, such as
Microsoft SQL Server, place the name of the database to use here. Note that
this database must already be setup and configured with the database application. If you are using the DSN or the Access filename, leave this field blank.
MS Access database filename
If you are specifying an MS Access .mdb file for your connection to a database, place the filename here.
Login Name
If you were provided with a login name for accessing your database, place it
here. Otherwise leave it blank.
Password
If you were provided with a login password for accessing your database, place
it here. Otherwise leave it blank.
Database Settings for UNIX versions
The UNIX version of PDG Commerce works with mySQL. You will need to
have a mySQL account set up for you. Once you have verified this, fill in the
following fields with the appropriate information.
SQL Server
Place the name of the mySQL server’s fully qualified domain name here. You
should have this information if you are administrating the database application yourself, or this should be provided to you by your hosting company or
server administrator if not.
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SQL Server Database
Place the name of the database to use here. You should have this information
if you are administrating the database application yourself, or this should be
provided to you by your hosting company or server administrator if not.
Login Name
Place the login name to use to access the mySQL database here. If you do not
require a login name, leave this field blank. You should have this information
if you are administrating the database application yourself, or this should be
provided to you by your hosting company or server administrator if not.
Password
Place the password to use to access the mySQL datavase here, if you have
one. If you do not require a password, leave this field blank. You should have
this information if you are administrating the database application yourself, or
this should be provided to you by your hosting company or server administrator if not.
Setting Up the Database
Once these settings are configured, the database itself must be set up before it
can be used with PDG Commerce. This involves making sure the proper
tables are setup.
If you are setting up a new PDG Commerce and not upgrading from another
PDG Software product, you will need to run PDG’s CreateDB utility. This
utility constructs the database tables for you. The CreateDB utility is a CGI
application that comes with PDG Commerce. To run it, you need to enter its
URL in your browser. An example might be:
http://www.yourstorename.com/cgi-bin/CreateDB.exe?pw=
Your URL will be different - you need to change the server to be your webserver, and the cgi-bin and executable file extension may need to be changed.
Once started, supply the needed database connectivity information on the
page and follow the instructions. A separate user guide for the Create Database utility can be found at http://www.pdgsoft.com as well.
If you are upgrading from a previous PDG Commerce, or from a PDG Shopping Cart, you will need to run the PDG Commerce Upgrade tool. This is a
Microsoft Windows wizard-based application. It will walk you through the
process of upgrading.
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Chapter 6
Customer Maintenance
Managing your customers and your customer categories
A
large aspect of PDG Commerce is the ability to retain customer information. Customers can log into your web store, where common information
like their shipping and billing addresses can be stored and recalled for
later return purchases. You can log into your Merchant Administrator and
likewise administrate customer information, updating, adding, and deleting it
as you need.
Using PDG Commerce, you can also create customer categories. With customer categories, you can sort customers into different groups. You can offer
different pricing models for these different groups. For example, one group of
your customers may be your resellers. These resellers have already provided
you with proper tax reseller exemption IDs, and therefore should not be
charged tax. You can create a customer category for them, and instruct PDG
Commerce to not charge tax to any customer in that category. You can further
instruct PDG Commerce to collect sales tax for customers not in the category
- which allows you to also conduct a retail direct-to-consumer business.
Customer and Customer Category Configuration
Selecting “Customers” from your PDG Commerce Main Menu will bring you
to the primary customer and customer category configuration screen. From
this screen, you can search for specific customers, so that you can alter or
delete any information. You can also manage your customer categories,
including moving customers to and from categories as well as setting price
changes and tax changes for customers in a specific category.
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6 -- Customer Maintenance
Customer Management
This first part of the Customer and Customer Configuration screen is devoted
to customer management. Here you can browse all of your customers, browse
customers by their category, or search for specific customers. You can also
delete customers and move customers between categories.
Customer Management
Number of customers to Display Per Page
This setting controls the number of customers displayed per page for any
search or browse operation against your customer database. If you search
with specific criteria, the results will be returned with this number per page. If
you browse by a category or browse the entire customer database, the results
will be returned with this number per page.
Searching for Specific Customers
You can search for a specific customer from your customer database. To do
so, supply as much information as you know. You may specify the customer’s
User ID, first name, last name, email address, and / or company name. Once
you have done this, press the Submit button. PDG Commerce will perform
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your search across all customer categories, and return a list of matching customers.
If PDG Commerce finds one or more customers matching your search criteria,
they will be returned in a “Customer Display” screen, which is described in
more detail below.
Browsing a Customer Category
You may browse all customers in a given category. To do so, use the pulldown box and select the customer category you wish to browse. Then click
the “Browse Customer Category” button. PDG Commerce will then return a
list of customers in the specified category in a “Customer Display” screen.
This screen is described in more detail below.
Browsing the Entire Customer List
You may browse all customers registered with your web store. To do so, click
the “View All Customers” button. PDG Commerce will then return a list of
all customers registered for your web store in a “Customer Display” screen.
This screen is described in more detail below.
Adding a New Customer
You may add a new customer to your customer database by clicking “Add a
New Customer.” A blank “Customer Page” will be displayed allowing you to
enter in the customer’s information. The “Customer Page” is described in
more detail below.
Note that this is not the only way for customers to be entered into your customer database. You can set up your PDG Commerce so that customers can
register themselves into your customer database.
Moving All Customers in One Category to
Another
You can move all the customers in one category to another using the “Move
ALL customers in the [source] category to the [destination] category” box,
where “[source]” and “[destination]” are drop-down select boxes. For
“[source],” choose the category from which you want to move customers. For
“[destination],” choose the category to which you want to move customers.
The click “Move Customers”. Once the move is complete, PDG Commerce
Merchant Administrator will return to the “Customer and Customer Configuration” screen. You can then browse the customer categories if you wish to
confirm the move.
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Deleting All Customers in a Specific Category
You can delete all the customers in a specific category using the “Delete ALL
customers in the [source] category” box, where “[source]” is a drop-down
select box. For the “[source]” box, select the category whose customers you
wish to delete. Then press the “Delete Customers” button. You will be given
a pop-up box asking you to confirm this deletion. If you answer “OK” to this
pop-up box, all the customers in the specified category will be removed permanently from the customer database. Customers that are deleted in this manner cannot be restored later, so be certain of this action before confirming it.
The Merchant Administrator will then return to the “Customer and Customer
Configuration” screen once the deletion is complete. You can then browse the
customer category to confirm the deletion.
Customer Display screen
After searching the customer database or browsing the customer database (in
its entirety or by by category), the results will be returned on a “Customer Display” screen. The number of customers displayed on this screen is set by the
“Number of Customers to Display per Page” input from the previous screen.
If there are more results than can be displayed per page, a “Next” and or “Previous” button will be displayed near the bottom of the list, so that you can
view the other customers.
A Customer Display output
For each customer, PDG Commerce displays the customer’s name and company, email address, phone numbers, the customer’s login name, and the customer’s category. You can click the customer’s email address to email them note that your browser must be configured properly to handle mailto link
types.
To the right of this information, for each customer are some additional controls. Clicking on “Details” will bring up the “Customer Data Management”
screen for that particular customer. This screen is described in detail below.
To delete the user, click the “Remove” button to the right of that user.
Remember that the deletion is permanent and the user cannot be restored once
deleted.
You can move the customer to a different customer category with the “Move
To” input. Choose the customer’s new customer category from the pull-down
box next to the “Move To” button. Then click the “Move To” button. The
customer will then be moved to the specified category.
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Customer Data Management screen
The “Customer Data Management” screen allows you to modify information
about the customer, including their password, their addresses (both billing and
all shipping addresses), and other information.
Customer Data Management
The top part of the screen allows you to modify customer information not
related to addresses. You can change the customer’s email address, company
name, customer category, password, and customer specific comments. If you
are changing the password, you will need to enter it in both password boxes.
If the password typed in each box does not match the other, the password will
not be reset. Select the “Update Customer Details” to update this information
with your changes.
The bottom part of the screen deals with the customer’s address information.
You can display and modify the customer’s billing information, the customer’s primary shipping information, and any other secondary address information of the customer. Of this part of the screen, the left side of the screen
allows you to select which address information is displayed. The right side of
the screen displays the address information of the address selected on the left
side.
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To display a blank address, which you may then fill in from scratch, select
“Add New Customer”. To display the customer’s primary billing address
information, select “Billing Information.” To display the customer’s primary
shipping address information, select “Shipping Information.” If these two
addresses are linked as the same (meaning the customer has indicated he
wished to ‘ship to billing address,’ making a change on the billing information
will change the shipping information as well. You may instruct PDG Commerce to treat these addresses differently by clicking “Separate Contact.”
Once done, PDG Commerce treats the shipping and billing address information differently, and changes to one will not effect the other. If the addresses
are being treated differently and you wish to mark the account so that it will
ship to the billing address, select either the “Use Billing” button or the “Use
Shipping” button. If the “Use Billing” button is pressed, the customer’s current primary shipping address will be discarded, and the billing address will
be used as the primary shipping address. If the “Use Shipping” button is
pressed, the customer’s current billing address is discarded, and the the primary shipping address will be used as the billing address.
If the customer has any secondary shipping addresses, each address’s
‘Friendly Name’ is displayed on the left. Once a specific secondary shipping
address on the left is selected, the address information is displayed on the
right. You may remove a secondary shipping address by selecting it on the
left and pressing “Remove Contact.” Note that you cannot remove the customer’s primary billing address or primary shipping address.
On the right side of the display, you can view or modify the currently selected
address information. At the end of the information are two buttons: “Update
Information” and “Add New Contact.” If you select “Update Information”,
then the currently selected address on the left will be updated, replacing any
old information, including updating the “Friendly Name.” If you select “Add
New Contact,” a new secondary shipping address will be created with the
friendly name specified, and will then be listed on the left of the display.
Note: The friendly name for the billing information and the primary shipping
address are ignored. They can be set to any value. This value is not displayed
to any customer.
Customer Page screen
If you are adding a brand new customer, including all new contact information
and address, to your customer database, PDG Commerce will display the
“Customer Page” screen. On this page, you can enter all of the new customer’s information, including contact information, billing information, and
primary shipping address. Click “Add” when you are done and PDG Commerce will add a new entry into your customer database with the given information.
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Customer Category Management
On the “Customer and Customer Configuration” screen (the screen that is
loaded when “Customers” is selected from the Main Menu), the second half
of the page deals with managing customer categories. The categories allow
you to extend different store rights, rules, and pricings to different customers.
After this, functions for adding new categories, renaming categories, and
changing registration codes for categories are available.
Customer Category Management
Category List and Basic Operating Rules
The primary portion of this section of the page lists the existing customer categories. For each category, PDG Commerce will display that category’s basic
operating rules and command buttons to alter the pricing changes for that category, as well as to remove that category. If you make any changes to the
checkboxes or radio buttons governing the basic operating rules of the categories, you must then press “Update Changes to Existing Customer Categories”
to save these changes.
The basic operating rules for each customer category are: “Allow Viewing of
Prices,” “Allow Checkout,” “Allow Registration,” and “Default.”
Allow Viewing of Prices
If “Allow Viewing of Prices” is turned on, then members of that customer category will see product pricing as they go through the web store’s catalog. If it
is turned off, customers in that category can see product pages in the web
store, but not pricing.
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Allow Checkout
If “Allow Checkout” is turned on, the members of that customer category can
place an order on your web store for their selected goods. If it is turned off,
then customers in that category cannot place an order.
Allow Registration
If “Allow Registration” is turned on, then a new customer registering themselves for your webstore can automatically join this category, if they provide
the proper registration. If this is turned off, a new customer registering themself would need to be manually added to the customer category.
Note that turning on “Allow Registration” by itself is not sufficient to enable a
customer to automatically join that category upon registration. You must also
set a registration code for the category. Then either the new customer would
have to provide the registration code when registering, or the registration code
would need to be a hidden field in the registration form. In either case, a registration code must be present.
The exception to the above paragraph is with any customer category that is
marked as “Default.” A customer category marked as “Default” and “Allow
Registration” will allow a customer to register into it with no registration
code. If the “Default” customer category has “Allow Registration” turned off
and a registering customer has no registration code, PDG Commerce will
return an error stating that there is no customer category available to join. So
it is important to either have a registration code field or a hidden registration
code on the registration page for new customers.
Default
“Default” indicates which customer category is used by PDG Commerce for
determining pricing and taxation rules for anonymous, unregistered users.
There must always be a default customer category, and the default customer
category cannot be deleted.
Pricing
If you select “Pricing” for a customer category, then the “Customer Category
Pricing Configuration” screen is displayed for that category. This screen is
described in more detail below.
Remove
If “Remove” is selected for a customer category, that category will be deleted
from your customer database. Note that PDG Commerce will not let you
delete a customer category that has customers in it. You will first need to
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move or delete customers out of the category so that it is empty, and then PDG
Commerce will let you delete it. Also note that PDG Commerce will not let
you delete the customer category marked as default, regardless of whether
there is customers in it or not.
Adding a New Category
To add a new customer category, use the “Enter New Customer Category
Data” section. Enter the new category name in the provided field, and you
can preset the “Allow Pricing,” “Allow Checkout,” and “Allow Registration”
rules with the checkboxes provided. Then click “Add.”
Renaming a Category
You can rename an existing customer category with the “Change Name of
Category” section. Choose the old name of the category to rename in the
select box, enter the new name in the provided field, and select “Change
Name.”
Changing the Registration Code of a Category
If you have a customer category marked as “Allow Registration,” you must
specify an additional “Registration Code” that a new customer can enter to
join that category. To change the code, select the category in the pull-down
box next to “Change Registration Code for Customer Category.” Enter the
new registration code in the field next to “To.” Then click “Change Code.”
The new registration code should now be reflected in the Customer Category.
Note that you can only change the registration code for a customer category if
“Allow Registration” is enabled. Otherwise, PDG Commerce will produce an
error.
New customers, when registering, will not be able to automatically join a customer category if there is no registration code, even if “Allow Registration” is
checked, with the exception of the “Default” customer category.
Customer Category Pricing Configuration
The “Customer Category Pricing Configuration” page allows you to specify
pricing discounts and changes for a specific customer category. For instance
if you have a customer category that is tax exempt for items in your catalog or
for a certain product category, you can set it here.
Some terminology will be used in the remainder of this chapter to discribe
various pricing settings. They are listed here so you can reference them as
needed:
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•
Unit Price: This is the product’s original unit price. Depending on
your Merchant Administrator options, this may be the original,
unmodified base price, or this may be the price with any price
changes due to options selected.
•
Unit Price Discount: This is the amount, given in a specific value or
a percentage, to discount the Unit Price. Note that a postive discount
amount subtracts from the Unit Price, and conversely, a negative discount amount will add to the unit price.
•
Discounted Unit Price: This is the Unit Price of the product once the
Unit Price Discount has been applied to it.
•
Taxable Price: This is the original, unmodified value which PDG
Commerce uses to calculate any sales tax for the product. This is usually the same as the product’s Unit Price.
•
Taxable Price Discount: This is the amount, given in a specific value
or a percentage, to discount the Taxable Price. Note that a positive
discount amount subtracts from the Taxable Price while a negative
discount amount adds to the Taxable Price.
•
Discounted Taxable Price: This is the amount which PDG Commerce will use to calculate any sales tax. The Discounted Taxable
Price is calculated by applying the Taxable Price Discount to the original Taxable Price.
Reset Customer Category Pricing
The first half of the “Customer Category Pricing Configuration” page allows
you to reset all pricing rules and discounts for that specific customer category
for your entire product catalog. If you wish to mark your entire product catalog as tax exempt for this customer category, you would use this section of the
page.
Resetting Customer Category Pricing for all Categories
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Note that using this upper section of the “Customer Category Pricing Configuration” will result in any specific product category discounts and tax settings
to be replaced with the settings specified here.
The left half of this section allows you to specify a discount of the unit price
for all product categories for this customer category. This price change can be
expressed as a specific amount or a percent amount. If it is a specific amount,
enter the number. If it is a percent, enter the percent followed by a percent
sign. Remember this is a discount, so a positive value will result in the discount being subtracted from the unit price. A negative discount amount will
result in the value being added to the unit price.
The right side contains options for setting the amount of the price that is taxable for the customer category for all products in your catalog. You have four
options here:
•
•
•
•
Do Not Change Taxable Price
Apply Discount Amount to both Unit Price Discount and Taxable Price
Discount
Set as Tax Exempt
Set Taxable Price Discount manually
Do Not Change Taxable Price
Choose this if you do not wish to change the Taxable Price Discount setting
for the product catalog.
If a discount amount is specified on the left, it will be used for the Unit Price
Discount only.
Apply Discount Amount to Both Unit Price Price
Discount and Taxable Price Discount
Choosing this causes the specified discount amount on the left to be used as
the Unit Price Discount and the Taxable Price Discount. For example, if a
$100 product in a product category is set to be discounted by 15%, setting the
product category’s Unit Price Discount and the Taxable Price Discount to be
15% will cause the Taxable Price to be $85, and PDG Commerce will then use
the amount of $85 when calculating tax.
Set as Tax Exempt
Choosing this causes all products in the catalog to be tax exempt for this customer category. In other words, they will have a Taxable Price Discount of
100%.
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If a discount amount is specified on the left, it will be used for the Unit Price
Discount only. If the discount amount field on the left is left blank, the Unit
Price Discount amount will be left unchanged.
Set Taxable Price Discount Manually
Use this if you want to manually set the Taxable Price Discount, for the given
customer category. If all of the product’s original price is taxable, set this to
0% (no Taxable Price Discount). If the product is entirely tax exempt, set this
to 100% (Taxable Price Discount of 100%).
This can be used in different situations. For example, if a state sales tax law
requires that certain products be taxed for only 60% of the product’s price,
you can manually set the Taxable Price Discount to be 40%, so that the Discounted Taxable Price is only 60% of the original price.
Another situation might be where you want to offer a discount, but due to
local laws, you have to charge tax on the product’s full amount. You can set
the Unit Price Discount to the appropriate amount, and manually set the Taxable Price Discount amount to 0%. This would, for example, result in a $100
product being offered to the custmer at a discounted amount (say $85 if the
Unit Price Discount is 15%), but the tax is calculated at the $100 amount
(Taxable Price Discount of 0%).
Customer Category Pricing per Product Category
In addition to resetting the discounting and taxation rules for the entire product category for the specified customer category, you can set the discounting
and taxation rules on a per product category basis for the customer category.
This allows you the ultimate flexability in determining different pricing for
different customers for different products. Note that you can also set discounts for customer categories on a per-product basis as well. That is covered
later in this manual with the discussion of the product configuration settings.
Product Category Pricing for a Specific Customer Category
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The second half of the “Customer Category Pricing Configuration” page lists
out each product category. For each product category, you will see that product category’s code, its current Unit Price Discount for the customer category,
and the Taxable Price Discount for the customer category. To the right of
each product category code, there is a field where you can enter in a new Unit
Price Discount for that specific product category. Further to the right you can
modify the taxing rule for that product category. You can set the Taxable
Price Discount equal to the Unit Price Discount, set the product category as
tax exempt (Taxable Price Discount of 100%), or manually set the Taxable
Price Discount. After making any changes, click “Update Customer Category
Pricing” to save the changes.
Note: Customer category pricing per product category cannot be configured
for Gift Certificates as they are not considered a product category.
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Chapter 7
Commerce Options and Secure
Settings
How to configure the general cart settings of PDG Commerce using your
I
n order for PDG Commerce to function according to your Web store’s
needs, you must first configure its settings in the Merchant Administrator.
It is here that you will tell PDG Commerce how to compute sales tax,
which HTML templates to use in the checkout process, whether or not to
track inventory, how to deal with international currency fluctuations, where
secure checkout should take place and more.
Access your Merchant Administrator’s main menu, and click the ‘Commerce
Options’ link. This will load a page titled ‘PDG Commerce Options Configuration.’
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7 -- Commerce Options and Secure Settings
Commerce Options
In this section, you will configure the general operating parameters of PDG
Commerce. All file locations are assumed to be relative to the
‘PDG_Commerce’ directory, unless a full location is specified.
Part of Commerce Options page
After you have completed these settings, or at any time that you adjust any or
all of these settings, be sure to click the ‘Submit Changes’ button. To implement these settings, or changes to them, on your Web store, you must click the
‘Make Changes Live’ button on the main menu of your Merchant Administrator.
Product Configuration
Full URL to Commerce Executable
This field should contain the complete URL of your web site that points to the
commerce executable. On a Windows server, the executable will be named
Commerce.exe. On a UNIX server, the executable will be named either commerce.cgi or just commerce. You should enter your full web site address, cgi
directory path, and commerce executable. For example:
http://www.mywebstore.com/cgi-bin/commerce
Do Not Sort Inventory Display
If you do not need to have the inventory listing sorted in alpha-numerical
order, check this box. The sorting procedure does add extra processing time,
and for extremely large inventories, this can result in a server timeout. If the
sorting is needed and the additional process time is negligable, leave this
unchecked.
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Percent Discounts are Based on Full Product Price Including
Options
For any item discounting that are percentages, you have two options. The discount can either be a percent of just the base price of the item, or it can be a
percent of the item with any price changes due to item options selected. If
you want the discount percent to be calculated on item pricing that includes
option price changes, check this box. Unchecking this box instructs PDG
Commerce to only calculate percentage discounts with item’s base price.
Allow Softgood Downloads on Non-authorized Credit Card Transactions?
Softgoods consist of digital products that can be delivered over the Internet.
Softgoods include, but are not limited to: software programs, mp3 files,
images, digital movies, and online novels. This setting will indicate whether
or not your customers will be able to download softgood products from your
Web store although their credit cards were not authorized. This might be the
case if your Web store does not authorize credit cards online.
When a customer is purchasing a softgood item from your Web store, he will
usually be paying via credit card over the Web. This is how PDG Commerce
prevents customers from downloading these items before they have been paid
for. However, if you would like to allow customers to be able to download a
digital product without having a credit card authorization (perhaps for a trial
version), then check this box.
Site Design and Display Elements
Web Site Name
Place your web store’s site name here. This value is used in the Merchant
Administrator pages and in emails as well.
Web Site Logo (image)
In this field you may specify the location of an image to be used as your web
store’s logo. You may either enter a full url to the image, or a file path relative
to the root directory.
Enable Site Design Mode
If you would like to use Site Design mode to select themes, choose buttons,
and customize the color, font, and layout of your templates, check this box.
Once changes are submit, a new Site Design menu item will appear on the
Main Menu. This link will open the Site Design menu to begin customizing
the look of your PDG Shopping Cart store templates directly through your
Cart Administrator. If you prefer not to use the Site Design mode, and enter
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your template file names and button file locations manually, do not check this
box.
For detailed instructions on Site Design mode, please see the PDG Software
Design Guide.
Web Site Text
In this field you may specify a short text statement to be used as your web
site’s tagline text. You may enter up to 255 characters in this field.
Thumbnail Image Size
In this field you may specify a height and width (in pixels) to constrain the
size of the thumbnail image for your products. For example, if you enter the
same image file as both the product image and the thumbnail image for a
product, but specify a size of 50 x 50 in this field, the thumbnail image will
display the entire image scaled down to a size of 50 pixels by 50 pixels. If
you do not specify a height or width in this field, the original height or width
of the thumbnail image will be used.
Show Thumbnail Image for Product on Basket Displays: (Basket,
Check-out, Verify)
This field allows you to specify which of these three templates (if any) will
display a thumbnail image of the products in the basket. The “Basket (display=action)” checkbox will determine whether or not the product thumbnails
are displayed in the cart on the Basket.html page. The “Check-out (checkout=action)” checkbox will determine whether or not the product thumbnails
are displayed in the cart on the Checkout.html page. The “Verify (verify=action)” checkbox will determine whether or not the product thumbnails
are displayed in the cart on the Verify.html page.
Note: These checkboxes determine the display of the default Basket.html,
Checkout.html, and Verify.html pages. To display thumbnail images on pages
that use a custom basket, you will need to add the appropriate tags into your
HTML code. Please see the PDG Shopping Cart Technical Reference for further information.
Link Product Description on Basket
This field allows you to specify whether or not you would like the product
descriptions appearing in the cart on your Basket.html page to be HTML links
to the preadd page for each item.
Note: This checkbox determines the display of the default Basket.html page.
To display product links in a custom basket, you will need to add the appropriate tags into your HTML code. Please see the PDG Shopping Cart Technical
Reference for further information.
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Do not Use mono space font on Thankyou Template
This field allows you to specify whether you want to use the default mono
space font on the ThankYou.html template, or if you would prefer that the
Cart font (used on all other Cart templates) is used. Checking the box will use
the Cart font, while leaving it blank will use the existing default mono space
font.
Note: This checkbox determines the display of the default ThankYou.html
page. Custom ThankYou.html pages do not use the mono space font.
Display Inventory Amount
If you wish for your PDG Commerce to display the specific amount of items
in inventory to your customers, check this box. If it is unchecked, PDG Commerce will only report if the item is in stock or not, and if not, whether the
product can be backordered or not.
Display Pricing Subtotals
If you are using PDG Commerce to distribute items for free or if you are using
PDG Commerce in some capacity where item price is not required, you can
check this and pricing information and subtotals will not be displayed on any
catalog page or order pages. The default is to leave this checked, and pricing
and subtotals will display as normal.
Do Not Display Weights
If you are not using weights for shipping and do not want them to appear on
your web store pages, in the emails, or in the order logs, check this box to turn
off the weight display.
Do Not Include Credit Card Data in Vendor
or Order Logs
E-mail Notifications
Enabling this feature will prevent credit card information from being displayed in vendor e-mails, order logs, or CSV files. This allows for the maximum security of your shoppers’ payment information.
Note: PDG strongly advises that this field remain checked unless you are utilizing GPG encryption to encrypt such files.
Allow Price Recalculations on Catalog Pages?
Enabling this feature will allow PDG Commerce to recalculate a product's
price based on the modified option(s) and/or quantity and display the updated
price in real-time. For example, let's say that you are a computer manufacturer selling systems online at your Web store. You offer a basic system that
retails for $1,200.00, but you give customers the option of choosing a larger
monitor over the standard one for an additional $150.00. On the product's
Item page, the $1,200.00 price immediately changes to $1,350.00 when the
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customer chooses the larger monitor from a ‘monitor options’ drop-down
menu.
Note: You can instruct PDG Commerce to attribute an additional charge for a
particular option selection when you define options for products.
Frequent Shopper Points Label
No doubt, you are familiar with many airlines’ “frequent flyer” programs
which emerged in the 1970s as a way to build customer loyalty and encourage
repeat business. Other industries (hotels, car rental companies and long distance carriers, to name a few) have taken notice and developed variations of
these programs.
If you have a similar program in place, PDG Commerce can help you manage
the calculation of your “frequent shopper points.” In this field, place the
name of the points that are accumulated when purchasing products on your
Web store. For example, some airlines call them “frequent flyer miles.” Your
Web store may call them “shopper bonus points” or something of that nature.
frequent Shopper Points label
appears here
this product’s Frequent Shopper
Points value
Add Item page showing Frequent Shopper Points feature
PDG Commerce will display each product's point value, along with the label
that you enter in this field, on the Add Item page and again on the Checkout
pages. The cumulative total of points for an order will appear on the checkout
pages as a customer completes the checkout process.
You will assign a product's point value when you define, or set up, the product
– as will be explained the chapter entitled ‘Maintaining Products.’
Shipping Charge Label
This setting controls what identifying text will be next to the shipping charges
on the customer’s Checkout page (i.e. “Shipping & Handling”). This label
will be applied to the cumulative shipping charge, regardless of how that total
was derived.
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Invalid Option Selection Error Message
In PDG Commerce, you have the ability to specify certain combinations of
options that may be invalid. For example, if a product comes in red, blue and
black and small, medium and large, but for some reason larges are not produced in black, then you could specify “large, black” as an invalid option
combination.
This text field allows you to enter the message that is to be displayed when a
customer selects a combination of product options that is invalid. This message appears in an alert box when the “locked,” or invalid, option combination is selected.
Note: For more information on products, product options and invalid option
selections, see Chapter 6 of this User Guide, ‘Maintaining Products.’
Display ‘Shop Some More’ button?
This checkbox will allow you to disable or enable the “Shop Some More” button on your Basket template. This button, when clicked, will direct a shopper
to another page in your Web store in order to continue shopping. The destination of where the shopper is redirected should be indicated in the following
field. Check this box if you would like to provide a link back to your Web
store from the Basket page.
Complete URL of Destination of ‘Shop Some More’ button
In this field, enter the absolute URL that a customer will be taken to should he
click the ‘Shop Some More’ button. This field should be filled out. This field
may be overridden by referencing a different URL on the Basket template
itself. When you have set these options, Click on the ‘Submit Changes’ button. Then, return to the main menu and click ‘Make Changes Live.’
Site Configuration
Weeks Until Carts Expire
This setting allows you to specify how long your shoppers’ unmodified and
unused shopping carts should exist. To clarify, let's say that a customer visits
your Web store, adds a couple of products to his shopping cart then quits
shopping and surfs off to some other site on the Internet, without checking
out. The number you enter here will tell that customer's browser (Netscape
Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.) how long to remember the cart
and its contents. Anytime that customer returns to your Web store within the
period of time specified in this field, those products that were previously
added will still be there (assuming, of course, that the customer visits your
Web store using the same computer and with the same browser as before).
Typically, Web stores specify this setting to be anywhere from three to six
weeks. PDG Commerce now allows the use of numbers with up to three decPDG Commerce -- User Guide
65
imal places for this value. However, keep in mind that this number represents
the number of weeks the cart will remain active. If you wish for your customer’s carts to expire in less than one week, use the following conversions:
0.001 week = approximately 10 minutes
0.01 week = approximately 1 hour 40 minutes
0.1 week = approximately 17 hours
Inactivity Duration in Hours
Specify here the amount of time, in hours, that a logged-in customer must be
inactive before they need to re-login.
Decimal Places in Prices
This text entry field allows you to extend or retract the number of decimal
places that will be displayed in your products’ prices. While most prices are
displayed out to two decimal places, you can adjust this depending upon the
pricing structure utilized in your Web store. For instance, if you want to display whole dollar amounts on your Web site, you would set this value to 0. If
you have products that cost less than one hundredth of your primary currency,
you can extend this to 3, 4, or whatever length you require.
Warning: Due to the way prices are kept internally in PDG Commerce, a
number larger than 8 in this field may cause product prices to be stored
improperly.
Minimum Subtotal of Order to Accept
This setting allows you to specify a “minimum subtotal threshold” for orders
that are processed on your Web store. PDG Commerce will not accept orders
that fall below this threshold. Aside from allowing you to designate a minimum order value allowed, this feature also prevents you from receiving
“empty” orders. Empty orders can occur if a customer first submits an order,
then clicks the browser's back arrow in an attempt to make a modification to
the order and, in effect, re-submits the order. Since the order was previously
submitted, the customer's Cart would be empty, resulting in an “empty” order.
Minimum Weight of Order to Accept
Like the “minimum subtotal threshold,” PDG Commerce can also place a
minimum weight limit for orders to send to Checkout. Your minimum weight
requirement may be implemented to encourage your customers to buy in bulk.
If you have no minimum subtotal threshold set, this function will also prevent
the receipt of “empty” orders as indicated in the previous section.
Note: If your Web store sells any Softgoods (i.e.: items that can be downloaded from the Web) or if you do not have a weight indicated for every prod66
uct in your Web store, it is probably a good idea not to have a minimum
weight threshold for orders accepted.
Origin ZIP Code for UPS and USPS Shipments
If you are planning on configuring PDG Commerce to interact with the UPS
(United Parcel Service) OnLine® Tools to obtain shipping costs during the
checkout process, this field allows you to specify the ZIP code from which
you will ship orders. More information about this feature of PDG Commerce
can be found in ‘Configuring Shipping’ of this user guide.
Weight Label
If you configure PDG Commerce to total the weight of the products being
ordered (perhaps for shipping cost calculation), this field indicates what unit
of weight measurement (ounce, pound, gram, etc.) will be used for your Web
store’s available products. For example, you might enter ‘lbs.’ for pounds.
This text appears in Commerce displays and on all order notifications if the
weight is a non-zero number. You will enter product weights when you enter
products in the Merchant Administrator. See ‘Maintaining Products’ in this
manual for more information on using weights with products. Note that if you
are using UPS or USPS for real-time shipping calculations, your weight measurements must be in either pounds or kilograms, and this label setting should
be set appropriately for that.
Site Units of Measure
If you are using weights for shipping, use this field to specify whether your
site will use the Metric or the English system of weights for your products.
This setting is especially important if you are using real time shipping scheduling and rate quotes, as UPS and USPS will use your weights to calculate
shipping. If using UPS or USPS, and you choose English, your product
weights must be in pounds and your product dimensions must be in inches. If
you are using UPS or USPS and you choose Metric, your product weights
must be in kilograms and product dimensions must be in centimeters.
Disable PDG Messages
If you do not wish to see real time messages from PDG Software, Inc. on the
main page of your Merchant Administrator, check this box to disable the display of those messages.
Make Recalc the Default Action on Basket Page
By default, PDG Commerce does not enforce any default action if a customer
hits ‘enter’ while on the Basket page. Different browsers make take different
67
actions. Some browsers may interpret an ‘enter’ key from the Basket page as
if the customer hit the first “Remove Item” button.
To force the ‘enter’ key to be interpretted as a recalc action, you can check
this box. You will need to upload a blank, small, transparent graphic to your
site. Place the URL of the blank graphic in the field below of the checkbox.
What happens it that PDG Commerce embeds a form submission link with the
transparent graphic at the very top of the form on the Basket page, and assigns
it a Recalc action. When some hits ‘enter,’ the browser will use the transparent graphic submission as the action, resulting in a recalc action.
Destination Page for Administrator Logout
In this field, enter the URL that your Web store administrator will be directed
to upon logging out of the Merchant Administrator. The location of this page
is assumed to be relative to your Web store’s root directory.
Secure Settings
For increased protection of sensitive information, PDG Commerce can be run
from a secured socket layer ( SSL) server or directory. In order to configure
these settings, go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the
‘Secure Settings’ link.
Secure Settings
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Complete URL to a SSL Secure PDG Commerce Executable
If you offer your customers the option of a secure checkout via SSL (secure
socket layer), this field tells PDG Commerce where to locate the executable
on a secure server.
The entry in this field might look something like:
https://www.webstorename.com/cgi-bin/commerce
Note the “s” in the https prefix – this denotes a secure server address.
L
Note to SSL users with multi-framed Web sites:
If your Web store is constructed with multiple frames and you are
using SSL to accept orders, the end-user may not see a special
padlock or key on their browser that indicates a secure connection.
This is because Web browsers will not display the padlock / key
symbol unless ALL frames are secured via SSL. Consequently, a
situation occurs where only the PDG Commerce frame is secure,
and no others. If you would like to have a solid key, you will need
PDG Commerce to interact with the customer in its own frame.
You can do this by enabling Multi-frame support and specifying a
non-existent frame for PDG Commerce. The end-user’s browser
will see that this frame does not currently exist and create a brand
new window for the frame. Since only PDG Commerce’s SSL
connection is displayed in this new window, the window will have a
key / padlock symbol.
Bear in mind that if you plan to run your secure connection from a different
directory on the same server, or from a different server altogether, you will
need to install PDG Commerce with all of its configuration files, executables
and templates in that different location and maintain both PDG Commerces in
tandem.
To further clarify, consider this scenario: at the point when a customer is
ready to check out and he chooses the secure checkout option, which points
his browser to the secure directory or server, PDG Commerce needs to be in
that directory or on that server so that he may complete his order.
Note: Any SSL templates that contain graphics must have those graphics
transferred to the secure directory, also. Alternatively, they may be referenced
69
with absolute URL’s, or else the links to these graphics will be broken on the
SSL templates.
L
Helpful hint for advanced users:
If you are maintaining two PDG Commerces as the above scenario
dictates, you can update one of them by using FTP procedures to
copy files. The same would apply for the other configuration files.
Remember that much of the data for your PDG Commerces are
stored in the database. Since both PDG Commerces will point to the
same database, that data does not need to be replicated.
Complete URL to a SSL Secure PDG Commerce Log Executable
This option allows PDG Commerce to send orders to another Web server to be
logged. It specifies the complete URL to the remote Commerce Log executable file, which is installed in the CGI directory along with the other PDG
Commerce executables. PDG Commerce will contact the Commerce Log
specified to obtain invoice numbers to log orders. If this option is blank or if
PDG Commerce cannot contact the remote Commerce Log, then the local
Web server is used for invoice numbers and order logging.
Alternate SSL Checkout HTML Template
This field contains the location for the Checkout template to be displayed during secure checkout. This setting can also be configured from the ‘HTML
Templates’ section of the Merchant Administrator, as described above.
Alternate SSL Verify HTML Template
This field contains the location for the Verify template to be displayed during
secure checkout. This setting can also be configured from the ‘HTML Templates’ section of the Merchant Administrator, as described above.
SSL Thank You Template File
This field contains the location for the Thank You HTML template to be displayed during secure checkout. This setting can also be configured from the
‘HTML Templates’ section of the Merchant Administrator, as described
above. For more information about Checkout, Verify and other HTML Tem-
70
plates, please see the ‘Standard HTML Template Files’ section earlier in this
chapter.
Note: If you are using an off-line payment method, the SSL Thank You template must be specified. PDG Commerce will not know where to find that
page if this field is left blank.
Encryption
In addition to the secure settings that you have configured, PDG Commerce
supports public-key encryption for various data files. These include:
•
•
•
•
•
order.log can be encrypted
order.csv can be encrypted
order.xml can be encrypted
vendor notification e-mail can be encrypted
transaction logs for real-time payment processing can be encrypted
These are the places where credit card information may be transmitted insecurely. Keep in mind that you can have PDG Commerce censor sensitive data
from these files if you do not want to encrypt them.
For details about what encryption software is supported and information on
configuring PDG Commerce to encrypt these two files, please see the Key
Manager documentation (KeyMan1.pdf) file available for download from
www.pdgsoft.com.
Other sensitive items in your configuration files will also be encrypted, regalrdless of whether or not you use public-key encryption. As encryption is used
in these configuration files, you will not be able to read or change those settings manually with a text editor.
IP List
The IP List feature allows you to deny ordering ability to any suspicious IP
addresses that you wish to prevent from accessing your web store. It also
allows you the ability to specify which IP addresses may log in to your Merchant Administrator, preventing anyone from accessing your settings without
your permission.
Note: Changes to the IP List section go live as soon as the ‘Submit Changes’
button is clicked. A pop-up window will confirm your choice when submitting the Administrator IP Allowed List.
The IP List section will accept two wildcard characters in the IP address specification:
•
Asterisk (*) - The asterisk may be used to represent an entire range of numbers for a particular block of the IP address.
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Example: 10.10.*.* translates to any IP number from 10.10.0.0 to
10.10.255.255
Note: The IP address cannot begin with an asterisk.
•
Question Mark (?) - The question mark may be used to represent a single
digit in the IP address.
Example: 192.168.0.1?? translates to any IP number from 192.168.0.100 to
192.168.0.199
Note: The IP address cannot begin with a question mark, and no single block
of the address may begin with a question mark.
Your Current IP Number appears at the top of the page, indicating which
address you are using to access your Merchant Administrator.
The Store IP Deny List allows you to specify which IP addresses (or range of
IP addresses) are not allowed to access any part of your web store. You may
enter multiple addresses or ranges by separating entries with a comma (,).
The Administrator IP Allowed List lets you designate which IP addresses (or
range of IP addresses) may access your Merchant Administrator. You may
enter multiple addresses or ranges by separating entries with a comma (,).
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You can find your current IP address at the top of this page. If you are connecting to the Internet with a dial-up modem, cable modem, or DSL connection, you will probably want to use the asterisk wildcard for the last two
blocks of your IP address, as the last block or two of your IP number may
change each time you connect to the Internet.
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Chapter 8
Maintaining Products
Adding, updating or deleting products using the Merchant Administrator
I
n order for customers to order products from your Web store, you must
first define (or “set up”) the items that you are selling within PDG Commerce. When you “define” a product, you are telling PDG Commerce
everything it needs to know in order to present a complete profile of that product to the customer.
A product definition within PDG Commerce includes, but is not limited to,
the following pieces of information, or attributes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Product code
One-line description
Detailed description
Keywords for searching
Product pricing and discounts
Any product-specific shipping charges
Weight per unit
Frequent shopper point value
URLs to product images
List of available options
Pricing changes for option selections
Any User-Defined Fields
Whether product should be displayed in searches
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8 -- Maintaining Products
Product Categories
With PDG Commerce, all products are stored in product categories. Each
product category can have its own discounting rules and display pages. You
can have as many products and product categories as you need - you are only
constrained by the third party database application you use.
Staging Product Category
The Staging Product Category is a special category. All of the products in this
category are considered “not-live.” These products will not be returned in
search queries or browse requests, and cannot be added to the cart or purchased from checkout. This allows you a storage space to place products that
are not available, without deleting the product from PDG Commerce. You
can also create new products in the Staging category that are not yet available.
When the products do become available, you then move them to the proper
live category.
The code for the Staging category is “*STG”. This product category cannot
be renamed and cannot be deleted. Since none of its products are visible to
your customers, certain categories details are not applicable to the Staging
category, and so there is no configuration for the Staging category.
Grouping Product Categories
In addition to organzing products into product categories, product categories
can also be associated together into groups. A product category is identified
as being in a category group by assigning it a “Parent Code.” All product categories in one group share the same “Parent Code.” These codes are 4 characters in length, like product category codes.
When creating your Web store, you can create links on your main catalog
page, instructing PDG Commerce to display all categories that share a specific “Parent Code.” For more information on embedding category-listing
calls regarding product category parent codes, see the section on embedding
PDG Commerce, in the PDG Commerce Technical Reference.
Product Categories Page
This page displays all of the product categories, including the Staging category. For each product category, PDG Commerce displays the category’s
code and description. To the right of each category entry are buttons to view
the product list for that category, to view the details for the category (such as
category-wide discounting), and to remove the category. These buttons are
available for all categories except the Staging category, which has no detail
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information and which cannot be removed. You can create new categories
from this page as well.
At the bottom of the page is a link that can be used to view a specific item
regardless of its category. To use this, enter the product’s sku in the box next
to “Enter Code of Product to Display” and click “Display Product.” PDG
Commerce will display the product’s information for you to view and modify.
Product Catagories
Start At Category
If you have a large number of product categories, PDG Commerce may not be
able to display the entire product category list on the page at one time. You
can specify which category to start displaying the category list, by entering in
the number of the category in the list to the elft of the “Start at Category” button. Then click that button. For example, if you wanted to start the list at the
one hundredth product category, enter in “100” and click “Start at Category.”
Creating a New Product Category
A place to create new product categories is near the top of the “Product Categories” page. To create a new product category, enter in a new four character
code and the product category’s name or brief description. Then select
“Add.” The new category will appear in the main product category list.
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View Products Button
To view the products in a specific product category, click on the “View Products” button that is on the same line as the product category you wish to
browse. Alternatively, you can also click the category’s code or description.
This will also bring up the product category’s product listing. This page that
contains the listing of products for the category is discussed in more detail
later in the chapter.
Details Button
To view the product category’s details, click on the “Details” button that is on
the same line as the product category with which you wish to work. This will
bring up a “Product Category Details” page for that category, which allows
you to modify category specific information, such as its templates and category-wide discounting. This page is discussed in further detail later in the
chapter.
Remove Button
To delete a product category, select the “Remove” button that is on the same
line as the category you wish to delete. A pop-up confirmation dialog box
will appear, asking you to confirm the deletion. To continue with the category
removal, click “Ok.” The category will be removed and all products in the
category will be deleted.
Warning: Deleting a category will result in all products in that category being
permanently deleted as well! If there are products in a category you wish to
retain, move them to a different category. Once a product has been deleted in
this manner, it cannot be restored without reverting the database.
Editing User Defined Field Names
Near the top of the “Product Categories” page is a link titled “Edit User
Defined Field Names.” If you are using user defined fields in PDG Commerce, click this link to modify the user defined field names. When you are
done with modifications, click “Change User Defined Field Names.”
User Defined Fields are described in more detail below, with other product
definition settings.
Display a Specific Product
If you know the unique sku number of a specific product you wish to view,
you may enter that sku number in this field and click the ‘Display Product’
button to go straight to the product details page.
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Product Category Details Page
All product categories, except the Staging category, have a “Product Category
Details” page. This page lets you set category-wide settings. The page has
two sections. The top section is concerned with specific category settings.
The bottom section allows you to manage product category-wide discounting.
Product Catagory Details
Product Category Specific Details
The top half of this page deals with category specific details, and are discussed below.
Product Category Code
PDG Commerce lists the product category’s code here. It is not modifiable,
as it uniquely identifies the category. This code is not visible to your customers. If you need to modify this code for some reason, you will need to create a
new product category with the new code and move all the products in the old
category to the new one, and then delete the old category.
Product Category Description
This field contains the description of the selected product category. This is
what will appear on your Web store’s site representing the name of the product category.
Product Category Store Builder Template
This field contains the location of the HTML template that is to be used as
that product category’s home page. This is the page that a customer will be
taken to should he choose to view all of the products in this category. The
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location of this file is assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory located in your CGI directory.
The Store Builder template itself is similar to a Search Results template, but
tailored specific to the product category. It allows customers to browse the
category’s products.
For more information concerning the Category Store Builder HTML template
and the Search Results templates, please see the PDG Commerce Technical
Reference Guide.
Product Category Image HTML
You can attribute an image or logo to each category in your Web store. This
field contains the absolute URL for the location of the image associated with
the selected product category. Please see the example for the format of this
entry:
http://www.yourstore.com/images/category_1.jpg
This image will appear in a category search result template or on a Category
Store Builder Template whenever this product category’s main page is displayed. For this image to appear, these templates need the appropriate category image tag in them. This is documented further in the PDG Commerce
Technical Reference under templates.
Product Category Parent Code
Product categories can be grouped together, so that PDG Commerce can display a list of the grouped categories to customers, by using “Parent Codes”
(described above in “Grouping Product Categories”). The Product Category
Parent Code must be the same for all product categories in the group. This
code can be any combination of letters or numbers up to 4 characters.
Product Category Specific Text
This field contains a more detailed description of the product category. This
text will be displayed on the Category template when the category is selected
for browsing by a shopper.
This text will appear in a category search result template or on a Category
Store Builder Template whenever this product category’s main page is displayed. For this image to appear, these templates need the appropriate category image tag in them. This is documented further in the PDG Commerce
Technical Reference under templates.
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Product Category Discounting
The bottom half of the “Product Category Details” page deals with discounting for the product category. Here you can define quantity discounting for the
product category. Remember that these quantity discounting rules are category-wide, and will apply if the quantity requirements are met with any products from the category.
The buttons and form inputs for the section are discussed later in this chapter
under the section titled “Quantity Discounting.”
Products Page
The “Products” page lists all defined products for the product category. Each
product is listed on its own row. PDG Commerce displays the product’s code,
name / brief description, and standard unit price for each product. Next to
each product’s listing are a “Details” button, a “Remove” button, and a “Move
To” button, along with a drop-down box of product categories.
Product Listing for Category A000
Product Position List
If you have a lot of products in the particular product category, PDG Commerce may not be able to display the entire product list on the page at one
time. In this case, PDG Commerce will only display a portion of the product
list. Use the pull-down select box near the top of the page to skip forward or
backward quickly through the list. After selecting how far to skip forward or
backward, click “Position Product List.”
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Creating a New Product
Near the top of the product listings are four blank form fields and an “Add”
button. These allow you to create a new product. To create a new product, fill
in the product’s unique code, a name or brief description, and standard unit
price in the appropriate first three fields. The fourth field, which is under
“Options From,” allows you to share the options from an existing product to
this new product (shared options are discussed with the “Option Definition”
page later in this chapter). If you want to share options from an existing product, enter that product’s code in the fourth field. Finally click “Add.” The
new product will be created and added to the current product category, and
displayed in the product list.
When creating product codes, descriptions, and other such inputs, care must
be taken that certain characters are avoided in these fields. Some characters
are difficult to translate through an HTML interface, and others may display
incorrectly or may cause PDG Commerce to act incorrectly, or may even
cause corruption to your product database.
Valid Characters
In general, you should use the basic 26 uppercase and lowercase letters, and
the 10 digits 0-9, plus the dash and the underscore (for a total of 64 characters):
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890_-
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Bad Characters
Specifically, the following characters should be avoided:
Name
Question mark
Ampersand
Angle brackets
Spaces
Double quotes
Single quotes
Slashes
Plus signs
Character
?
&
<>
Equal signs
Percent signs
Hash marks
Semicolons
Carat
=
%
#
;
^
"
'
/\
+
Name
Colons
Vertical Bars
Asterisks
Square brackets
Curly brackets
Parentheses
Comma
Exclamation
Points
"at" symbol
Tilde
Backquote
Dollar sign
Character
:
|
*
[]
{}
( )
,
!
@
~
`
$
Other characters are used strictly at your own risk.
Note: In contrast with what is indicated above, spaces, single quotes and double quotes are allowed to be used in products’ one-line descriptions.
Details Button
To view the details for a specific product, click on the “Details” button. PDG
Commerce will display the “Product Definition” page for the product. From
this page, you can change any of the product’s information, including items
like weight, keywords, quantity discounts, and different pricing for different
customer categories. The “Product Definition” page is discussed in detail
later in this chapter.
Remove Button
To delete a product from your catalog, click the “Remove” button next to it.
This will permanently remove the product from your product database.
Warning: There is no confirmation for this action. Product deleted this way
are removed permanently and cannot be restored.
Move To Button
To move a product from this product category to another category, use the
“Move To” button. First, select the category to which you want to move the
product in the drop-down box to the right of the “Move To” button. Then
83
click the “Move To” button. The product will be moved to the specified product category, and you will be returned to the category list page.
If you want to temporarily make a product unavailable to your customers,
move it to the Staging Product category.
Product Definition Page
The “Product Definition” page is quite large and extensive. It is broken into
sections to make it easier to use, and to find, view, and modify configurations.
These sections are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Product Settings
Softgoods
Inventory
Discounts
Customer Category
Product Options
User Defined Data
Product Settings Section
The first section of the “Product Definition” page deals with general settings
for the product.
Part of the Product Settings
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Product Code
This is a unique product code, or SKU, that can be up to 20 characters – letters, numbers and/or characters. No two products can have the same code.
Please remember to use only the acceptable characters (as described above)
for your product codes.
One-line Description
This is a brief, one-line description (usually the name) of the product. This is
the description that appears during the shopping process and on the e-mail
notifications to the customer and to you, the vendor.
In general, the following characters are known to cause corruption when used
in your products’ one-line description and should be avoided:
Name
Character
Angle Brackets
< >
Slashes
/ \
Colons
:
Vertical Lines
|
Semicolons
;
Keywords
This field contains keywords that are used by PDG Commerce when processing a customer’s product search query. The data in this field is not visible to
customers. You can enter keywords that, when a customer enters one into a
“search for” field, will return a “match.” For example, if you are selling CDs,
Tapes and Records on your site, you might want to enter the keywords ‘jazz’
or ‘disco’ for those products that fall into these categories of music.
In general, the following characters are known to cause corruption when used
in your products’ keyword entries and should be avoided:
Name
Character
Angle Brackets
< >
Slashes
/ \
Colons
:
Vertical Lines
|
Semicolons
;
PDG Commerce gives you the option of treating the words in the ‘One-line
description’ field as keywords - this is enabled or disabled in the Merchant
Administrator’s Search Settings. If you have this feature enabled, there is no
need to re-enter any of those words in the Keywords field. For example, if
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you sell chainsaws and one of your products is the “Acme Saw” and the
words “Acme” and “Saw” appear in the One-Line Description field as the
product's name, then there is no need to repeat these words as keywords in the
Keywords field.
Note that the keyword field is limited to 255 characters, including spaces
between the words.
You may also enter a phrase into this field. PDG Commerce defines a phrase
as two or more words used together to constitute one searchable keyword.
For example, if you sell books, the author's name might be considered a keyword for search purposes. Both the first and last name would be entered, surrounded by quotes. So, a mystery by John Doe might have as its keywords,
the following entry:
mystery suspense "John Doe"
Product Displayed in Searches
This field determines whether or not this product will be displayed when a
customer enters one of its keywords for a search. Check this box if you would
like the selected product to be available for customer searches. You may have
a promotional product for which you only want to provide direct access to a
handful of customers. Leaving this box blank would ensure that uninformed
customers would not be able to view or order this product.
Unit Price
This field contains the “per-unit” price for the selected product in your Web
store’s primary currency.
Taxable Price
In certain situations, it may be that, in accordance with tax laws in your area, a
certain portion of a product's price is or is not taxable. PDG Comerce provides a mechanism for taxing only a certain portion of the price, if necessary.
In the ‘Taxable Price’ field, enter the value of the product's price that is subject to taxation. For example, let's say that you are selling computer systems
and the price includes installation. Tax laws in your area may dictate that no
tax is charged on the portion of the price considered to be “installation.” If
this is the case, and $100.00 of a system's $1,300.00 price is considered instal-
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lation, then you would enter ‘$1,200.00’ into this field, so that tax is not
applied to the $100.00 for installation.
In any case, when using this field, you should consult your state's revenue
department or tax authority to determine the actual treatment of tax laws that
would apply here.
Additional Unit Shipping
In addition to shipping and handling charges that are calculated according to
the rules you establish (see the chapter on Shipping Rules), you can have
PDG Commerce add an additional shipping charge on a per-unit bases for the
product purchased. This is helpful if a particular product tends to increase
your shipping and handling costs above a certain norm or average. This field
can also be left blank (have a zero value) if you do not wish to upcharge shipping for a particular product.
Minimum Number to Order
If your customers have to order a minimum quantity of this product in order to
pruchase it, place the minimum number here. If there is no minimum quantity, set this number to 0.
If you have products with options, then this minimum quantity will be computed on a per-option basis. For example, if you sell shirts that come in red
and blue, and have a minimum quantity set for 2, then your customer will
have to order at least either 2 red shirts or 2 blue shirts. One red shirt and one
blue shirt will not satisfy the minimum number to order.
Maximum Number to Order
If your customers can only order a maximum quantity of this product (per
order), place the maximum number here. If there is no maximum quantity, set
this number to 0.
Weight
This is the product's numerical value of the weight, as applied to the units
(oz., lbs., g., kg., etc.) you defined in the ‘Cart Options’ section. If your shipping and handling rules use weight to determine shipping and handling
charges to the customer, you should place a value here for each product. If
not, you may leave this field blank (or with a zero balance) and the product’s
weight will be ignored.
If you are utilizing UPS or USPS for real-time shipping quotes, the value
placed in this field must be in pounds.
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Unit of Measure Label
This field contains the label for the unit of measure, if the item needs one.
Examples of Unit of Measure Labels might include “boxes,” “packs,”
“yards,” or “pounds.” It is used in the item’s listing in orders and emails to
clarify the item’s unit of measure.
For example, if you are selling cloth by the yard, your Unit of Measure Label
for the item might be “yards.” If you are selling containers of orange juice by
the crate, your Unit of Measure Label might be “crates.” If you are selling
coffee beans by the pound, your Unit of Measure Label might be “pounds.”
Frequent Shopper Points
If you wish to assign a ‘Frequent Shopper Point’ value for this product, place
that value here. This is the number of points that a customer earns for purchasing this particular product. PDG Commerce will display the point value
on the Add Item page as well as any shopping cart display and checkout pages
where the product appears. PDG Commerce will add the points from various
products together and provide a cumulative total for each order at checkout.
The customer’s frequent shopper point total is also stored in the customer
database, so that the frequent shopper points accumulated between multiple
orders are saved.
When entering values into this field, you can use whole numbers (2, 5, etc.) or
fractions stated as decimals (3.75, 1.25 etc.).
Number of Items Per Box
If you have configured PDG Commerce to capture shipping costs from UPS
or USPS, this feature will allow you to specify the quantity that is packed into
a single box for shipping.
Product Dimensions
If you have PDG Commerce configured to capture rates from either UPS or
USPS, you can specify the product’s dimensions. These dimensions are
passed onto UPS or USPS to be calculated in real-time shipping costs.
Allow Fraction Quantity?
This field indicates whether a customer can specify a fraction quantity of the
selected product when checking out. This is recommended if you sell items in
bulk and allow customers to purchase quantities such as one and a half cases
or a quarter pound. Fractional quantities should be represented by decimal
notation (i.e.: one-half would be expressed as 0.5).
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URL of Product Image
If you want PDG Commerce to display an image for the product on the Add
Item (or Catalog) page, then specify the location (URL) of that image here.
This is helpful in cases where you want a larger image displayed if customers
are shopping from small thumbnail images.
this graphic inserted as a result of
supplying a ‘URL of product image’
Add Item page showing product graphic
A URL to a product image might look something like this:
http://www.webstorename.com/images/widget1.jpg
If you do not want an image displayed for a particular product on the Add
Item page, you can either use a small, transparent graphic, or leave this field
blank.
If you do not want an image displayed for a particular product on the Add
Item page, then leave this field blank. PDG Commerce will display a transparent image in place of a product image.
URL of Thumbnail Image
In the ‘Search Settings’ section of the Merchant Administrator, if you
instructed PDG Commerce to return search results in the ‘Thumbnails’ format, the information in this field tells PDG Commerce where to find the
image to display as a thumbnail when the product is a “match” in a search
query.
Do not confuse this field with the ‘URL of product image’ field – which is
used to specify an image to appear on the catalog or Add Item page. While
these two URL’s can be the same (thus using the same image for search results
and the Add Item page), it is not necessary, and, in some cases, may not be a
good idea. If, for example, the image displayed on the Add Item page is a
larger image, it may not be appropriate as a thumbnail image for the ‘Thumbnails’ search results format. Therefore, you should enter the URL of a smaller
image in this field.
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Item Template
This field allows you to specify a custom Item template to be used when displaying this particular product. You must specify the directory and the name
of the HTML template file to be used. Most likely, you will want to store this
template in the same location as your other PDG Commerce templates.
So, an entry for this field might read something like this:
Templates\item_template_1.html
Just as the entries for the templates in the ‘HTML Templates’ section of the
Administrator, all file locations are assumed to be relative to the
‘PDG_Commerce’ directory.
Note that this field overrides the ItemTemplate entry in the ‘HTML Templates’ section of the Merchant Administrator. If there is a template file in this
field, it is used for this product. If this field is left blank, PDG Commerce
uses the ItemTemplate as listed in the ‘HTML Templates’ section.
Specific Product Text
Not to be confused with the One-line description field (which usually consists
of the name of the product), this field is used to enter a more detailed description of the product. This description can be plain text or text with HTML
tags, and is directly embedded into the product’s Item template.
Add Item Page With Product Description Inserted
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If you do not want a description to be displayed, leave the ‘Product Specific
Text’ field blank.
Please note that the text used in this field is not checked during a product
search.
Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic Pricing Section
If you wish to allow customers to enter a custom price for donations or other
purposes, you may use the Dynamic Pricing portion of the product details.
Allow Dynamic Pricing for This Product
Check the “Allow Dynamic Pricing for this product” box to allow the customer to enter a custom price for this product. If no custom price is entered,
PDG Commerce will use the base price entered in the “Unit Price” field for
the product.
Note: Dynamic product pricing requires the use of custom HTML on your
web store pages. Please see the “Commerce Actions” chapter of the PDG
Commerce Technical Reference guide for options on adding custom pricing
to your pages.
Set Dynamic Taxable Price to Zero
Check the “Set Dynamic Taxable Price to Zero” box to keep the taxable price
at zero even when a custom price is entered. If you wish to set the taxable
price to match the amount entered as the custom price, do not check this box.
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Up Sales
Product Details Up Sales Section
Note: Your Commerce database must be version 2.20 or higher to use this
feature. View the Database Configuration page to determine if you are using
the correct database version, and upgrade your database if necessary.
If you wish to up sell other items from a product’s catalog page, use this section to do so. Items listed here will be recommended on the product’s catalog
page. Merchants typically will use up-selling to recommend a better product
than the one being viewed. For example, you might up-sell a 21 inch computer monitor on a 15 inch monitor’s catalog page. Your goal is to have your
customer buy the larger monitor, not both monitors.
For each product, you may specify product SKU’s for any items you wish to
up-sell from this product. You may also include link text after the SKU in
brackets, which will be the label used to link to the up sale product’s Add Item
page. The up sale products will appear as links on the Add Item page for the
product in whose details section you enter the up sale SKU’s.
Items that are specified as up sale items will only be displayed if their current
inventory settings allow them to be displayed. Out of stock items that cannot
be backordered will not be listed as available up sale items.
Cross Sales
Product Details Cross Sales Section
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Note: Your Commerce database must be version 2.20 or higher to use this
feature. View the Database Configuration page to determine if you are using
the correct database version, and upgrade your database if necessary.
Cross-selling allows you to recommend similar or related items to the product, to allow the customer to buy both the view item and the recommended
items. For example, you might cross-sell a 21 inch computer monitor with a
nice video graphic card. Your goal is to have your customer buy both items.
For each product, you may specify product SKU’s for any items you wish to
cross-sell from this product. You may also include link text after the SKU in
brackets, which will be the label used to link to the cross sale product’s preadd
(Sample-Item) page. The cross sale products will appear as links on the specified page for the product in whose details section you enter the cross sale
SKU’s.
You may choose to display your cross sale product links for the particular
product on the Basket page. When this is enabled, when a customer is looking
at the contents of their basket, and items in the basket have cross-sell information, that cross-sell information will be displayed to the customer. Note that
the checkbox for this option determines the display on the default basket. To
display these links on a customized Basket template, you will need to add the
appropriate PDG tags to the template. Please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide for more information on this and other HTML template
files.
If you are displaying your cross sale product links on the Basket page, you
have an additional option in how they are displayed. If you do not want to display a cross sale link for an item that has already been added to the basket,
you can use a special character before the sku to disable the cross sale link
when the item is in the basket. This special character is the ampersand (&).
For example, if &B0001 is entered as a cross sale product link from product
A0001, then the cross sale link will no longer be displayed under the A0001
product if the B0001 product has already been added to the basket.
Note: This update requires that the Basket page be redrawn by the browser.
Thus, links will not immediately update when a product is removed from the
basket using the ‘Remove’ button. A refresh of the page (through a recalculation or display action) is required to update the Cross Sale links.
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You may choose to add a new page in between the preadd page and the basket
page that will offer your cross sales products as additional items to add to the
basket. This page will be displayed as a multiadd template. If you have a specific multiadd template you would like to use just for cross selling, you may
specify it in this section. If no template is specified, the default multiadd template (entered in the Templates section of your Merchant Administrator) will
be used for this action.
Items that are specified as cross sale items will only be displayed if their current inventory settings allow them to be displayed. Out of stock items that
cannot be backordered will not be listed as available cross sale items.
Softgoods Section
The “Softgoods” section of the “Product Definition” page deals with settings
related to the sale of softgoods. Softgoods are products that are not tangible
goods, and that involve some form of electronic delivery. This electronic
delivery can be a download, or a generated key to unlock the software.
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Softgoods Section of a Product Definition
Softgood Data to Display on ThankYou / CreditAccept Template
This field contains HTML that will be displayed in place of the
 tag on the ThankYou HTML template or the CreditAccept HTML template, once authorization of the payment method has been
approved.
You can control in “Cart Options” whether Softgood Data is displayed for
only real-time credit card authorizations, or for all orders. You can also modify the respective templates. If this is displayed on a CreditAccept template,
then the customer will see it when the customer’s payment information is confirmed with a real-time authorization service. If this is displayed on the ThankYou template, then the customer will see it when the order is placed,
regardless of whether the payment information is valid or not.
This field can contain plain text or HTML. This field can also contain special
tags recognized by PDG Commerce. These tags are parsed and replaced with
appropriate HTML code. The list of tags used in the Softgood Data can be
found in the PDG Commerce Technical Reference. However, two special
tags will be breifly mentioned here - more information on them is in the Technical Reference as well.
!---DELIVERPAYLOAD--This tag is replaced with a URL generated by PDG Commerce allowing the
customer to download the softgood as specified in the other Softgood Settings. Example:
<a href="!---DELIVERPAYLOAD---">Download Now!</a>
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!---EXEC--PDG Commerce, upon parsing this tag, will execute a third party program and
replace the tag with the output of that program. This can be used to generate
keys, update other applications and data files, send other auxiliary emails, or
whatever other tasks that may need to be completed. Example:
Your software unlock key is .
The Exec tag can take additional arguments such as “%a”. These arguements
translate into customer and order information that is to be passed to the program being executed. A complete list of these arguements can be found in the
PDG Commerce Technical Reference.
Location of Softgood Payload
This field should contain the location of the softgood file or document, relative to your ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory.
Note that this is NOT a URL (“http://...” type address), but is the address relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory on the host server. It is dependent
upon the actual file location of the softgood program or document.
The Softgood Payload must be located inside your PDG_Commerce directory
or one of its subdirectories.
Note: The paths must be OS-specific (e.g. your CGI directory may be named
‘cgibin’ or something else altogether). Also, Unix servers must utilize the
forward slash (/) instead of the backslash character (\). It is important that you
use the correct drive and directory notation for your server’s operating system.
MIME Type of Softgood Payload
This field contains the server MIME-type of the softgood document or program. This field could consist of a variety of things, for example, “application/octet-stream” is preferred for all binary data. It should always be in the
format <majortype>/<subtype>.
A list of common MIME types can be found at http://www.pdgsoft.com/
mimetype.htm.
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Maximum Number of Allowed Downloads of
Softgood Payload
This field specifies the number of download attempts that you will allow per
purchase of the softgood product (i.e. it limits the number of downloads a customer can perform per quantity purchased). If this is set to “2” then the customer will have another chance to download the file if the first attempt failed
due to bandwidth/network delay issues.
Duration of Download Window (in Minutes) of
Softgood Payload
The value in this field prevents users from downloading the software after an
elapsed time. This value must not be set to zero. This feature is also helpful
in regulating the number of times a customer may download a softgood per
credit card authorization.
Inventory Settings
Configure this section depending on whether you want to track inventory for
the selected product or its option variations.
Inventory Settings for a Product Definition
Track Inventory for Product
If you place a check mark in this box, then PDG Commerce will enable inventory tracking for this product.
If this box is checked and the item is out of stock, then PDG Commerce will
not allow customers to purchase the product unless ‘Allow Backordering’ is
enabled in the “Inventory” section of the Merchant Administrator. If ‘Allow
Backordering’ setting is NOT enabled, PDG Commerce will display a message to the customer indicating that the item is out of stock and may not be
ordered.
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Track Inventory for All Option Variations
If you place a check mark in this box, then PDG Commerce will enable inventory tracking for this product by option combinations. Note that all of your
options must have at least one option selection for this tracking to operate.
For instance, assume you had this feature enabled and sold shirts which came
in different sizes and colors. PDG Commerce will track the inventory of all
the different size and color combinations for the shirts.
Note: For inventory to successfully be tracked by product options, all product
option selections must have corresponding SKU suffixes. For more information, see the ‘Product Options’ section later in this chapter.
Discounts Settings
This section of the “Product Definition” page allows you to set up item quantity discounting for the product. The fields and buttons here act the same way
as setting up category-wide quantity discounting. They are discussed in the
section “Quantity Discounting” later in this chapter.
Customer Category Settings
This section of the “Product Definition” page allows you to view and set any
discounting for the product based on the customer category of the purchaser.
Here you will find a table, where there is a row for each customer category.
For each customer category, PDG Commerce displays:
•
•
•
the discount type, if specified when creating the category,
a form input field which can contain any specific discount for the
item for that customer category,
and the unit price and taxable price of the item for that customer category separated by a colon.
Customer Category Pricing Settings for a Product Definition
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To give the product a discount for a specific customer category, enter the discount amount as either a specific value or a percentage. Then click “Submit
Changes” just below the table. If you want to give a different discount
amount for the unit price and the taxable price, enter them both separated with
a colon. Note that you are entering the amount of the discount, not the discounted price.
Note that if you have a customer category discount for the item (due to its
product category or for a catalog-wide discount), entering a discount amount
here will override it. The discount will not be cumulative.
Product Options
This section defines product options, such as size and color, that a product
might have. Typically, each product option has at least one option selection
(but usually multiple selections) that may be chosen for the product option.
On the Add Item page, these option selections will be contained in drop-down
menus that are generated by PDG Commerce.
To further clarify the relationship between products, product options, and
option selections, take this example: a widget (product = widget) comes in
two colors (product option = color), red and black (option selections = red and
black). So, when customers add a widget to their cart, they will choose either
red or black.
Note that while PDG Commerce allows you to define an option with no selections in the Merchant Administrator, PDG Commerce will ignore the option
when creating catalog pages.
Option List for a Product Definition
In the “Product Option” section, each option is listed, one per row. For each
option, PDG Commerce displays its listing order (listed as “Option #”), a
description of the option, a “Details” button, and a “Remove” button. Additionally, if the option is shared between two or more products, an additional
form selector is displayed. This selector allows you to specify if any action to
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that specific shared option should affect all products that share the option, or
if Commerce should only alter the option for the viewed product.
Shared Options
Options can be shared between products. This means that the option and its
option selections are defined only once in the database, and all products with
this option share the single option definition. When working with a shared
option, you have two choices. You can make a change to the shared option,
which will automatically affect all the products sharing the option. Or you
can have PDG Commerce make a copy of the shared option for just the current product, and then any changes are made just to that copy. The current
product then uses this copied and altered option, and not the shared option.
If an option is shared, a toggled selector will appear at the end of the row display of it in the “Product Option” section. The first selection, “All Associated
Products,” if turned on, means that any changes made to the option will affect
other products who share the option. The option will remain shared to all
products. The second selection, “This Product Only,” if turned on, tells PDG
Commerce to make a duplicate of the option, and have only the current product work with that option. In affect, this is ‘unsharing’ the option. Changes to
the option then affect only the current product. All other products and the
original shared option are left unchanged.
Creating a New Option
Just under the list of options is space to add a new option. You can enter in
the new option’s number in the listing order and its description. The click
“Add.” PDG Commerce will create the new option for the product, inserting
it into the list at the specified number. If no number is provided, PDG Commerce puts the option at the end of the list.
The order that the options are listed here are important in that they determine
the order in which they are displayed to the customer. For example, say you
have a product with two options, 1 - Color, and 2 - Size. If you create a new
option named “Pattern” and enter it as order number 2, then your new list will
be 1 - Color, 2 - Pattern, 3 - Size.
Copy Options From Other Products
You can share an existing option and its selections from another product to the
current one. To do so, type in the source option’s row number and product
code from source product next to “Copy option row number ...” You can also
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specify the destination option’s listing order if you want to insert it into the
option list. Click “Copy” and the option will be copied.
Note that while the button says “Copy,” it is actually sharing the option. Once
the option is shared to the current product, you can make changes to the
option. When making changes, you can then choose whether you want the
option to continued to be shared to the current product, or if PDG Commerce
should ‘unshare’ the option by making a duplicate and having the current
product work with the duplicate.
Details Button
To view the selections available for a specific option, click on “Details” next
to the option. PDG Commerce will then display the “Option Definition” page
for the option. This page is further discussed later in this chapter.
Remove Button
To delete an option, click the “Remove” button next to that option. Note that
once an option is deleted, it and its option selections cannot be restored. The
deletion is permanent.
Invalid Option Combinations
Invalid Option Combinations allow you to specify option combinations that
are not available for order. For example, you have shirts that come in white
and red, and come in large and small. But you have no shirts that are red and
large - an invalid option combination.
This section is described in further detail below, after the section on Option
Definitions.
Default Option Combination
If you have a default option selection combination for you product, you can
specify it here. For example, you have shirts that come in white and red, and
come in large and small. You want white, small shirts to be the default option
selections on the catalog page. So you would define your default option combination for shirts as white and small.
This section is described in further detail below, after the section on Option
Definitions.
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User Defined Data
User Definied data fields allow you to store extra information on a per product basis that PDG Commerce doesn’t already store. You can use this data
space to store anything you need. It can be displayed on the catalog pages,
and it can be used in search criteria.
User Defined Data of a Product Definition, Demonstrating Up-Selling
There are ten user defined data fields. Use as many as you need - you are not
required to use all ten, or any at all. Each data cell may hold up to 4000 characters (including spaces and other whitespace type characters).
These fields can hold HTML or plain text. The HTML code can be used to
display images, hyperlinks, tables, or other HTML elements.
One example might be to use a user defined field to hold a manufacturer’s
suggested price. This could be displayed on the product catalog pages and
search pages to inform your customers on the amount of money they save by
purchasing from you.
Another example might be to use a user defined field to hold an ISBN number
if you sell books. This can be displayed on catalog and search result pages as
well.
Cross-selling With User Defined Fields
Since your Web store’s User Defined Fields can hold just about any type of
data, they make cross-selling easy. You can simply enter a link back to your
Shopping Cart executable into one of your User Defined Fields. That link
could contain a call to another product page, the category page to which the
product belongs or you could link to one of your affiliate’s Web sites.
Suppose you had a User Defined Field that your called “cross sales.” Below
is an example of what you might enter as the User Defined Data to create a
link to another product’s catalog page.
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<a href=“http://www.[yourstorename].com/cgi-bin/
commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=[product code]”>Something else you
might like</a>
In this example, when the User Defined Data is displayed on the product
page, the customer will see the text “Something else you might like.” Clicking on this text would take the customer to a PreAdd page for the product
specified by [product code]. You should enter the actual product code, of
course.
In order to create a link to the product’s category page, you could use the following syntax in one of your User Defined Fields:
<a href=“http://www.[yourstorename].com/cgi-bin/
commerce.exe?search=action&category=[category
code]&keywords=all”>View all products in category</a>
When this is displayed on the product page, the customer will see the text
“View all products in category.” Clicking this text would take the customer to
a page displaying all of the products in the category indicated by [category
code].
Since PDG Commerce can accommodate up to 10 User Defined Fields of
your choice, you can create Web store pages with tremendous upsale and
cross-merchandising power.
Option Definition Page
This page allows you to view, modify, add, and delete option selections for
the specified option. The first section of this page lists all the available configuration settings for an option selection, allowing you to add a new option or
modify an existing option. A complete discussion of these option selection
settings appears below.
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Option Selection Settings Form
Below the option selection settings form, PDG Commerce lists all the existing
option selections. For each selection, PDG Commerce lists that option’s settings along with a “Modify” button and a “Remove” button.
To create a new selection, enter in the option selection data in the blank fields
and click “Submit Option Selection Information.” The new option selection
will appear in the option selection list.
List of Defined Option Selections for an Option
To modify an existing option selection, click “Modify” for that selection in
the list. PDG Commerce will load the top part of the page with the information on the option selection. Make your modifications and click “Submit
Option Selection Information.” PDG Commerce then displays the modified
option selection in the list.
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To remove an existing option selection, select “Remove” for that selection in
the list. The option selection will be removed, and the list updated. Note that
this permanently removes the option selection, and it cannot be restored.
Selection Number
Very much like you assigned a number to each option you created, you can do
the same with the option selections. This will help you preserve any ordering
scheme you might have in place should you ever need to insert a new selection or delete an existing one. Remember that if you insert a new selection
and assign it a number to which an existing selection is already assigned, the
Administrator will insert that selection just above the existing selection that
has the same number assignment and will renumber the existing selection and
all selections thereafter accordingly. Likewise, if you leave this field blank,
the selection will be added to the bottom of the existing list.
Available Selection
This is the name of the selection itself. For example, if you are defining the
option ‘Color,’ then a selection might be ‘Red’ or ‘Black.’ Obviously, you
will make a separate entry for each selection that will be available to your customers. The selections you enter will be contained in a drop-down menu
labeled ‘Color:’ on the Item template.
Sku Suffix
Enter the character(s) (alphanumeric) that will designate this particular selection. As a “suffix”, it will be placed after the main product code characters
that you enter when setting up a product. This allows you to track inventory
by option selection. This full product sku (product code plus suffixes) is also
displayed on the order.
Note that this field is recommended for site consistency, however it is not necessary if you do not plan on tracking inventory by product options.
If you are using sku suffixing, the full product sku has a maximum of 1024
characters. If you are tracking inventory by option combinations, where the
full product sku is used as a unique identifier in the inventory database, the
full product sku maximum length is 255 characters.
Price Change if Chosen
Insert a price here if you would like to add an additional amount when a customer chooses this selection. For example, there may be no additional charge
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for any color except ‘Gold.’ If you need to charge more for ‘Gold,’ enter that
amount here.
If you enabled the ‘Allow Price Recalculations’ feature, then PDG Commerce
will automatically add this surcharge to the product's price that you entered on
the product list page. This will occur “real-time” so that the product's price
will change on the screen when the option selection is chosen from the dropdown menu.
Taxable Price Change
Very much like you have the ability to charge sales tax on a portion of the unit
price, PDG Commerce allows you to break down an option selection's price
change into a taxable amount. For example, if one of your option selections
concerns “installation” and your state does not charge sales tax on labor, then
you would need this field in order to denote that the “amount” of the price
change due to the ‘installation’ selection is not taxable. In other words, you
would enter 0.00 in this field to tell PDG Commerce that no portion of that
price change is taxable.
Weight Change if Chosen
If the product’s shipping weight changes due to this selection being chosen,
enter this value here. This is then used when calculating the order’s weight
total, which can then be used when calculating shipping and handling charges.
This number can be positive to indicate a weight increase, or negative to indicate a weight decrease.
Custom Text
Enable this field if, when this selection is chosen for the option, you need to
collect additional text from the customer. For example, you can have an
option called “Engraving,” and an option selection for this called “Please
Engrave.” For this selection, if you enabled “Custom Text,” PDG Commerce
would then collect additional text from the customer. In this case, it would be
the text to be engraved.
Turn this field off if you dont need to collect text for the option selection. In
the previous example, we could have another option selections named “No
engraving” with “Custom Text” disabled.
Note that due to cookie limitations with browsers, customers can only have 18
custom text messages per order.
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Cost/Letter of Text
If you have “Custom Text” enabled and need to charge on a per-letter basis,
enter the per-letter cost here. Note that this cost is only accumulated for nonspace characters (letters, numbers, symbols). So the text “John Doe” would
be calculated for seven characters, not eight.
Taxable Custom Text Price
If, for tax reasons, you need to calculate tax on only a portion of the amount
for “Cost/Letter of Text,” enter that here. Or if your cost per letter charges are
tax exempt, enter “0” here.
One Time Price Change?
If the price change for the option selection should only be charged one time,
regardless of the quantity of the item ordered, check this box. If you want the
price change for the option selection to be applied for each item that is
ordered with this selection, leave this box blank.
To see an example, take our previous option of “Engraving.” For the option
selection “Please Engrave,” we choose to have a price increase of $25, to
cover the expense of setting up the engraving. However, this setup expense
only needs to be incurred once for this product. So if 5 watches are ordered
with “Please Engraving,” the additional cost for the option should still only be
$25. For this case, “One Time Price Change” should be turned on.
Display Selection Name if Chosen
When this is enabled (by default), the option selection appears on the order
and in emails if it is chosen. If you dont want the option selection to appear
on the order (in the order log and on the Thank-You pages) or in emails,
uncheck this box.
To see an example of this, look below in the “Example Summary.”
Display Option Description Name if Chosen
When this is enabled (by default), the option’s description appears in front of
the option selection on the order and in emails. If this is unchecked, the
option description will not appear on the order (in the order log and on the
Thank-You pages), though the option selection would.
To see an example of this, look below in the “Example Summary.”
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Example Summary
To summarize these settings, let’s look at the example of “Engraving” once
more:
The option description is “Engraving.”
Selection 1 – No Engraving
Field:
Field Entry:
Selection #
1
Available Selection
No Engraving
SKU Suffix
-NO (we chose NO for no engraving)
0.00
0.00
Custom Text
-leave field blank-
Cost/letter of text
0.00
0.00
One Time Price Change?
-leave field blank-
Display selection if chosen
uncheck
Display option description if chosen
uncheck
This selection of “No Engraving,” if chosen, will not alter the price, and will
not show up on the order.
Selection 2 – Custom Engraving
Field:
Field Entry:
Selection #
2
Available Selection
Please Engrave
SKU Suffix
-EG (for Engrave)
25.00
0.00
Custom Text
check
Cost/letter of text
0.25
0.00
One Time Price Change
25.00
Display selection if chosen
check
Display option description if chosen
uncheck
This selection of “Please Engrave,” if chosen, will add an addition $25 to the
cost one time, no matter what quantity of the item is ordered. It will collect
custom text from the customer, and charge an additional $.25 per non-space
letter. The extra cost for the custom text will be tax exempt. If the option is
chosen, “Please Engrave” (the selection) will appear on the order, and not
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“Engraving is Please Engrave” (which is the option description and the option
selection).
Invalid Option Combinations
Just as you can identify which options and option selections should be available for a product, you can “lock out” certain option selection combinations if
they are unavailable. When an option combination is “locked out,” shoppers
will not even be able to select the combination from the Add Item page.
Instead they will receive the error message specified in the ‘Commerce
Options’ section.
Invalid Option Combination Rules
The top portion of this segment displays a listing of all of the invalid option
combinations defined for the selected product. The product option descriptions serve as column headers. Each row lists the selections which make up
the invalid combination followed by a ‘Remove’ button for that particular
combination.
The bottom portion of this segment is where new selection combinations can
be locked out. You will see a row representing each option for the selected
product followed by a drop-down menu full of that option’s possible selections. In order to lock out a selection combination, select the corresponding
values from the drop-down boxes, and click the ‘Add Invalid Combination
Rule’ button.
When creating new invalid option rules, you will notice “Don’t Care” in the
drop-down box for each option. When creating a rule, if a certain option
selection combination is not dependant on that option, then you can use
“Don’t Care.”
For example, you sell shirts, with three options: size, color, and collar type. If
you wanted to lock out all small, white shirts, regardless of collar type, you
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would create a rule invalidating “small” for size, “white” for color, and
“Don’t Care” for collar type.
This will make the selected combination of options invalid for purchase on
your Web store. For more information on Product Options, please see the
above section, ‘Product Options.’
As Invalid Option rules depend on option indexes and option selection
indexes, if you change any option or option selection, you should always go
back and verify your Invalid Option rules are correct.
Note: PDG Commerce’s locked options feature will not be enabled when the
MultiAdd template is called from the MultiPreAdd action.
Warning: Because of the way option selections are made on the Add Item
page, creating too many invalid option selections may cause some of the valid
option combinations to become inadvertently locked out to shoppers. You
may find it useful to call the Item HTML template utilizing the PreAdd action
in order to display all of the available option selections. The Item template
can then use the OptFullAdd action to add any or all of the customer’s selections. Please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide for more
information on this and other HTML template files.
If you would like for a certain option combination to be pre-selected when a
customer selects a product, you can configure that here. Picking a default
combination can help to sell overstocked selections, or to simply avoid receiving orders with no product options selected.
If a default combination has been selected, it will be displayed in the top part
of this section. The bottom part of this section is where a different default
option combination can be chosen. Much like the Invalid Option Combination section, you will see a row representing each option for the selected product followed by a drop-down menu full of that option’s possible selections. In
order to activate a default selection combination, select the corresponding
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selections from the drop-down boxes, and click the ‘Submit Default Option’
button.
This will make the indicated combination the default selection whenever a
customer places this item in his cart. For more information on Product
Options, please see above.
As the Default Option depends on option indexes and option selection
indexes, if you change any option or option selection, you should always go
back and verify your Default Option is correct.
Quantity Discounting
Quantity discounting is prominent among the other types of discounting in
PDG Commerce. PDG Commerce allows you to set up quantity discounting
in tiers, both on a per-item basis and on a per-product category basis.
Quantity Discounting Menu for a Specific Product
For a per-product category basis, PDG Commerce tallies up the total quantities of items for each product category. PDG Commerce then, for each product category, looks up the quantity discount for the items ordered in that
category (for the customer category of the customer), and applies any discounts found.
For a per-product basis, PDG Commerce tallies up the total quantities of each
item. Items with the same product code but different option selections are
counted together. PDG Commerce then, for each product tally it has counted,
looks up the quantity discount for the items ordered (for the customer category of the customer), and applies any discounts found.
View All Quantity Discounts
Clicking “View All Quantity Discounts” will load a “Quantity Discount
Table” page for the product or product category you are viewing. On this
page, there will be a table for each customer category. In each table, the item
quantity discount rules for that customer categorey are listed. Each rule has a
minimum quantity, a maximum quantity, and a price change amount. If a
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dash appears in the maximum field, this indicates that the rule applies for the
the minimum quantity and above.
Note that the price change amount is exactly that. Positive valued price
changes increase the price, negative valued price changes decrease the price.
So if you want to have a discount that decreases the price, enter a negative
valued price change.
For each customer category’s discount table listed, you can modify the discount rule list, or clear it out entirely. To modify a specific discount table,
click its appropriate “Edit Discount Table.” This will bring up a “Quantity
Discount Table” page for the specified product or product category and specified customer category. This page is discussed below in more detail.
Edit Selected Quantity Discount
If you want, you can view the quantity discount table for a specific customer
category. Choose the customer category in the pull-down box to the left of the
“Edit/View Selected Quantity Discount” button. Then press that button.
PDG Commerce will load a “Quantity Discount Table” page for that customer
category. This page is discusses below in more detail.
If you choose “Edit For ALL Customer Categories” here and press “Edit/
View Selected Quantity Discount,” a “Quantity Discount Table” page will
load. Discounting and price change rules entered on this table will replace all
existing quantity discount rules for specific customer categories. The old
rules that are replaced are deleted and cannot be restored.
Copy Selected Discount
You can copy a discount table for a different product or product category and
customer category to this product or product category. To do this, find the
part of the page that says “Copy [source customer category]quantity discount
from product [source product code] to this product’s [destination customer
category] customer category quantity discount table.” If you are working
with product category discounting, this sentence will refer to product categories, not products.
Choose the source customer category in the first pull-down box. In the next
blank field, enter the source product (or product category) code. In the second
pull-down box, choose the customer category into which you are copying the
discounts. Finally press “Copy Selected Discount.” The discounting rules
from the specified product (or product category) and customer category will
be copied to this product (or product category) for the specified customer category.
Note that you can only copy product discounting tables to other products, and
that you can only copy product category discounting tables to other product
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categories. You cannot copy a product discounting table to a product category and vice versa.
Copy All Discounts
You can copy the entire quantity discounting table for all customer categories
for a different product (or product category) to the current product (or product
category). To do this, enter the product code (or product category code) in the
field to the right of “Copy ALL discounts from product code” and click
“Copy ALL discounts.”
Note that you can only copy product discounting tables to other products, and
that you can only copy product category discounting tables to other product
categories. You cannot copy a product discounting table to a product category and vica versa.
Quantity Discount Table
This page displays all the quantity / price change rules for the specified product or product category and specified customer category. Each rule is displayed on one row, and each rule has three components. There is a minimum
quantity, a maximum quantity, and a price change. The price change can be
positive, to increase the cost, or negative, to decrease the cost. The price
change can also be an absolute amount or a percentage. If the price change is
a percentage, it will be calculated as a percent of the item’s unit price or unit
price with options - depending on your settings.
To modify rules, change them as you need and press “Update Discount
Table.” If PDG Commerce encounters an error in updating the rules (such as
a minimum quantity being greater than a maximum quantity for a rule), then
you will be notified and allowed to correct it.
changes increase the price, negative valued price changes decrease the price.
So if you want to have a discount that decreases the price, enter a negative
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When modifying the discounting rules, any blank table rows are skipped. If
you need to delete rows, just blank them out and PDG Commerce will remove
the blank lines when you click “Update Discount Table.”
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Chapter 9
Gift Certificates
Creating and Maintaining Gift Certificates in the Merchant Administrator
P
DG Commerce now allows you to create gift certificates of different
amounts that customers can purchase and spend through your Web store.
You may also modify and delete certificates, view purchased certificates,
and view certificate usage from within your Merchant Administrator.
When you add your first gift certificate, a new product category will be created with the category code GIFT and the category description “Gift Certificates”. This category will be visible in searches, but will not be listed as a
separate product category in the Products section of the Merchant Administrator. This category is maintained entirely in the Gift Certificates section of the
Merchant Administrator.
Adding Gift Certificates
You may add new gift certificate products in the Gift Certificates section of
your Merchant Administrator. To add a certificate, enter a product code in the
“Code” field, a one-line description in the “Description” field, and a certificate amount in the “Amount” field. You may also enter specific product text
for this certificate in the “Gift Certificate Text” field, and a product image in
the “Gift Certificate Image” field. Clicking the “Add/Update Gift Certificate”
button will add this certificate to your list of Available Gift Certificates.
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9 -- Gift Certificates
Gift Certificates Main page
Modifying Gift Certificates
You may modify any gift certificate listed in the Available Gift Certificates
section by clicking the “Modify” button next to the appropriate gift certificate.
This action will display the certificate’s specific information in the fields at
the top of the page. You may edit the fields as if you were creating a new certificate, then click the “Add/Update Gift Certificate” button to add the modified certificate back into the Available Gift Certificates list.
Viewing Outstanding Gift Certificates
Click the “View Outstanding Certificates” button in the Other Gift Certificate
Options section to view a list of all purchased gift certificates that still have an
available balance.
Outstanding Gift Certificates page
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On the page that is displayed, you will see a list of all purchased gift certificates. A message will appear in bold at the top of the page stating how many
gift certificates have been purchased, and the total amount of money remaining on all outstanding gift certificates. From this page you may click on any
certificate code to view the specific certificate's usage, or click the “Remove”
button to delete the specific certificate from your Web store.
Deleting Gift Certificates
You may delete gift certificate products, specific purchased certificates, and
all used certificates. To delete a gift certificate product, click the “Remove”
button next to the product name in the Available Gift Certificates section. To
delete a specific purchased gift certificate, click the “View Outstanding Certificates” button in the Other Gift Certificate Options section. Click the
“Remove” button for the appropriate purchased gift certificate you want to
delete. To delete all used gift certificates, click the “Remove Used Certificates From Database” button in the Other Gift Certificate Options section.
You will be prompted with a window asking “Are you sure you want to purge
used gift certificates (ones with 0.00 amount remaining). If you want to continue click on [OK]. otherwise click on [Cancel].” After clicking the OK button, you will see that all used gift certificates have been removed when you
click the “View Outstanding Certificates” button in the Other Gift Certificate
Options section.
Viewing Gift Certificate Usage
Gift Certificate Usage page
To view the usage on a specific gift certificate, enter the gift certificate’s ID in
the “Gift Certificate ID” field in the Other Gift Certificate Options section and
click the “View Gift Certificate Usage” button. A page will be displayed
showing the date, time, amount spent, and invoice number of each purchase in
which the gift certificate was used. You may also access this page by clicking
the “View Outstanding Certificates” button in the Other Gift Certificate
Options and then clicking on the certificate code link for a specific purchased
gift certificate.
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Using Gift Certificates on Templates
If you are using the default templates provided with PDG Commerce, you will
not need to make any template changes to allow customers to purchase gift
certificates. Your Category template will automatically list Gift Certificates
as a product category and your ThankYou/CreditAccept templates will display
the gift certificate code after purchase.
If you are using the default templates provided with PDG Commerce, you will
not need to make any template changes to allow customers to redeem gift certificates on your web site. Your Verify template will list a gift certificate payment option and allow the customer to enter the code of the gift certificate that
will be used to pay for the order.
If you are using custom templates, you will need to add the appropriate tags
and form codes to your pages to perform the gift certificate actions. You can
find this information in the “HTML Template Files” and “PDG Commerce
Actions” chapters of the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
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Chapter 10
Tracking Product Inventory
How PDG Commerce helps you keep track of your Web store's available inventory
H
ow many widgets do you have in stock? The next time you order standard
gadgets, how many do you need in order to cover backorders? These are
common questions merchants face everyday. Without some sort of automated system in place, the daunting task of inventory management can be
very arduous. However unpleasant, it is a necessary part of being a merchant
– accountants demand it, sales depend on it.
With PDG Commerce, keeping track of inventory for your Web store is not
the ominous chore you might associate with inventory tracking and control in
a traditional retail/wholesale environment. Tracking inventory with PDG
Commerce is as simple as entering the initial on-hand quantities of the products you have defined, and then adjusting those numbers anytime you replenish stock. Really, it's that simple! As items are sold, PDG Commerce
automatically reduces quantities by the appropriate amount.
Of course, inventory tracking is, itself, an optional feature of PDG Commerce. If you do not wish to maintain inventory counts within PDG Commerce, you can skip this chapter altogether.
Inventory by Option Selection
With PDG Commerce comes the ability to track inventory right down to the
option selections, such as a button-up shirt: size small; color red. This parsing of inventory will take place on any product that has options and selections.
This division of the inventory is done by separating the product codes by suffix. You will recall when adding product options and selections, you indicated a particular suffix for each selection. PDG Commerce will group the
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10 -- Tracking Product Inventory
like product codes, and then group the like suffixes to determine what is onhand by option selection.
Enabling Inventory Tracking
Enabling simple inventory tracking is as easy as clicking a button. You can
also track inventory by options, as well as enable/disable backordering of
products. We will now discuss how to enable inventory tracking for selected
products in your Web store.
In order to enable inventory tracking for a particular product, first, go to that
product’s definition page. Scroll down to the area labeled ‘Track Inventory.’
Enabling Inventory Tracking in the Product’s Definition
From this section you can enable inventory tracking for the selected product
by checking the first box. You can also track inventory for each of the option
selections of the selected product by checking the second box. In order to
track inventory by options, you must have designated SKU suffixes for each
of the option selections for the selected product.
Viewing Product Inventory
Now let’s take a look at the inventory for your Web store.
Go to your Merchant Administrator’s main menu, and click the ‘Products’
link. Then click the ‘Inventory’ link on the main Products page. To view the
inventory for a particular category, click on the name of the category. You
will see a listing of the inventory for all of the products you are tracking for
that product category.
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The Merchant Administrator Current Inventory Page
Each row represents one product entry. The headings on each column tell you
what the data underneath means.
Position Inventory List
If you have a lot of products in the particular product category, PDG Commerce may not be able to display the entire product list on the page at one
time. In this case, PDG Commerce will only display a portion of the product
list. Use the pull-down select box near the top of the page to skip forward or
backward quickly through the list. After selecting how far to skip forward or
backward, click “Position Inventory List.”
Product Code
This is the unique Product Code or SKU that indicates which product is listed.
This field is only modifiable from within the Products section of the Merchant
Administrator. See ‘Maintaining Products’ in Chapter 6 of this user guide for
more information.
In Stock
This field indicates how many of the indicated product are on hand. If there is
a negative number in this field, it indicates how many of the indicated product
are on backorder.
Do Not Allow Backordering?
This field indicates whether or not backordering is allowed on the indicated
product. If you do not want to allow your customers to complete their checkout with a product if it is not in stock, check this box for the given product.
Otherwise customers will be able to backorder any products listed in your
Web store’s catalog.
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Do Not Display in Searches If Out Of Stock?
This check box determines whether the selected product will be visible in
search results to customers if it is out of stock. Checking this box will cause
the product to not be displayed if it is not in stock. Hiding an out-of-stock
product can prevent massive backorder totals from accumulating. However, a
customer that searches for this item and does not find it may be deterred from
your Web store.
Display Inventory By Options
You may have already noticed that some product codes do not have the corresponding inventory information as explained above. Instead they have a ‘Display Inventory By Options’ link located next to the product code. This means
that the product for the code listed comes with a number of available options
and PDG Commerce is tracking inventory for this product based on the possible combinations of those option selections.
An example of this could be if your Web store sold clothes, and you had a
number of different styles of shirts. Each of these types of shirts is available
in small, medium, large and extra large. Instead of tracking inventory for the
total number of shirts, PDG Commerce can track inventory for every size of
shirt. So when someone asks if you have a white button-up shirt in extra
large, you can answer almost immediately. This function of PDG Commerce
is an immense help when tracking the inventory to see exactly what types of
products must be ordered.
Click the ‘Display Inventory By Options’ link on the PDG Commerce Inventory page. This will display the inventory settings for each option of the
selected product from your catalog.
Current Inventory Displayed by Options
This screen appears the same as the previous with a few minor exceptions.
Let’s take a look at the ‘Inventory for Product Options’ page.
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Product Code
Instead of listing all of your products, only the option combinations for a single product listing are visible. This is made clear by the fact that all of the
product codes are the same up until the option selection suffix(es) at the end
of the product code.
Track Inventory
This setting indicates whether or not this option selection will be tracked for
inventory by PDG Commerce. Note the radio buttons labeled “on” and “off”
appearing below the “Track Inventory” heading. You have the option of turning the tracking mechanism on or off for the various combinations.
In Stock
This field indicates how many of the indicated option selection are on-hand.
If there is a negative number in this field, it indicates how many of the indicated option selection are on backorder.
Do Not Allow Backordering?
This field indicates whether or not backordering is allowed on the indicated
product. If you would not like to let your customers complete their checkout
with a product if it is not in stock, check this box for the given product. Otherwise customers will be able to backorder any products listed in your Web
store’s product database file.
By allowing a product to be backordered, customers will be able to complete
the checkout process, even though PDG Commerce my indicate that the product is out of stock. If this field is disabled (i.e.: backordering is not allowed),
the customer will not be able proceed with checkout if any product in his cart
is out of stock. Instead, the customer will receive an “out of stock” message
from the cart.
Inventory Status Messages
With PDG Commerce's Inventory Tracking feature utilized, customers will
encounter one of three messages when selecting a product from your Web
store. This message will appear on the ‘Availability Status’ line on the Add
Item page.
Available
The ‘Available’ inventory status message indicates to the customer that there
are sufficient quantities of that product on hand to fulfill his or her order.
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On backorder - you may still order this product
The ‘On backorder’ inventory status messages indicates that the Web store is
currently out of stock of that item, but is allowing the product to be ordered
nonetheless (a backorder situation).
Out of Stock - do not order this product at this time
The ‘Out of Stock’ status message indicates that the Web store is currently out
of stock of that item and does not allow the item to be backordered. If the customer attempts to add this product to his cart, PDG Commerce would display
an error message directing the customer to shop some more.
Adding Inventory
When you replenish out-of-stock items in your physical inventory, you need
to update PDG Commerce's Inventory database. To do this, enter the new
inventory quantity in the ‘In Stock’ field and click the ‘Submit All Changes’
button.
L
If you have allowed backordering on a product, then you should
remember to subtract the “negative number” (if one exists indicatin
the number backordered) from the quantity you are replenishing the
product with. For example, if you have received a new shipment of
15 Acme Widgets and there were 4 on backorder (as indicated by a
“-4” in the ‘Number in Stock’ field), you should enter 11 as the new
“Number in Stock”.
Implementing Changes to Inventory
Settings
The inventory tracking feature in PDG Commerce operates in an “immediate,
real-time” mode. This means that once you enter a quantity, or adjust an
existing quantity and click the ‘Submit All Changes’ button, then those
changes are immediately in effect. There is no need to return to the Administrator's main menu and click the ‘Make Changes Live’ button.
Note: This is only true for the ‘Inventory’ section of the Merchant Administrator. If you change the inventory status for a particular product on the product’s definition page, you must return to the Administrator’s main menu and
click the ‘Make Changes Live’ button.
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Rapid Inventory Update
From the main “Product Categories Inventory” page, you can update inventory of many of your products at once with the “Rapid Inventory Update” feature. In this box, list each product’s full-sku (so include suffixes if
inventorying by option), the new quantity, and an optional special flag. Each
element on the line is separated with comma. Each product goes on a separate
row. You may only use one optional flag per product-line.
You may only use the Rapid Inventory Update to update the inventory for
about 200 items at one time. This number can vary depending on the web
server’s CPU speed and memory, but putting too many items in the Rapid
Inventory Update will result in CGI-timeouts.
Some examples of lines that can be used in the Rapid Inventory Update are:
A0001, 5, a
KITE-01, -2, c
SHIRT01-rd, 5, y
SHIRT01-or, 2, z
SHIRT01-wh, -2, z
For products where you are tracking the product regardless of options, these
are the flags:
•
•
•
•
a - Display in Searches and allow backorder: The product is displayed
in searches if out-of-stock, and customers are allowed to continue ordering the product if it is out-of-stock.
b - Do NOT display in Searches and allow backorder: The product is
not displayed in searches if it is out-of-stock, however if the customer has
a URL to the product catalog page, they can still order it.
c - Display in Searches and do NOT allow backorder: The product is
displayed in search results if it is out-of-stock, however, the customer will
not be allowed to order it.
d - Do NOT display in Searches and do NOT allow backorder: The
product is not displayed in search results if it is out-of-stock. If the customer has a direct URL to the product’s catalog page, they will be unable
to order it if it is out-of-stock.
For products where you are tracking the inventory by options, use these keys:
•
•
•
x - Do not track this option combination: If you are not keeping track of
inventory for this particular option selection combination, use this flag.
y - Allow backorder and track this option combination: Keep track of
this option selection combination. If it is out-of-stock, allow the customer
to order it.
z - Do NOT allow backorder and track this option combination: Keep
track of this option selection combination. If it is out-of-stock, the customer is unable to order any product with that specific option combination.
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After you have entered in your inventory, click “Update Inventory.” PDG
Commerce will update the inventory, reporting any errors that occur. If 100
errors occur, PDG Commerce will cease the inventory update, informing you
on which product’s inventory the update was halted. Note that all successful
inventory updates that occur before the hundredth error will still be processed
normally.
If you are updating from a PDG Shopping Cart or an older PDG Commerce
“.inv” product inventory file format, you can copy and paste the contents of
that file into the edit box. Be sure to check “Using PDG .inv file format for
Rapid Update” and click “Update Inventory.” PDG Commerce will then process the input in the PDG inventory file format.
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Chapter 11
Import/Export
A guide to importing and exporting CSV product files through the Cart Administrator
T
he PDG Merchant Administrator for PDG Commerce now allows the
ability to import and export comma separated value (CSV) product files
directly to and from your PDG Software program. The import and
export functionality can be helpful if you have a large product database that
you would like to integrate into your Web store. You may also find it easier to
manipulate your products’ data by exporting your PDG product database file
into CSV format, which can be edited in a spreadsheet application.
The data transfer section of the Merchant Administrator can be accessed by
clicking the ‘Data Import/Export’ link on the main Products page.
Overview
CSV File Layout
In order for you to successfully modify your PDG product database file in
CSV format, you need to know the layout and the order for the data fields that
are contained in the CSV file. The CSV file may contain up to five different
groups of records:
•
•
•
•
•
Discounts
Options
Option Locks
Categories
Products
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The Discount Record
The Discount records contain rules for applying quantity discounts to the
products listed in your CSV file.
Each record in the “Discounts” section consists of a set of discount rules that
apply to one of the products contained in the CSV file. Each rule consists of a
unique name and a list of quantity tiers and discounts for a specific product.
The following table lists the details for each field in the discount record:
Field
#
1
2
Name
Data Type
Unique Name
Discount Tier
Text
Text and Numeric
Field Width
(characters)
255
N/A
Field Comments
Field 1. Unique Name
This field contains a unique identifier for the discount that is being defined.
The unique name will be used to identify this discount in the product record to
which it is applied.
Field 2. Discount Tier
This field contains the minimum to maximum quantity range of the discount
tiers, as well as the price change. Each tier should be entered in the format:
[min] to [max] = [price change]
The [min] portion should be replaced with the minimum quantity of the indicated product that must be purchased in order to qualify for the discount
defined in this rule.
The [max] portion should be replaced with the maximum quantity of the indicated product that may be purchased and still qualify for the discount defined
in this rule. You may enter a dash in this field (-) to indicate an infinite maximum.
The [price change] portion should be replaced with the amount of the actual
discount that is being defined. This discount will be applied to each product
purchased within the discount tier. If this value is followed by the percent
sign (%), then the indicated percentage of the product’s unit price will be
applied to each product purchased within the discount tier. The negative symbol (-) must be used to subtract this amount from each product’s unit price. If
you do not use the negative symbol, PDG Commerce will ADD this amount to
each product that falls within the discount tier.
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The Discount Tier field may contain up to 50 discount tiers, separated by
commas. The Discount Tier field may need to contain commas (,). However,
commas are the delimiter character of the CSV file, and will be read by the
program as the start of a new field. To prevent errors, make sure you enclose
the Discount Tier field in double quotes (“) if you will be entering commas in
this field.
The following example indicates two discount tiers. The first tier has a minimum quantity of five products, a maximum quantity of ten products, and subtracts two dollars from the price of each item within the quantity discount tier:
The second tier has a minimum quantity of ten products, a maximum quantity
of 15 products, and subtracts four dollars from the price of each item within
the quantity discount tier.
“5 to 10 = -2.00,10 to 15 = -4.00”
The Option Record
Each record in the Options section defines an option for one or more of the
products contained in the CSV file. Options may be shared among products
so you don’t have to re-enter identical options.
The first field in each record in the Options section of the CSV file contains a
unique identifier for that option. The second field in each option record contains the option’s name as it appears to customers. Each subsequent field contains an option selection and any corresponding tags that may go with it. You
may have up to 200 selections per option that you define in this section.
An explanation of the data fields contained in the Options section follows:
Field #
Name
Data Type
1
2
3
4
x
Unique Name
Display Name
Option Value 1
Option Value 2
Option Value x-2
Text or Numeric
Text or Numeric
Text or Numeric
Text or Numeric
Text or Numeric
Field Width
(characters)
255
255
255
255
255
Field Comments
Field 1. Unique Name
This field contains a unique identifier for the product option that is being
defined.
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Field 2. Display Name
This field indicates the name of the product option that is being defined. This
is the option name as it will be displayed to your customers on all of your Web
store pages.
Field 3 through End. Option Value
These fields hold all of the possible option selections for the option that is
being defined. There will be as many fields for option values as there are
selections for the options being defined. This field will also contain any
option tags that may be associated with the particular option selection.
Option tags allow you to modify some aspect of the option selections that you
are configuring. Option tags are enclosed in less-than (<) and greater-than (>)
signs to differentiate themselves from the rest of the options selection. More
than one option tag may be used per option selection.
Listed below are the possible options tags that you may have implemented in
your product database file.
The <NoShow> Option Tag:
The <NoShow> tag tells PDG Commerce not to display the selection for this
option in the basket, on invoices, or in confirmation e-mails if this particular
option selection is chosen. Usually PDG Commerce uses the format “[Option
Description] is [Option Selection]” to present option selections. With this tag,
PDG Commerce would present a selection as just “[Option Description]” in
all order displays.
For example, if you have an option whose desription is “Color” and the value
for the option selected by the customer is “Red”, then “Color is Red” will display in the cart. If the <NoShow> tag is specified, the cart will display:
Color
This option can be used for default option selections that, if chosen by the customer, do not need to be displayed on the order.
The <NoTitle> Option Tag:
The <NoTitle> tag tells PDG Commerce not to show the description of this
option in the basket, on invoices, or in confirmation e-mails. Usually PDG
Commerce uses the format “[Option Description] is [Option Selection]” to
present option selections. With this tag, PDG Commerce would present a
selection as just “[Option Selection]” in all order displays.
For example, if you have an option whose desription is “Color” and the value
for the option selected by the customer is “Red”, then “Color is Red” will display in the cart. If the <NoTitle> tag is specified, the cart will display:
Red
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The <SKU:[SKU suffix]> Tag:
The <SKU:[SKU suffix]> tag tells PDG Commerce to add a suffix to the
product’s SKU whenever this option selection is chosen. While SKU suffixes
can be used for tracking product inventory by options, they are also helpful in
being able to tell what type of product is being ordered just by looking at the
SKU.
In this tag, [SKU suffix] should be replaced with the suffix text to append to
the sku for this particular option selection. For example, <SKU:-red> would
append “-red” to the sku if that selection was chosen.
The <Custom:[x]> Option Tag:
The <Custom:[x]> tag tells PDG Commerce that additional custom text must
be collected prior to checkout if this option selection is chosen. For each item
the customer selects with this option tag, PDG Commerce will collect custom
text on the item’s details page.
This tag allows you to charge per printed letter of the text. Non-printed characters, such as spaces and tabs, do not count towards calculating this cost.
In this tag, [x] is the amount to charge per printed letter of text. For example,
<Custom:0.05> would have custom text collected for the option, with an additional charge of five cents per letter.
The Extra Cost Option Tag:
The “Extra Cost” tag allows Web stores to charge extra for an option if the
associated option selection is chosen. This price change is a unit price
change, and will be included once for every product that is placed in a cart
with this option selection. For example, <+5.00> would add five dollars to
the unit price of the item when this selection is chosen.
The <wt:[x]> Option Tag:
The <wt:[x]> tag tells PDG Commerce that an additional weight amount must
be included for this option. This weight change is a unit weight change, and
will be included once for every product that is placed in a cart with this option
selection. For example, <wt:2.00> would add two pounds to the unit weight
of the item when t his selection is chosen.
The <OneTime> Option Tag:
The <OneTime> tag tells PDG Commerce that the additional charge associated with a particular option selection should be charged only once, regardless
of the quantity of the item being ordered.
The Option Lock Record
Each record in the Option Lock section defines an illegal option combination
for a product. When an option lock is defined, and a customer tries to select
that combination of options, the customer will be told that they cannot order
that product with the options chosen. Each record contains the sku for the
product, followed by the list of options that make up the invalid combination.
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You may also use this record to create a default option combination. Each
product may have a default option combination, but cannot have more than
one. This option combination will be displayed automatically when the product details page is displayed.
An explanation of the fields of the option lock record follows:
Field Comments
Field 1. SKU (Product Code)
This field contains the sku for the product. This should be the same sku as
entered in the SKU field for the corresponding product record.
Field 2. [default]
This field determines whether or not the options specified in this record will
be an option lock or a default option combination. To specify the default
option combination, enter [default] in this field. Otherwise enter the first
option selection of an invalid option combination.
Field 3 through End. Product Option Descriptions
Place the value of the corresponding option that is part of the invalid combination in this field (e.g., Red or Small). For field 2, enter the value for Option
2. For field 3, enter the value for Option 3, etc. These values should be
exactly the same as the value entered in the corresponding field in the Option
definition record. If a particular value does not matter for a specific option in
the Option Lock record, enter “Don’t Care” for its value.
Consider the following example. You sell a t-shirt with two options. The first
option is size, with available selections small, medium, and large. The second
option is color, with available selections red, blue, and green. Perhaps the tshirt is not currently available in a green small. In that case, you would enter
the following option lock:
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The Category Record
Each product category may have detailed information entered in this record.
The category’s code must correspond to the code entered for any products
contained in this category. All of the entry fields available on the category
details page of the Merchant Administrator are included in the Category
record in the CSV file.
Note: When you are synchronizing products, this record must be entered for
each category containing products that are to be imported. When you are
appending or updating products, this record is only required for new categories that will have products imported. Existing categories do not need to be
entered in the Category record for an append or update import, but are
required for synchronize imports.
An explanation of the fields of the category record follows:
Field Comments
Field 1. Code
This field contains the four character category code corresponding to this category. This code must be unique for each category, and match the code
entered for the category’s corresponding products.
Note: If you are using Microsoft Excel and this field contains no letters, Excel
will format this field as a number. If you are creating a new CSV file, you can
format all fields as text before you begin. If you are modifying an existing or
exported CSV file, right click on the column of category codes and choose
“Format Cells...” The window should open in the “Number” tab. In the “Category” window, choose Custom. In the “Type” window on the right, you will
see that General appears in the first box. Delete this text and enter 0000.
Click OK. This format will automatically force each field in this column to
contain four numbers (e.g., 10 will be changed to 0010).
Field 2. Description
This field contains the name of the category that will be displayed on the Store
Builder templates.
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Field 3. Image URL
This field contains the relative or complete URL location of the image file
that will accompany the category’s information on the Store Builder templates. For example, either of the following URL formats may be used:
/images/category1.gif
http://www.mywebstore.com/images/category1.gif
Field 4. StoreBuilder Template
This field contains the location of the template to be used to display the products in this category. The Category template specified in the Templates section of the Merchant Administrator will be used for the category unless a
specific template is indicated in this field.
Field 5. Parent Code
This field should contain the four character category code of the category that
is a parent to this category. Entering a code in this field causes this category
to become a subcategory of the parent specified.
Field 6. Text
In this field, you may provide specific text that will be used to offer a more
detailed description of the category on the Store Builder templates.
The Product Record
Each record in the Product section of the CSV file defines a single product
listing. Almost all of the entry fields on the Product Definition page of the
Merchant Administrator are included in each Product record in the CSV file.
Those that are not, or those for which your CSV file does not contain any
data, will need to be entered manually into your Merchant Administrator.
Good Characters
In general, use the basic 26 uppercase and lowercase letters, and the ten digits
0-9, plus the dash and the underscore (for a total of 64 characters) for your
product data:
abcdefghijkilmnopqrsstuvwxyz
1234567890_-
Spaces, single quotes, and double quotes are allowed in certain fields, where it
is necessary to enclose multiword phrases in quotes.
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Bad Characters
Specifically, the following characters should be avoided:
Product Record Data Format
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Field Comments
Field 1. Category Code
This field should contain the category code to which the product belongs.
Category codes must be four alphanumeric characters. Please note that
dashes (-) may not be used in this field. When importing a CSV file into PDG
Commerce, this column will be ignored; however, this field must not be
empty.
Field 2. SKU (Product Code)
This field must be unique for each product. This field is limited to 20 characters (including the category code, the sku, and any option suffixes). You must
follow the convention for “good characters” that are to be used in this field.
When importing a CSV file into PDG Commerce, the four character category
code must be included as the first four characters of the product sku if using
product categories.
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Field 3. Description
This field should contain a brief, one-line description (usually the name) of
the product. This is the description that appears during the shopping process
and on the e-mail notifications to the customer and to you, the vendor.
Field 4. Keywords
This field should contain product keywords. Enter each keyword separated
by a single space. You may also enter keyword phrases as long as they are
surrounded by quotation marks (“ ”).
Note: Since you are separating keywords with spaces, you should not use
commas in this field and you should not include the entire field in quotes.
Example: Huffy bike “ten speed”
This field is limited to 255 characters including spaces. You must follow the
convention for “good characters” that are to be used in this field.
Field 5. Unit Price
This field contains the “per-unit” price for the selected product in your Web
store’s primary currency. This is the product’s default pricing before any discounts, options, or price categories are applied.
Field 6. Taxable Price
This field contains the portion of the product’s unit price to which sales tax
should be applied. If this field contains an asterisk, then the whole unit price
amount is taxable. If this field contains “0”, then no taxes will be calculated
for this specific product.
Field 7. Additional Shipping
This field allows you to enter an additional shipping charge depending on the
product purchased. This is helpful if a particular product tends to increase
your shipping and handling costs.
Note: Additional Shipping charges are added on a per unit basis. For example, if a particular item had an additional shipping charge of $2.00, changing
the item quantity to two would increase the additional shipping charge to
$4.00.
Field 8. Weight
This field contains the product’s weight. If your shipping and handling rules
use weight to determine shipping and handling charges to the customer, you
should place a value here for each product. If not, you may enter an asterisk
or a “0” in this field and the product’s weight will be ignored.
Note: The UPS and USPS real time shipping rate calculation services use the
weight of the products to determine the cost of the shipping. If you are using
one of these shipping services, your products must have a weight defined for
shipping to be charged.
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Field 9. Unit of Measure
This field contains the label for the unit of measure for the product (e.g.,
“boxes”, “cartons”, “yards”, etc.). Place an asterisk in this field if you wish
for the label to be omitted.
Note: The Unit of Measure should not be confused with the Weight Label,
which can be set in the Cart Options section of the Merchant Administrator.
The Unit of Measure label will be displayed after the quantity box on the Item
page, and will not be applied to the Weight entered for the product.
Field 10. Frequent Shopper Points
In the ‘Frequent Shopper Points’ field, you should enter the product’s frequent
shopper point value. This is the number of points that a customer earns for
purchasing this particular product. PDG Commerce will add the points from
the purchased products together and provide a cumulative total for each order
at checkout.
When entering values into this field, you can use whole numbers (2, 5, 6, etc.)
or fractions stated as decimals (3.75, 1.25, etc.).
Field 11. Number of Items per Box
If you have configured PDG Commerce to capture shipping costs from UPS
or USPS, this feature will allow you to specify the quantity of the product that
is to be packed into a single box for shipping. If all items are to be shipped in
the same box, you should enter an asterisk in this field.
Field 12. Allow Fractional Quantity?
This field indicates whether a customer can specify a fractional quantity of the
selected product to order. This option is recommended if you sell items in
bulk and allow customers to purchase quantities such as one and a half cases
or a quarter pound. Fractional quantities should be represented by decimal
notation (i.e., one-half would be expressed as 0.5).
To allow fractional quantites, enter a “Y” or a “1” in this field. An “N”, a
“0”, or an asterisk for this field will disable fractional quantities.
Note: This field will be exported using a “1” for Yes or a “0” for No.
Field 13. Keep Inventory
This field indicates whether or not PDG Commerce will track inventory for
this product. If inventory tracking is enabled and the item is out of stock, customers will not be allowed to purchase the product unless the “Allow Backordering” box is checked in the Inventory section of the Merchant
Administrator. If the “Allow Backordering” box is not checked, a message
will be displayed to the customer indicating that the item is out of stock and
may not be ordered.
To track inventory for this product, enter a “Y” or a “1” in this field. To track
inventory by option for this product, enter a “2” in this field. A “0” or an
asterisk for this field will disable inventory tracking for this product.
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Note: This field will be exported using a “0” for No, a “1” for Yes by Product,
or a “2” for Yes by Option.
Field 14. Length
This field may contain the length of the product in inches, or can contain an
asterisk to indicate that the field is not used. The length must be in inches,
and can have decimal quantities. This measurement is primarily used in
obtaining real-time shipping costs from UPS or USPS.
Field 15. Width
This field may contain the width of the product in inches, or can contain an
asterisk to indicate that the field is not used. The width must be in inches, and
can have decimal quantities. This measurement is primarily used in obtaining
real-time shipping costs from UPS or USPS.
Field 16. Height
This field may contain the height of the product in inches, or can contain an
asterisk to indicate that the field is not used. The height must be in inches,
and can have decimal quantities. This measurement is primarily used in
obtaining real-time shipping costs from UPS or USPS.
Field 17. Internal Use ONLY
This field is currently not used by the PDG Merchant Administrator for
Importing and Exporting of CSV files. A single asterisk should be entered.
Field 18. Image URL
This field contains the relative or complete URL location of the image file
that will accompany the product’s information on the Item page. For example, either of the following URL formats may be used:
/images/gadget1.gif
http://www.mywebstore.com/images/gadget1.gif
Field 19. Thumb Image URL
This field contains the relative or complete URL location of the thumbnail
image file that wll accompany the product’s information on a Search Results
or MultiItem page. For example, either of the following URL formats may be
used:
/images/gadget1_thumb.gif
http://www.mywebstore.com/images/gadget1_thumb.gif
Field 20. Item Template
This field contains the location of the template to be used in place of the Item
template when displaying this product. The Item template specified in the
Templates section of the Merchant Administrator will be used for a product
unless a specific template is indicated in this field.
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By omitting the leading slash in the relative path (/ or \), the Importing process
will interpret the location specified as relative to the PDG_Cart directory.
Storing all template directories inside your PDG_Cart directory and using this
convention is recommended.
Examples: Templates\Sample-Item.html or Templates/Sample-Item.html
Field 21. Softgoods Data
This field is utilized if the product has softgoods which must be delivered
upon purchase. The data in this field will appear on the Thank You / Credit
Accept HTML templates if this product is purchased. This field should contain the information that the customer will need to download the softgood
item that he just purchased.
This field should consist of HTML which contains a hyperlink to download
the software sold, using the special tag !---DELIVERPAYLOAD---. For
example:
<a href="!---DELIVERPAYLOAD---">Download Now!</a>
Field 22. Softgoods Payload
This field should contain the location of the softgood program or document
relative to your PDG_Cart directory.
Note: This is not a complete URL, but a relative path. It is dependent upon
the actual file location of the Softgood program or document within the
PDG_Cart directory. For example:
Softgoods/file.txt
Field 23. Softgoods MIME-type
This field contains the Web server MIME-type of the softgood document or
program. This field could be a variety of things. For example, “application/
octect-stream” is preferred for all binary data. It should always be in the format <majortype><subtype>.
A list of common MIME types can be found at http://www.pdgsoft.com/
mimetype.htm.
Field 24. Softgoods Download Limit
This field specifies the number of attempts you will allow a customer to
retrieve the purchased softgood.
Field 25. Softgoods Window
This is the amount of time, in minutes, that your customer will have to download the purchased product. This time window prevents users from downloading the software after an elapsed time. This value must not be set to zero.
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Field 26. Specific Product Text
In this field, you may provide Specific Product Text data that will be used to
offer a more detailed description of the product. During the Import process,
the PDG Merchant Administrator will insert this data into a text file with the
name of “[SKU].txt” where [SKU] is the product code that you have defined
in field #1. These files will be created in the “ProdText” directory of your
PDG_Cart directory.
When Updating or Synchronizing products with the CSV file, any existing
Product Text files for the imported products will be overwritten by the new
Product Text contained in the imported CSV file.
Note: This field cannot contain any carriage returns or line feeds. If any type
of formatting is desired, you may use HTML tags. You may include a maximum of 1024 characters in this field. If more characters are desired, they may
be added through the Merchant Administrator or directly into the [SKU].txt
file after the CSV file has been imported.
Field 27. Price Category Code
This field can be used to enter one Price Category Code for this product. If
you have set up various pricing categories when you configured PDG Commerce in the ‘Discounting’ section of the Administrator, then one of these categories can appear here. Only one may be specified for importing, so any
other pricing categories must be entered in the product details of the Merchant
Administrator.
Note: This field is not used in PDG Commerce. You should enter an asterisk
in this field.
Field 28. Price Category Unit Price
This field should contain the appropriate price of the product for the particular
category specified in the preceding field of the CSV file.
in this field.
Field 29. Price Category Taxable Price
This field should contain the portion of the price entered in the preceding field
of the CSV file to which sales tax should be applied.
in this field.
Field 30. Is Searchable?
This field allows this product to be omitted from product searches performed
by the customer. This setting allows the merchant to remove a product from
the Web store without deleting it from the product database. Place an “N” or a
“0” in this field to bypass this product during a search. Place a “Y” or a “1” in
this field to indicate that this product should be included in any search.
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Field 31. Maximum Quantity
This field contains the maximum quantity of the product that may be purchased in a single order. For example, entering the number three in this field
would prevent a customer from purchasing more than three of the product per
order.
Field 32. Minimum Quantity
This field contains the minimum quantity of the product that may be purchased in a single order. For example, entering the number two in this field
would prevent a customer from purchasing less than two of the product per
order.
Field 33. Cross Sales
This field contains the sku numbers for products you wish to cross-sell on this
product’s Item page. If entering more than one cross sale product, you should
separate the sku numbers with commas (,). You may also include link text
after the sku in brackets, which will be the label used to link to the cross sale
product’s Item page. For example:
A0002[Click here for Carrying Case],A0003[Click here for a One Year Support Plan]
Note: The Cross Sales field may need to contain commas (,). However, commas are the delimiter character of the CSV file, and will be read by the program as the start of a new field. To prevent errors, make sure you enclose the
Cross Sales field in double quotes (“) if you will be entering commas in this
field.
Field 34. Cross Sales Template
If you choose to add a new page in between the Item page and the Basket page
that will offer your cross sales products as additional items to add to the basket, you may enter the location of that template in this field. This page will be
displayed as a multiadd template. If no template is specified, the default multiadd template (entered in the Templates section of the Merchant Administrator) will be used for this action if it is selected. This action may be selected in
the ’Insert Cross Sales Page?’ field. This template’s location should be
entered as a relative path from the PDG_Cart folder. For example:
Templates/MultiItem.html
Field 35. Basket Cross Sales
If you wish to display your cross sales product links on the Basket page, you
may enable that setting in this field. When this setting is enabled, a customer
will see links to the cross sales items next to this product when it is displayed
on the Basket page. Please note that enabling this option will display the links
automatically on the default Basket template provided by PDG Software. To
display these links on a customized Basket template, you will need to add the
appropriate PDG tags to the template. Please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide for more information on this and other customized
HTML template files.
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Place a “Y” or a “1” in this field to enable the display of cross sales product
links on the Basket page. Place an “N” or a “0” in this field to disable this
option.
Field 36. Insert Cross Sales Page?
If you choose to add a new page in between the Item page and the Basket page
that will offer your cross sales products as additional items to add to the basket, you may enable that option in this field. The page will be displayed as a
multiadd template. If no template is specified, the default multiadd template
(entered in the Templates section of the Merchant Administrator) will be used
for this action if it is selected. The template to be displayed for this action
may be specified in the ’Cross Sales Template’ field.
Place a “Y” or a “1” in this field to enable the insertion of a multiadd page
between the Item and Basket pages to display cross sales product links. Place
an “N” or a “0” in this field to disable this option.
Field 37. Up Sales
This field contains the sku numbers for products you wish to up-sell on this
product’s Item page. If entering more than one up sale product, you should
separate the sku numbers with commas (,). You may also include link text
after the sku in brackets, which will be label used to link to the up sale product’s Item page. For example:
A0004[Click Here for Newer Version],A0005[Click Here for Product with
One Year Support Plan]
Note: The Up Sales field may need to contain commas (,). However, commas
are the delimiter character of the CSV file, and will be read by the program as
the start of a new field. To prevent errors, make sure you enclose the Up Sales
field in double quotes (“) if you will be entering commas in this field.
Field 38 through 47. User Defined Data
The User Defined Fields allow you to specify custom data of any sort for the
product.
Note: These fields may not contain any carriage returns or line feeds. If any
type of formatting is desired, you may use HTML tags. You may include a
maximum of 1024 characters in each field.
Field 48. Discount
This field will contain the unique name of the quantity discount tiers to apply
to this product. The unique name for the discount for this product is the one
specified in the first field of the appropriate discount record.
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Field 49 through End. Product Options
In these fields, place the unique names of each field associated with the product. Each option name must be placed in a separate field. The unique name
for the option is the one specified in the first field of the appropriate option
record. Each product may have up to 200 options.
Formatting Notes
If a field calls for an entry that has a comma (,) or single quotes (‘), enclose
the contents in double quotes (“). If a field calls for an entry that has double
quotes (“), enclose the contents in single quotes (‘).
Any optional fields that are not used for your products should contain a single
asterisk (*) character.
Comment lines in the CSV file are denoted with a starting semicolon (;). All
lines beginning with a semicolon are ignored. Semicolons can be used for
section headers, notes, and other comments.
Any single product line in the CSV file may not exceed 21504 characters.
Getting Help
If you are having any problems with importing or exporting your product
database in CSV format, technical support is available from our Web site at
http://support.pdgsoft.com.
Uploading CSV Files
Before importing a CSV product file into your PDG Commerce, you must
upload it to your web server. You can upload the file directly through your
Merchant Administrator. This option can be found in the Import/Export settings, in the Upload File section of the page.
Note: If you have a CSV product file from a previous version of PDG Commerce, you will need to ensure that you have all of the new columns in your
CSV before importing into PDG Commerce. If any fields are missing in
your CSV file, you will receive errors when trying to import the file. You
can make an export file of your existing products or refer to the
beginning of this chapter to determine which columns need to be added.
Upload File section of Import/Export settings
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Locating CSV File
Before uploading a CSV product file, you must indicate to the Merchant
Administrator where the file is located on your local computer. To locate the
file, click the ‘Browse...’ button in the Upload File section of the Import/
Export settings in the Merchant Administrator. Clicking the ‘Browse...’ button will open a file location window. Use this window to navigate to the
appropriate CSV product file, and click the ‘Open’ button.
Uploading CSV File
Once you have selected the file to be uploaded, the full path on your hard
drive to the file will be displayed in the “Upload Import File” field. Verify
that this file location is correct, then click the ‘Send File’ button to upload the
file. When the file is successfully uploaded to your Merchant Administrator,
the file name will appear in the Manage Files section of the Import/Export settings.
Note: If you upload a file with a name that already exists on your web server,
the existing file will be overwritten by the new file being uploaded.
Managing CSV Files
After your CSV product file has been imported or exported, you will be able
to access it via the Manage Files section of the Import/Export settings in your
PDG Software Merchant Administrator. From this location you may delete or
download any CSV files that currently exist on your web server.
Manage Files section of Import/Export settings
Removing CSV Files
To remove a CSV product file that you no longer need on your web server,
locate the file in the Manage Files list in the Import/Export settings of the
Merchant Administrator. Click the ‘Remove’ button next to the file’s name to
remove it from your web server. CSV product files are stored in the
“pdg_data” folder in the “PDG_Cart” directory on your web site. Please note
that the remove action will permanently remove the CSV product file from
the “pdg_data” folder.
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Downloading CSV Files
To view the contents of a CSV product file or download it to your local computer, locate the file in the Manage Files list in the Import/Export settings of
the Merchant Administrator. Click the ‘Download’ button next to the file’s
name to download the file. A window will appear asking you to Open the file
from its current location or Save the file to your local computer. Choosing
‘Open’ will use the default CSV program on your computer to open the file,
but will not save a copy to your local computer. Choosing ‘Save’ will open a
file browser window. Browse to the location on your hard drive where you
would like the CSV product file saved. Specify a name for the file, and click
the ‘Save’ button.
Importing CSV Files
After uploading your CSV product file to the PDG Software Merchant
Administrator, and it appears in the Manage Files section of the Import/Export
settings, you can import the CSV file into your product database. You may
synchronize your product database with the CSV file, append the CSV file’s
product list to your product database, or update your product database with
the CSV file.
Import Products section of Import/Export settings
Synchronizing Products with CSV File
When you synchronize your product database with the CSV file, the product
database will be altered to match the CSV file exactly. If a product number in
the CSV file matches a product number in your database, the existing product’s details and product text file will be modified to match those specified in
the CSV file for this product record. If a product number in the CSV file does
not match a product number in your database, the product will be added to
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your database. If a product number in the database does not match a product
number in the CSV file, the product will be deleted from the product database.
Note: If you are importing a single product category, you should not use the
synchronize option. Using this import type would delete all products not contained in that category.
Append CSV file to Products
When you append the CSV file to your product database, only the new products in the CSV will be added. Any product numbers in the CSV file that
match an existing product number in your database will be ignored. Any
product numbers in the CSV file that do not match a product number in the
database will be added to the database.
Update Products with CSV File
When you update the products database with the CSV file, the existing products will be altered to match the CSV, and any new products will be added. If
a product number in the CSV file matches a product number in your database,
the existing product’s details and product text file will be modified to match
those specified in the CSV file for this product record. If a product number in
the CSV does not match a product number in the database, the product will be
added to the database.
Importing the File
After selecting which type of import you would like to perform, you must
choose which CSV file to import. In the “Please Select Import File to Use”
menu, you will see a list of all of the CSV files that have been imported to
your Merchant Administrator. Select the CSV file you wish to import, then
click the ‘Begin Importing Products’ button. A new page will be displayed
with the message “Please Wait While We Import Your Products” as the import
process begins.
Message indicating Import is in progress
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Message indicating import is complete
When the import is complete, a new page will be displayed with the message
“X Products Were Imported” to indicate that the process has completed and
how many products have been imported.
If any errors are encountered during the import process, the Merchant Administrator will display a descriptive list of the errors causing the import to fail.
Exporting to CSV Files
You may export your product database to a CSV file within your PDG Software Merchant Administrator. In the Export Products section of the Import/
Export settings, you may specify a filename and set of products to export to a
CSV file in the “pdg_data” folder in your “PDG_Cart” directory.
Export Products section of the Import/Export settings
Create PDG Export File
Exporting your products into a PDG export file is recommended to create a
backup of your product database. Optimally, export files should be saved in a
directory that is not on your Web server. If this is not possible, then back up
your files in a directory other than your Web store’s root directory or
PDG_Commerce directory.
In the “Create PDG Export File” field, enter a filename to be used to create
your CSV products file in PDG Software format. This is the same format that
is covered earlier in this chapter. Your filename should end in .csv to indicate
that it will be exported in CSV format. Please note that if you specify a filename that matches a file listed in the Manage Files section of the
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Import/Export settings, the existing file will be overwritten by the new file
that is imported. Leaving this field blank will result in a CSV file using a
default name. The default name for the exported CSV file is “export.csv”.
Create Froogle Data Feed File
In the “Create Froogle Data Feed File” field, enter a filename to be used to
create your tab delimited text products file in Froogle format. Information
about this format can be found at https://www.google.com/froogle/merchants/
feed_instructions_new.html. Your filename should end in .txt to indicate that
it will be exported in text format. Please note that if you specify a filename
that matches a file listed in the Manage Files section of the Import/Export settings, the existing file will be overwritten by the new file that is imported.
Create Yahoo Product Feed File
In the “Create Yahoo Product Feed File” field, enter a filename to be used to
create your tab delimited text products file in Yahoo format. Information
about this format can be found at https://productsubmit.adcentral.yahoo.com/
sspi/us/spec. Your filename should end in .txt to indicate that it will be
exported in text format. Please note that if you specify a filename that
matches a file listed in the Manage Files section of the Import/Export settings,
the existing file will be overwritten by the new file that is imported.
Selecting Products
In the “Select a product category if appropriate” menu, choose which set of
products you would like to export to the CSV file. If you would like to export
your entire product database, or if you do not use product categories, select
the “All Categories” option. Otherwise, select the appropriate product category name and code to export to your CSV file. Click the ‘Begin Exporting
Products’ button to begin the export process. A new page will be displayed
with the message “Please Wait While We Export Your Products” as the export
process begins.
Message indicating Export is in progress
If any errors are encountered during the export process, the Merchant Administrator will display a descriptive list of the errors causing the export to fail.
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Downloading the CSV File
When the export is complete, a new page will be displayed with the message
“X Products Were Exported” to indicate that the process has completed and
how many products have been exported. Underneath the message is a link to
download the newly created CSV file. Click the “Download [filename].csv”
link to download the file to your local computer. Clicking this link will open
a file location window. Browse to the location on your hard drive to which
you would like the CSV product file saved. Specify a name for the file, and
click the ‘Save’ button.
Message indicating that export has completed
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Chapter 12
Payment Methods
Implementing Internet Payment Services and setting Payment Methods
W
hen you establish a Web store, you must decide which forms of payment you will accept from customers. It is very likely that credit cards
(such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) will be
one of those accepted methods. Other forms of payment you may wish to
accept could be checks or money orders. You may also want to consider
allowing customers the option to phone or fax in payment information – since
there are still some Internet shoppers who are uncomfortable with supplying
sensitive information like credit card numbers over the Internet. Lastly, you
might want to accept purchase orders or purchase confirmations from established accounts for invoicing later.
For customers who decide to pay for their order online using a credit card, you
may set up PDG Commerce to communicate with an Internet payment verification service to provide real-time authorization of that card.
In order to begin configuring payment methods for your Web store, go to your
Merchant Administrator’s main menu. Once you have logged in, click the
‘Payment Methods’ link on your Merchant Administrator’s main menu. The
Payment Methods page contains two sections. In the first, you establish the
various methods customers will choose from to pay for their order. In the second, you will configure the payment service specifications – should you
decide to use an online authorization service.
Payment Methods Setup
Continuing with the Payment Method Configuration page, you will configure
PDG Commerce to handle the payment methods that you plan to offer your
customers. You will also specify the method by which customer payments
will be processed and whether these are secure, non-secure, or both.
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Payment Method Configuration
Rule #
The ‘Rule #’ form field is simply used to denote the order in which the
options you specify in the ‘Method Description’ form are to appear in the
drop-down menu that your customers will use to select their payment method.
For example, entering the number ‘1’ for the ‘Rule #’ would place that respective method description first in the list of payment method options presented
to your customers.
Method Description
In this field, enter the description of one of the payment methods you will
offer – this exact description will appear in the drop-down menu from which
your customers will select their method of payment. For example, if you will
allow payment by credit card, your entry might be ‘Pay by Credit Card
Online.’ Other methods of payment might include ‘Pay by Check Online,’
‘Mail Check,’ ‘Pay by Money Order,’ or ‘Call or Fax in Payment Information.’ Please remember that you are not required to use the exact descriptions
given here, as these are only examples. Also, you may enter as many payment
options as you desire.
Specifiers
The choices in these drop-down menus indicate how PDG Commerce should
process the methods you have specified. With each method you set up, you
should choose one selection from each of the three drop-down menus.
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In the first drop down menu, you should choose what kind of information that
PDG Commerce needs to collect from the customer when he chooses this type
of payment method. The selections serve the following purposes:
•
•
•
No extra info - This selection tells PDG Commerce to proceed with
the order and collect no additional information regarding payment.
This would be used with methods like ‘Mail Check’ or ‘Call or Fax in
Payment Information.’
Collect check info - This choice indicates that PDG Commerce
requires the completion of check information fields such as check
number, routing number, account number and bank name. These
fields may need to be added to your Verify HTML template manually,
so be sure to consult the sections on HTML templates in Chapters 5
and 12, if necessary.
Collect credit card info - Much like the ‘Collect check info’ selection, this choice instructs PDG Commerce to ensure that particular
credit card information fields have been completed – especially the
account number and expiration date. Similar to the check information
fields, the credit card information fields may need to be added to your
Verify template.
In the second drop down menu, you should choose the payment authorization
service that should be invoked when the customer chooses this method of
payment. The selections are:
•
•
No auth service - This selection instructs PDG Commerce not to use
an authorization service, but instead, to simply pass the credit card or
check information directly to you.
[Authorization service] - There are eight additional selections available, one for each of the authorization services that PDG Commerce
is compatible with. As for payment processors, PDG Commerce will
communicate with the payment service you select here to provide
online credit card verification. Please note that you must first establish an account with one of these services, as well as configure your
PDG Commerce to work with the service, before PDG Commerce
will be able to properly communicate with the authorization service.
The third drop down menu contains the choices for what types of connections
that the payment method will be available for (i.e. whether the customer
chooses secure checkout or not). The available selections are:
•
•
•
non-SSL conx only - choosing this selection will cause the payment
method to be available only when customers have opted to use nonsecure checkout. Remember, the choice between secure and nonsecure usually appears in the Basket HTML template unless it has
been customized.
SSL conx only - as you can probably guess, this choice causes the
payment option to appear only when the customer uses secure checkout.
All conx - this choice will make the payment option available with
both secure and non-secure checkout.
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Note that if your payment methods are not specified as “all conx” (all connections), you may not have certain payment methods available on certain types
of checkout. For maximum flexibility, each defined payment method should
be used on “all conx.”
Using an Internet Payment Service
You may be asking yourself, “Should I be using an Internet Payment Service?” Of course, the decision is entirely up to you, but you should consider
the following: accepting credit cards at your Web store means that you won't
have the actual card itself to swipe through a credit card terminal. Therefore,
without an Internet Payment Service, you would need to manually enter the
account number and expiration date, the amount of the sale, press enter and
then wait for the terminal to return a response – approved or declined. Additionally, you would need to do this for every sale you receive at your Web
store. For the successful Web site, (and we certainly hope yours is), this could
be a very time consuming process.
Should you decide to utilize an Internet Payment Service, PDG Commerce
currently supports those as outlined in this chapter. To take advantage of this
functionality, you must have an account established with one of these services. You must also have your PDG Commerce configured to communicate
with one of the authorization services. These procedures will be covered later
in this chapter.
Authorization vs. Authorization and Capture
Once you have established an account with an authorization service, PDG
Commerce will be able to communicate directly with an Internet Payment
Service provider and complete a real-time authorization or authorization and
capture. Take note of the distinction we have made here between authorization vs. authorization and capture. An authorization is just that – an authorization only. This means that you have simply secured the approval to charge
a certain amount to an account at some point in the future. On the other hand,
an authorization and capture means that you have secured an approval and
you have actually charged the customer's account.
Note: Some payment processors call these by a different name. For instance,
VeriSign’s options are “authorization” and “sale,” while WorldPay uses the
terms “pre-auth” and “auth.”
Why would a merchant secure an authorization only, without capturing the
funds? In many cases, credit card payment networks such as VISA and MasterCard are very adamant that merchants not charge a customer's credit card
unless they are able to deliver the products or services right away. Therefore,
in “out of stock” or “backordered” situations, many merchants will secure an
authorization at the time an order is placed and then capture the funds at the
time of shipment.
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Note: Some payment processors do not support both the ‘authorization’ and
‘authorization and capture’ features. Be sure to check with your individual
payment processor to ensure that the option you specify is compliant with
their services.
AVS
AVS is the Address Verification System that is used by all Internet payment
processing services compatible with PDG Commerce. PDG Commerce itself
no longer performs any voids on transactions that are successful when the
authorization service indicates there is an AVS mismatch.
You must configure your authorization service to check for AVS failures, and
deny any transaction where AVS fails. All supported Payment Gateway services allow you to configure AVS checking in their Merchant Configurations.
Payment Methods
Currently, PDG Commerce supports nine different online payment authorization services:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
USA ePay
VeriSign
SurePay
PayPal
WorldPay
Linkpoint
AIM Protocol Gateway
CyberCash
EFTSecure
Moneris
Metacharge
These services are all similar in setup. Some may have unique fields that are
described on the individual method pages. Each contains a field near the bottom for a log file name. This log file is useful for tracking transmissions
between PDG Commerce and the services, but is not necessary. The log file
name can be specified by the user and if it does not exist, it will be created.
This file can be found by default in the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory, and is a
good point of reference if you are having problems with your merchant
account.
Note: Certain payment processors are not compatible with all operating systems. Be sure to contact the payment service that you choose to ensure that it
supports the operating system on which your Web server is running. Most
notably, CyberCash, Verisign, and LinkPoint users may experience limitations
here.
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The following is a list of known payment methods which are incompatible
with the following operating systems:
•
•
•
CyberCash - Cobalt Linux, Libc5 Linux
Verisign - Cobalt Linux, Libc5 Linux, Intel Solaris, Digital Unix
LinkPoint - Cobalt Linux, Libc5 Linux, Intel Solaris, Digital Unix,
Irix
Warning: PDG Commerce includes an option for specifying a log file for
payment processor transactions. These log files do not contain sensitive
credit card information. By default, these log files are NOT ENCRYPTED.
They are designed to be used for troubleshooting when problems occur with
processing a transaction. We strongly recommend that you NOT enable this
feature on a server that you feel might be unsecure, unless you are troubleshooting your authorization system. If you do enable then, you can use GPG
encryption on them - see the log file name setting for the appropriate service
for more information.
USA ePay
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with USA ePay in
order to use this Internet payment service in conjunction with your Web store.
PDG Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through USA
ePay.
In order to use USA ePay with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a
special server or have your ISP host one.
To access the configuration settings for USA ePay, click the ‘USA ePay’ link
on the Payment Methods setup page. To configure PDG Commerce to work
with USA ePay you need to complete the following settings within the Merchant Administrator. Keep in mind that most of this information is provided
by USA ePay at the time you establish your account.
USA ePay Settings
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USA ePay Source Key
Place your Source Key in this field. It is issued to you from USA ePay, and
should be copied verbatim into this field.
USA ePay Server Name
Put the server name of the USA ePay server in this field. If you do not know
the server, first try ‘www.usaepay.com’. If this does not work, you can contact USA ePay and obtain the fully qualified domain name of the USA ePay
server to which PDG Commerce should send transactions.
USA ePay Authorization Type
This field is either ‘Sale’ or ‘Authorization’. ‘Sale’ indicates that USA ePay
should seek both authorization to charge the customer’s credit card, as well as
to collect the funds for the transaction. ‘Authorization’ indicates that only
authorization to charge the credit card should be obtained and that you will
later collect the funds when the customer’s order is delivered.
USA ePay Operating Mode
This field indicates if your USA ePay account is in either ‘Live’ mode or
‘Test’ mode. If in test mode, you can use the test credit card numbers provided by USA ePay to test PDG Commerce’s interaction with USA ePay. In
live mode, all received credit card order sent to USA ePay are prcoessed normally.
Note: You must first set this setting in your Merchant Configuration for USA
ePay, and then set this setting here to match. Changing the setting here does
not change the account’s status with USA ePay.
File to Which USA ePay Transactions are
Logged
This field indicates if PDG Commerce is to create a detailed transaction log
file of the transactions sent to USA ePay, and the name of the log file if created. If no log file is required, leave the field blank. Otherwise, a file with the
specified name will be created in the PDG_Commerce folder.
This file contains no sensitive credit card information - this is censored out
and not stored in the log file.
You can choose to encrypt this file with GPG. If so, ensure GPG and your
public key is installed on the server properly, as documented in PDG Key
Manager User Guide. Then place after the filename, in between greater-than
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and less-than signs, the identifier of the gpg public key to use. No space or
other character should appear between the filename and the greater-than sign.
VeriSign
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with VeriSign in order
to use this Internet payment service in conjunction with your Web store. PDG
Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through VeriSign.
Necessary VeriSign Files for Payflow Pro
In order to use VeriSign Payflow Pro with PDG Commerce, you do not need
to host a special server or have your ISP host one. However, you will need to
download the VeriSign Payflow Pro Software Development Kit (SDK) from
their Web site. The SDK contains a program and data certificates needed to
protect your web store’s transmissions to and from Verisign. Before you
download, make sure you select the operating system of the web server, not of
your personal computer.
This archive comes in the form of a compressed archive file. Open and
uncompress the SDK. You only need to upload certain files - not the entire
archive. These files are:
•
•
•
•
•
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From the “bin” directory of the archive, for Microsoft Windows,
“pfpro.exe” and for any UNIX, “pfpro”. Upload into the
“PDG_Commerce” directory as binary.
The entire “certs” directory of the archive, for all platforms. Upload
the directory and its contents into the “PDG_Commerce” directory as
ASCII. There must be a “certs” subdirectory in your
“PDG_Commerce” directory after the upload, and not just the contents of the “certs” directory.
From the “lib” directory, for Microsoft Windows, upload “pfpro.dll”
to your PDG_Commerce directory.
The library file “libpfpro.so” may need to be installed in the server’s
library directory. If you are administrating the UNIX server yourself,
you may need to install the SDK. If your site is provided by a hosting
company, you may require assistance from them. Try just sending a
couple transactions (by placing test orders) to Verisign. If everything
works ok, they you do not need to do anything else (meaning that the
shared library is already installed on your server). If not, the problem
may be that the “pfpro” program is not finding “libpfpro.so” and that
the library file needs to be installed on the server.
For Microsoft Windows, if CMD.exe is not enabled for use by your
PDG_Commerce folder, you need to add a configuration variable to
your shopper.conf file. Using an FTP program, edit the shopper.conf
file located in your PDG_Commerce folder. At the end of the file, add
the following text:
PayFlowLib=Yes
Save the shopper.conf file back to your PDG_Cart folder.
For Microsoft Windows systems, these uploaded files need to have proper file
permissions so that the anonymous browser account can access them for
“read” and “execute”. For UNIX systems, the executable programs can have
CHMOD permissions of “7-5-5”, or “read”, “write”, and “execute” for the file
owner, and “read” and “execute” for everyone else. The “certs” folder needs
the same permissions, though the files inside the “certs” folder do not need
“execute” (permissions of “6-4-4”).
Once the Payflow Pro files are uploaded, you should configure the Verisign
payment system settings in PDG Commerce. To access the configuration settings for VeriSign, click the ‘VeriSign’ link on the Payment Methods setup
page.
Recurring Billing
If you are using VeriSign Payflow Pro, you may configure your PDG Shopping Cart to integrate with VeriSign’s recurring billing feature. Please see the
following chapter, entitled Recurring Billing for further information.
VeriSign Settings
VeriSign Account Type
Choose which VeriSign account type you have here, eitherVeriSign Payflow
Pro or Verisign Payflow Link. You can check your Payflow control panel if
you are unsure which you have.
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VeriSign Account Login ID
Place your VeriSign account login ID in the ‘VeriSign Account Login ID’
field. This number should have been issued by VeriSign during the setup of
VeriSign services.
VeriSign Account Password
For Payflow Pro users, enter your VeriSign account password in the ‘VeriSign Account Password’ field. This password should have been established at
the time you set up your account with VeriSign.
For Payflow Link users, this field is not used.
VeriSign Partner
This field contains your VeriSign partner name. Generally this will be whomever sold you the VeriSign software. VeriSign will provide this information at
the time you set up your account. This field is case sensitive and mandatory.
VeriSign Vendor Name
For Payflow Pro users, this field contains your Web store’s name as VeriSign
knows it. This information should be provided for you at the time that you set
up your account with VeriSign.
VeriSign Authorization Type
This field determines whether VeriSign will simply authorize the transaction
or authorize and capture the funds. The ‘Sale’ setting in the ‘VeriSign authorization type’ field implements the authorization and capture function. For
more information on authorization and capture, see the ‘Authorization vs.
Authorization & Capture’ section located earlier in this chapter.
VeriSign Host
For Payflow Pro users, this field contains the gateway Internet address
through which PDG Commerce communicates with VeriSign. This gateway
should have been provided at the time you set up your account with VeriSign.
This field should generally read:
payflow.verisign.com
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Or if you are only performing test transactions, the host should be:
test-payflow.verisign.com
If you are using Payflow Link, this needs to contain the complete URL to the
VeriSign Payflow Link transaction server. By default you should use::
https://payments.verisign.com/payflowlink
If you leave this field blank and are using Payflow Link, PDG Commerce will
use the default Payflow Link server without Fraud Protection Service. If you
are unsure of the URL to place here, please refer to the VeriSign Payflow
Link documentation, which can be obtained in the ‘Downloads’ section of
your Payflow Manager (https://register-payflow.verisign.com/downloads/
PayflowLink_Guide.pdf).
VeriSign Port
For Payflow Pro users, this field contains the port number on the VeriSign
host server to which you will connect for payment authorizations. This number should be provided at the time you set up your VeriSign account. Generally this will be the server’s secure port, 443.
File to which VeriSign Transactions are Logged
In the ‘File to which VeriSign transactions are logged’ field, enter the name of
the file to which you want VeriSign transactions logged. The location is
assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory. PDG Commerce
will automatically create this file with the name you specify here when the
first VeriSign transaction takes place.
Note: This log does not contain login informtion nor credit card data. PDG
recommends that you only use this log for diagnostic purposes, and that you
disable this function (i.e. leave the field blank) at all other times. This file can
be encrypted with GPG. To encrypt this file, import your public key as
directed in the PDG Key Manager Manual. Then place the email address of
the public key within less-than greater-than signs after the name of the logfile,
with no spaces in between.
Send the Maximum Amount of Data when Using
Pfpro
If you are using VeriSign Payflow Pro with Fraud Protection Service, you
should check this box. If this box is unchecked, PDG Shopping Cart will send
only the data required by VeriSign to process the order using Payflow Pro.
However, if you are using Fraud Protection Service, additional shipping
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address information is required to perform the fraud checks. Checking this
box alerts PDG Shopping Cart that the additional information needs to be sent
to VeriSign.
Allow "Show Confirm" PayFlow Link page
If you are using VeriSign Payflow Link with Buyer Authentication Service,
you should check this box. If this box is unchecked, PDG Shopping Cart will
skip the “Show Confirm” page during the Payflow Link transaction. However, if you are using Buyer Authentication Service, the additional page is
required to display. Checking this box alerts PDG Shopping Cart that the
additional page must be displayed during the transaction.
Payflow Fraud Protection Service Settings
The next two settings allow you to specify if you will accept transactions that
were flagged by the Fraud Protection Service. If you do choose to accept
these orders, an additional message can be appended to the emails sent out to
customers for those flagged orders. This message can indicate that the order
was received and will be processed shortly - giving you time to decide if you
want to proceed with completing them.
Note that if you choose to process ‘126’ and ‘127’ transactions (fraud filtered), then it will be up to you to notify the customer whether or not you have
accepted the order.
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Payflow Link Settings in the Merchant
Administrator
The bottom section of this page deals with specific Payflow Link settings.
“Redirect to VeriSign Template” should point to the template used to redirect
the order process to VeriSign. This field is not required. If left blank, a
default redirect page will be displayed by PDG Shopping Cart. If you choose
to create a template, you will need to enter its location and filename in this
field. Depending on your template directory settings, this template’s location
will be relative to either the PDG_Cart folder or the web site’s root HTML
directory. If you wish for this page to have the same look and feel as the rest
of your web site, you will probably want to create your own template. If you
are using Payflow Link as the only payment option on your web site, you can
leave the Redirect Template field blank and embed the appropriate information in your Verify template. Please see the PDG Shopping Cart Technical
Reference for the required template code.
“Maximum Size of Transaction Directory” allows you to specify the maximum size of the temporary transaction directory. When an order is placed
that is processed by Payflow Link, that order’s details are stored temporarily
in this temporary transaction directory. When the order is completed, the
order’s details are removed from the directory. Only orders from declined
sales or orders that have been abandoned stay in this directory. When the
directory size reaches the specified maximum, the oldest abandoned order
details will be deleted to make room for the new temporary orders. With a
larger directory size, more orders can be stored temporarily longer - but this
comes at a cost of disk space used.
Once VeriSign Payflow Link has been configured within your Merchant
Administrator, you can add a payment method that uses it. For the payment
method, enter a description and choose ‘No extra info’, as the payment information will be collected by VeriSign. For the authorization service, choose
‘VeriSign’. Finally choose the connection type on which the payment method
will be available - either non-SSL or all connections.
Payflow Link Settings in the VeriSign Manager
This section will detail some of the settings needed for PDG Shopping Cart to
operate properly with VeriSign’s Payflow Link. For additional documentation on Payflow Link and the Payflow Manager, please refer to the VeriSign
Payflow Link documentation, which can be obtained in the ‘Downloads’ secPDG Commerce -- User Guide
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tion of your Payflow Manager (https://register-payflow.verisign.com/downloads/PayflowLink_Guide.pdf)
First log in to your VeriSign Manager, which can be accessed from
https://manager.verisign.com. After you log in, click on “Account Info” and
then click on “Payflow Link” on the left side of the navigation panel.
You need to set the following parameters:
•
•
•
•
•
Return URL Method: Link
Return URL: The URL that is loaded when your customer clicks the Continue button after the last VeriSign Payflow Link page for a successful
transaction.
Note: Do not include http:// or https://
Silent Post URL: The URL to the PDG Shopping Cart or PDG Shopping
Cart executable.
Force Silent Post Confirmation: Checked
Failed Silent Post Return URL: The URL that is loaded when your customer clicks the Continue button after the last VeriSign Payflow Link
page for a failed transaction.
The next set of form inputs allow you to indicate which order fields are
required, and if you want your customer to be able to change any information
provided to VeriSign by PDG Shopping Cart. PDG Software recommends
that all the fields should be marked as required, including the CSC (also
known as CVV2 or CCV). If you would like, you can let your customers
modify the address / contact data initially collected by PDG Shopping Cart.
PDG Shopping Cart will receive any changes via the silent post.
Once you are finished setting up and running any tests, be sure to change
“transaction mode” from “test”.
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SurePay
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with SurePay in order
Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through SurePay.
In order to use SurePay with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a special server or have your ISP host one. To access the configuration settings for
SurePay, click the ‘SurePay’ link on the Payment Methods setup page.
SurePay Settings
Your SurePay Merchant ID
Place your SurePay account login ID in the ‘Your SurePay Merchant ID’
field. This value should have been established during the setup of your SurePay services.
SurePay Account Password
Enter your SurePay account password in the ‘SurePay Account Password’
field. This password is established at the time you set up your account with
SurePay.
SurePay Server Name
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with SurePay. This gateway should have been given to
you when you set up your account with SurePay.
SurePay Authorization Type
This field indicates whether SurePay will only obtain authorization for the
credit card purchase or if SurePay will also capture the funds. ‘Authorize
Only’ instructs SurePay to only obtain authorization to charge the credit card.
You can then capture the funds later when you deliver or ship the order.
‘Authorize and Capture’ indicates that SurePay should proceed with capturing
the funds from your customers’ credit cards.
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File to which SurePay Transactions are Logged
In the ‘File to which SurePay transactions are logged’ field, enter the name of
the file to which you want SurePay transactions logged. The location is
first SurePay transaction is recorded.
PayPal
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with PayPal in order to
use this Internet payment service in conjunction with your Web store. PDG
Commerce supports payment processing through PayPal, by allowing you to
let your customers pay with their PayPal accounts.
To your customers, the process of using PayPal is to first accumulate products
to purchase normally and then begins to check out. You customer is presented with a ‘checkout’ page where they provide billing contact and shipping
information. From there the customer proceeds to the ‘verify’ page, where
the customer can choose a method of payment. From this page, PDG Commerce will redirect the customer to the PayPal server, passing the collected
contact information to it. The customer then logs into their PayPal account, or
creates a new PayPal account. The transaction is then processed by PayPal.
Once the transaction is processed, the PayPal server silently contacts your
PDG Commerce and notifies it of the order completion. PDG Commerce can
then log the order properly and send out appropriate emails.
PayPal Account
Enter here the primary email address of the PayPal account you are using to
receive payments. Please note that PDG Shopping Cart will not be able to
validate the account with any other email address.
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PayPal Server Name
Enter here the complete URL to the PayPal server. If left blank, this will
default to ‘https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr’.
PayPal IPN Notify URL
This field contains the complete URL of your PDG Commerce executable
(example: ‘http://demo.pdgsoft.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi’). PayPal will use
this field for its Instant Payment Notification - to send information concerning
completed transactions back to PDG Commerce.
PayPal Redirect Template
This field is not required. If left blank, a default redirect page will be displayed by PDG Commerce. If you choose to create a template, you will need
to enter its location and filename in this field. Depending on your template
directory settings, this template’s location will be relative to either the
PDG_Commerce folder or the web site’s root HTML directory. If you wish
for this page to have the same look and feel as the rest of your web site, you
will probably want to create your own template. If you are using PayPal as
the only payment option on your web site, you can leave the Redirect Template field blank and embed the appropriate information in your Verify template. Please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference for the required
template code.
Page to Display When Returning to Your Site
from PayPal After a Payment has been Completed
Enter here the complete URL for your customers to view after completing a
purchase. This can be a static or dynamic HTML resource on your website.
This customer will be sent to this URL only if the payment using PayPal was
completed successfully.
Page to Display When Returning to Your Site
from PayPal After a Payment has been Canceled
Enter here the complete URL for your customers to view if they cancel their
payment using PayPal. This can be a static or dynamic HTML resource on
your website. This customer will be sent to this URL only if the payment
using PayPal was cancelled.
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PayPal Temporary Directory Maximum Size
This field allows you to specify the maximum size of the temporary transaction directory. When an order is placed that is processed by PayPal, that
order’s details are stored temporarily in this temporary transaction directory.
When the order is completed, the order’s details are removed from the directory. Only orders from declined sales or orders that have been abandoned stay
in this directory. When the directory size reaches the specified maximum, the
oldest abandoned order details will be deleted to make room for the new temporary orders. With a larger directory size, more orders can be stored temporarily longer - but this comes at a cost of disk space used.
File to Which PayPal Transactions Are Logged
In the ‘File to which PayPal transactions are logged’ field, enter the name of
the file to which you want PayPal transactions logged. The location is
first VeriSign transaction takes place.
Note: This log does not contain login information nor credit card data. PDG
Send items ordered to PayPal
When this box is checked, information about the items ordered will be sent to
PayPal, so the PayPal confirmation emails may contain the specific item
information. If you are not sending PayPal order emails, you do not need to
check this box. If you are sending confirmation emails from PDG Commerce,
enabling PayPal confirmation emails would result in the customer receiving
two emails, one from your Shopping Cart and one from PayPal.
Note: If you are utilizing quantity or subtotal discounting, this feature should
not be enabled.
Log Pending PayPal transactions to log files
When this box is checked, your pending check transactions will be saved in
your order log files as pending status, provided that you have your order log
set up. If this is not checked and an order comes in but it is still pending with
PayPal, you would not see it in your order logs, only when the order is cleared
and approved by PayPal.
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Configure PayPal Manager
First log in to your PayPal Manager, which can be accessed from
https://manager.paypal.com. Next click on ‘Profile’ on the lower toolbar. In
the ‘Selling Preferences’ column, click on ‘Instant Payment Notification Preferences’.
The next page will show current ‘Notify URL’ - click on ‘Edit’. Check the
box next to ‘Instant Payment Notification’ to activate it. Change the URL to
the current URL of the PDG Commerce executable and click ‘Save’.
WorldPay
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with WorldPay in
PDG Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through WorldPay.
In order to use WorldPay with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a special server or have your ISP host one. To access the configuration settings for
WorldPay, click the ‘WorldPay’ link on the Payment Methods setup page.
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WorldPay Settings
WorldPay Account Installation ID
Place your WorldPay account login ID in the ‘WorldPay Account Installation
ID’ field. This value should have been established during the setup of your
WorldPay services.
WorldPay Preferred Account
This field contains you preferered WorldPay account number for the transactions sent to WorldPay by PDG Commerce. If you have only one account,
place that account number here. However, if you have multiple WorldPay
accounts, you need to choose one for PDG Commerce to use, and place that
account’s number here.
WorldPay Server Name
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with WorldPay. This gateway should have been provided to you when you set up your account with WorldPay.
Transaction Language
WorldPay can receive and return information from its authorization server is a
range of different languages and respective currencies. This field contains the
language in which PDG Commerce communicates with WorldPay. Enter the
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language for your WorldPay authorization transactions in the ‘Transaction
Language’ field.
WorldPay Authorization Type
This field determines whether WorldPay will simply authorize the transactions or authorize and capture the funds. The ‘full auth’ setting in the ‘WorldPay Authorization Type’ field implements the authorization and capture
function, while the pre-auth’ setting only implements the payment authorization. For more information on authorization and capture, see the ‘Authorization vs. Authorization & Capture’ section located earlier in this chapter.
WorldPay Transaction Mode
This field indicates whether or not WorldPay executes its authorizations
transactions live or not. While “Live” is the desired setting in most cases,
PDG Commerce also allows you to make WorldPay “always accept” or
“always decline.”
WorldPay template for redirect back to site
After WorldPay processes a transaction and sends its results back, PDG Commerce uses this WorldPay template file to display the results to the customer.
If this field is left blank, PDG Commerce will attempt to use the default template supplied with the package, “WorldPayRedirect.html”. If you change
this template’s filename, you must provide the new template’s filename here.
Template for Post to WorldPay
This field is not required. If left blank, a default redirect page will be displayed by PDG Commerce. If you choose to create a template, you will need
to enter its location and filename in this field. Depending on your template
directory settings, this template’s location will be relative to either the
PDG_Commerce folder or the web site’s root HTML directory. If you wish
for this page to have the same look and feel as the rest of your web site, you
will probably want to create your own template. If you are using WorldPay as
the only payment option on your web site, you can leave the Redirect Template field blank and embed the appropriate information in your Verify template. Please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference for the required
template code.
WorldPay secret password for md5 signature
As part of your WorldPay configuration, you may provide WorldPay with a
password for the md5 signature used during the transaction process. If you do
enter a password in your WorldPay configuration on the WorldPay servers,
you must also place the password here. Note that entering the password here
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is not sufficient by itself to implement this - the password must also be
entered in the WorldPay configuration on the WorldPay servers.
WorldPay callback password
secret for results callback during the transaction process. If you do enter a
secret in your WorldPay configuration on the WorldPay servers, you must
also place the secret here. Note that entering the secret here is not sufficient
by itself to implement this - the secret must also be entered in the WorldPay
configuration on the WorldPay servers.
WorldPay temporary directory maximum size
This field allows you to specify the maximum size of the temporary transaction directory. When an order is placed that is processed by WorldPay, that
order’s details are stored temporarily in this temporary transaction directory.
When the order is completed, the order’s details are removed from the directory. Only orders from declined sales or orders that have been abandoned stay
in this directory. When the directory size reaches the specified maximum, the
oldest abandoned order details will be deleted to make room for the new temporary orders. With a larger directory size, more orders can be stored temporarily longer - but this comes at a cost of disk space used.
WorldPay connection type (buyit action only)
If you are embedding the WorldPay redirect tags onto your Verify.html page
as your only payment method, you have the option of using a POST or GET
method to send the information to WorldPay. You may specify the form
method in this field.
File to which WorldPay Transactions are Logged
In the ‘File to which WorldPay transactions are logged’ field, enter the name
of the file to which you want your Web store’s WorldPay transactions logged.
The location is assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory.
PDG Commerce will automatically create this file with the name you specify
here when the first WorldPay transaction is recorded.
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WorldPay Administrator Settings
To ensure that your WorldPay account integrates properly with PDG Shopping Cart, you will need to make some changes in your WorldPay Administrator.
Store-builder used
Select PDG Shopping Cart as your store-builder program used with WorldPay.
Callback URL
This field contains the complete URL of your PDG Shopping Cart executable
(example: ‘http://www.mywebstore.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi’). WorldPay
will use this field for its callback - to send information concerning completed
transactions back to PDG Shopping Cart.
Callback enabled?
This box must be checked to enable callback, so completed transaction information can be returned to your PDG Shopping Cart. This information is
required to save order logs and send emails.
Use Callback response?
This box must be checked so that WorldPay will check for a received
response from PDG Shopping Cart, verifying that the response information
was received properly.
Callback password
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secret for results callback during the transaction process. If you choose to use
a callback secret, you must place the secret here. Note that entering the secret
here is not sufficient by itself to implement this - the secret must also be
entered in the PDG Shopping Cart Administrator WorldPay settings.
MD5 Secret for Transactions
password for the md5 signature used during the transaction process. If you
choose to use a password for the md5 signature, you must place the password
here. Note that entering the password here is not sufficient by itself to implement this - the password must also be entered in the PDG Shopping Cart
Administrator WorldPay settings.
LinkPoint
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with LinkPoint in order
Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through LinkPoint
API.
In order to use LinkPoint with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a special server or have your ISP host one.
Note: If your Web store is running on a Windows 2000/NT server, you will
need to download a special version of the PDG Commerce in order for LinkPoint to work properly. Contact PDG at www.pdgsoft.com for a copy of this
version.
To access the configuration settings for LinkPoint, click the ‘LinkPoint’ link
on the Payment Methods setup page.
LinkPoint Settings
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LinkPoint API Version
You should leave this box unchecked unless instructed otherwise by PDG
Technical Staff.
LinkPoint Store Name
Place the LinkPoint store name in the ‘LinkPoint Store Name’ field. This
should be a 6 digit number that LinkPoint uses to identify transactions from
your Web store. This information will be provided to you by LinkPoint during the setup of their services.
PEM File Name
The PEM file is supplied by LinkPoint and should be transferred via FTP to
your Web server’s ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory as ASCII. This file must be
in place in order for PDG Commerce to communicate securely with LinkPoint. This file should have been provided for you at the time you established
your authorization account with LinkPoint.
LinkPoint Server Name
This field is used to specify the host URL assigned to you by your LinkPoint
authorization service provider. This gateway should have been given to you
when you set up your account with LinkPoint.
Port Number
Enter the port number to be used when accessing the LinkPoint server. If no
port number is specified, the default will be used (1139). A preferred port
number should have been provided at the time you set up your account.
LinkPoint Authorization Type
This field determines whether LinkPoint will simply authorize the transaction
or authorize and capture the funds. The ‘Sale’ setting in the ‘LinkPoint authorization type’ field implements the authorization and capture function. For
more information on authorization and capture, see the ‘Authorization vs.
File to which LinkPoint Transactions are Logged
In the ‘File to which LinkPoint transactions are logged’ field, enter the name
of the file to which you want LinkPoint transactions recorded. The location of
this file is assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory. PDG
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Commerce will automatically create this file with the name you specify here
when the first LinkPoint transaction takes place.
the public key within less-than greater-than signs after the name of the logfile.
AIM Gateway Protocol
This section of payment gateway configurations are for any authorization service using the AIM gateway protocol. Some authorization services using this
protocol are Authorize.Net, E-Commerce Exchange, and Planet Payment.
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with the appropriate
payment gateway company in order to use this Internet payment service in
conjunction with your Web store. PDG Commerce supports real-time credit
card authorizations through AIM.
In order to use an AIM service with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host
a special server or have your ISP host one.
To access the configuration settings for the AIM service, click the ‘AIM Protocol’ link on the Payment Methods setup page. To configure PDG Commerce to work with an AIM service you need to complete the following
settings within the Merchant Administrator. Keep in mind that most of this
information is provided by your authorization company at the time you establish your account.
Information for the fields specified below, should be provided by your authorization company at the time you established your authorization account.
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AIM Version
Select the version of your AIM account. PDG Commerce currently supports
ADC Direct version 3.0, ADC Direct version 3.1, and AIM version 3.1. Your
AIM version can be found in your Merchant Terminal.
AIM Account Login ID
Place your AIM account login ID in the ‘AIM Account Login ID’ field. This
value should have been issued by your authorization company during the
setup of your account.
AIM Account Password
Enter your AIM account password in the ‘AIM account password’ field. This
password should have been established at the time you set up your account.
Please note that this field is required for all ADC Direct versions and for AIM
versions if not using an AIM Transaction Key.
AIM Transaction Key
If your AIM account is set up to use a transaction key, place the key in this
field. If the version of your account supports a transaction key, you may
enable it in your Merchant Terminal.
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AIM Gateway URL
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with your authorization company. This gateway should
have been given to you when you established your account.
AIM Authorization Type
This field determines whether your account will simply authorize the transaction or authorize and capture the funds. The ‘Normal’ setting in the ‘AIM
authorization type’ field implements the authorization and capture function.
For more information on authorization and capture, see the ‘Authorization vs.
AIM MD5 Hash
Enter the Hash Key entered in your Merchant Terminal in this field. This
Hash Key is used by PDG Commerce to authenticate the transaction response.
If the authentication fails, your vendor emails and order logs will contain a
statement indicating that the MD5 Hash check for your processing has failed.
File to which AIM Transactions are Logged
In the ‘File to which AIM transactions are logged’ field, enter the name of the
file to which you want AIM transactions logged. The location is assumed to
be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory. PDG Commerce will automatically create this file with the name you specify here when the first AIM transaction takes place.
CyberCash
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with CyberCash in
Note that PDG Commerce comes bundled with CyberCash, so it is not necessary to purchase the CyberCash software. However, you must still activate an
account before PDG Commerce can utilize this service.
To access the configuration settings for CyberCash, click the ‘CyberCash’
link on the Payment Methods setup page.
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To configure PDG Commerce to work with CyberCash you need to complete
the following settings within the Merchant Administrator. Keep in mind that
some of this information will be provided by CyberCash.
CyberCash Merchant ID (CYBERCASH_ID)
Place your CyberCash account login ID in the ‘CyberCash Merchant ID’
field. This value should have been issued by CyberCash during the setup of
CyberCash services.
URL of CyberCash CashRegister
(CPPS_HOST)
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with CyberCash. The URL of this cash register should
have been given to you when you set up your account with CyberCash.
SSL URL of CyberCash CashRegister
(CPPS_SSL_HOST)
This field contains the secured gateway Internet address through which PDG
Commerce communicates with CyberCash. This is the site that PDG Commerce contacts when the customer selects secure checkout. The URL of this
secure cash register should have been given to you when you established your
account with CyberCash.
CyberCash Merchant Key (MERCHANT_KEY)
This field contains the Merchant Key for accessing the CyberCash authorization service. This key works like a password to access your Web store’s
account with CyberCash.
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Merchant's Authorization Type
This field determines whether CyberCash will simply authorize the transaction or authorize and capture the funds. The “authcapture” setting in the
‘Merchant’s Authorization Type’ field implements the authorization and capture function, while the “authonly” setting implements authorization only.
For more information on authorization and capture, see the ‘Authorization vs.
File to which CyberCash Transactions are
Logged
The ‘File to which CyberCash transactions are logged’ field specifies the
location of the log file for all transactions between PDG Commerce and the
CyberCash merchant server. All data that is exchanged between the two systems is logged here. If this field is left blank, then no log is kept. The location is assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Cart’ subdirectory in your CGI
directory, unless an absolute path from the root directory is specified. PDG
Commerce will automatically create this file with the name specified here
when the first CyberCash transaction takes place.
Note: This log does not contain credit card data. PDG recommends that you
only use this log for diagnostic purposes, and that you disable this function
(i.e. leave the field blank) at all other times. This file can be encrypted with
GPG. To encrypt this file, import your public key as directed in the PDG Key
Manager Manual. Then place the email address of the public key within lessthan greater-than signs after the name of the logfile.
EFTSecure
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with EFTSecure in
PDG Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through EFTSecure.
In order to use EFTSecure with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a
special server or have your ISP host one.
To access the configuration settings for EFTSecure, click the ‘EFTSecure’
link on the Payment Methods setup page.
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EFTSecure Account Login ID
Place your EFTSecure account login ID in the ‘EFTSecure account login ID’
field. This value should have been issued by EFTSecure during the setup of
your account.
Note: When you set up your authorization account with EFTSecure, you
should have received two different passwords: One for logging onto the EFTSecure Web site, and one that is called “Mkey.” The “Mkey” is the one that
you need to enter into this field for PDG Commerce to communicate with
EFTSecure’s authorization service.
EFTSecure Account password
Enter your EFTSecure account password into the ‘EFTSecure account password’ field. This password should have been established at the time you set
up your account with EFTSecure.
EFTSecure Gateway Server Name
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with EFTSecure. This gateway should have been given
to you when you set up your account with EFTSecure.
File to which EFTSecure transactions are
logged
In the ‘File to which EFTSecure transactions are logged’ field, enter the name
of the file to which you want EFTSecure transactions logged. PDG Commerce will automatically create this file with the name you specify here when
the first EFTSecure transaction takes place.
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Moneris
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with Moneris in order
Commerce supports real-time credit card authorizations through Moneris.
In order to use Moneris with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a special server or have your ISP host one. To access the configuration settings for
Moneris, click the ‘Moneris’ link on the Payment Methods setup page.
SCREENSHOT OF MONERIS SETTINGS
Moneris Store ID
Place your Moneris store ID in the ‘Moneris Store ID’ field. This value
should have been established during the setup of your Moneris services.
Moneris Gateway
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with Moneris. This gateway should have been provided
at the time you set up your account with Moneris. Leaving this field blank
will use the default Moneris Gateway:
www3.moneris.com/directpost/index.php
Moneris Authorization Type
This field determines whether Moneris will simply authorize the transaction
or authorize and capture the funds. The ‘Purchase’ setting in the ‘Moneris
authorization type’ field implements the authorization and capture function.
The ‘Preauth’ setting in the ‘Moneris authorization type’ field implements the
authorization function, and waits for approval from the merchant before capturing funds. For more information on authorization and capture, see the
‘Authorization vs. Authorization & Capture’ section located earlier in this
chapter.
Moneris Test Mode
This field determines whether or not Moneris is on Test mode. When on Test
mode, no funds will be captured as live transactions. All orders will be
approved. Check the box to enable Test mode to test Moneris with Commerce without making an actual purchase. Uncheck the box to enable Live
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mode to authorize and/or capture funds when orders are placed on your web
site.
Include Items Ordered with Transaction Details
This field determines whether or not Moneris will send the product information of the order with the transaction details to Moneris when requesting an
authorization. The Commerce e-mails and invoice pages will always include
the product details, but checking this box will also send the information to
Moneris.
File to which Moneris transactions are logged
In the ‘File to which Moneris transactions are logged’ field, enter the name of
the file to which you want Moneris transactions logged. The location is
first Moneris transaction is recorded.
Moneris Gateway Email Settings
These fields allow you to configure which e-mails you would like for Moneris
to send, if any. Please note that if Commerce is sending e-mails, these Moneris e-mails will be sent as an additional e-mail notification.
Ask Moneris to Send a Customer Email
This field determines whether or not Moneris will send an email notification
to the customer after a transaction has been processed. Checking this box will
indicate to Moneris that a customer email should be sent.
Ask Moneris to Send a Vendor Email
This field determines whether or not Moneris will send an e-mail notification
to the vendor after a transaction has been processed. Checking this box will
indicate to Moneris that a vendor email should be sent.
Metacharge
As stated earlier, you will need to establish an account with the appropriate
payment gateway company in order to use this Internet payment service in
conjunction with your Web store. PDG Commerce supports real-time credit
card authorizations through Metacharge. In order to use a Metacharge service
with PDG Commerce, you do not need to host a special server or have your
ISP host one.
To access the configuration settings for the Metacharge service, click the
‘metacharge’ link on the Payment Methods setup page. To configure PDG
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Commerce to work with the Metacharge service you need to complete the following settings within the Merchant Administrator. Keep in mind that most
of this information is provided by your authorization company at the time you
establish your account.
MCPE Installation ID
Place your Metacharge account login ID in the ‘MCPE Installation ID’ field.
This value should have been established during the setup of your Metacharge
services.
MCPE Account ID
Metacharge offers the possibility of maintaining several separate accounts
within the Metacharge service. If you are using several accounts, you may
specify which account to use with PDG Commerce in this field. If you do not
have more than one Metacharge account, you may leave this field blank. If
you have several accounts with Metacharge that each use different currencies,
you may leave this field blank. Metacharge will automatically choose the
account that matches the currency being charged in your Commerce program.
Gateway
This field contains the gateway Internet address through which PDG Commerce communicates with your authorization company. This gateway should
have been given to you when you established your account. You may also
leave this field blank, and PDG Commerce will use the default Metacharge
gateway.
Authorization Type
This field determines which type of authorization will be used when payments
are made through Metacharge for your PDG Commerce. At this time, the
only authorization type provided is “standard authorization and capture.”
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File to which metacharge transactions are
logged
In the ‘File to which metacharge transactions are logged’ field, enter the name
of the file to which you want Metacharge transactions logged. PDG Commerce will automatically create this file in the PDG_Commerce folder with
the name you specify here when the first Metacharge transaction takes place.
Note: This log does not contain login information nor credit card data. PDG
Test mode
This field determines whether you are testing transactions through Metacharge or if you are accepting live payments. Checking the box will enable
test mode, which allows you to test your Commerce program’s functionality
with Metacharge without actually charging a credit card payment.
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Chapter 13
VeriSign Recurring Billing
Using VeriSign to configure products that will be billed in installments
Y
ou can now configure PDG Commerce with VeriSign PayFlow Pro to
create products that are billed in installments over time. PDG Commerce
will charge the initial payment of the product, and will send the appropriate information to VeriSign to charge the future recurring payments. Previously, the initial payment could be made using PDG Commerce, but the
merchant had to manually configure recurring billing in the VeriSign Manager. The new recurring billing implementation in PDG Commerce eliminates this additional step, completely automating the task of supplying the
additional information to VeriSign so that the appropriate charges may be
billed in the future.
Introduction
To configure recurring billing in your PDG Commerce, you must use VeriSign PayFlow Pro as the payment service when a recurring billing product is
purchased.
Only one recurring billing product may be purchased in a single transaction
between your PDG Software program and VeriSign.
PDG Commerce will include the initial cost of the product in the current
order, and will pass the appropriate information to VeriSign to charge the
recurring payments. The initial purchase will be included in any order invoice
e-mails sent to the customer by your PDG Commerce product. Additional
payments charged in the future will be handled by VeriSign, thus the customer
will not receive an e-mail from the PDG Software product on your web site
indicating that an additional payment has been assessed. If you wish for the
customer to receive a notification for each future charge, you will need to configure that with VeriSign.
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13 -- VeriSign Recurring Billing
The initial cost of the product can be a different cost than the payments that
will be charged over time. The cost set for the product in the Merchant
Administrator will be a one time initial cost. After that, the recurring billing
will begin on a specified date, charging the same price every time it is
assessed from the customer.
Configuring a Product
To configure a product that will use recurring billing, you will need to enter
information into User Defined Field #9 of the product details. To access this
field, enter your PDG Commerce Merchant Administrator. Click on the Products link. If you are using product categories, you will need to click the
“View Products” button next to the category. Next click the “Details” button
next to the product to enter its details section. At the top of the page, click the
“User Defined” link to jump to the User Defined Fields section of the page.
The field that must be used for recurring billing is User Defined Field #9.
The text must be entered in User Defined Field #9 in the following format:
text that will be displayed to customer
The first portion of this text is enclosed in  characters, indicating
that it is an HTML comment. This information is sent as a comment so that
PDG Commerce can process it correctly when the User Defined Field is
called without displaying a line of code to your customers on the Basket.html
page.
There are four pieces of information that must be included in the code that
will be passed to VeriSign. These pieces of information are:
•
•
•
•
Number of payments
Amount to be charged per payment
Frequency of payments
When billing begins
Number of Payments
The number of payments to be made must appear in the following format:
#payments=x
The “x” in this example must be replaced with a number indicating how many
total payments must be made.
Note: The intial cost charged by your PDG Software product is not the first
payment. Recurring billing begins on the specified number of days after the
item is purchased.
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Amount to be Charged per Payment
The amount to be charged per payment must appear in the following format:
amt=y.yy
The “y.yy” in this example must be replaced with an amount in US Currency
that must be charged in each individual payment.
Frequency of Payments
The frequency of the payments must appear in the following format:
period=ABCD
The “ABCD” in this example must be replaced with a code from the following list:
•
WEEK - Weekly Payments: The customer will be charged once a week, on
the same day of the week as the day the first payment was made. This
method results in 52 payments per year.
•
BIWK - Biweekly Payments: The customer will be charged once every two
weeks, on the same day of the week as the day the first payment was made.
This method results in 26 payments per year.
•
SMMO - Twice Monthly Payments: The customer will be charged on two
specific days of each month. This payment type can begin any day between
the 1st and 15th of a month, and the second payment will be drawn either 15
days later or on the last day of the month. This method results in 24 payments per year.
•
FRWK - Fourth Weekly Payments: The customer will be charged every four
weeks (28 days) from the previous payment, beginning with the first payment date. This method results in 13 payments per year.
•
MONT - Monthly Payments: The customer will be charged once a month,
on the same day of the month as the day the first payment was made. This
method results in 12 payments per year.
•
QTER - Quarterly Payments: The customer will be charged once every
three months, on the same day of the month as the day the first payment was
made. This method results in four payments per year.
•
SMYR - Twice Yearly Payments: The customer will be charged once every
sixth months, on the same day of the month as the day the first payment was
made. This method results in two payments per year.
•
YEAR - Yearly Payments: The customer will be charged once per year, on
the same day of the year as the day the first payment was made. This
method results in one payment per year.
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When Billing Begins
This field is optional. If the start variable is not specified, the first recurring
billing payment will be charged the day after the initial product purchase. If
the start variable is used, it must appear in the following format:
start=d
The “d” in this example must be replaced with a number indicating how many
days will pass before the first payment is charged. Please note that the initial
cost charged by your PDG Software product is not the first payment. Recurring billing begins on the specified number of days after the item is purchased.
Any text following the close of the HTML comment (“-->” characters) will be
displayed to your customers on the Basket.html page. Here you should enter
any specific text about the recurring billing you wish to communicate to the
customer.
Consider the following example. This product has an initial set up cost of
$10.00, and a recurring cost of $3.00 per month for a sixth month period. Ten
days after the product is purchased, the first payment of $3.00 will be
assessed, and additional payments will be collected once per month for the
following five months, for a total of six payments.
6 month contract
at $3.00 per month
User Defined Field #9 in the Product Details section
If you would like to change the name of User Defined Field #9 to be more
descriptive, click the “Edit User Defined Field Names“ link at the top of the
product listing page. In the “User Defined 9” field you may change the name
of the field. This name will appear in the Details section for your products.
The customer will not see User Defined Field names, they exist only to aid the
vendor in organizing the User Defined Fields.
Customizing Templates
If you are using the default Basket.html template provided with your PDG
Commerce installation, you do not need to make any changes to your template. The recurring billing information will automatically be added to the
Basket.html page if necessary.
If you are using a customized Basket.html template, you will need to add the
 tag on your page to display User Defined Field #9. If a
product being displayed does not require recurring billing, and no information
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is contained in User Defined Field #9 for that product, the tag will be ignored.
If a product does require recurring billing, the text included in User Defined
Field #9 that is not a part of the HTML comment will be displayed in place of
the tag on the page. (Note: The full contents of User Defined Field #9 will
replace this tag on the page. Since the VeriSign code is contained within an
HTML comment, that portion of the text will not be displayed on the template.) The tag must appear within the  and  tags on the Basket.html page, and must appear in the following format:

Basket Template with recurring billing text
If you would like to display the recurring billing text on the Item page for the
product, you may add the  tag to your Item Template as
well. If there is no text entered in User Defined Field #9 for the product, the
tag will be ignored.
You may also add the  tag on a SearchResult or MultiItem template. On these pages, you must place the tag within the  and  tags. If there is no text
entered in User Defined Field #9 for a product, the tag will be ignored.
If customers try to purchase an additional, separate item that is also a recurring billing item, they will receive an error message indicating that they may
only purchase one recurring billing item at a time. This message will also display the product number of the recurring billing item that is already in the customer’s basket. This error will be displayed using the Error.html template
page.
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Chapter 14
Configuring Shipping
Defining shipping options and charges in PDG Commerce
J
ust as you offer your customers a choice of products and services at your
Web store, you probably want to offer a choice of delivery (shipping)
methods. Many customers prefer to minimize shipping costs – even if it
means waiting an extra two or three days for the delivery of their items. Others will gladly pay an additional amount to receive their items within the next
day or two. Customers appreciate this opportunity to influence the overall
amount they pay for the delivery of their items.
This chapter walks you through establishing the various shipping methods
that will give your customers a choice of delivery options. PDG Commerce
can calculate shipping costs based on an order's subtotal, weight, contents or
any combination of these. For international orders, PDG Commerce can
apply shipping costs based on the destination country. PDG Commerce will
also allow you to create your own customized zones, and specifiy different
shipping and handling dependant on the customer’s zone.
Charging for Shipping
This is a potentially tricky area for Internet merchants. Some view this area as
an opportunity to increase their company's bottom line by making a profit on
shipping. Others do not. Regardless, you are faced with two opposing factors. On one hand, you want to make sure that your cost of shipping to the
customer is covered by the amount you charge the customer. On the other
hand, you want to make sure that your shipping charges to the customer aren't
unreasonable to the point where customers will not buy from you. The key is
finding the right balance that suits you and your customers.
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14 -- Configuring Shipping
Remember, many things can affect shipping and handling costs – the shipping
container itself, the packing materials used inside the container, tape used to
seal the container, the address label, and the labor used to ready the order for
shipment. On top of this, there is the cost of shipping itself – the amount that
UPS, FedEx or some other shipping entity will charge you to ship the order to
your customer.
For More Information
Try visiting other Web
stores similar to yours for an
idea of industry shipping
charges. This will help you
set your shipping options
competitively.
To help you achieve this balance, there are three areas within PDG Commerce
where you can affect shipping charges.
•
•
•
Product setup
Shipping Method setup
Shipping Charges setup
Product setup
For each product you entered into PDG Commerce, you had the option of
charging an additional shipping charge per unit of the product ordered.
Remember, this is helpful if a particular product tends to increase shipping
costs above a certain norm or average. Or, if in your product offering there
are several items which should be sent only by “certified mail”, then an
amount could be entered here to cover the cost of that shipping requirement.
Shipping Method setup
When you set up the various delivery methods (i.e.: U.S. Mail, UPS, Federal
Express, etc.) for customers to choose from, you have the ability to add a surcharge based on the particular method being configured. For example, if a
customer chooses “U.S. Mail – Priority” and the U.S. Postal Service normally
adds $3.50 for Priority, then you should enter $3.50 as an additional charge
for choosing that method.
Shipping Charges setup
This is the area where you should concentrate on covering your shipping costs
(boxes, tape, labels, labor, shipping, etc.). Here you have the option of calculating shipping charges based on any combination of the following: the
order's subtotal, the order's total weight, or the total number of items being
purchased.
PDG Commerce can take into account all three areas when calculating shipping charges. This means that specifications from each area will be added
together to arrive at a single shipping charge to the customer.
To begin configuring your site’s shipping options, click the ‘Shipping Rules’
link on the Merchant Administrator's main menu if you have not done so
already. This will load the ‘PDG Commerce Shipping Configuration’ page.
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This page is the main page for modifying shipping methods - those methods
that the customer can choose from when they place an order. Also from here,
you can configure options for using UPS OnLine® Tools, USPS real-time
quotes, and your shipping cost tables based on order subtotal, weight, and
item quantity.
Shipping Methods
In this section, you will define the delivery options, such as U.S. Mail, UPS,
UPS Second Day®, Federal Express etc., that customers may choose from
when ordering from your Web store.
It's important not to get caught up with trying to establish shipping charges in
this section – despite the presence of a cost entry (Additional Cost) field.
Rather, you should concentrate on defining the actual shipping methods from
which your customers will choose.
Shipping Methods Settings
Rule #
Just like the ordering number fields you encountered when entering product
options and option selections, this rule number field allows you to maintain
some sort of order to your shipping rules. Remember that if you insert a new
rule and assign a number to which an existing rule is already assigned, the
Administrator will insert that rule just above the existing rule that has the
same number assignment and will renumber the existing rule, and all rules
thereafter, accordingly.
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Description
In this field, enter the name of the delivery method itself, as it will be displayed to your customer – such as U.S. Mail, UPS Second Day Air®, etc.
Remember, you should enter the variations of a particular method as separate
entries. For example, if you intend to offer UPS Ground® and UPS Second
Day Air® as options, then each one should be a separate entry.
Additional Cost
You may choose to have the a cost added to the order if this method is chosen.
You may enter that cost here. It can either be a specific amount, or a percentage of the subtotal. Keep in mind that this amount is only added to the order if
this specific shipping method is chosen by the customer. If you want costs
added to the order regardless of the shipping method chosen, you can use the
shipping cost tables. These are discussed in detail later in the chapter.
Requires Shipping Info
Place a check mark in this field if you want to force PDG Commerce to
require shipping address information from the customer. In most cases, you
will enable this field to allow customers to ship orders to addresses which
may differ from the billing address. However, in some cases, it may not be
necessary to force collection of a shipping address. If you are a software distributor and you provide delivery through direct download (thus, ‘Download’
being one of your shipping methods), there is no need to collect a shipping
address for this particular method.
Add Subtotal Rules?
Place a check mark in this field if you want PDG Commerce to include the
additional shipping rules that are applied by subtotal. These rules will be configured below.
Note: While this may help to cover the cost of packaging and labor, it should
be noted that shipping costs can mount up and be a deterrent to shoppers.
Add Weight Rules?
additional shipping rules that are applied by the order’s weight. These rules
will be configured below.
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Add Quantity Rules?
additional shipping rules that are applied by subtotal. These rules will be configured below.
Do Not Display on Checkout Page
This setting controls whether or not the shipping method being configured
will be displayed on your Web store’s checkout page. Place a check mark in
this box if you do not want PDG Commerce to display this shipping method
to the customer when he views the checkout page for his order. You might
check this box if the shipping method being configured is a back-up method,
to be used only in the ecent that a real-time shipping service quote is unavailable.
Real Time Shipping Settings
If you want PDG Commerce to contact the UPS (United Parcel Service)
OnLine Tools® and capture the appropriate shipping charge, or contact the
USPS server for real-time shipping charges, then you should choose the corresponding selections from the drop-down menus in this section. For example,
if you offer UPS 2nd Day Air® as a delivery option, then you should choose
“UPS” and “UPS 2nd Day Air®” from the drop-down menus. This enables
PDG Commerce to consult the UPS OnLine Tools® and retrieve the appropriate charge for UPS 2nd Day Air®. This occurs on a “real-time” basis during
the checkout process.
If you are configuring a shipping method for UPS, there is some additional
information that you need to provide. You will see two drop-down menus and
a text field labeled ‘Additional Settings for Real Time Shipping’ under the
‘Add Real Time Shipping Quote?’ field. We will now cover the importance
of these fields.
Additional Settings for Real Time Shipping
Pickup
If you are configuring a UPS shipment type, you need to specify how the
package will get from your warehouse to UPS. There are several options:
• UPS Daily Pickup – choose this selection if you have arranged for UPS to visit
your warehouse daily for pickups.
• UPS Occasional Pickup - choose this selection if you will contact UPS to come
to your business to pick up the package as soon as it is ready for shipment.
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• UPS Suggested Retail Rates - choose this selection if you plan on dropping the
package off in a remote UPS letter box, if you will drop the package off at a UPS
customer counter, of if you will be using a UPS air service center.
This field is not applicable for USPS shipping methods.
Packaging
If you are configuring a UPS shipment method or a USPS shipment method,
you will need to select what sort of packaging you will use for this type of
shipment. The options here change depending on whether you select UPS or
USPS, and the options available are fairly self-explanatory.
Note: All of these packaging selections (except for the first one, Shipper Supplied Packaging to UPS) are standard UPS-supplied packaging.
Back Up Method
This field contains the Rule # for the shipping method that PDG Commerce
should use if the current selection fails. This failure may be a result of the
UPS server not responding, your Web server’s communication line being
down, etc. Enabling a back up method makes your Web store’s real-time capturing of shipping costs more stable.
Note: If you insert a shipping method at or near the top of the list, you need to
ensure that none of your back up methods have been affected. While the
numbers on the list may change, those referenced in the “Back Up Method”
field for a shipping method stay the same. Thus perhaps causing an impropriety in your shipping method setup.
Discount Shipping?
This setting allows you to offer a discount on any particular shipping method
depending upon one of three criteria: the order’s total cost; the number of
items ordered; or the total weight of the order. The following fields control
this setting:
Discounting Shipping Methods
In the first form field, enter the amount that you would like the shipping to be
discounted by. This can be a solid currency amount (1.00, 2.50, etc.) or a percentage of the shipping total (10%, 35%, etc.).
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Note: This amount will automatically be subtracted from orders which fall
into the tier defined below, so the negative symbol (-) is not needed.
In the second form field, select the threshold amount at which the shipping
discount should be applied. This value will vary depending upon your store,
the cost of shipping, and the option that will be selected in the drop-down
menu, next.
From the drop-down menu, select whether you want this shipping method to
be discounted depending upon the total cost of the order, the number of items
ordered, or the total weight of the order.
Once all fields are completed for a shipping option, click the ‘Add’ button. If
you want to remove a particular shipping option, click the ‘Remove’ button.
Adding Shipment Rules
To add a new shipment rule, fill in the data as appropriate in the top half of the
page, and click “Add Shipment Method.” It will appear in the list on the bottom half of the page.
Modifiying Shipment Rules
If you need to modify an existing rule, look at the bottom of the page where
the current shipment methods are listed. Click the “Modify” button next to
the rule to be changed. The top half of the page will be loaded with that rule’s
settings. Make your changes, and click “Add Shipment Method” to save the
changes.
Deleting Shipment Rules
To delete a particular shipping method, click on “Remove” for that method.
Note that this is permanent, and deleted shipping rules cannot be restored.
UPS Configuration
Clicking on “UPS” link from the main menu of the Merchant Administrator
will bring up several UPS options. Please see the chapter “Working with UPS
OnLine® Tools” later in this guide for further information regarding configuring UPS settings within your Merchant Administrator.
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Allowing Package Tracking for your Customers
Customers can track the shipment status of their orders, which have been
shipped via UPS, through your web store. There are two methods to set this
up. You can embed a link to PDG Commerce, instructing it to dynimcally
generate a UPS tracking page. Or you can directly embed a standard HTML
form on any of your web store’s web pages or PDG Commerce Templates.
Note: If you are using the Site Design feature, you may create a static template for UPS tracking that uses your Site Design style settings. For further
information on using this template, see the PDG Software Site Design Guide.
To embed a link, use the PDG Commerce action ‘display’ with a special template for UPS tracking. A sample template, named ‘UPSTrack.htm’, is
included. For specific instructions on embedding PDG Commerce links in
your website, see the instructions in the Chapter ‘Embedding PDG Commerce’ as described in the PDG Commerce User Guide. An example link
would be:
<a href=”http://www.mysite.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?display=action&template=Templates/UPSTrack.html”&emptyoverride=yes>Track my order</a>
You can embed a form call directly into your web pages to get UPS tracking
information from PDG Commerce. Please see the PDG Commerce User
Guide for further information on creating this template.
Tracking Results Template
PDG Commerce uses a template to display the tracking results from UPS.
You may customize this template to fit the look and feel of your web store.
The default name for this template is “UPSTrackResults.html”. In addition to
standard PDG Commerce template tags, this template also requires:
TRACK_RESULTS (Required)
PDG Commerce replaces this tag with the tracking results from UPS. The
syntax for this tag is: . Part of the results
returned from UPS include UPS Tracking terms and conditions, and the UPS
logo. These items are part of the system, and cannot be removed or modified.
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Shipping with United States Postal Service
PDG Commerce supports real-time quotes for shipping via the United States
Postal Service. To utilize this service, you must first register with USPS at
http://www.uspswebtools.com. Once you have registered, you can proceed to
configuring PDG Commerce.
Next, enter your administrator and select “Shipping Rules”. From here, select
“USPS Configuration”. On the resulting page, you should enter in your USPS
User ID and password. Click the “Submit USPS User Information” to save
the User ID and password within PDG Commerce.
USPS Account Information
Now from the “Shipping Rules” main page, you can add shipping methods
that will communicate with USPS directly for real-time quotes. You can
select “USPS” for the Real-Time Shipping Settings Carrier. The Real-Time
Shipping Settings Method will dynamically change to indicate the types of
USPS services available - choose the appropriate service for the method you
are defining. You may also specify the type of packaging that will be associated with the shipping method. Click “Add Shipping Method” to save the
new USPS method.
You may also have PDG Commerce display a selection of different USPS
delivery methods and pricing, and allow the customer to choose the method
based on the rates. To do this, create a new shipping method with USPS, with
“Real-Time Shipping Settings Method” set to “Compare Rates”. Next, enter
the “USPS Configuration” and check the boxes next to the methods you wish
to be offered to your customers. Make sure to save the configuration with
“Submit USPS User Information”.
The real-time USPS shipping costs can be used in conjunction with the other
rule sets, such as a rule that applies a certain shipping charge based on subtotal or order weight. You can also use the “Additional Cost” field of the shipping method to charge an additional flat amount or percentage above the realtime cost. For example, you can have a shipping method that retrieves the
real-time shipping cost for Priority Mail, and then adds a 15% handling
charge to the retrieved amount (entered as ‘+15%’).
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Shipping Charges by Subtotal
You should complete this section if you want PDG Commerce to calculate
shipping charges based on an order's subtotal. This can be found be clicking
“Rules for Tables” from the main shipping rules page. For this table, you will
set up “minimum and maximum tiers” and assign a shipping charge to each
tier. When an order's subtotal falls within a given tier, that tier's associated
shipping charge will be applied to the customer's order.
Note: If you have complex shipping rules that you need to establish, you may
fare better by establishing zones within your Web store. Any rules that have
been created will still be active when zones are enabled for calculating shipping charges. For more information on configuring zones and their function,
see the ‘Configuring Zones’ of this user guide.
Sample Shipping Charges by Subtotal Settings
You can take this a step further by assigning destination countries to the tiers,
in effect charging different rates depending on the destination country. For
example, let's say that you have a minimum to maximum tier of $0.00 to
$20.00 and you want to charge $5.00 shipping for all orders shipped within
the U.S. and $10.00 for orders shipped to France. To do this, simply enter the
tier twice. For one of the rules, you would make a $5.00 charge and choose
the United States for the country. For the second one, you would make a
$10.00 charge and select France as the country. You may also select “All
Countries” to create a rule for ‘across the board’ shipping charges.
Note: If Zones are enabled for calculating shipping charges, you will not be
able to choose a destination country. Instead, you must choose from the zones
that you have created.
When entering your minimums and maximums, a dash placed in the maximum field would indicate that this rule (tier) is good for all orders with subtotals above the minimum you entered in that same tier. Further, if more than
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one rule matches a given subtotal, then the first rule that matches from the top
of the list is the rule that will be used by PDG Commerce.
Shipping Charges by Weight
Configuring PDG Commerce to calculate shipping charges based on an
order's total weight is exactly the same as the configuration for shipping
charges according to subtotal, except that you are using minimum and maximum weights instead of subtotals. This can be found be clicking “Rules for
Tables” from the main shipping rules page.
example, let's say that you have a minimum to maximum tier of 0 lbs. to 50
lbs. and you want to charge $5.00 shipping for all orders shipped within the
U.S. and $10.00 for orders shipped to France. To do this, simply enter the tier
twice. For one of the rules, you would make a $5.00 charge and choose the
United States for the country. For the second one, you would make a $10.00
charge and select France as the country. You may also select “All Countries”
to create a rule for ‘across the board’ shipping charges.
Note: If Zones are enabled for calculating shipping charges you will not see
the drop-down menu of destination countries. You must choose from the
zones you have created, instead.
Provided you have entered weight values for all of the products in your Web
store, PDG Commerce will use these values to determine the shipping charges
for orders placed on your Web store. PDG Commerce will calculate the total
weight of the order and use this total to locate the proper tier and thus, the corresponding shipping charge for the order.
Again, when entering your minimums and maximums, a dash placed in the
maximum field would indicate that this rule (tier) is good for all orders with a
total weight above the minimum you entered in that same tier. Further, if
more than one rule matches a given subtotal, then the first rule that matches
from the top of the list is the rule that will be utilized by PDG Commerce.
Shipping Charges by Quantity
If you could not already guess, configuring PDG Commerce to calculate shipping charges based on the order's quantity of items works the same way as in
the previous two sections. Again, the only difference being that you set up
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minimum and maximum quantities instead. This can be found be clicking
“Rules for Tables” from the main shipping rules page.
example, let's say that you have a minimum to maximum tier of 0 to 15 items
and you want to charge $5.00 shipping for all orders shipped within the U.S.
and $10.00 for orders shipped to France. To do this, simply enter the tier
twice. For one of the tiers, you would make a $5.00 charge and choose United
States for the country. For the second tier, you would make a $10.00 charge
and select France as the country. You may also select “All Countries” to create a rule for across the board shipping charges.
Note: If Zones are enabled for calculating shipping charges you will not see
the drop-down menu of destination countries. You must choose from the
zones you have created, instead.
Then when the order is being placed, PDG Commerce will calculate the total
items in the order. This value will then be used to locate the proper tier and
thus, the corresponding charge for shipping.
As with the previous two methods, when entering your minimums and maximums, a dash placed in the maximum field would indicate that this rule (tier)
is good for all orders with a total item quantity above the minimum you
entered in that same tier. Further, if more than one rule matches a given subtotal, then the first rule that matches from the top of the list is the rule that will
be used by PDG Commerce to determine the shipping charges.
Establishing Rules for Shipping Charges
Under More Than One Method
In some cases, you may find it necessary to establish rules under more than
one method – some combination of rules under the Subtotal, Weight or Quantity methods.
Consider the following example. Let's say that, as a merchant, you currently
charge for shipping based on weight and you want to add a surcharge of $5.00
to shipments going to Canada.
Because you may want to offer all of your normal shipping methods (U.S.
Mail, FedEx, UPS) to the Canadian customers, it would not be ideal to establish a ‘Canadian’ method in the Shipping Methods section. Rather, establishing rules for charges under more than one method would be more appropriate.
So, you have your minimum and maximum tiers set up under the Weight
method and the “All Countries” selection is chosen from the drop-down box.
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This means that Canadian shipments falling into one of the Weight tiers will
be charged the appropriate amount for shipping. However, there is still the
need to include the additional $5.00 to Canadian orders.
Here's one way to accomplish this. In the ‘Shipping Charges by Quantity’
section, enter the following tier:
Rule
#
Minimum
Quantity
Maximum
Quantity
Shipping
Cost
Country
1
1
-
5.00
Canada
The effect here would be to add a $5.00 shipping charge to all Canadian
orders – regardless of the quantity of items, since the tier covers from one item
to infinity. Therefore, the total shipping charge would be the amount from the
Shipping Charges by Weight section added to the amount from the Shipping
Charges by Quantity section to arrive at one total charge.
Finally, if you establish rules with more than one of these methods, the corresponding shipping charges will be added together by PDG Commerce and
will appear as one shipping charge under the heading ‘Shipping and Handling.’ There will not be two or three separate line items for shipping.
Note: The actual label that will appear next to the shipping charges can be
changes in the ‘Cart Options’ section of the Merchant Administrator.
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Chapter 15
Working with UPS OnLine® Tools
Configuring PDG Commerce to work with the UPS OnLine® Tools
P
DG Software is proud to offer comprehensive integration with UPS
OnLine® Tools. This integration allows you to manage your webstore's
shipments with UPS quickly and efficiently. This chapter will explain the
settings and commands available to you regarding UPS shipment activity
from within the Merchant Administrator.
UPS® Options
Selecting "UPS" from your Merchant Administrator's main menu will load
the above page. It is from here that you can administer aspects of your order
fulfillment related to UPS. These activities include scheduling shipments,
printing labels, tracking orders that have been shipped, and setting default
configurations for your webstore's interaction with UPS.
The rest of this chapter will go through each command on the UPS menu in
more detail.
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15 -- Working with UPS OnLine® Tools
Registration
Before you can take advantage of all these UPS features, you must first register with UPS OnLine® Tools. To register, select "UPS Details" from the main
UPS menu, and click the "Register" button at the top of this page. Later if you
wish to change, add, or remove other UPS accounts to your Merchant Administrator, you will need to return to the "UPS Details" page and click "Re-register".
If you have already registered for an older version of PDG Commerce, you
will need to register again. When you register or re-register for UPS, you will
need to provide a UPS Shipper Number (Account Number). The Shipper
Number is required if you intend to use the UPS OnLine® Tools with your
webstore. Your UPS Shipper Number will be billed for all the shipments that
are scheduled through your webstore.
You will have 2 registration options (End User and Hosting provider). An End
User is a single user of this product who is using the application for Internet
sales. A Hosting Provider is a third party company who hosts the product and
licenses use of the product to multiple users (business or merchants). Choose
the appropriate selection and select "Next".
Then choose your Country and Language, and click next to continue.
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The next page will have a UPS End User Agreement or Hosting Provider
Agreement depending on what you have previously selected. After reading
the UPS agreement you need to choose "Yes I Agree" in order to register, then
fill out the information and click next to continue. Once you get the Registration Successful page click next to go to PDG Commerce Administrator. You
will notice that your shipper information is now filled in under the UPS
Details page, which can be modified later if necessary.
You can have up to five UPS Shipper Numbers stored with your Merchant
Administrator. The primary (first) number will always be used in rate calculations and tracking. The additional four can be used when scheduling shipments. If you wish to add or remove UPS Shipper Numbers, then you will
need to complete this process again - by clicking the "Re-register" button at
the top of the UPS Details page.
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UPS® Details
After the "Register" button, the UPS Details page displays all the current settings for your webstore's, interaction with UPS OnLine® Tools. The first section contains your UPS Shipper information and your default ship-from
information. You can change this as necessary.
After the UPS Shipper and default ship-from information, you will find other
shipping configurations. These are:
Pick Up Selections
Specify here your default method for UPS to obtain your packages for shipment. You must choose one of these three options:
•
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I have regular Daily Pickup Scheduled with UPS®
•
•
I want One Time Pickup for UPS®
I want Customer Counter/Occasional Pickup for UPS®
Whichever selection you pick will be used in the rate compare page, when
your customer is going through a purchase and has selected a UPS shipping
method. You should choose whichever method you use with your primary
UPS account - this will lead to a more accurate quote. If your primary shipper
number has a selection different that the one chosen here, your customer may
be charged a different rate than the rate UPS will charge you.
If you enable "I want UPS® Saturday Pickup", UPS will factor in the associated cost for the service into any rate quotes.
Notification Options
There are four options you can enable regarding notification emails sent from
UPS to you and your customers. These emails are called "Quantum View
Notification" emails - QVN for short. The four options regarding QVN
emails are:
•
•
•
•
I want to send UPS® QVN Ship Email - When this option is
enabled, UPS will send you and your customer a QVN email, containing tracking information, when the goods are scheduled for shipment.
I want to send UPS® QVN Exception Email - When this option is
enabled, UPS will send you and your customer a QVN email if the
order cannot be delivered on time. There is a $1.00 surcharge per
shipment if this option is used.
I want to send UPS® QVN Delivery Email - When this option is
enabled, UPS will send you and your customer a QVN email when
the goods are delivered. There is a $1.00 surcharge per shipment if
this option is used, unless you are also requesting a QVN Exception
Email. In the case you request both, you will only be charged $1.00
for both.
I want UPS® Verbal Delivery Notification - When this option is
enabled, UPS will call you when the order is delivered. There is a
$2.00 surcharge if this option is used.
Address Verification For Customer Checkout
Enabling this option will have UPS validate the city, state and zip code
entered by the customer during their purchase. If the address information is
incorrect and does not match, the customer is presented with a list of the best
city, state and postal code matches. The customer can then either continue
with their existing information, choose a better combination from the list, or
enter new address information. Then they can continue with the purchase.
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UPS® Tracking
To track an order, check the box at the top of the page indicating that you
agree to the Tracking Terms and Conditions. Next, select the type of
response, enter a UPS tracking number, and select the method of tracking.
The UPS tracking number may be either the package's tracking number, the
shipment's tracking number, or a vendor specific reference number, depending
on the method of tracking selected. Click on the "Track" button near the top
of the page to begin tracking.
If you are tracking by reference number, you may specify additional data to
further refine the tracking search:
•
•
•
•
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Destination Country (Required): This field must contain the destination country of the package you want to track.
Destination Postal Code (Optional): This field may contain the destination postal code of the package you want to track.
Shipper Account Number (Optional): This field may contain the shipper account number that corresponds to the account with UPS from
which the package was shipped.
Date Range (Optional): You may use a date range in these fields to
narrow the search to a specific time period in which packages were
shipped. Make sure you check the "Use date range to narrow search"
box.
You can also embed UPS Tracking links into your storefront, for your customer to use. This is covered in more detail in the PDG Commerce Technical
Reference.
Shipping Methods
This link will take you back to the area of the Merchant Administrator where
you can define shipping methods for your web store. See the chapter on
defining and managing Shipping Methods in this manual for more details on
Shipping Methods.
Schedule Shipment
Use the "Schedule Shipment" command to schedule a shipment with UPS
once it is ready to ship. A list of all pending invoices will be presented. The
left list contains orders that have not been shipped. The right list contains
orders that have been partially shipped. Find the invoice you are shipping,
and select "Schedule Order."
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The next screen that loads lists all the items and the quantities for that order.
Here you will specify which items are being shipped and the number of boxes
the shipment contains. By default, the quantity edit fields are loaded with the
entire order. If you are only shipping part of the order, modify these quantities
to reflect what is being shipped. Select "Next" to continue.
For each package in your shipment, you will now be able to specify the box's
weight, dimensions, and if that specific package is insured (and the amount of
insurance if so).
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The next page allows you to specify the ship-from and ship-to address, as well
as other shipment specific options. The ship-from information defaults to
your information supplied on the UPS Details page. The ship-to information
defaults to the shipping address from the order. You can make any necessary
changes here, as well as use UPS OnLine® Tools Address Validate to verify a
city, state, zip code combination.
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If you are going to use UPS's On Call Pickup for this shipment, provide the
necessary information in the "For On Call Information" section. If you are
not using On Call Pickup, you can leave this section blank.
For the Shipment Service Options, you can select to have this specific shipment associated with a different UPS account. Note that this account still
must be registered with the UPS OnLine® Tools - you will need to re-register
from the UPS Details page if it is not. You can also specify an optional
description, as well as specify other delivery options. Note that changing the
options from their preset values may result in a different UPS charge.
For the Shipment Pick Up Selection, choose the method of package pick-up.
The default value will be the one specified in the UPS Details. Note that the
actual pick up method will be determined by UPS, based on your account. Be
sure to choose the correct option to receive the most accurate estimates.
If you need different Shipment Notification Options for this shipment, select
them here. These are explained in the UPS Details section.
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The next screen lists all available shipment methods, defaulting to the customer’s selection. If any UPS settings have been changed during the previous
screens, and those changes reflect a cost change, they will be listed here. If
you wish to ship with a different UPS Service, you can select it here.
You will now be shown a confirmation page. The page will list your shipper
information, the ship-from address, the ship-to address, and other details
about the shipment. If everything is correct, click "Accept Shipment" and the
shipment information will be sent to UPS.
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After the shipment is sent to UPS, you will be presented with a list of all the
packages in the shipment and their UPS 1Z tracking numbers. You can also
click the shipping label links on the right of the screen. These will open up a
new browser window with a printable shipping label for your package.
Validate an Address
To validate a city, state, and postal code combination with UPS OnLine®
Tools, enter the information and click "Submit Address Validation Request."
UPS OnLine® Tools will return a list of matching city, state, and postal codes.
You can use this to verify a postal code matches a city and a state. If it does
not match, UPS OnLine® Tools will return a list of city, state, and postal code
combinations that are based on your inputs.
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View UPS 1Z (tracking) Numbers and
Shipped Invoices
You can easily retrieve tracking numbers for orders already processed using
this function. Selecting "View UPS 1Z Numbers and Shipped Invoices" will
list all orders already processed and all of their associated UPS 1Z tracking
numbers. If you need to filter the list to only display certain invoices, enter
the invoice number in the provided field and click "Display Orders."
Void a Scheduled Shipment (within 24 hours
of scheduling)
If you have processed an order with UPS and need to void it, select "Void a
Scheduled Shipment" from the UPS menu. A list of processed shipments will
be displayed, each with its day, invoice number, and 1Z Tracking Number. To
void an entry, click the "Void" button for the appropriate line.
You can only void a shipment if it is within twenty-four hours of it being processed.
Shipments voided here will not be relisted in your pending orders for shipment. Any shipments you need to make from packages from a previously
voided order will have to be entered in manually.
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Manage/View Ship Labels
When you choose to manage or view shipping labels, you will be presented
with a list of all the labels that are stored in your Merchant Administrator. For
each label, you will see the date it was created, an associated filename that is
based on the Invoice number, and options to display or delete the label.
When an order is scheduled, a shipping label is created and stored as an .html
file inside the "shiplabel" folder, which is inside your PDG_Commerce directory. Each file is named according to the package's invoice number, and the
package's number within the order. For example, if order I00001 is scheduled
to ship in two packages, then you will find the first package as I00001_1.html
and the second package as I00001_2.html. These will be listed as two separate lines on the Manage/View Ship Label page.
To view or print a label, find the date and invoice number that applies to the
package. Click the "Display" link on the same line to view the specified label
in a separate window with printing instructions.
To view or print all of the shipping labels available, click on the "Show Labels
for Printing All" link at the top of the page, below the "Return to Main UPS®
Page" link.
To delete a label, find the date and invoice number that applies to the package.
Click the "Delete" link on the same line to delete the order.
Note: Clicking the "Delete" link will permanently delete the label from this
page and from the "shiplabel" directory.
To delete all of the shipping labels on this page and in the "shiplabel" folder,
click the "Remove All Shipping Labels" link above the package listing.
Note: Clicking the "Remove All Shipping Labels" link will permanently
delete all labels listed on the page and from the "shiplabel" directory.
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You can find the estimated size of the shiplabel directory on your server at the
bottom of the package list in this section of the Commerce Administrator.
Show Labels for Printing All
Selecting this command from the UPS menu will load a new browser window,
with all of the currently processed shipping labels displayed sequentially in a
continuous page. This page can be printed out and manually separated to
quickly obtain shipping labels for all processed packages.
Show Labels for Individual Printing
Selecting this command from the UPS menu will load a new browser window,
with each label in a separate scrollable box. Next to each box is a link.
Selecting this link will print that label.
Schedule All New Orders
If you have a lot of orders ready to be shipped, you may schedule them all at
once, instead of scheduling each shipment individually. Selecting this command from the UPS menu will schedule all pending orders for shipment using
your default shipment options as specified in the UPS Details.
Create a Shipment
You can create a new shipment manually if necessary. This means that the
shipment information you will be entering will not be in the order logs for
your webstore. This can be used in situations where you need to ship extra
packages to a customer that is not to be recorded in the webstore - such as a
gift, or shipping a replacement item.
Start by specifying the number of packages for this shipment, and an identifying invoice number for this shipment.
Note: Since this shipment will not be recorded in the order logs for your webstore, it is very important that the invoice number specified here be unique to
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any other invoice numbers your webstore has generated or will generate.
PDG Software recommends using a different invoice number prefix from
your webstore when creating this number for the new shipment.
On the second page of the shipment scheduling process, you will enter the
package type, package dimensions (if necessary), and whether or not to apply
insurance or additional handling. You will also input the weight of the package, and the invoice total (if shipping from the US to Canada or Puerto Rico).
Once you select "Next", entering the shipment information is similar to scheduling a shipment for an existing order. Since this new shipment is not in the
order logs for your webstore, there will be no default ship-to or package information. You must specify this information manually.
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Chapter 16
HTML Template Files
Configure the location of the template files that create the look and feel for your
webstore.
A
s customers step through the checkout process, information about their
orders and the pages used to collect shipping and billing addresses as well
as payment information are displayed on pages created by HTML templates. The templates serve as a general layout for product pages, your customer’s shopping cart, and the pages in the checkout process
When configuring PDG Commerce, you can opt to use the default templates,
or you can design your own HTML templates, as long as you embed the
proper “tags” which “call” PDG Commerce into action. Designing your own
templates or modifying the default templates can help you to achieve design
consistency throughout your Web store – something that good Web design
dictates.
Creating and working with HTML Template files can be found in the PDG
Commerce Technical Reference.
In order to configure PDG Commerce HTML templates, go to your Merchant
Administrator’s main menu and click the ‘HTML Templates’ link.
These entries indicate the name and location of the necessary templates to
integrate PDG Commerce into you Web store. You may store your template
files in either the “PDG_Commerce” directory or a subdirectory of that, or
you may store your template files in the web site’s document root directory, or
a subdirectory of that. Be sure to select the appropriate template file location
setting at the top of the page, depending on where your template files are
located.
After you have made any changes to these settings, be sure to click the ‘Submit Changes’ button. To implement these settings on your Web store, you
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17 -- HTML Template Files
must click the ‘Make Changes Live’ button on your Merchant Administrator’s
main menu.
Template Directory Location
You may store your template files in either the PDG_Commerce directory or a
subdirectory of that, or you may store your template files in the web site’s
document root directory, or a subdirectory of that. Select the appropriate template file location setting in this section, depending on where your template
files are located.
Template Header and Footer Settings
In this section you may specify the file name and location of a header and
footer file, if you wish to include them. The file location path should be relative to your document root directory. The contents of these files will replace
the  and  tags on customized templates
when the pages are generated in the browser. PDG has included default
header.html and footer.html files for you to edit. If you do not want to use this
feature, just leave the fields blank. Please note that the header and footer files
must be located in the root HTML directory of your web site, and they must
have an .html file extension.
Row Color Settings
In this section you may specify whether or not to use row coloring, and which
colors should be used. Enabling row coloring will allow you to set colors that
will alternate as backgrounds to the products in the customer’s basket, making
it easier to see individual products. Checking the “Enable Row Coloring” box
will automatically apply row coloring to the default Basket template. If you
are using custom templates, you may add a tag to your custom Basket and
Search Results templates to use row coloring when displayed. In the “Odd
Row Color” and “Even Row Color” fields, you must enter a valid HTML
color value (such as #ffffff, red, #000000, blue) to begin using row coloring.
Please view the PDG Commerce Technical Reference for information on custom template tags.
Note: Row coloring may also be configured if you are using Site Design
mode to display your Commerce templates. Please see the PDG Software
Design Guide for information on configuring row coloring in Site Design.
Standard HTML Templates
These are standard HTML templates used during the operation of PDG Commerce.
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Basket HTML Template
Usually, Web stores will include a button or link throughout the site which
allows shoppers to view the contents of their shopping basket at any time.
The page on which this display occurs is created by the Basket HTML template and is commonly referred to within PDG Commerce as the ‘Basket’
page.
You may want to further customize your Web store’s Basket page – as the
default template which comes with PDG Commerce is a simple HTML page.
For instance, you may want to insert additional text which further explains the
functions of the ‘Remove,’ ‘Empty the Cart’ and ‘Recalculate the Total’ buttons. Also, you may want to add a ‘Home’ button so that shoppers can return
to the main page of your Web store, instead of the previous page – which the
‘Shop Some More’ button generally points to. If nothing else, you may want
to have your Web store's logo or name at the top of each HTML template.
Basket Empty HTML Template
This field indicates the location of the template to display when the customer
views his cart when it is empty. This page may be customized to help maintain the consistent look and feel of your Web store. This is also the page that
will be displayed if your Web store features an ‘Empty Cart’ button, by which
shoppers can remove all items from their basket in a single click.
Add Item HTML Template
On pages where your Web store's products are displayed, there should be
some sort of link or button which allows a customer to order each product. In
other words, there might be an instruction that reads “To order an item, click
the thumbnail image.” Or, there may be a button that you have inserted
labeled “Order” which is located next to the image of each product.
In either case, this link or button points to the Add Item page – also referred to
as the “catalog” page – created by the Add Item HTML template. Creating
this link is referred to as “embedding PDG Commerce” within your Web
store. It is on the Add Item page that the customer specifies the quantity and
options for the product. Once this is done, the customer can add the item to
the cart at the click of a button, This action then calls up the Basket page, displaying the contents of the cart and showing the item which was added, in
addition to any other items which may have been added previously.
Again, you may want to apply some custom formatting to the default Add
Item template so that your Add Item page is consistent with the rest of your
Web store. If you use the Item HTML template (explained in the next section), you have the ability to customize the display that is inserted into the
Add Item template.
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Note that the Add Item template makes use of the Item template, described
below. The Add Item template acts as a holder the Item template. You can
have one Item template for all of your products, or define different Item templates for different product categories and different individual products. All
of these different Item templates will all plug back into this Add Item template.
Inventory Option Template
If you are tracking inventory by option for products, you may offer a link on
your Item page that will display the Inventory Option Template. This template will display the available option combinations for the product, as well as
how many items are available for purchase for each possible option combination.
Use this field to indicate where the HTML template file you wish to use for
your Option Inventory page is located.
Item HTML Template
Item Templates instruct PDG Commerce how to lay out certain information
for a specific product. This item layout is then embedded into appropriate
templates to create complete dynamic web pages. The effect is a template
inserted inside of a template. This allows you to have one “Add Item” template for your site, that presents a consistent page style for viewing items.
However, depending on the item, the item’s layout within the “Add Item”
page may be different. The item’s layout is controlled and specified by the
“Item” template.
For example, you may want the product's image displayed to the right of the
option drop-down menus and product text by default. This may be your
default “Item” template. For certain items that have very long, horizontal
images, you may want to have a different “Item” template displaying the
image at the top of the item’s layout instead of to the right. For those products, you would specify the different “Item” template in the product’s settings.
So, in this field, you should tell PDG Commerce where to find the default
Item HTML template if you are using one.
The PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide further describes the Item
HTML template as well as how to construct and modify one.
Checkout HTML Template
Once the Basket page is loaded, a “Checkout” button appears so that customers can begin the checkout process if they are finished shopping. Or you can
place “Checkout” links and buttons conviently throughout your web store.
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Whenever a customer decides he is done shopping, he can click the button,
taking him to the Checkout page.
The Checkout page, created by the Checkout HTML template, is the first step
in the checkout process with PDG Commerce. This page displays the customer’s order and collects the e-mail, billing address and shipping method/
address from the customer. If the customer has logged in, this information is
loaded and presented for confirmation.
your Checkout page is located.
Those fields not inserted into the HTML code by call tags are, themselves,
HTML formatted form fields and the information that they collect is simply
“passed through” to you, in the vendor notification e-mails which will be discussed in the ‘E-mail Settings’ chapter of this manual.
Verify HTML Template
The last step in the checkout process occurs on the Verify page, which is created by the Verify HTML template. PDG Commerce loads this page once the
customer enters / confirms his shipping and billing information and clicks the
‘Click to Continue’ button on the Checkout page. This page allows the customer a final opportunity to “verify” the contents of the order and to provide
payment information – the method (VISA, MasterCard, check etc.) and information about that method (card number and expiration date for a credit card
OR account number and bank routing information for a check).
Alternate SSL Checkout HTML Template
When a Web store's secure socket layer (SSL) connection resides on a different server or in a different directory, often times any graphics that appear on
pages viewed securely must also be on that alternate server or in that secure
directory. This presents a problem if you are using only one main Checkout
template for both secure and non-secure connections as there can be only one
“image source” (location) reference for your graphics on any given HTML
page. Therefore, one of the connections (either secure or non-secure) would
display a page with broken links to the images.
To prevent this from happening you should create an alternate Checkout template with absolute references to the image locations to be used in secure connections, or create a duplicate image directory on the secure side. The
original template can be used in non-secure connections and have references
to image locations on your non-secure server.
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Alternate SSL Verify HTML Template
Just like the alternate SSL Checkout HTML template, you should also create
an alternate Verify template if the scenario described above exists with your
Web store.
Thank You HTML Template
Once a customer has completed the checkout process with PDG Commerce by
clicking the ‘Submit the Order’ button on the Verify page, several events
occur. First, if real-time payment authorization is required, PDG Commerce
contacts the appropriate services to submit the credit card information for
authorization, assuming, of course, that the customer chose a credit card payment option that invokes the service. If not, then this action is skipped.
Next, customer and vendor e-mail notifications are sent using the protocols
called for by the e-mail sending program that you will specify on the Merchant Administrator's ‘E-mail Settings’ page. Orders are also logged.
Finally, PDG Commerce loads the Thank You page, or Credit Accept page for
any real-time payment processing, which thanks the customer for his order.
This page is generated from the Thank You HTML template, and typically
includes a final display of the submitted order, the order number assigned by
the Cart as well as the billing and shipping addresses.
Insert the location of this HTML template in the field provided.
Default Thank You Page
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Template to Display if Authorization Fails
This field tells PDG Commerce which HTML template to display to a customer if your automatic payment authorization service fails.
This template should be somewhat generic, since failure could result from a
number of different reasons – such as an expired card, invalid number, card
limit exceeded, failure of the authorization service, or a “network down” status from the authorization service.
Template to Display if Authorization Succeeds
In this field, enter the location of the HTML template that is displayed when
an order receives a valid authorization from one of the payment authorization
services. This template takes the place of the Thank You HTML template
file in such a situation.
Note: If no online authorization service is used for the transaction, the Thank
You HTML template will be displayed.
SSL Thank You Template
In this field, enter the location of the Thank You HTML Template to be displayed when a customer has selected ‘Secure Checkout.’ This will be displayed at the final step of the secure checkout process. Once the customer has
submitted his shipping and billing information and his payment information
has been authorized, this is the template that will be displayed marking the
end of the secure checkout process.
When a Web store's SSL connection resides on a different server or in a different directory, often times any graphics that appear on pages viewed securely
must also be on that alternate server or in that secure directory. This presents
a problem if you are using only one ‘Thank You’ template for both secure and
non-secure connections as there can be only one “image source” (location)
reference for your graphics on any given HTML page. Therefore, one of the
connections (either secure or non-secure) would display a page with broken
links to the images.
To prevent this from happening you should create an alternate template with
proper references to the image locations to be used in secure connections.
The original template can be used in non-secure connections and have references to image locations on your non-secure server.
Search Results HTML Template
If you employ PDG Commerce’s search capabilities and allow customers to
search for products, then the matching search results are displayed (either in
Catalog Page, Thumbnail or a Custom Line format) on a page created by the
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Search Results HTML Template. As with all other HTML templates, you can
opt to use the default template provided by PDG Commerce, or you create
your own template. For more information on the format of search results, see
the ‘Search Settings’ chapter.
Advanced Search HTML Template
This template is used by PDG Shopping Cart’s Site Design feature. Please see
the PDG Software Design Guide for further information about this template.
Search Results Empty HTML Template
Sometimes when a customer submits a search, there may be no results that
match his query. This field holds the location for the HTML template that is
to be displayed when a customer performs a search for which there are no
resulting products. If you are using customized HTML templates, you should
also customize this file to give your Web store a consistent “look and feel.”
Category Template File
In this field, enter the location of the Category HTML Template to be displayed when a customer has chosen to view all of the product categories in
your Web store. Only change this setting if you are using customized HTML
templates and you have created a custom Category HTML template file.
Multiple Add Template File
New in PDG Commerce is the ability to allow your customers to view and add
multiple products to their basket from a single page and with a single click.
If you plan on using the ‘MultiAdd’ action in your Web store, you will need to
indicate the location of the template to be used when displaying multiple products to your shoppers. For more information on this template file and the
MultiAdd action, see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
Error Template
If any type of error occurs during the customer’s shopping in your web store,
PDG Commerce uses this template to display the appropriate error message to
the customer. Place the name / location of this template file here.
Verify Inventory Error Template
If during the checkout process, an item becomes unavailable due to it becoming out-of-stock (and backordering is not allowed on the item), PDG Com230
merce will use this template to display the modified order with all items that
can still be ordered. From this point, customers can continue with checking
out or go back and shop some more. Place the name / location of this template
file here.
Shipping Rate Compare Template
If your shipping methods use a real-time shipping server’s rate compare feature, this template is used to display the various shipping methods and rates to
the customer for selection during the checkout process. Place the name / location of this template file here.
UPS Tracking Result Template File
If you offer UPS package tracking to your customers, this template is used to
display the results of the tracking inquiry. This page will display the address
to which the package was shipped, the address from which the package was
shipped, the details of the package, and the date and location of every action
taken on the package. Place the name / location of this template file here.
UPS Tracking Request HTML Template
UPS Address Validation Template File
If you are registered to use UPS OnLine Tools and have checked the “I want
UPS® Address Validation when Customers Check Out” box in the UPS
Details section of your Merchant Administrator, this template will display if a
customer enters an invalid shipping address on the Checkout page (whether or
not they have chosen a UPS shipping method). This template will allow the
customer to bypass the validation and use the current address, enter a new
address, or choose from the closest available matches to the address entered
on the Checkout page. Place the name / location of this template file here.
Top Navigation HTML Template
Left Navigation HTML Template
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Right Navigation HTML Template
Bottom Navigation HTML Template
About Us HTML Template
Contact HTML Template
Home HTML Template
User 1 HTML Template
User HTML Templates
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These are HTML templates used by PDG Commerce to display to the customer when dealing with user registration, user login, and displaying and
modifying customer data.
User Login Template File
This is the template file to be used that prompts the customer to login.
Successful Login Template File
This is the template file to be used if the customer login is successful.
Login Failed Template File
This is the template file to be used if the customer login is unsuccessful. This
page can contain links to allow another login attempt, and / or to register.
Checkout Select Template File
If a customer is shopping your web store anonymously and begins the checkout process, PDG Commerce checks to see if this template exists. If it does,
PDG Commerce will use this template to ask the customer to log in or register
before proceeding with checkout. The template can be modified to allow the
customer to log in, register as a new user, and / or continue the purchase without logging in. If this entry in the Merchant Administrator is left blank, PDG
Commerce will skip this log in step and proceed with the check out process,
regardless of whether the customer is logged in or not.
Guest Template File
This template is displayed when a customer, who is currently viewing the
“User Login Template,” chooses to shop as an anonymous guest and does not
log in or register.
Register New User Template File
If a visiting customer wishes to register with your webstore, PDG Commerce
will display this template to the customer.
Registration Successful Template File
If a registration attempt by a customer is successful, this template is displayed
to the newly registered customer. It can be used as a welcoming page.
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User Update Template File
Once a customer is logged in, they have the ability to modify their account.
This includes changing account details such as their password, and modifying
their shipping addresses. This template is used to display the account information to the customer, and to allow them to make changes.
Unauthorized Action Template File
If a customer of your web site attempts to perform an action that is not
allowed due to the rights of their customer category, an error page is displayed
using this template.
Anonymous Check-out HTML Template File
If you allow customers to check out anonymously, without logging in or registering for an account, you may specify a separate template to be displayed for
non-secure check out. If this field is left blank, PDG Commerce will display
the template entered in the CheckOut HTML Template field.
Alternate Anonymous SSL Check-out HTML
Template File
If you allow customers to check out anonymously, without logging in or registering for an account, you may specify a separate template to be displayed for
secure check out. If this field is left blank, PDG Commerce will display the
template entered in the Alternate SSL CheckOut HTML Template field.
Multiple Shipment Templates
These are HTML templates used by PDG Commerce that display information
to the customer when dealing with checkout using multiple shipment destinations.
Multiple Shipment Check-out Template
This is the template that will be displayed for the Checkout action if the customer specified more than one recipient for the items ordered.
your Multiple Shipment Checkout page is located.
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Multiple Shipment SSL Check-out Template
This is the template that will be displayed for the Secure Checkout action if
the customer specified more than one recipient for the items ordered. If no
template filename is entered in this field, the Multiple Shipment Check-out
Template will be used.
your Multiple Shipment SSL Checkout page is located.
Multiple Shipment Verify Template
This is the template that will be displayed for the Verify action if the customer
specified more than one recipient for the items ordered.
your Multiple Shipment Verify page is located.
Multiple Shipment SSL Verify Template
This is the template that will be displayed for the Verify action if the customer
chose Secure Checkout and if the customer specified more than one recipient
for the items ordered. If no template filename is entered in this field, the Multiple Shipment Verify Template will be used.
your Multiple Shipment SSL Verify page is located.
Multiple Shipment Thank You Template
This is the template that will be displayed for the BuyIt action if the customer
chose an offline payment method and if the customer specified more than one
recipient for the items ordered.
your Multiple Shipment Thank You page is located.
Multiple Shipment SSL Thank You Template
chose an offline payment method and Secure Checkout, and if the customer
specified more than one recipient for the items ordered. If no template filename is entered in this field, the Multiple Shipment Thank You Template will
be used.
your Multiple Shipment SSL Thank You page is located.
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Multiple Shipment Credit Accept Template
chose an online payment method and if the customer specified more than one
recipient for the items ordered.
your Multiple Shipment Credit Accept page is located.
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Chapter 17
Sales Tax Configuration
Configuring Taxation Rules for Orders
I
f you are a retailer, you may be required to collect sales tax, depending on
the tax laws where your Web store is located. PDG Commerce's tax calculation capabilities enable you to define the rules which may be necessary in order to properly charge and collect sales tax for your area. In order to
view the sales tax settings for your Web store, go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the ‘Sales Tax Settings’ link.
Typically, for Web stores based in the U.S., tax is charged on orders that are
shipped intrastate (within the state in which the Web store is based). Orders
shipped outside of the Web store's home state are generally tax free. However, you should consult your state's revenue department or tax authority to
determine the actual tax laws that you need to adhere to.
Assuming that the “typical” rule outlined above holds true for your area, you
would choose ‘United States’ from the drop-down menu in the Country field,
choose your state or province from the drop-down menu in the State (US and
Canada Only) field, enter the correct sales tax percentage for your area, enter
a sales tax label that will appear on the invoice, and then click the ‘Add’ button. The sales tax label will be how the customer will know to what this extra
charge applies.
In this manner, you can add new sales tax rules, and delete existing ones. To
delete an existing sales tax rule, click on “Remove” next to that rule. Once a
rule is deleted, it cannot be restored.
Sales Tax Rules
The “Sales Tax Configuration” page displays all the sales tax rules defined for
the site. Each sales tax rule contains a location, a percent, a label, and a flag
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16 -- Sales Tax Configuration
to indicate if shipping is to be taxed. The location will either be a country
(and optional state or province if in the US or Canada) or a zone, depending
on if zones are to be used in sales tax rules. If a label is provided, the sales tax
will be displayed with the label on the order displays. If no label is provided,
the tax will be displayed with a default label.
Sales Tax Rules
If necessary, you can have multiple rules defined here.
If more than one rule applies to the order, each rule will be displayed on the
order on a separate line, and all rules will be applied. This can be used in situations where multiple taxes need to be applied to an order. Since each tax is
displayed on a separate line, each tax will be displayed with its own label, so
that it will be clearly defined to your customers.
Remember to click the ‘Make Changes Live’ button on the Merchant Administrator's main menu if you enter new rules or alter existing ones.
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Chapter 18
Multiple “Ship To” Options
Configuring Multiple Shipping Address Options in PDG Commerce
P
DG Commerce now allows you to configure your Web store so that customers may choose multiple shipping recipients for a single order. Customers may choose exactly which products will ship to which recipient,
specify separate shipping methods for each recipient, and save new shipping
addresses to their PDG Commerce account during the checkout process for
future use on your Web store.
Adding Multiple Recipients to Customer
Account
A customer on your Web site may add a new shipping contact by viewing his
User Update page to update his information after logging in to your site. On
this page, the customer can click the “Add New Contact” radio button to submit the entered address as a new multiple shipping recipient contact. The customer should enter any desired shipping address information, and must enter a
friendly name for the new contact before clicking the “Add Contact” button.
Adding a contact in this manner will add both the friendly name and the shipping address of the new contact.
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18 -- Multiple “Ship To” Options
User Update page
A customer may also add a new shipping contact during the order process.
The customer can add a new friendly name for a new contact when adding a
product to the basket. This new recipient will be added to the contact list.
During checkout, the customer will enter a shipping address for the new recipient. At that time, he may choose whether or not to save the address as the
default shipping address for that recipient.
Choosing Multiple Recipients for an Order
If you are using the Multiple Shipment Item Template, then your customers
will have the option to specify different recipients for a single product when
adding that product to the Cart, or add the product to the Cart without specifying additional recipients. If they are sending products to different recipients,
they may either choose a single recipient or assign several recipients for this
product.
To specify a single recipient, the customer may either choose from a list of
existing recipients or create a new recipient. The list of available recipients
includes the friendly names of any recipients created for this order or in a previous order on your Web store. The recipient list is saved in the customer's
account with your Web store. To create a new recipient, the customer will
enter a friendly name for the new recipient in an input box on the page.
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Whether choosing an existing recipient or adding a new one, clicking the
"Add to Cart" button will add the product to that recipient's basket, using the
quantity and options specified at the top of the Item page.
To choose several recipients for this order, the customer may either choose
from a list of existing recipients or create a new recipient, as well as specify a
quantity, for each recipient of this product. The default page includes space
for two recipients to be entered. If the customer needs to add more than two
recipients, he may enter a number of recipients and click the "Redraw Recipient Table" button to have the page displayed with the appropriate number of
recipient entry fields. Whether choosing existing recipients or adding new
ones, clicking the "Add to Cart" button will add the specified quantities of the
product per chosen recipient using the options indicated at the top of the page.
Item page
Adding Shipping Addresses
When the customer reaches the Checkout page, he will be asked to enter a
shipping address and choose a shipping method for every shipping recipient
who will receive a portion of this order. If the customer saved an address for a
recipient in the past, the saved address will be displayed on the Checkout
page. If the customer wishes to save a certain recipient’s address for future
orders, he may click the “Save this Address” checkbox. If the given recipient
already has a saved address that has been displayed, but the customer wishes
to change it, he may click the “Save this Address” checkbox to save the newly
entered address in place of the old address. If he wishes to change the address
for this order only, not clicking the “Save this Address” checkbox will maintain the old address in the database but use the new address for this order only.
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Checkout page
Modifying Multiple Recipient Addresses
A customer on your Web site may modify a saved shipping contact by viewing his User Update page to update his information after logging in to your
site. A list of Friendly/Multiple Ship Names will be displayed with radio buttons by each. Clicking a radio button will display the shipping address corresponding to the friendly name chosen. Now the customer may modify the
shipping address information, and even the friendly name. To modify the
selected contact, the customer will click the “Update Contact” button. If the
customer changed the friendly name for this address, and wishes to save the
information as a new contact, he would click the “Add Contact” button.
Deleting Multiple Recipients
A customer may remove a recipient from the order by removing all products
from that recipient’s cart on the Basket page. This action will remove the
shipping recipient from the current order, but not from the saved recipient list
on the customer’s account with your Web store.
To remove a friendly name from the saved recipient list, a customer must
access the User Update page for his account. On this page, a list of Friendly/
Multiple Ship Names will be displayed, with a radio button by each name.
The customer may select the recipient name to delete and click the “Remove
Contact” button to remove the indicated recipient from the friendly name list
on the account.
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Multiship Templates
There are six templates that are used during checkout for multiple shipment
address options in PDG Commerce. The Item template provides the customer
with the option to choose from a list of recipients, enter additional recipients,
or order the product without specifying a recipient. The Basket template displays each recipients’ basket separately, or displays a single basket if no additional recipients have been specified. The Checkout template displays each
recipients’ basket separately, with a separate shipping information form for
each. If no recipients have been specified, a single basket and shipping information form is displayed. The Verify template displays each recipients’ basket separately, or a single basket if no recipients have been specified. The
ThankYou template and CreditAccept template display each recipients’ basket and shipping information separately in the invoice. These pages display a
single basket and shipping information if no recipients were specified.
The customized version of the Basket, Checkout, Verify, ThankYou, and
CreditAccept template files will contain two sections. The first section will
use the REPEAT tags and will contain the same code used for a regular custom template. This section of the page contains the code that will be displayed if the order will be shipped to a single recipient. The second section
will use the REPEAT tags within the RECIPIENT tags to display a custom
basket for each specified recipient for the order. This section of the page contains the code that will be displayed if the order will be shipped to multiple
recipients.
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Chapter 19
Custom Buttons and Frames
PDG Commerce and Your Web Store's Graphical Design
W
hen you develop your Web store you should use a consistent design from
page to page in order to “tie” the site together – good Web design dictates this. Examples of this are: common color schemes from page to
page, consistent use of text fonts, repeating graphics such as logos, etc.
Custom Buttons Settings
In the ‘Standard HTML Template File,’ we briefly touched on creating custom HTML templates for your PDG Commerce pages and referred you to the
PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide for a more in-depth discussion.
But, there are additional ways to integrate PDG Commerce into your site and
still maintain a consistent and cohesive appearance. We suggest using a combination of these methods to achieve maximum design consistency.
Part of your design efforts may be the use of custom “navigational buttons” –
graphics that, when clicked with a mouse, take the visitor to other sections of
your Web store. In addition, you may employ the use of HTML frames in
your Web store's layout.
In both instances, PDG Commerce can be customized so that the shopping
and checkout processes have the same look and feel as the rest of your Web
store.
If you have created custom navigational buttons for your Web store, you probably want the buttons on your web pages to have the same design. To configure the settings for these buttons, go to the Merchant Administrator's main
menu and click the ‘Custom Buttons’ link. The following screen should
appear:
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19 -- Custom Buttons and Frames
Here, you will set up PDG Commerce to replace the default gray buttons with
custom navigational buttons. In order for PDG Commerce to insert your customized buttons in the place of the default gray buttons, you need to enable
this feature on the Button Graphics Configuration page, shown above. To do
this, place a check mark in the ‘Enable external graphics for buttons’ field.
Next, enter the URL for each button that you have customized. For example,
an entry in the ‘URL of graphic for “Remove” button’ field might look like
this:
http://www.webstorename.com/buttons/removebtn.gif
In this example, the name of the custom button is ‘removebtn.gif’ and it is
located in the ‘buttons’ subdirectory of the Web store’s root directory.
The example below shows a default, plain basket template, except with custom buttons as a result of enabling the custom button graphics feature and
entering the URL’s of the respective buttons. Remember that you can further
customize the entire basket listing by modifying the basket template.
Shopping cart contents display using custom buttons
This illustrates how easy it is to customize PDG Commerce to present a cohesive, integrated look to your Web store. After entering the URLs for your custom buttons, remember to click the ‘Submit Changes’ button and then return
to the main menu and click the ‘Make Changes Live’ link.
Frames Settings
In your Web store, you may have incorporated HTML frames in the design
and layout. If you are structuring your Web store so that the cart contents display and the item display are in separate frames, you should configure these
settings so PDG Commerce knows how to display your Web store. To access
these settings, go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the
‘Frames Settings’ link.
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The first step in configuring PDG Commerce to operate in a framed environment is to enable the capability itself. To do this, place a check mark in the
‘Enable multi-framed HTML support’ field.
If you are not using frames or are using only one primary frame for all PDG
Commerce interaction, then you should disable this capability by removing
the check mark if one exists, or by simply leaving the box blank. Otherwise,
you will need to complete the settings.
Name of Frame Containing Cart Contents
Insert the name of the frame where the Basket page will be displayed each
time one of your customers adds an item to the cart from the Add Item page.
This is also the frame where the Basket page will display the contents of the
cart if the shopper clicks a ‘View Cart’ button – if you have such a button on
your pages.
Name of Main Window Frame
This is the frame where the Add Item page (also called the catalog page) will
appear when a shopper chooses a particular item in your Web store, or for
searches, category displays, etc.
Name of Checkout Window Frame
As the name implies, this frame will contain the Checkout page once the
shopper has decided to proceed to checkout by clicking the ‘Checkout’ button
on the Basket page.
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Chapter 20
E-mail Settings
Configuring your PDG Commerce to send out e-mails
W
hen PDG Commerce processes an order, depending upon your preference,
it can send an e-mail notification to both the customer and to you, the vendor. Go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the ‘E-mail
Settings’ link. This section allows you to specify who receives order confirmation e-mails and what templates to use for those e-mails.
E-Mail Settings
E-Mail Notifications Settings Screen
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20 -- Email Settings
The two fields that specify the templates to be used for these confirmation emails also specify the locations of these templates. Remember, all file locations are assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory.
PDG Commerce generates two types of e-mail notifications – one for the customer and one for you, the vendor. Customer e-mails contain the complete
order along with billing and shipping information and serve as a confirmation
that their order is in process. What they do not contain is the complete payment information. Instead, the credit card information and any other sensitive
information are censored before being sent. This gives the customer confidence that you are doing everything possible to protect his confidential information.
Vendor e-mails, on the other hand, may contain payment information so that
you can promptly process the order. If these emails are configured from your
Merchant Administrator to contain sensitive payment information, we
strongly recommend that you have PDG Commerce encrypt these. PDG
Commerce can encrypt these emails with GPG. Alternately, you can configure PDG Commerce to omit sensitive payment information from your vendor
emails.
Do Not Include Credit Card Data
If this box is checked, PDG Commerce will filter out all sensitive credit card
information from the order logs and the vendor emails. If the box is cleared,
this information will be included.
PDG Software strongly recommends that you leave this box checked unless
you are using GPG encryption. Otherwise the credit card information may
end up being stored on the server or on your computer in plaintext.
E-mail Customer Notifications To
This setting tells PDG Commerce to whom customer e-mails should be sent
for orders received through your Web store. You can configure this setting to
send customer e-mails to more than one location (or party) by entering multiple e-mail addresses, each one separated by a space or comma. In most cases,
you will need only the default [CUSTOMER] setting, so that e-mails are sent
to the customer only.
Template File for Customer Notifications
This field specifies the template, and its location, to be used when PDG Commerce generates the e-mail notification to the customer. If you do not want
PDG Commerce to generate this e-mail, leave the field blank. This template
is described in more detail in the chapter title “Email Templates”.
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E-mail Vendor Notifications To
In this field, enter the location (e-mail address) where you want to receive
order notifications (vendor e-mails). Like the customer version of this setting,
you may choose to have these e-mails delivered to multiple locations by
entering each of the addresses, each one separated by a space or comma,
depending on the platform.
Template File for Vendor Notifications
This field specifies the template, and its location, to be used when PDG Commerce generates the e-mail notification to you, the vendor. If you do not want
PDG Commerce to generate this e-mail, leave the field blank. This template
is described in more detail in the chapter title “Email Templates”.
Email Program
If your PDG Commerce is running on a Microsoft platform, you need to specify how PDG Commerce will send the email. From the drop-down menu,
choose the Sendmail client program that your Web store's host server uses to
send e-mail messages.
PDG first recommends that you try PDG Commerce’s Internal Mailer. This
requires no additional third party program. If you choose one of the other
three, you will need the executable for that program. If you are using an ISP
to host your site, you may need to verify this setting with that ISP.
Sendmail Client Program Location
In this field, you should indicate the location of the program that you have
designated to send e-mails. If you are using the builtin emailer (labelled
“PDG Mailer” in “Email Program”), you do not need to fill in this field.
For UNIX systems, this entry must be the complete location of the ‘Sendmail’
executable. This location address might read:
/usr/lib/sendmail
The location is assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory,
unless an absolute path from the root directory is specified.
E-mail Server
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If you are using the internal PDG Mailer, or are on Microsoft Windows using
Blat or Windmail, then you must complete this field with the address of the
outgoing SMTP mail server. An example address might be:
mail.mystorename.com
Like the Sendmail client program specified above, you may need to verify this
setting with your ISP.
Sendmail running on UNIX does not need this field.
Full Name From Which E-mails Are Sent
You can place a company or personal name here, and this will get marked as
the sender of the e-mail.
This field is different from the ‘From Address’ for sent e-mails. If, for example, you want e-mails sent from your webstore to have “PDG Software Sales
<[email protected]>” in the From line, you would set the Full Name to
“PDG Software Sales” and the From Address to “[email protected]”.
QMAILUSER Environment Variable
If you are on a UNIX machine, using QMail to send mails instead of sendmail
or PDG Mailer, and your QMail requires a “QMAILUSER” environment variable, put the data for that variable here. PDG Commerce will then create an
environment variable called “QMAILUSER” equal to the data here for the
QMail program. If you aren’t using QMail, just leave this field blank.
‘From Address’ for Sent E-mails
Enter the “from” address that should appear on order notification e-mails to
customers. In most cases, this will be the actual e-mail address for correspondence to your Web store. However, there are some stores that want it to
appear as though orders are sent from an address other than the actual one.
A word of caution here, if your case is the latter, you will need to check to see
if your Web host’s server will allow an e-mail to be sent with a “from” address
other than the actual one. This is a required field, so make sure you insert an email address here.
This field is different from the ‘Full Name’ for sent e-mails. If, for example,
you want e-mails sent from your webstore to have “PDG Software Sales
<[email protected]>” in the From line, you would set the Full Name to
“PDG Software Sales” and the From Address to “[email protected]”.
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HTML Emails
HTML Email Settings screen
With HTML emails, you can use HTML to graphically display your order
receipts sent to your customers if you are using the PDG Internal Mailer.
These emails are template based. On the HTML email templates, you may
use any tags available for the ThankYou page or the Basket page. You can
find more information about these templates and their tags in the chapter entitled “HTML Template Files” in the PDG Commerce Technical Reference.
Remember that your customer’s email program will need to be able to display
HTML for your customers to view these emails correctly. Most all email
readers can display HTML emails, including Outlook and Eudora.
If you will be using HTML emails, enable it by checking the “Send HTML
Emails” box.
If you need to include any attachments to either the vendor email or the customer email, you can do so here. These attachments could be graphics files or
perhaps digital business cards. Keep in mind that each attachment makes the
email larger in size, and will take longer for your customers to download.
Any files you want attached must be in a subfolder called “Attachments”
inside your PDG_Commerce folder. To attach a file, type in the filename and
the file’s MIME type then select the appropriate “Add Attachment” button.
To remove an attachment, select it in the pull-down scroll box and select the
appropriate “Remove Attachment” button.
Note: You can find a list of standard MIME types at http://www.pdgsoft.com/
mimetype.html.
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Chapter 21
E-mail Template Files
Setting Up Your Web Store’s Vendor and Customer Notification E-mails
P
DG Commerce has the ability to send e-mail notifications whenever an
order is placed from your Web store. This section defines the template
files that will be used to generate those e-mail notifications These e-mail
template files are used similarly to the way HTML Template Files are used.
PDG Commerce, when generating an e-mail, reads in an E-mail Template File
and scans it for tags. Any special tags will be replaced with the appropriate
information before being sent to the customer or vendor.
There are two different E-mail Template Files. The first one is the Customer
E-mail Template File. It is sent to all addresses listed in the “Mail Customer
Notice to” field. The second template is the Vendor E-mail Template File. It
is sent to all addresses listed in the “Mail Vendor Notices to” field.
The difference between the Customer and Vendor E-mail Template Files is
that payment information is censored in the e-mails generated by the Customer E-mail Template File. For e-mails generated by the Vendor E-mail
Template File, payment information is not censored and appears as entered by
the customer. You can prevent the credit card information from being displayed in the vendor notification e-mail by checking the “Do not include
Credit Card Information” box in the ‘Cart Options’ section of your Merchant
Administrator.
The location of the e-mail template files that are to be used for your Web
store’s e-mail notifications should be listed in your Merchant Administrator.
For information on defining who gets e-mails after an order is placed and
other e-mail configuration issues, please refer to the ‘E-mail Settings’ chapter
of this user guide.
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21 -- E-mail Template Files
Call Tags in the E-mail Template
The following tags are recognized by PDG Commerce when generating an email from one of the E-mail Template Files:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•



<invoicenumber>
<contactname>
<billtext>

<sitename>

 Tag
When PDG Commerce encounters this tag, it replaces the tag with the customer's complete order information. This includes the invoice number, the
complete list of all items and their options, and the complete order total with
shipping charges and sales tax. The output is formatted to an 80-character
page in a spaced table.
 Tag
When PDG Commerce encounters this tag, it replaces the tag with the customer's complete shipping information, including the chosen shipping
method. If shipping information was not required due to the shipping method
chosen, then this tag will simply be replaced with the shipping method chosen
by the customer.
 Tag
When PDG Commerce encounters this tag, it replaces the tag with the customer's complete billing information and the customer's payment information.
If the e-mail is sent to the vendor, then the payment information may be
included, if configured so in the Merchant Administrator. If the e-mail is sent
to the customer, then the sensitive payment information is always removed,
and only the last four digits of the supplied credit card appear in the e-mail.
Note: Only the customer’s billing information will be shown on vendor emails if the “Do not include Credit Card Information” box is checked in the
‘Cart Options’ section of your Merchant Administrator.
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<invoicenumber> Tag
When this tag appears in the template file, the tag is replaced with the unique
invoice number for the order, as generated by PDG Commerce.
<contactname> Tag
When this tag appears in an E-mail Template File, the tag is replaced with the
customer's Contact Name, as supplied by the customer in the ‘contactname’
form input field supplied by the Checkout page with the Verify action.
<billtext> Tag
When PDG Commerce encounters this tag, it replaces it with the information
that was supplied by the customer in the ‘billtext’ input field provided on the
Checkout page. This information may include the customer’s county or province of residency. This field should have been labeled on the Checkout page.
 Tag
When PDG Commerce encounters this tag, it replaces the tag with any information that you have asked PDG Commerce to collect above and beyond
what is collected by default. This information is referred to as “passthrough
information.”
For Vendor emails, if you omit this tag in the template, then any passthrough
information collected by PDG Commerce will be inserted at the end of the
email. For Customer emails, if you omit this tag in the template, then collected passthrough information will not be in the email.
Note: For more information on passthrough tags, see the PDG Commerce
Technical Reference Guide.
<sitename> Tag
PDG Commerce replaces this tag with the Web store’s Site Name, as configured by you in the “Commerce Options” section of the Administrator.
 Tag
When PDG Shopping Cart encounters this tag, it replaces it with a list of the
full url links to all purchased softgoods downloads for this order. The customer may use these links to access their purchased products.
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Chapter 22
Order Settings and Logging
Configuring logging and viewing orders in PDG Commerce
P
DG Commerce allows you to log all of the transactions that are initiated
in your Web store. An order log tracks customer and order information as
well as what payment authorization service was used (if any) and the verification code. These logs can also be exported into a database program that
supports the importation of comma separated value (CSV) files.
Order Logging/Retrieval
To begin configuring this feature of PDG Commerce, go to your Merchant
Administrator’s main menu and click the ‘Order Settings’ link. You will see
two sections: the first deals with the location and formatting of your Order
Log, while the second contains variable settings for querying the Order Log
and displaying results. These sections will now be covered in detail.
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22 -- Order Settings and Logging
Order Log Configuration
Note: See the ‘Secure Settings’ section in this guide for a note on your order
log and PGP encryption.
Do Not Include Credit Card Data
Checking this box instructs PDG Commerce to censor sensitive credit card
data out of the logs. If the box is unchecked, this credit card information will
be stored in the logs.
PDG Software recommends that you leave this box checked unless you can
verify that any order log files being created are encrypted with GPG, and that
any databases the orders may be saved to are completely secure.
Regardless of this setting, PDG Commerce does not store credit card information into the database.
Log Orders to Database
Checking this box results in the orders being saved in the database. If
unchecked, order logging will not be processed through the database.
Regardless of this setting, PDG Commerce does not store credit card information into the database.
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Order Log File
In this field, enter the name you want PDG Commerce to assign to the file it
creates to log your Web store’s orders. This file will not exist until PDG
Commerce records the first order. A new log can be created every so often,
by simply changing the file name in this field.
The order logging feature is particularly helpful to high volume stores. Currently, the order log that PDG Commerce creates is a text file readable by programs such as Microsoft Word or any other text editor. These logs can
become unwieldy if allowed to grow large. Therefore, you should consider
downloading your order log files regulary and deleting them from the server.
By doing so, PDG Commerce will log the next order to a clean order log file.
Alternately, you can copy the order log file to a backup location and delete the
existing file from your ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory. To do this, first rename
the order log file in the Merchant Administrator, so that PDG Commerce will
begin creating a new order log. Then you can take the old log file, download
it to your local machine, and delete it from the server.
Note: You can append a date to the filename your order logs (i.e.:
“order.feb2004.log”) in order to more easily track your orders. PDG Software
recommends that you use a cryptic filename though, so you could also use an
order log filename like “t7!dE3.feb2004.log”.
Order Log CSV File
If you want PDG Commerce to create a comma separated value (CSV) file of
the order log that you can import into an external database or accounting
package, enter the name of the file here. If you do not specify a name, PDG
Commerce will not create a CSV file from your Web store’s order log.
Note: The order log CSV file should have the .csv file extension.
Order Log XML File
If you want PDG Commerce to create a file of the order log in XML format
that you can import into a third party application that can read XML files,
enter the name of the file here. If you do not specify a name, PDG Commerce
will not create an XML file from your Web store’s order log.
Note: The order log XML file should have the .xml file extension.
CSV Text Delimiter
Enter the character with which PDG Commerce will surround text values in
the CSV file. This allows any data values that may contain spaces or the data
delimiter to be saved properly.
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Typically, this chatacter is either a single quote or a double quote.
CSV Delimiter
Enter the character you want PDG Commerce to use when separating the various fields contained in the CSV file specified above. For example, if your
external program accepts a “comma delimited” file, you should enter a
comma in this field.
Invoice Number Prefix
Any letter, number or combination thereof that you enter here will be “prefixed” to the five digit invoice number which PDG Commerce generates during the checkout process. This creates a unique invoice (or order) number
which you and your customers can use to reference each order placed.
Sample order with number prefix set to ‘U’
Sample Order With Numbering Prefix
How is this helpful? Let's say that your company operates several different
Web stores, each one running PDG Commerce. With an invoice number prefix attached, you can easily ascertain from which Web store a particular order
was generated.
Another way that this may be helpful is if your Web store has an extremely
high order volume. PDG Commerce will only count invoices up to 99999,
after which it rolls over back to 00001. Once you reach this point, you may
want to append the invoice prefix in order to distinguish these orders from earlier ones.
This field is optional. If you don't want PDG Commerce to add a prefix to
your order numbers, leave this field blank.
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Invoice Header File
If you require a header to be placed on your order invoices as they are generated by PDG Commerce, then you can save that header in a text or HTML
file, and put the location of the file here. PDG Commerce will then read the
file’s contents and copy them to the header of the invoice.
Create Relational-Ready CSV File?
Check this box if you would like the CSV file that PDG Commerce creates
from the order log to be optimized for converting into a relational database.
This simply tags the invoice number to the beginning of each line of the CSV
file for the easy referencing of orders once they are in your database.
Note: You must use a relational-ready CSV file for importing orders into
QuickBooks using the Accounting Accelerator, or for importing orders into
UPS WorldShip using the PDG WorldShip utility.
Create One-line CSV File
If you require a CSV file format where each order is placed on one line,
instead of the default multi-line style, check this box. Once checked, PDG
Commerce will place the data for the entire order on one line.
One line CSV files are useful for importing orders into certain applications,
such as shipping and accounting software packages..
Add One-Line Product Description to CSV File
If you would like to save the product descriptions with the sku numbers in
your CSV order log so they will be reported when using the Accounting
Accelerator, check this box. Please note that this option may not be used with
a One-Line CSV order log file.
Order Log Reports
The Order Log that is created by PDG Commerce can be queried from the
Merchant Administrator in a number of ways. When retrieving orders from
the Order Log, there are many different ways that you can view the orders:
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Order Log Reports
Select Data Source
When you query for orders, you can have PDG Commerce retrieve them from
either your database, or from the standard log file.
Select Date Range
When you query for orders, you can have PDG Commerce retrieve only
orders placed today, placed within the last week, or specify your own date
range. Note that the date range is inclusive.
Show Order Invoices / Sales Reports
When querying for orders, PDG Commerce can display all the orders that
match your date range criteria, or it can return a specific invoice by its invoice
number, or you can retrieve orders placed by a specific name. You can also
view reports that give you sales by product, and a sales total report.
If you would like, you can have all of the retrieved orders displayed one one
page, or you can view them one-at-a-time. If you would like a graphical display, check the appropriate box.
For the Product Quantity Sales report, PDG Commerce can optionally include
the item description - check the appropriate box if so.
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For the Sales Totals report, you can also view all of your sales by affiliate.
This allows you to track your affiliates to see which ones are generating the
most business.
Note: You will not be able to view the Order Log with your browser unless
you are accessing it via a secure connection. Therefore, you must have your
order log on a secure part of your Web server in order to view it with your
Web browser.
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Chapter 23
Configuring Product Search Results
Customize how search results are displayed to your customers
I
f your Web store has a large number of products, it may be helpful to give
customers the ability to browse categories, enter keywords, and search for
a particular product or group of products. Alternatively, you can have
PDG Commerce conduct a predetermined search of certain products within
the product database (hard coded search) by creating a link or button describing the search. For example, you might build a hard coded search for Standard Acme Widgets with the link that invokes that search labeled “Search for
Standard Acme Widgets.”
To configure the product search options for your Web store, go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the ‘Search Settings’ link. This
section allows you to specify the format in which PDG Commerce displays
the search results.
Product Search Options Settings
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23 -- Configuring Product Search Results
Search Result Style
This drop-down menu allows you to instruct PDG Commerce to return search
results in a “catalog page” (Add Item Page) format, as a page of “thumbnail”
images or in repetitive lines that you can customize: “custom repeat line.”
Pay close attention to the distinction between these formats.
Catalog Pages – This format returns the results using an Add Item page layout, as described above in the ‘Standard HTML Template Files’ section. This
allows customers to specify quantity and options for one of the items returned
in the search and then add that item to their Shopping Cart.
Thumbnails – The thumbnail format returns the results as a page of thumbnail images. Each image is accompanied by a link which takes the customer
to an Add Item or catalog page for the selected product. This format may be
preferable over the Catalog Pages format, especially in cases where search
results may return a large number of matching choices. A page of thumbnail
images would certainly be less cumbersome in those cases than an Add Item
page with images, text, input fields and drop-down menus for each product.
Custom Repeat Line – This selection allows you to create a unique layout in
which to display your Web store’s search results. For instance, suppose you
only wanted to display the product’s name and price, you can format the
‘Search Results’ template accordingly. This option for customizing your Web
store’s ‘Search Results’ page is a new feature in PDG Commerce. For more
information on how to customize your Search Results page, see the PDG
Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
PDG Commerce has the ability to add all items from the search result page
with a single click, using the MultiAdd action. See the PDG Commerce
Technical Reference Guide for more information.
Display Price for Thumbnail Searches
This field allows you to choose whether or not to display the price of each
product when using a thumbnail search. Checking the box will display the
product’s unit price underneath the thumbnail and product description.
Unchecking the box will display only the thumbnail and product description,
without the price. Please note that this checkbox only enables price display
for thumbnail searches.
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Search Product Description
In addition to searching product keywords, PDG Commerce gives customers
the ability to search products’ one line descriptions as well. Product searches
from your Web store will query any product keywords that you entered for
each product. Check this box if you would also like for PDG Commerce to
search their one line descriptions as well. Once you have done this, click the
‘Submit Changes’ button.
Number of Results Per Page
In addition to the format used to return search results, you can also specify
how many matches to display on each page of search results. There is no limit
to the number you can specify. However, we recommend that you exercise
sound Web design judgment and keep the results per page limited to three or
four with the Catalog Page format and ten to twenty with the Thumbnail or
Custom Repeating formats.
A zero (0) entered in this field will cause PDG Commerce to display ALL
search results. Otherwise, the specified number of results will appear on each
page. In cases where PDG Commerce finds more matches than is allowed on
a given page, then additional pages are created, each one with a link pointing
to the next page of results (i.e.: ‘Next 10 Results’) and previous page of
results, where applicable. Each page will hold the number of results specified
in this field. PDG Commerce will dynamically create the necessary number
of pages in order to display all of the matches returned as the result of a
search. Once you have done this, click the ‘Submit Changes’ button.
Number of Results Per Row
Similar to the ‘Number of Results Per Page’ field, the ‘Number of Results Per
Row’ field allows the store owner or Web designer to specify the number of
results that would appear in each row on the Search Results template. Once
you have done this, click the ‘Submit Changes’ button.
Note: If you are using the Custom Line Repeat format to display search
results, you will need to see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide
for more information on how you may format the Search Results HTML template.
Order of Search Results
In addition to configuring the format of the search results page, you can determine how the search results will be ordered. The results will be listed alphabetically by one of the available options. You may order them by one of these
three methods:
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•
Product Key – This will order the search results depending upon the products’ unique Product Keys or SKUs.
•
Product Description – Selecting this option will yield search results in
alphabetical order by their One Line Descriptions.
•
Database – This selection will cause search results to be ordered by how
they are listed in the database. Unless products are added to the database in a
very specific order, this will probaby seem random to the customer.
Once you have done this, click the ‘Submit Changes’ button.
Maximum Number of Search Results
Placing a maximum on the number of results that are returned for a search
keeps query time to a minimum. While they may not all appear on one page,
returning thousands of results for a search can be a lengthy process. Enter the
number that you would like to serve as a maximum in this field (i.e.: 100), and
click the ‘Submit Changes’ button.
Note: If this field is left blank or set to zero, then the maximum number of
search results allowed by PDG Commerce will be returned. This value is currently 5000. If this field is set to any number greater than 5000, a warning
page will appear indicating that the maximum number or search results has
been exceeded.
Note: If a search is requested by a customer on your web site, and the results
outnumber your maximum number of search results setting, the first results
will be displayed (up to the maximum number). An error message will also be
displayed indicating that too many results were returned by the search, and not
all results have been displayed.
Use Product Category Templates for Category Search Results Display
If you would like for your Product Category Store Builder templates to be
used every time a category is displayed by a search (even if you are not using
the “StoreBuilder” feature), you should check this box. Otherwise, the Search
Results Template entered in the Templates section of your Cart Administrator
will be used to display category searches that are not accessed through the
"StoreBuilder" feature. For instructions on entering the Product Category
Store Builder template for each category, please view the "Maintaining Products" chapter in this guide.
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Search Display Optimization
PDG Commerce allows you to select which product fields should be loaded
when customers conduct searches on your web site. Turning off fields you do
not want to display can improve the load time of your SearchResult.html
page.
Search Display Optmization Settings
Load Minimum Product Information
Selecting this option will load minimum searching information, which
includes the basic product information, such as product code, weight, pricing,
customer category pricing, etc. When using this option, user defined fields,
options, option locks, default options, cross sales, and up sales will not be
loaded before the search is conducted. This means that these fields will not be
available for display to the customer on your search results page. This option
is recommended for web sites that experience slow searching results due to a
very large product database or shortage of server resources.
Include User Defined Information
Checking this box will load the user defined field information with each product before the search is conducted. If these fields are not loaded, but you are
allowing searches of user defined fields, the fields will still be searched but no
information contained in the fields will be displayed. If you are not displaying user defined field information on your search results page, it is not necessary to check this box.
Include Option Information
Checking this box will load the product’s option information. This includes
all options set for the product, as well as any existing option locks and the
default option. If you are not displaying option information on your search
results page, it is not necessary to check this box.
Include Cross/Up Sale Information
Checking this box will load the product’s cross sales and up sales links. If you
are not displaying the cross sales links or the up sales links on your search
results page, it is not necessary to check this box.
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Load All Product Information
Selecting this option will load maximum searching information, which
includes all fields pertaining to a product. There is no need to use the minimum product information unless your web site experiences delays in search
result display. This option is selected by default, and is recommended for web
sites that do not experience slow searching results.
Allow Searches of User Defined Fields
In addition to searching keywords and one-line descriptions, PDG Commerce
allows you to make any of your User Defined Fields searchable. Simply place
a check mark in the box next to the names of the fields you wish PDG Commerce to perform searches in. Don’t forget to click ‘Submit Changes’ and
then, go to the main menu and click ‘Make Changes Live.’
In order to allow searches on the User Defined Fields, you must first create,
name and enable the User Defined Fields. For more information, see the
chapter on ‘Maintaining Products’ in this user guide.
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Chapter 24
Exporting the Order Log
Preparing your order log for export to a CSV file
P
DG Commerce offers you the ability to easily export your order log to a
universal format – the comma separated value (CSV) file. A CSV file is
basically a text version of a database that is often used for transporting
data between systems.
PDG Commerce can create two types of CSV files.
Standard CSV Order Log
For the first type of CSV, each order is contained in multiple lines in the file.
Each line stores a particular aspect of the order. Orders then repeat in the file,
one after the other. Each line, or ‘record,’ for the order is identified by the
first letter of the line. After the first character, the line has a number of elements, each separated by a delimiter.
This section details the structure of the CSV file that is created when PDG
Commerce is instructed to output the order log file in CSV format. Once created, you should be able to import the order log into any database or spreadsheet program that will accept a CSV file.
A typical CSV file might look like this:
A|"I00018"|"Wed Sep 01 13:09:17 2004"|208.60.106.132| |4.00|ITEM_DESC
F|"I00028"|"AAA"|"2004-09-14/14:16:28"
B|"I00018"|"John"|"Doe"|"[email protected]"|"123 Main
Street"|""|"Atlanta"|"GA"|"~US"|30084|"770 270 0062"|"Bill text info"
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24 -- Exporting the Order Log
P|"I00018"|"Credit"|"Offline"|"Visa"|4111-1111-1111-1111|11/00||||
X|"I00018"|"ShipCompany"|"PDG Soft Ship"
S|"I00018"|"Standard Shipping"|U030100|"John Doe"|"123 Main
Street"|""|"Atlanta"|"GA"|"~US"|30084|"770 270 0065"|"Ship text
info"|R|"PDG Software
I|"I00018"|"A0001"|"A0001"|"Small gadget"|1.000|0|0.00|0.00|0.00|$10.00|$10.00||||0.25||"Yellow"|"Attachment
($5.00 extra)"
I|"I00018"|"A0002"|"A0002"|"Huge Widget"|1.000|0|0.00|0.00|0.00|$25.85|$25.85||||20.00||"Green"|"Monogramming":"This is the monogram"
T|"I00018"|$35.85||7.750|$2.78|$4.50|$43.13||20.25
This output represents one order. Notice that there is one record designated as
A, one as F, one as B, one as P, one as X, one as S, two as I and one as T – for
a total of nine records, but only eight different types (there are two records
designated as I – each representing an item purchased in that order).
Note: Any data that is contained in a string will be surrounded by quotation
marks (" "). Any quotation marks that are in the order data will be prepended
with a backslash character. For instance, a listing for a 12 inch record might
look like this:
12\" Record
Relational CSV
The CSV order log has the option of making all of the individual records of
one specific order relate to each other. This is done by inserting the invoice
number of the order before the second element of each line. All lines with the
same invoice number relate to one order. You can turn this off in the “Order
Logging” settings of the Merchant Administrator.
Delimiters
In the above example, the pipe character ( | ) was designated as the delimiter.
A delimiter is a unique character that separates the data fields when the orders
are exported. PDG Commerce allows you to specify the delimiter – usually a
comma or a pipe character.
If a comma had been designated as the delimiter then a record would look
something like this:
A,"I00018","Wed Sep 01 13:09:17 2004",208.60.106.132,
,4.00,ITEM_DESC
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F,"I00028","AAA","2004-09-14/14:16:28"
B,"I00018","John","Doe","[email protected]","123 Main
Street","","Atlanta","GA","~US",30084,"770 270 0062","Bill text info"
and so on...
Each record in the file has a set number of fields. If there is no data provided
for that field, it is left blank – indicated by the presence of two delimiters with
nothing in between ( ,, or || ), or a delimiter with nothing following, like this
example: T|"$ 1365.30"||||"$ 45.24"|"$ 1410.54"||"69.00"|
Records
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, each order is comprised of seven different types of records, each one designated by a letter. Each record has a set
number of fields. Although PDG Commerce does not officially designate
each field with a number, we will for discussion purposes.
The A Record
The A record contains the invoice number, the date of the order and the IP
address from which the customer made the order. Note that the second field
of this record is always the invoice number, regardless of whether a relational
csv is being created or not.
Field 1: Record letter
Field 2: Invoice number
Field 3: Date and time of the order
Field 4: The customer’s IP address
Field 5: The customer category to which the customer belongs
Field 6: The Commerce version number
Field 7: Flag to determine if product descriptions will be displayed*
*This field will contain the text ITEM_DESC if product descriptions are to be
displayed. Otherwise it will be left blank.
The F Record
The F record contains the affiliate tracking information associated with the
order. The F record consists of only one field which contains the code of the
affiliate from which the shopper accessed your Web store.
Field 3: Affiliate code
Field 4: Date and time the customer came from the affiliate to your site
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The B Record
The B record contains the customer’s name and billing address information.
Field 3: Customer's first name
Field 4: Customer's last name
Field 5: Customer's e-mail address
Field 6: Customer's ‘bill to’ address 1
Field 7: Customer's ‘bill to’ address 2
Field 8: Customer's ‘bill to’ city
Field 9: Customer's ‘bill to’ state or province
Field 10: Customer's ‘bill to’ country
Field 11: Customer's ‘bill to’ ZIP or postal code
Field 12: Customer's billing phone (phone1 form input)
Field 13: Any text submitted for the ‘billtext’ form input
The P Record
The P record contains payment information. There are actually two types of P
records depending on whether the customer used a check or credit card as a
payment method.
The P record when a credit card is used:
Field 3: Method indicator – for credit cards, will contain the word “Credit”
Field 4: Authorization service used, or “Off-line” if a service was not used
Field 5: Card type (VISA, MasterCard etc.)
Field 6: Card number
Field 7: Card's expiration date
Field 8: Authorization service's reference code
Field 9: Authorization service's authorization code
Field 10: Amount actually authorized or captured
Field 11: AVS (address verification) code
Note that some authorization services may not necessarily provide information for fields 8, 9, 10, and 11. In this case, these fields would be empty.
Record P when a check is used:
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Field 3: Method indicator - for checks, will contain the word “Check”
Field 4: Bank name
Field 5: Payment identifier - check number or ACH number
Field 6: Checking account number
Field 7: Bank routing number
Record P when neither credit card nor check is used:
Field 2: Invoice number (skipped if not relational)
Field 3: Method indicator - field will be empty
The X Record
The X record contains any information “passed through” by PDG Commerce.
Field 3: The name of the pass through field
Field 4: Data collected by the pass through field
Fields 3 and 4 repeat for each pass through field
The S Record
The S record contains the customer’s name and shipping address information.
Field 3: The shipment method chosen
Field 4: Shipping method code (see below)
Field 5: Customer's full name
Field 6: Customer's ship to address 1
Field 7: Customer's ship to address 2
Field 8: Customer's ship to city
Field 9: Customer's ship to state or province
Field 10: Customer's ship to country
Field 11: Customer's ship to ZIP or postal code
Field 12: Customer's shipping phone (phone2 form input)
Field 13: Any text submitted for the ‘shiptext’ form input
Shipping Method Code
In field 4 of the S record, a shipping method code will appear. The first letter
of the code will be X if no real time shipping service was used, U if UPS was
used, and P if USPS was used.
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If a UPS shipping method is used, three additional two-digit codes will follow, in the format U[XX][YY][ZZ]. The available codes for the first two
digit number ([XX]) represent the delivery type, and are the following:
01: UPS Next Day Air
02: UPS 2nd Day Air
03: UPS Ground
07: UPS Worldwide Express SM
08: UPS Worldwide Expedited SM
11: UPS Standard To Canada
12: UPS 3 Day Select
13: UPS Next Day Saver
14: UPS Next Day Air Early A.M.
54: UPS Worldwide Express Plus SM
59: UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.
65: UPS Express Saver SM
99: Compare Rates
The available codes for the second two digit number ([YY]) represent the
pickup type, and are the following:
01: UPS Daily Pickup
03: UPS Customer Counter
06: UPS One Time Pickup
07: UPS On Call Pickup
19: UPS Letter Center
20: UPS Air Service Center
The avialable codes for the third two digit number ([ZZ]) represent the package type, and are the following:
00: Shipper Supplied Packaging to UPS
01: UPS Letter Envelope
02: Package
03: UPS Tube
04: UPS Pak
21: UPS Express Box
24: UPS 25 KG Box
25: UPS 10 KG Box
If a USPS shipping method is used, two additional codes will follow, in the
format P[code][package type]. The available letters for the first code ([code])
are the following:
code 'A': U.S.P.S. Express Mail
code 'B': U.S.P.S. Priority Mail
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code 'C': U.S.P.S. Parcel Mail
code 'D': U.S.P.S. Bound Printed Matter
code 'E': U.S.P.S. Library Mail
code 'F': U.S.P.S. Media Mail
code 'G': U.S.P.S. International Mail
code 'H': U.S.P.S. Rate Compare
The available keywords for the second code ([package type]) are as follows:
none: Shipper Supplied Packaging
0-1093: Box, 12.25 x 15.5 x
0-1094: Tube, 36 x 6
EP13A: Cardboard Envelope, 12.5 x 9.5
EP13C: Tyvek Envelope, 12.5 x 15.5
EP13F: Flat Rate Envelope, 12.5 x 9.5
0-1095: Box, 12.25 x 15.5 x 3
0-1096: Video, 8.25 x 5.25 x 1.5
0-1097: Box, 11.25 x 14 x 2.25
0-1098: Tube, 6 x 38
EP14: Tyvek Envelope, 12.5 x 15.5, 12.5 x 9.5
EP14F: Flat Rate Envelope, 12.5 x 9.5
pack: Package
post: Postcards or aerogrammes
mbln: Matter for the Blind
envl: Envelope
The I Record
The I record contains information about the product(s) being ordered. There
will be as many I records as there are items in each order.
Field 3: SKU #
Field 4: Full SKU #
Field 5: Item Description*
Field 6: Quantity
Field 7: Number Per Box
Field 8: Height
Field 9: Length
Field 10: Width
Field 11: Unit price (blank if Display Pricing is turned off)
Field 12: Extended price (unit price X quantity) (blank if Display Pricing is
turned off)
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Field 13: Price Category, if applicable
Field 14: Quantity Discount, if applicable
Field 15: Extended Quantity Discount (quantity discount X quantity)
Field 16: Unit Weight
Field 17: Option selection name (includes any Custom Text if collected)
*This field will be omitted if the flag in field 7 of the A record is not present.
There will be as many fields following Field 17 as there are options for the
item. For example, an item with “size” and “color” as options would cause an
extra option selection for the field after Field 17.
The T Record
The T record contains information about the order's total monetary value.
Field 3: Order's subtotal
Field 4: Order discount, if any
Field 5: Sales tax percentage
Field 6: Actual amount of tax applied
Field 7: Shipping and handling amount
Field 8: Order's total (blank if Display Pricing is turned off)
Field 9: Order's total with currency flux figured in (blank if Display Pricing
is turned off or if there is no Currency Flux defined in the Administrator)
Field 10: Order's total weight
Field 11: Order's total bonus points (frequent shopper points)
The D Record
The D record contains information about any product category discounts
applied to the order. There will be as many D records as there are product category discounts in the order.
Field 3: Description of customer category discount
Field 4: Number of items ordered to which this discount applies
Field 5: Price change of the items
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One-Line CSV Order Log
PDG Commerce can also create a ‘comma separated value’ order files that
can be directly imported into Excel, Stamps.com, and many other applications. These CSV files contain one complete order per line, instead of breaking the order up into several different lines.
To activate this, check “Create one line CSV file” in the “Order Settings”
of the Merchant Administrator.
The following list defines the which fields of the one line CSV file contain
what information:
General info section:
field #1
Invoice number
field #2
Date and time of transaction
field #3
IP address of customer
field #4
customer category of customer
Billing info section:
field #5
First name
field #6
Last name
field #7
E-mail address
field #8
Bill address1
field #9
Bill address2
field #10 Bill city
field #11 Bill state or province
field #12 Bill country
field #13 Bill zip or postal code
field #14 Bill phone number
field #15 Bill text
Payment info section:
field #16 Payment method (credit or check)
field #17 Description of method for credit - bank name for check
field #18 Card Type for credit - check number for check
field #19 Card Number for credit - bank account number for check
field #20 Card expiration date for credit - bank routing number for check
field #21 Authorization service reference number for credit - NBDSMerchant ID for check
field #22 Authorization service authorization code for credit - not used for
check
field #23 Authorization service amount charged for credit - not used for
check
field #24 Authorization service AVS code for credit - not used for check
Affliate info section:
field #25 Affiliate code
field #26 Affiliate expiration date and time
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Pass through elements section:
field #27 Pass-through name #1
field #28 Pass-through value #1
Shipping info section:
field #33 Shipping method
field #34 Ship to name/contact name
field #35 Ship to address1
field #36 Ship to address2
field #37 Ship to city
field #38 Ship to state or province
field #39 Ship to country
field #40 Ship to zip or postal code
field #41 Ship phone number
field #43 Ship text
Order info section:
field #43 Subtotal
field #44 Discount amount
field #45 Sales tax percentage
field #46 Sales tax amount
field #47 Shipping fees
field #48 For single currency Order Total - for multiple currencies pre-flux
order total
field #49 For single currency not used - for multiple currencies Order Total
field #50 Total weight
field #51 Total bonus points
Item info section (These will repeat for each item in the order.):
field #52 Item #1 full sku (key)
field #53 Item #1 quantity
field #54 Item #1 unit price
field #55 Item #1 extended price
field #56 Item #1 category description
field #57 Item #1 unit discount price
field #58 Item #1 extended discount price
field #59 Item #1 unit weight
field #60 Item #1 bonus points
field #61 Item #1 option #1 value or option #1 description:custom-text
string
(This will repeat for each option of the item.)
This will then repeat with with field #52 through field #61 for each item in the
order.
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field #62
field #63
field #64
Description of product category discount #1
Number of items for the discount
Amount of the discount
This will then repeat with with field #62 through field #64 for each category
in the order
Note that because the number of product options and items differ with each
order, the length of the CSV line created will vary. If you will be importing
this CSV file into an accounting application or spreadsheet, you must accommodate for the verying file lengths.
Example with '|' as csv seperator:
"Kin-00022"|"Fri Aug 24 15:51:12 2001"|100.10.100.10|"Joe"|"Sixpack"|"[email protected]"|"123 Main Street"|"Suite B"|"Smallville"|"PA"|"~US"|12345-4321|"Credit"|"Offline"|"Visa"|"4111 1111
1111 1111"|"08/01"|||||||"phone"|"(201) 555-1212"|||||"Ground Courier"|"Joe Sixpack"|"123 Main Street"|"Suite B"|"Smallville"|"PA"|"~US"|123454321|$10.00|||||$10.00||0.25||"A0001"|1.000|$5.00|$5.00||||0.25||"Blue"|"
Attachment ($5.00 extra)"
PDG Commerce’s remote logging program, ‘commercelog’, is also capable of
creating ‘comma separated value’ order logs as well as standard order logs. It
will log appropriate payment service information as well. If you have turned
off logging of credit card information in order logs in the Merchant Administrator, then ‘commercelog’ will not log this sensitive information.
PDG Accounting Accelerator
You can easily and quickly import orders placed from your PDG Commerce
program into Intuit’s QuickBooks.
Note: If you are using QuickBooks 2003 or 2004, you should download the
appropriate files for your version at http://www.pdgsoft.com/partners/quickbooks.htm.
Preparation
If you have a previous version of PDG Accounting Accelerator installed on
your computer, you will need to remove it before installing the new version.
From the “Start” menu, choose “Settings” and then “Control Panel.” In the
Control Panel, choose “Add/Remove Programs.” From the list that appears,
remove “Accounting Accelerator” and “QBFC3.0.”
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Installation
To install the PDG Accounting Accelerator, double-click the self-installing
archive. You must agree to the licensing terms to use the utility. Next you
need to choose which components to install. At a minimum, you need to
install the PDG Accounting Accelerator, and select either the QuickBooks
Foundation Classes for the U.S. version or the Canadian version. Optionally,
if you would like to run the PDG Accounting Accelerator on a separate
machine from your QuickBooks machine, you will need the Client Remote
Data Sharing (RDS) library on the machine with PDG Accounting Accelerator, and the Server RDS on the machine with QuickBooks.
Next choose a location to install. As the Accounting Accelerator nears the
end of the installation, it will begin to install the QBFC4.0 SDK file. The following image indicates that the QBFC4.0 SDK installation has begun.
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Once the QBFC4.0 SDK has been succesfully installed, click the ‘Finish’ button to return to the Accounting Accelerator installation still in progress.
Click the ‘Finish’ button in the Accounting Accelerator window once the
installation is complete to exit the application.
At this time, you need to set up QuickBooks to use the PDG Accounting
Accelerator.
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Setting Up QuickBooks for PDG Accounting
Accelerator
Before you can import orders into QuickBooks, you must first configure
QuickBooks to allow orders to be imported. Follow these steps to set up
QuickBooks:
Start up QuickBooks, and load the Company (Quickbooks data file) that will
receive the imported orders.
Switch to single-user mode (if not in this mode already). You can accomplish
this under the File menu.
In Single User mode, choose ‘Preferences’ from the ‘Edit’ menu. On the left
side of the preferences dialog box, scroll down and click ‘Sales Tax’. Select
the ‘Company Preferences’ tab along the top of the dialog box. Ensure that
‘Do You Charge Sales Tax’ is set to ‘Yes’. You will also need to select a
common sales tax on the lower half of the dialog box. You must include a
sales tax even if you do not charge tax. If you do not charge any tax, you
should select ‘0.0%’ as your tax charge. If you are charging tax to specific
locations, but not to all locations, you must enter the zero tax in addition to
any other taxes you charge. If you charge tax to all locations, you do not need
to enter a zero tax, but must enter all other taxes that you charge. All tax percentages included in the orders that are to be imported must have a corresponding tax configured in QuickBooks.
Note: A non-zero tax must have a Tax Vendor (such as Georgia Department
of Revenue) associated with it in your QuickBooks company file. A zero tax
does not charge tax and therefore does not need to have an associated Tax
Vendor.
Switch to multi-user mode. Make sure you are logged into QuickBooks with
Administrative permissions for the loaded Company data file. You can
switch to multi-user mode from the ‘File’ menu.
With QuickBooks running in multi-user mode, run PDG Accounting Accelerator. PDG Accounting Accelerator will take a moment to load, and then
detect QuickBooks running and attempt to establish a connection with it.
QuickBooks will report this attempted connection to you, and ask you if you
wish to grant access to the PDG Accounting Accelerator application. Grant
access by selecting ‘Yes, always.’
Once access has been granted, you can quit the PDG Accounting Accelerator,
or continue on and import sales into QuickBooks.
Once set up, you will not need to repeat this procedure. Also, once access has
been granted to PDG Accounting Accelerator, you will not have to have
QuickBooks running to import sales invoices.
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Importing Orders
Once installed and setup, you can use PDG Accounting Accelerator to quickly
import sales invoices, customers, and items sold into QuickBooks. Run the
PDG Accounting Accelerator. PDG Accounting Accelerator will display a
splash screen while it loads.
Once loaded, if QuickBooks is not running, you will be prompted to select the
QuickBooks data file into which invoices will be imported. Browse to the
file’s location (which is typically in the QuickBook’s installed directory,
which is by default C:\Program Files\Intuit\Quickbooks Pro). PDG Accounting Accelerator will then start QuickBooks in the background with the appropriate company.
If you have QuickBooks running, PDG Accounting Accelerator will assume
that you want to use the currently opened Company. If this is not the case,
close the company in QuickBooks, and reopen the appropriate company.
Once PDG Accounting Accelerator has established a connection with QuickBooks, it will prompt for the CSV file to import. At this time, you may configure options by clicking the ‘Options’ button.I
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Include IP address of customer on invoices / sales receipt
If you would like to import the IP address from which each order was placed,
check this box. The IP addresses will be imported into QuickBooks as comments in the invoices or sales receipts.
Remove category codes from skus
As the category codes are not included as part of the product sku numbers in
PDG Commerce, you should leave this box unchecked.
Convert skus to all lowercase characters
PDG Commerce order log files will save the product sku numbers in all capital characters. If your products have already been entered into QuickBooks in
all lowercase characters, check this box. The products will then be imported
in all lowercase characters to match your current items.
Sku to use for shipping lines
When orders are imported with a shipping cost, the shipping charge will be
added as an item. The item number will indicate the shipping method chosen
during checkout. If you would prefer that all shipping charges have the same
item name, enter that item name in this field.
Account to post orders to
If you need to have online orders posted to either the “Accounts Receivable”
or “Uncategorized Income” accounts in QuickBooks, you may select that
option in this field.
After you have set the appropriate options, click the ‘Browse’ button to locate
the CSV file and select it.
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Note: The CSV order file must be in relational ready format. If you are currently not using a relational ready file, you may switch this setting in the Merchant Administrator. If you switch the setting, you must either clear the
existing order log or create a new one.
PDG Accounting Accelerator will then proceed to import the sales invoices
and appropriate related information into QuickBooks. The status dialog box
will tell you what percent is complete, as well as which order it is currently
processing and what specific action it is taking.
During the import of the information, if the item already is defined in the
QuickBooks company file, then that item’s current description is used. If the
item has custom text with it, that specific text is appended to the product
description (up to a total of 4095 characters total for the description). If the
item is not defined in your QuickBooks company data file, then the item is
added, with a description of ‘Sku:Full Sku Number’. This description can
then be changed at any time within QuickBooks. Custom text and option values will be appended to this description. Any items added by PDG Accounting Accelerator will be added as non-inventory items.
Note: If the cancel button is clicked prior to the end of the process, the program will finish importing the information it is currently importing and stop
the import process after that.
If you are using an online authorization service and your field three for the ‘P’
record shows the company name, your orders will be imported as “Sales
Receipt to Print”. However, if the third field in the ‘P’ record is blank or the
order was purchased using an offline payment method, then your orders will
be imported as “Invoices to Print”.
Once the entire CSV file has been processed, the dialog box will contain any
errors that may have occurred. Press ‘Completed’ to complete the import process and close PDG Accounting Accelerator.
Note: Product Category Quantity Discounts available for use in PDG Commerce cannot be imported to QuickBooks at this time. These discounts will
be ignored during the importing process.
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Customizing Invoice Display
In order to be able to view your shipping information on your invoices, you
will need to customize your QuickBooks company file. To make this change,
you must view an invoice and follow these instructions:
•
•
From the invoice page, click the ‘Customize’ button for Templates.
•
•
In the Header tab, click the boxes for ‘Ship to’ under Screen and Print.
Click ‘New’. A window will open and prompt you to give this template a
name, such as CustomInvoice.
Save your changes, and your invoices will now display the shipping information.
Note: The above instructions on modifying templates within QuickBooks
were based on QB 2004 Pro version. If you have any further questions about
modifying these templates, you should seek further instructions with QuickBooks.
To display the primary phone number (phone1) on your invoice pages, you
should click the ‘Customize’ button for Templates, as in the above instructions. You should then click the ‘Edit’ button, and follow the instructions on
screen to add the phone1 field to your invoice. You will need to move the
field on your invoice to wherever you would like for it to be displayed.
Below is an example of how you may configure your invoice display:
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Importing PDG Orders Into UPS Worldship
PDG Software is proud to offer you the ability to easily and quickly batch
import shipment information collected by your PDG Commerce into UPS
Worldship. With this quick import in place, you can take all the orders from
your web site for a given day, and import them directly into Worldship. They
will not have to be entered by hand. Once this is done, Worldship can generate your labels and End Of Day report for you, making shipping orders completed on your PDG enabled web site via UPS effortless.
Note: WorldShip offers many importing options. However, to use the PDG
WorldShip utility, it is required that you have Microsoft Access installed on
the computer on which you will be importing your WorldShip orders and that
you save your PDG orders as a relational-ready CSV file.
Overview of Importing Process
Orders placed on your PDG Commerce web site are imported into Worldship
via “PDG_Sales_Reports.mdb” Microsoft Access database, available for
download at http://www.pdgsoft.com/msg/WorldShip_Import.zip. For the
purpose of this manual, the “PDG_Sales_Reports.mdb” file will be refered to
as the PDG Sales Reports Access file.
The process of importing shipments into Worldship is completed in three
steps:
•
•
•
First retrieve the comma-separated value file (CSV file) that contains
the orders. You should download this file in ascii format from your
server.
Secondly, import the CSV file into the PDG Sales Reports Access
file. This Access file contains specific queries and tables needed by
the Worldship import process. You need to be certain that changes
made during the import have been saved. Close the PDG Sales
Reports Access file.
Finally, you will start Worldship and instruct it to import and process
orders from the PDG Sales Reports Access file. Once the orders are
imported into Worldship, they can be processed and handled by a
batch process or on an individual basis.
Overview of Setting Up the Import Process
There are two steps to setting up the process to import orders taken from PDG
Commerce into UPS Worldship:
•
•
First, a Data Source Name must be set up. This DSN tells the Worldship application how to communicate with the PDG Sales Reports
Access file that will contain your orders.
The second step is to setup the mapping file that instructs Worldship
how to import data from the PDG Sales Reports Access file.
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Setting up the Data Source Name
First you need to set up a specific Data Source Name. This DSN will allow
Worldship to communicate with the PDG Sales Reports Access file.
For Windows 2000 and XP users, set up a DSN by opening your Control
Panel, then select “Administrative Tools” and then select “Data Sources”.
Windows 98 users can reach this by selecting “Data Sources” directly from
their Control Panel. Make sure the “System DSN” tab is selected and click
“Add”. Select the driver labeled “Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)”
A new box titled “ODBC Microsoft Access Setup” will be displayed. For the
field labeled “Data Source Name,” enter “PDG2Worldship”. Enter it as displayed - spelling and capitalization are important, as this DSN is specifically
used by the Worldship mapping file.
Next, in the area labelled ‘Database’, press the ‘Select’ button. In the next
dialog box, browse to and select the PDG Sales Reports Access file. Select
‘OK. The “PDG2Worldship” DSN should now be listed in your Data Source
Name, and should now be set up properly.
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Installing the Worldship Mapping file
Installing the mapping file requires copying “PDG2Worldship.dat” to the
proper Worldship directory. Worldship is typically installed in a folder named
“UPS”. Inside that there is a subfolder named “UOWS”. Inside this folder
there is a subfolder named “ImpExp.” Finally inside this folder there is a subfolder named “Shipment.” Copy the “PDG2Worldship.dat” file into the
“Shipment” folder.
You should confirm the mapping is properly in place now. Start your Worldship application. Under the “UPS OnLine Connect” menu, select “Create /
Edit Map...” A dialog box will display, which lists all of the current maps.
Verify there is a line with a red arrow pointing left (indicating an import map),
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that has a map name of “PDG2Worldship”, a map type of “Shipment”, and a
Map ODBC DSN of “PDG2Worldship”.
Highlight that line in the list and click ‘Edit.’ An “Edit Map” dialog will be
displayed. The bottom of this dialog box is labeled “What You Have Mapped
So Far.” Verify this list is not empty.
If the list is not empty, then everything is set up properly. If it is empty, double check that the DSN is setup exactly as described, and that the map file is
copied into the proper location. Omitting either of these steps will result in
either the “What You Have Mapped So Far.” list being empty, or the Map not
being listed.
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Importing the Order CSV
Now that everything is setup, you can import the order CSV files from your
PDG Commerce into Worldship. To do this, first download the order.csv file
in ascii format from your website, using FTP or other similar application.
Now run the PDG Sales Reports Access file. From the main form, select
“Automatically import order.csv”. Then browse to and select your
“order.csv” file. You can verify that the orders have been imported by looking
at various reports, or looking at the “Order2” table - which will contain all the
raw data from the csv file.
Once the orders have been imported, you need to enter in the Shipping
Method mappings, which allow the PDG Sales Reports Access file to convert
your PDG Commerce shipping methods into properly formated UPS Worldship data. From the PDG Sales Reports Access file’s main menu, select
“Modify PDG Shipping Method to UPS Service Mappings”.
You will need a Mapping for each of your defined shipping methods in your
web store. This dialog box displays one Mapping at a time, and you can scroll
through the Mappings with the little arrows at the bottom of the dialog box.
For each Mapping, provide the following data:
Shipping Method: Select the shipping method of your PDG Commerce web
store to be mapped. For example, your web store may have a shipping
method named “Ground USA Only”.
UPS Service: Select the UPS service that corresponds to the shipping method.
To continue with our example, customers that have placed orders on your web
store selecting “Ground USA Only” will have their items shipped to them via
Ground service.
Billing Method: Select the billing method to be entered into Worldship for
the selected shipping method. This will probably be “Prepaid” but other valid
Worldship entries are presented to you. For our example, we will use “Prepaid”.
Package Type: Select the package type to be entered into Worldship for the
selected shipping method. This will probably be “Package” but other valid
Worldship entries are presented to you. For our example, we will use “Package”.
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Here is our UPS Service Mapping for the above example:
Importing the Shipments into Worldship
Once the orders have been imported, you can now run Worldship, and perform the appropriate kind of batch import, either a batch import or a keyed
import. For information on these, you can refer to the UPS Worldship helpfile and documentation.
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Chapter 25
Configuring Order Discounting
Offer order discounts to your customers
A
s a merchant, you probably agree that running a sale or discounting orders
is a great way to increase business. It can also help you clear slow selling
stock and remain competitive with other merchants who run sales from
time to time.
It's one thing to tell a customer that the discount will be reflected on his or her
charge card statement, but it's quite another to have the mechanism in place to
discount orders in real-time so that an order placed online reflects the discounted amount at the point of checkout.
In order to configure automatic discounts for your Web store, go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the ‘Order Discounting’ link. By
establishing discount tiers in this section, a customer's order will automatically be discounted by the appropriate amount (based on the order's subtotal)
at the time of checkout. Of course, this is not the only area in which you can
invoke discounting strategies with PDG Commerce.
Pricing Category Discounting
You may set up a customer category that requires a registration code (please
see the chapter entitled "Customer Maintenance" in this guide for further
information on creating customer categories). This category should be configured with the discounts you wish to offer.
This feature allows you to create a coupon code for sale pricing. You may
send a promotional email to your preferred customers containing a link to
your web site. This link includes the appropriate coupon code, so accessing
your web site via this link will automatically apply the code to the customer.
The link used will temporarily move the customer to the category containing
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25 -- Configuring Order Discounting
the discount. After the customer places an order using the discount, he will
automatically be returned to his original customer category.
A customer may only exist in one customer category at a time, so only the
coupon category discount will be applied to each order using this code. The
customer's usual customer category discounts will not be applied.
Note: The coupon category discount cannot be configured for Gift Certificates
as they are not considered a product category.
To create the coupon link, you will call the redirect executable. On a Windows server, the file will be called Redirect.exe. On a UNIX server, the file
will be called redirect.cgi or just redirect. You must also include the coupon
code specified as the customer category's registration code. You must also
include a goto link, which points to a specific page on your web site. Consider the following example:
http://www.mywebstore.com/cgi-bin/redirect?code=12345&goto=/salepage.html
In this example, the coupon customer category code is 12345, and the goto
link takes the customer to the page salepage.html on your site.
Order Subtotal Discounting
From the Merchant Administrator’s Main Menu, click on “Order Discounting.” The “Order Discounting Configuration” page is displayed, showing all
of your discounting by subtotal rules, on a per customer category basis. On
this page, there will be a table for each customer category. In each table, the
subtotal discount rules for that customer categorey are listed. Each rule has a
minimum subtotal, a maximum subtotal, and a price change amount. If a dash
appears in the maximum field, this indicates that the rule applies for the the
minimum subtotal and above.
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Order Subtotal Discount Tables
changes increase the total, negative valued price changes decrease the total.
So if you want to have a discount that decreases the total, enter a negative valued price change.
For each customer category’s discount table listed, you can modify the discount rule list, or clear it out entirely. To modify a specific discount table,
click its appropriate “Edit Discount Table.” This will bring up a “Quantity
Discount Table” page for the specified customer category. This page is discussed below in more detail.
Edit Discount Table
Each table has an “Edit Discount Table” link. If you would like to add,
remove, or modify the rules for a specific table, then click this link. This will
bring up the “Subtotal Discount Table” page, which is discussed in detail
below.
Remove Discount Table
You can remove a discount table for a specific customer category entirely by
clicking on its “Remove” link. The deletion is permanent and cannot be
retrieved.
Copy All Discounts
You can copy the entire subtotal discounting table for one customer category
to all other customer categories. This will overwrite your existing subtotal
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discounting rules for those other customer categories. To do this, select the
source customer category in the pull-down menu box in the line “Copy
[source customer category] to ALL other subtotal discounts.” Then click
“Copy Selected Subtotal Discount To All Other Subtotal Discounts.”
Copy Selected Discount
You can have the subtotal discounting rules that apply for one customer category apply to another customer category as well, without affecting the rest of
the customer categories. To do this, find the part of the page that says “Copy
from [source customer category] subtotal discount to [destination customer
category].” For the “source customer category,” choose the customer category whose subtotal discounts you want to copy. For the “destination customer category,” choose the customer category to whom you want the subtotal
discounting rules applied. Finally press “Copy Selected Subtotal Discount
Table.” The subtotal discounting rules for the first customer category will be
copied to the second customer category, and any existing rules for the second
customer category are overwritten.
Subtotal Discount Table
This page displays all the subtotal discounting rules for the specified customer
category. Each rule is displayed on one row, and each rule has three components. There is a minimum subtotal, a maximum subtotal, and a subtotal
change. The price subtotal can be positive, to increase the total, or negative,
to decrease the total. The price change can also be an absolute amount or a
percentage. If the subtotal change is a percentage, it will be calculated as a
percent of the subtotal.
Subtotal Discount Table for One Customer Category
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To modify rules, change them as you need and press “Update Discount
Table.” If PDG Commerce encounters an error in updating the rules (such as
a minimum subtotal being greater than a maximum subtotal for a rule), then
you will be notified and allowed to correct it.
changes increase the total, negative valued price changes decrease the total.
So if you want to have a discount that decreases the subtotal, enter a negative
When modifying the discounting rules, any blank table rows are skipped. If
you need to delete rows, just blank them out and PDG Commerce will remove
the blank lines when you click “Update Discount Table.”
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Chapter 26
International Settings
Special settings to allow your web store to operate in an international environment
T
his chapter discusses international settings with PDG Commerce, such as
currency fluctuations and conversion factors. In order to configure these
settings, go to the Merchant Administrator’s main menu and click the
‘International Settings’ link.
PDG Commerce’s International Settings Page
After you have completed these settings, or at any time that you adjust any or
all of these settings, be sure to click the ‘Submit Changes’ button. To implement these settings on your Web store, you must click the ‘Make Changes
Live’ button on the Merchant Administrator's main menu.
Currency Accepted
From the available options, select which will be the primary currency
accepted at your Web store. This will be used for all of your product pricing
and shipping charges, so generally you want to select the currency for the
country in which you reside.
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26 -- International Settings
Secondary Currency
If your Web shop will accept a secondary currency, indicate it here. If you
will be using a secondary currency, you will need to create a “currency.txt”
file in your ‘PDG_Commerce’ directory. Contact PDG at http://support.pdgsoft.com for more information on this file.
If you want the secondary currency to be calculated on your product’s Item
pages, you need to alter the ‘FormatEuro’ JavaScript used on the SampleItem.html template file. If your secondary currency is Euros, you do not need
to make any changes. If you are using a different secondary currency, open
your AddItem template in an HTML editor. Find the end of the ‘FormatEuro’
JavaScript, which reads as follows:
valStr = "" + valInt + "." + valFracStr + " EU";
Change the value “ EU” to the label of the currency you will be displaying as
your secondary value.
Secondary Currency Conversion Factor
In this field, enter the number that you need to multiply your primary currency
by in order to get your secondary currency value. For instance, suppose your
primary currency is British Pounds and your secondary currency is US Dollars. Checking a recent conversion, you see that there are about 1.43656 US
Dollars per British Pound. So you would enter ‘1.43656’ in the field provided.
To see how this works, suppose your American customer wants to buy an item
that costs 15 British Pounds. Using the conversion factor provided you would
need to collect: (15 BP) * (1.43656) or 21.55 USD.
Percentage of Final Total Added to Order to
Cover Currency Fluctuations
This field tells PDG Commerce to charge an additional percentage of an
order's post-tax total. This is helpful for those merchants who accept payments in non-local currencies and convert the monies themselves. It is
designed to cover any fluctuation in the currency conversion rate that may
occur between the time of purchase and the time that the currency conversion
factor was obtained. The “currency flux charge” is added at the end of an
order's calculation and appears at the bottom of the order below the final total.
If your Web store does not accept payments in non-local currencies, then you
should leave this field blank, or set to zero.
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Default Country selected when entering customer information
Assuming that most of your customers will be from your Web store’s native
land, you would select the country code that corresponds to your home country from the available drop-down menu. Otherwise, select the country where
you anticipate most of your business comes from.
Countries Selection Configuration
The country list that is displayed for the ship-to and bill-to addresses on the
CheckOut template is customizable from within the Merchant Administrator.
To modify the country list, enter the ‘International’ section of the Administrator. Scroll down to the section entitled ‘Countries Selection Configuration’.
Countries Selection Configuration
There are four configuration commands available. The first one allows you to
set your country list to those serviced by a particular shipping company. So,
for example, to set your country list to contain all countries to which UPS
ships, check ‘Select UPS Countries’ and then select “Set Country List
Based On Service’.
The second configuration command, ‘Edit Country List’, allows you to manually modify your country list. Selecting this command brings up a partial list
of all countries recognized by PDG Commerce. You can use the links at the
top of the page to modify different portions of the country list. For each country, you may enter a display name for the appropriate country. If you leave the
field next to a specific country blank, then that country will not be available
for selection by the customer. If there is a ‘U’ next to the country, then that is
a country to which UPS ships. If there is a ‘P’ next to the country, then that is
a country to which USPS ships. Please realize that certain entries may have
only ‘P’ next to them, while UPS may still ship to that destination. This
occurs primarily in countries where USPS requires that the ‘country’ field be
a specific entity within that country, while UPS does not. For example, USPS
may require that packages destine for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
be indicated with ‘Abu Dhabi’ as the country. UPS would need only ‘United
Arab Emirates’.
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Partial Country List
The third configuration command reloads the country list with the default setting, which is to display all countries available for selection from PDG Commerce.
The fourth configuration command will clear the entire list so that no countries will be displayed. This can be useful if you are only allowing shipping to
a select few countries. You would clear the list, then manually edit the list to
display only the select countries to which you will ship.
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Chapter 27
Working with Zones
Complete flexibility over shipping and sales tax rules
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DG Commerce has the ability to create and configure zones. Zones work
like zip codes, in that they cover a certain variable geographical region.
However, the zones in PDG Commerce can be customized to be as broad
or as narrow as you like.
Zones can be used to determine sales tax or shipping costs for your customers.
To begin configuring your zones, go to your Merchant Administrator’s main
menu and click the ‘Configure Zones’ link. The page that should now be displayed is divided into two sections: ‘Zone Options’ and ‘Zone Actions.’
Zones Configuration Page
Zone Options
This is where you configure the general settings for PDG Commece to use for
the zones you create. In the first field, ‘Zones File:,’ type in the name of the
file that will hold all of the zones’ information for use with your Web store.
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27 -- Working With Zones
PDG Commece will create this file once you begin configuring your zones.
All file locations are assumed to be relative to the ‘PDG_Commece’ directory,
unless a full URL is specified.
The next two fields are simple check boxes that determine what functionality
the zones will carry with them. Check ‘Use zones for tax rules’ if you would
like to use zones to determine how much sales tax should be charged with
each order. Check ‘Use zones for shipping rules’ if you would like PDG
Commece to use zones to calculate the cost of shipping for your customers.
Note: Simply checking these boxes to enable zones for shipping rules or sales
tax rules does not complete this process. You will need to create zones and,
likewise, create shipping or tax rules that use those zones.
If you have made any changes to the Zone Options, please click the ‘Submit
Changes’ button. Now that we know how PDG Commece can use the zones,
let’s go to the next section, ‘Zone Actions,’ and create a few zones of our own.
Zone Actions
This is the section where you can add a zone, as well as delete and edit any
existing zones for your Web store. You should see two fields in this section:
‘Select a Zone’ and ‘Add a Zone.’ Let’s begin by adding a new zone to your
Web store’s settings.
Add a Zone
To add a new zone to your store’s profile, simply type the name of the zone
(i.e. ‘Canada,’ ‘postal code of 90210,’ etc.) in the text field provided, and click
‘Add.’ Please note that a zone name may not contain the percent (%) sign.
Once you have added a zone, you must configure this new zone. This can be
done utilizing the other field in this section.
Select a Zone
Just to the left of the ‘Add a Zone’ field is the ‘Select a Zone’ field. This consists of a drop-down menu which contains a listing of all of the available
zones for your Web store. There are also two “action” buttons below the
drop-down menu: ‘Edit’ and Delete.’ From this drop-down menu, select the
name of the zone that you would like to work with.
With the desired zone selected, you have two options as indicated by the buttons. Click ‘Delete’ to delete the selected zone, or click ‘Edit’ to configure the
parameters for the selected zone. Clicking the ‘Delete’ button will remove the
zone from your Web store’s configuration. Let’s now concentrate on editing
some existing zones.
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Editing Zones
If you clicked the ‘Edit’ button in the PDG Commece Zones Configuration
page, the Zone Definition page appears.
PDG Commerce Zone Definition Page with Partially Created Zone
About halfway down the page, on the left-hand side, you should see the name
of the zone you have chosen to edit. In the above example, you can see we are
editing the zone, ‘my home town.’ Below this is where the zone editing takes
place.
The editing part of this page consists of a single form with two main areas:
the first is the zone criteria; the second is where you can add rules to the zone
criteria. Let’s first look at how to add rules to the Zone Criteria.
Adding Zone Criteria
This section deals with the bottom row of the Zone Definition page, ‘Add to
Zone Criteria Below.’ The Zone Criteria is what determines the rules for the
selected zone. There are 10 fields of selectable criteria that determine the
zones for PDG Commece:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Billing Postal Code
Billing State/Province
Billing Text
Billing City
Billing Country
Shipping Postal Code
Shipping State/Province
Shipping Text
Shipping City
Shipping Country
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This data is provided by the customer at the time of checkout, hence the field
is named ‘Customer Criteria.’ This information is scanned by PDG Commece
to check for compliance to zone rules.
In order to know what it is scanning for, PDG Commece requires some input
from you, the merchant. Once you have selected a field to search, enter what
you want it to search for when determining zones in the ‘Value to Match’
field. If you have selected a country or state/province as the Customer Info., a
window with a drop-down menu appears. Select your ‘Value to Match’ from
the list of available country and state entries.
Finally, to add a rule, you must assign one of three conditions to the ‘Value to
Match’ criterion:
•
•
•
Must Have
Including
Excluding.
Once you have entered your criteria in the three fields, click the ‘Submit
Changes’ button.
Example: Suppose you want to set up a shipping schedule for states on the
west coast, but you want to give customers in your hometown of Los Angeles
free shipping. Your zone, “West Coast,” might have the following settings:
Customer Info.
Condition
Value to Match
Shipping Country
Must Have
United States
Shipping
Including
California
Including
Oregon
Including
Washington
Excluding
Los Angeles
State/Province
Shipping
State/Province
Shipping
State/Province
Shipping City
For this zone to be applied, the customer must be shipping to the U.S., either
to California, Oregon, or Washington. You would probably create another
zone called “L.A.” where:
Shipping City
Must Have
Los Angeles
This would be how you would eliminate Los Angeles from any shipping costs
attributed by the ‘West Coast’ zone.
Removing Zone Criteria
This section deals with the top row of the Zone Definition page, where the
actual zone criteria is displayed. Here you have three lists, each listing values
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for one of the three possible conditions: ‘Must Have,’ ‘Including’ and
‘Excluding.’ Beside each of these values is a link labeled ‘Remove.’
If there is a value that you would like to delete from the selected zone, simply
click “Remove.” When the page reloads, you will notice that the selected
zone rule has been removed from the list. Remember to click the ‘Make
Changes Live’ link on your Merchant Administrator’s main menu to make
your adjustments take effect.
A word or two about implementing your configuration settings...
Throughout this chapter, you have been reminded to click the ‘Make Changes
Live’ button on the Merchant Administrator's main menu in order to implement your settings or changes to them. This is not meant to imply that you
must return to the main menu and click this button each time you complete a
section of settings or changes.
Constant navigation back and forth to the main menu from the settings pages
can be cumbersome. Keep in mind that it is possible to go from section to
section or page to page making changes and adjustments, and then click the
‘Make Changes Live’ button on the main menu to implement all of the
changes “live” at once. Your zone configuration settings will not affect your
Web store until you click the ‘Make Changes Live’ button on your Administrator’s main menu.
Further, if you make changes to settings and then leave the Merchant Administrator without implementing them, the next time you return, the changes will
still be in place but, the status message at the top of the pages will indicate that
the settings are “not live.”
Of course, if you make any number of changes and then decide to discard
them, you can do so by clicking “Discard Changes” on the main menu. This
action will produce a confirmation screen. Once you have confirmed that you
want to discard the changes, the Administrator clears all changes since the last
time you clicked “Make Changes Live” – you do not have the ability to pick
and choose which changes to discard.
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Chapter 28
Affiliate Tracking
PDG Commerce's affiliate tracking feature allows you to track orders generated
by other Web stores who sell your products – your affiliates
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DG Commerce's affiliate tracking feature makes use of the “redirect” executable and facilitates the setting of a cookie within the shopper's browser.
This cookie contains the unique “code” of the referring affiliate, along
with the date of the referral, and follows the shopper through the shopping
process in a store powered by PDG Commerce. Upon checkout, the affiliate
code is passed to you, the merchant, in the vendor notification e-mail and in
the order logs and in the database. This affiliate reference does not appear on
the customer's notification e-mail.
This allows you, as an Internet merchant, to extend some credit or reward to
those Web sites which refer customers who ultimately purchase goods and
services from your Web store. In the world of Internet commerce, these other
Web sites are generally referred to as “affiliates.” As long as your Web store
is powered by PDG Commerce, it doesn’t matter if your affiliates’ Web stores
are or not.
Implementing Affiliate Tracking
Implementing the affiliate tracking program with the redirect executable is
easy. If you have not already done so, install the redirect executable into your
Web store's CGI directory on its host server. This is the same CGI directory
which contains your existing PDG Commerce executables. Remember, if you
are uploading this executable via FTP, you must transfer it in “binary” mode.
Also, remember to set the permissions for this executable to be the same as
the permissions for the existing PDG Commerce executables.
Note: The executables must contain the proper file extension for your Web
server’s platform. This information can be obtained from your Web host.
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28 -- Affiliate Tracking
The next step involves your affiliate's Web site. Somewhere on their site, they
should place a “link” to your site. This link can be in the form of an image or
text and should contain the following coded hyperlink:
http://www.[yourwebstore].com/[CGI directory]/redirect?goto=/
&code=[code]
[yourwebstore] – replace this reference with the domain name of YOUR Web
store, not your affiliate's.
[CGI directory] – replace this reference with the name of the CGI directory
where your existing CGI executables reside. This may be “cgi-bin,” “cgibin,”
“cgi-local” or some other variation.
[code] – replace this reference with the code that YOU have assigned to that
affiliate.
L
If you are using PDG Commerce for Windows 2000/NT, then you
should make sure the ‘redirect’ executable contains the “.exe” file
extension.
This link, as described above, would take the customer to your Web store’s
home page. However, you can choose to have your affiliates refer customers
to a specific page. To do so, insert that page's name after the “/” which
appears between “=” and “&.” For example, to refer a shopper to a
“store.html” page, simply create the link to read:
<a href="http://www.[yourwebstore].com/cgi-bin/redirect?goto=/
store.html&code=[code]">Visit store</a>
Consider this example for the following scenario: Your Web store is
www.shoes.com. Your affiliate, www.mensties.com is assigned a code of
A111 and will direct shoppers to the “accessories.htm” page on your store.
So, www.mensties.com will create a link to your store from their store using
the following link:
<a href="http://www.shoes.com/cgi-bin/redirect?goto=/
accessories.htm&code=A111">Shop for shoes</a>
Additionally, you can invoke any of PDG Commerce's actions, such as PreAdd or Search, when directing a customer to a site using the Affiliate link. As
a result, the link would take the shopper to a page that displays the results of a
specified Commerce action. To do this, you would replace the “/accessories.htm” portion of the Affiliate link (shown in the example above) with the
appropriate reference to the actions and any corresponding identifiers such as
a product code or keywords.
Example: For an affiliate's link that would send shoppers directly to a PreAdd page detailing a particular product, you would use a link like:
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<a href="http://www.shoes.com/cgi-bin/redirect?goto=/cgi-bin/
commerce?preadd%3daction%26key%3d**&code=A111">See shoes</a>
In this example, “PreAdd” is the action and the identifier is “**” – your Web
store’s product code of the product you want displayed in PreAdd mode (you
will need to replace the asterisks with the actual code of course). Note the use
of the percent sign followed by the number 26 (%26) after the word “action”
and the use of the percent sign followed by the number 3 and the letter d
(%3d) after the words “preadd” and “key.” These are HTML codes that represent a “&” and “=” respectively and are necessary so that the browser does not
interpret these as a “separator” between instructions, because they are not.
Likewise, you can also invoke the search function during a redirect call using
the affiliate's link. The link would look something like this:
<a href="http://www.shoes.com/cgi-bin/redirect?goto=/cgi-bin/
commerce?search%3daction%26keywords%3d**&code=A111">Search
shoes </a>
In this example, you would replace the asterisks with the actual keyword(s)
you want to be used for the search that will take place during the redirection.
Keywords should be separated by the plus sign (+) with no spaces in between.
There are a few limitations on the code that you assign to the affiliate:
•
•
•
There should be NO SPACES within the code
Try to keep your code under 20 characters
Do not use quotation marks (“ ”)(‘ ’) in your code
Third-Party Affiliate Tracking
PDG Commerce allows you to use a third-party affiliate tracking program.
These services and software packages keep track of how many referrals are
made to your Web store and whether those referrals resulted in sales or not.
You must first create an account or relationship with one of these companies
before you attempt to use their affiliate tracking service.
There is a list of compatible affiliate tracking programs available at http://
www.pdgsoft.com.
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Chapter 29
Embedding PDG Commerce
Integrating PDG Commerce into your Web site using "calls"
I
n order for PDG Commerce to function properly within your Web store,
you need to insert “calls” on various pages. In simple terms, a “call” is a
button or hyperlink that, when clicked, tells PDG Commerce to take some
action: i.e. to display the contents of the cart, create a catalog page for a product and begin the ordering process, or any of PDG Commerce’s other actions.
For example, in most Web stores, you will find buttons or links labeled ‘View
My Cart.’ Clicking one of these buttons or links will display your cart contents. This is similar to viewing the items you have placed in your basket at
the supermarket.
Likewise, the same Web store may also contain buttons or links labeled
‘Order’ or ‘Add to Shopping Cart.’ These are usually located near each item
offered for sale. In some cases, the link may be the item's thumbnail image
itself. In either case, they take the customer to the first step in the ordering
process – the catalog or ‘Add Item’ page. In both examples, these buttons or
text links contain the “calls” which invoke some action from PDG Commerce.
When creating these calls, there are two possible methods for invoking the
PDG Commerce from your Web store. While some Web designers prefer to
use HTML ‘form’ elements, others choose to create a simple anchor tag with
the “href” (hyperlink reference) programmed as a link to the URL of PDG
Commerce's executable file. In both cases, the end result is a “call” to PDG
Commerce.
This guide assumes that you understand CGI programs and have a working
knowledge of HTML “form” and “href” tags. If you can code simple HTML
you should be able to embed PDG Commerce into your Web site.
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29 -- Embedding PDG Commerce
Note: If you are using Macromedia Dreamweaver or UltraDev, Microsoft
FrontPage, or NetObjects Fusion, you can download the PDG component to
help you automate this process rather than writing the code yourself. These
components are available from PDG Software’s web site.
For more detailed information on customizing your HTML Templates –
including all of the PDG Commerce actions and template tags – see the PDG
Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
Calling PDG Commerce with HTML Forms
All forms use the “form” tag in HTML pages:
<form method="[some CGI method]" action="[some CGI program]">
[form inputs and other text...]
</form>
Note: There are two methods: GET or POST. You may use either – PDG
Commerce recognizes both.
The ‘action’ is the complete URL to the PDG Commerce executable, either
“commerce” or “commerce.cgi” for UNIX systems or “commerce.exe” for
Windows 2000/NT systems. An example of a call to PDG Commerce on
Windows 2000 server might be:
<form method="post" action="http://www.[yourwebstore].com/cgi-bin/
commerce.exe">
[form inputs and other text...]
</form>
It is important that you use the proper file extension for your Web server’s
operating system. Also, your Web server’s CGI directory may not be called
‘cgi-bin.’ These settings can be verified by your Web host.
An example of calling each action with an HTML form is provided with each
action description below
Calling PDG Commerce with Hypertext References
In addition to using forms to call PDG Commerce, you also have the option of
using a standard HTML hypertext reference tag, or “href.”
<a href="http://www.[yourstore].com/cgi-bin/commerce?[some
action]=action">Linking Text</a>
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The ‘Linking Text’ would then be what the customer would click to call the
Commerce. The Cart knows what action to perform from the name that is
passed as [some action]. It is imperative that the name of the action that you
pass with the hypertext reference comes before the equal sign (=).
<a href="http://www.yourwebstore.com/cgi-bin/
commerce?display=action">Display Your Cart</a>
Whenever you insert a call to PDG Commerce in your Web store, it is important that you use the proper file extension for your Web server’s operating system. Also, your Web server’s CGI directory may not be called ‘cgi-bin.’
These settings can be verified by your Web host.
An example of calling each action with a hypertext reference is provided with
each action description below
PDG Commerce Storebuilder
With PDG Commerce, you can place one link in your website - a ‘storebuilder’ link. Using this link and the PDG Commerce templates, you would
not have to add any other links to your web site. The first link would list your
store’s product categories, and offer search functionality. From there customers can browse categories and select products and purchase, and all pages and
links are generated by PDG Commerce.
An example link for the ‘storebuilder’ page would be:
<a href=”http://www.yourwebstore.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?listcategories=action”> Enter the Store <a>
Whenever you insert a call to PDG Commerce in your Web store, it is important that you use the proper file extension for your Web server’s operating system. Also, your Web server’s CGI directory may not be called ‘cgi-bin.’
These settings can be verified by your Web host.
This will result in your product categories being listed. From there until the
end of purchase, PDG Commerce can take care of all the links. All you would
need to do is customize the templates.
PDG Commerce Actions
For the rest of this chapter, the term action refers to PDG Commerce actions,
not the use of the word “action” within the HTML “form” tag.
A PDG Commerce action tells the software what function it needs to perform
when it is called. Four actions are important when embedding PDG ComPDG Commerce -- User Guide
319
merce into your Web site relating to the customer’s cart. They are the PreAdd
action, the MultiPreAdd action, the Display action, and the Checkout action.
There are other internal actions (such as Remove and Recalculate), but you
will not need to use these explicitly.
Note: PDG Commerce comes pre-packaged with basic HTML templates for
your Web store. These templates contain the tags and calls necessary for displaying products, customers’ shopping carts, and other information pertinent
to the shopping process. While these functions are included in the standard
templates, you will still need to embed PDG Commerce in your Web store’s
static pages in order to initiate the buying process.
PDG Commerce knows which action to perform by the “name” of the “submit” button for the form. For instance, if you wanted to call PDG Commerce
and tell it to display the current cart, you would use the following submit button:
<form method="post" action="http://www.[yourwebstore].com/cgi-bin/
commerce">
<input type="submit" name="display" value="View Cart">
</form>
Since PDG Commerce supports the GET method, you can also call PDG
Commerce without using a form at all. Simply use an anchor tag with the
“href” pointing to the URL of PDG Commerce's executable file. Pass the
action name (and any other data) after the URL. Remember that the action is
the name of the input type, and should be passed before the equal sign. The
above example, formatted with an anchor tag, would look like this:
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?display=action">View My Cart</a>
This method of calling PDG Commerce can be a little trickier, so an example
of each will be included with each action description in this chapter. For the
complete details and specifications for all of the PDG Commerce actions,
please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
Only the PreAdd, MultiPreAdd, Display, and Checkout actions will be covered here. We will also discuss how to embed PDG Commerce’s Search
action in your Web store’s pages in a later section.
PreAdd Action
The PreAdd action is used to instruct PDG Commerce to generate a catalog
page for a particular product. This catalog page allows customers to view a
picture of the product, obtain more detailed information, select options, as
well as add the product to their cart.
A call with the PreAdd action requires one additional data element – the product code of the product that is to be displayed. The name of this argument is
“key,” and it can be transmitted to the PDG Commerce executable as a form
input.
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Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce from a form:
<form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/commerce">
<input type="hidden" name="key" value="AAA">
<input type="submit" name="preadd" value="View Widget">
</form>
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s PreAdd action without using
a form:
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?key=AAA&preadd=action">View Widget</a>
Each of the above examples will call the PDG Commerce into action to create
a Sample-Item or ‘catalog’ page for the product whose product code is
“AAA,” as defined in your Merchant Administrator.
Note: You must use the proper file extension for the PDG Commerce's executable file. Different operating systems require different file extensions.
This information should be available from your Web host.
MultiPreAdd Action
The MultiPreAdd action is used to instruct PDG Commerce to generate a catalog page with a multiple listing which displays several different products.
The resulting page will contain all of the same types of data for each product
whose code is passed in with the MultiPreAdd action.
This catalog page can contain all of the same information as the page created
with the PreAdd action. The only difference is the multiple listing of products. While customers can still add products singularly with their respective
‘Add’ buttons, this multi-listing allows shoppers to add several different products with a single click of the ‘MultiAdd’ button.
Note: Please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide for more
information on how products can be displayed on the MultiAdd template after
the MultiPreAdd action has been called.
The MultiPreAdd action requires one additional data element – the product
codes of the products to display. The name of this argument is “keys,” and it
is transmitted to the PDG Commerce executable as a form input. This input is
similar to the “key” input used with the ‘PreAdd’ action. The only difference
is that the “keys” input can pass multiple product codes to the PDG Commerce executable, as long as they are separated from each other by a comma.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s MultiPreAdd action from a
form:
<form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/commerce”>
<input type="hidden" name="keys" value="AAA,AAB">
<input type="submit" name="multipreadd" value="View Widgets">
</form>
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Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s MultiPreAdd action without
using a form:
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?keys=AAA,AAB&multipreadd=action">
View Widgets</a>
Each of the above examples will call the PDG Commerce into action to create
a MultiAdd page for the products whose product codes are “AAA” and
“AAB,” as defined in your Merchant Administrator.
This information can be obtained from your Web host.
Add Action
The Add action instructs PDG Commerce to add product from the displayed
Add Item and Item templates. While this action is usually dynamically generated on the Item templates, there may be times where you wish to embed an
Add action into a static page manually.
Here is an example of an embedded Add action:
<input type="hidden" name="key" value="AAA">
<input name=”qty”>
<select name=”opt0”>
<option name=”0”>Selection 1</option>
...
</select>
... (Other option select inputs)
<input type="submit" name="add" value="View Widget">
</form>
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Add action without using a
form. Notice how the quantity is hardwired - this can be used for quickly adding one item to a basket.
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?key=AAA&qty=1&add=action">View Widget</a>
The important fields for this action are:
•
•
•
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key - This is the product’s sku.
qty - This is the quantity of item to order
opt# - These are the options, if any, of the product. Each opt fieldname is followed by the index of the option in its definition. The
indexes are zero-based. The values allowed for these form inputs are
the zero-based indexes of the selections for that option.
Display Action
The Display action instructs PDG Commerce to display the current contents
of the customer's cart in a formatted table. From this list of selected products,
the customer will be able to remove products, alter quantities, or proceed to
checkout with all of the products in the current cart.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Display action from an
HTML form:
<input type="submit" name="display" value="View Cart">
</form>
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Display action without using
an HTML form:
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?display=action">View Cart</a>
Note: You must use the proper file extension for your PDG Commerce's executable file. Different operating systems require different file extensions.
For information on customizing your Basket template and other HTML templates in your Web store, please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
Checkout Action
If you would like to place a button or link allowing the customer to proceed to
checkout immediately, without viewing his basket first, then use the Checkout
action. This action initiates the checkout process by displaying the Checkout
HTML Template file.
The Checkout HTML Template contains the necessary data for beginning the
checkout process. This includes the contents of the customer’s current shopping cart, form inputs which prompt the shopper for billing and shipping
information, as well as a submit button containing the Verify action, which
continues the checkout process. For more information on the Verify Action or
the Checkout HTML Template, please see the PDG Commerce Technical
Reference Guide.
It should be noted that the standard Basket HTML template that comes with
PDG Commerce contains a call to the Checkout action.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Checkout action using an
HTML form:
<input type="submit" name="checkout" value="Checkout Now">
</form>
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Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Checkout action without
using a form:
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?checkout=action">Checkout Now</a>
Embedding PDG Commerce's Search
Function
If you are going to give customers the ability to search for products on your
Web store, you must embed a call (either a button, graphic, text link or blank
field) that will “invoke” PDG Commerce’s search function. This call can be
located anywhere within your Web store that you deem appropriate. Some
stores may locate this call on the home page, while others may locate this call
on an internal page. You may include a search on all of your Web store’s
pages if you so desire. We will discuss searches in terms of two types: soft
and hard.
A soft search is what most people think of as a typical Web site search. A soft
search is one that would allow a visitor to your Web store to enter keywords
into a blank field (text box) and click a button to begin the search according to
the keywords entered.
A hard search is a link (button, graphic or text) that conducts a predetermined
search – a search of the product database according to fixed criteria (keywords) which you determine. For example, you might create a hard search for
all “country music CDs” or all “accounting textbooks.”
Of course, your Web store can employ a combination of these two search
types. A soft search is the search type with which most people generally associate – “Let me tell the database what I want to look for and have the database
return the matches (search results) to me.”
You might be asking yourself why a store would employ a hard search. One
reason might be related to site maintenance. Think for a minute about the
Web stores that you have visited. You probably recall that many of them have
pages upon pages of images and text that represent the products that they offer
for sale. Assuming that those pages are statically created – meaning that
someone actually created the page manually using some HTML editor – then,
each time a product is added to or subtracted from the Web store’s product
offering, those pages must be updated and re-published to the Web.
With PDG Commerce's search function enabled, those pages can be created
dynamically by PDG Commerce in either the Thumbnail format, Catalog
Page format or a Custom Repeating Line layout. In other words, here's what
happens. Without the search function, a customer might click a button labeled
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“Accounting Textbooks” and it would take them to a statically created page
displaying all of the accounting textbooks – perhaps in thumbnail format.
By coding that button as a “hard search,” PDG Commerce would then return
all products that are accounting textbooks as search matches and present them
on a Thumbnail, Catalog or Custom formatted search results page. Actually,
the customer would have no idea that a “search” had taken place. Because
you can customize the Search Results template, customers would not know
whether the page was dynamically created or statically created.
The effect here is that only the product database needs to be maintained
instead of both the database and the static page showing accounting textbooks. As new accounting textbooks are added to the product database, they
would be set up to match the search invoked by the button coded as the
“accounting textbook” hard search. This could be done by putting words such
as “accounting” and “textbook” into that product’s “Keywords” setting.
Please see the chapter on “Maintaining Products” of this user guide for more
information on products and their keyword entries.
With that explanation out of the way, here's how to embed the calls that
invoke PDG Commerce’s Search function.
Embedding a Soft Search
To embed a soft search, you must use HTML form tags. The following
HTML code will insert a blank field into which keywords can be entered by
the customer in order to search for certain desired products.
<form method="post" action="[CGI directory]/commerce">
<input type="hidden" name="defaction" value="search">
Keywords: <input type="text" name="keywords">
<input type="submit" name="search" value="Search">
</form>
Soft Search Field To Enter Keywords
Note: You may want to inform shoppers of the special words that can now be
utilized in searches. “And,” “Or” and “Not” now may be used in the search
input to either broaden or narrow the customer’s query. These words work as
boolean operators in the search function.
Of course, you can customize the code to your preferences. For example, you
might want the form field to be labeled ‘Enter Keywords:’ instead of ‘Keywords’ only, in which case you would add ‘Enter’ just before ‘Keywords:.’
Also you may want to call the button something other than ‘Search.’ If so,
replace the ‘Search’ in ‘value=“Search”’ with your preferred button label.
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PDG Commerce has the ability to search product fields other than their keywords and one-line descriptions. Now, give your shoppers more autonomy by
allowing them to search within product categories for a specific product code
or a desired price range. The inputs which control these functions are named
“Category,” “SKU” and “PriceRange,” respectively. An example of a form
field that allows a customer to search for a desired price range might be:
Price Range: <input type="text" name="pricerange">
<input type="submit" name="search" value="Search">
</form>
The PriceRange input can also be coded as a hard search as well.
<a href="cgi-bin/commerce?search=action&pricerange=%3c9.99">Items
less than $9.99</a>
Please note the following conventions when defining your hard coded price
range input. You must use the HTML encoding for =, <, and >.
=
%3d
<
%3c
>
%3e
Any of the searchable categories may be combined on a single page as well.
This gives your shoppers several options of searchability.
Note: For more information on the Search action and its various inputs,
please see the PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
Embedding a Hard Search with Form Tags
This method of invoking a search will insert a “default form button” which is
coded to perform a predetermined search (i.e.: a search for all accounting textbooks).
<input type="hidden" name="keywords" value="[enter here the words
that you entered into the 'Keywords' and 'One-line Description' fields (each
word separated by a single space) of the products you want to hard code the
search to return]">
<input type="submit" name="search" value="Search for Accounting Textbooks">
</form>
Form Button Hard Coded to Perform a Predetermined Search
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Of course, as with the previous HTML code used for embedding soft
searches, you can customize this code to your preferences (i.e.: the name on
the button).
Note: For more information on the Search action and its inputs, please see the
PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
Embedding a Hard Search with Images or Text
Links
The following HTML code can use an image or text as the link which invokes
a predetermined search.
<a href="[CGI directory]/commerce?keywords=[keywords entered in the
'Keywords' and 'One-line Description' fields (each one separated by a '+') of
the products you want to hard code the search for]&search=action">
[text to be used as the link]
</a>
To use an image instead of text, replace the [text to be used as the link] with
the following line:
<img src="[URL of the image]" border="0">
The border designation of ‘zero’ will prevent the customer’s Web browser
from displaying a blue border around the image.
Note: For more information on the Search action and its inputs, please see the
PDG Commerce Technical Reference Guide.
PDG Commerce Actions for Logging In and
Registering
In addition to the actions dcescribed above, which allow customers to view
your catalog and make purchases, PDG Commerce has actions that allow customers to register with your web store, to log in, and to update their account.
Login Action
The Login action instructs PDG Commerce to start the login process for the
customer. Depending on data passed to PDG Commerce, it will either display
the User Login Template, or if inputs are provided for the customer’s username and password, it will go ahead and attempt to log them in.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Login action from an HTML
form, which includes fields for the customer’s username and password.
327
Username: <input name=”username”><br>
Password: <input type=”password” name=”password”><br>
<input type="submit" name=”Login" value="Log In">
</form>
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Login action without using
an HTML form. In response to this call, PDG Commerce displayes the User
Login template.
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?login=action">Log In to Store</a>
Register Action
The Register action instructs PDG Commerce to start the register process for
the customer. Depending on data passed to PDG Commerce, either it displays
the Register New User Login Template, or if inputs are provided for the customer’s username and password, it will go ahead and attempt to register them
them in to a customer category.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Register action from an
HTML form, which includes a field for a registration code.
Registration Code: <input name=”custcatregcode”>
<input type="submit" name=”Register" value="Register">
</form>
In this example, the customer is prompted for a registration code. If the customer supplies a code that is the same as a customer category’s registration
code, then the customer will be able to join that customer category. Otherwise, PDG Commerce will attempt to join them into the ‘Default’ category. If
that fails, PDG Commerce will display a notice to the customer informing
them that they cannot join at this time.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Register action without using
an HTML form. In response to this call, PDG Commerce attempts to register
the customer into whichever customer category is marked as Default.
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?register=action">Sign up for store access.</a>
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Update User Action
The Update User action instructs PDG Commerce to allow the customer to
modify their customer data stored by PDG Commerce. PDG Commerce displays the User Update Template file, prefilling in forms with the customer’s
curernt data. Customers can then modify as needed and save the changes.
This action takes no additional arguements. The customer must be logged in
before they can use the action to update information.
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Register action from an
HTML form.
<input type="submit" name=”displayuser" value="View / Edit my
Account">
</form>
Here is an example of calling PDG Commerce’s Register action without using
an HTML form.
<a href="/cgi-bin/commerce?displayuser=action">View / Edit my
Account</a>
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PDG Commerce - PDG Software

Transcription

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