selling personalised products - how?

[damodesign]

what I want to do is have a text field (max. characters 10) that the customer fills in with their name - on the product page, and for the name to be sent to the shopping cart with that product when the add to cart button is pressed.

(I know it could be done with Other Info - but I want this on the product page).

My knowledge of Actinic is basic - so please keep it simple

thanks
damian

[RuralWeb]

I know it could be done with Other Info - but I want this on the product page Other info is on the product page:confused:

[RuralWeb]

If you want something more complex then look at drillpine.biz for a multi other info promt - working here http://www.ruralwebdesign.co.uk/acatalog/Search_Engine_Submission_Package.html

drillpine also have a plugin which allows the shopper to upload images.

[damodesign]

I said my knowledge was basic - just found a thread that explained if you check 'Quantity on Product Page' (Design - Options - Shopping Mode) then the other info. field appears on product page!

How do you limit the text field? e.g. enter name - 10 characters maximum?

[NormanRouxel]

Go to Design / Text / Goto / Phase -1, ID 2161 and change it from

%s<INPUT TYPE=text NAME="%s" SIZE="%d" MAXLENGTH="%d" VALUE="%s" %s>

to

%s<INPUT TYPE=text NAME="%s" SIZE="%d" MAXLENGTH="10" dummy="%d" VALUE="%s" %s>

Note that this will change all Other Info prompts to be a maximum of 10 characters.

[RuralWeb]

If you use normans plugin you can customise each field on each page.

[damodesign]

thanks - got it to control max. characters - can the size of the other info text field be controlled too?

thanks
damian

[damodesign]

figured out how to change size of text field...

Go to Design / Text / Goto / Phase -1, ID 2161 and change it from

Code:
%s<INPUT TYPE=text NAME="%s" SIZE="%d" MAXLENGTH="10" dummy="%d" VALUE="%s" %s>

to
Code:
%s<INPUT TYPE=text NAME="%s" SIZE="10" MAXLENGTH="10" dummy="%d" VALUE="%s" %s>

I had tried this earlier, but it didn't work - I think my computer is playing up!

thanks
damian
__________________

[NormanRouxel]

Damian. That will have side effects. You have to use all the %s and %d format markers. Use:%s<INPUT TYPE=text NAME="%s" SIZE="10" dummya="%d" MAXLENGTH="10" dummyb="%d" VALUE="%s" %s>

[damodesign]

thanks Norman, that does work - was having some problems beforehand!
could you just explain (simply) what the %s and %d format markers are for?

thanks
damian

[NormanRouxel]

That whole string is a format string. The format string and all the parameters get passed to a routine that expands the text by putting the parameters into the format string at apprtopriate places.

The %s and %d bits get replaced by string and numeric variables. This is done in sequence, so the routine is passed a string, string, number, number, string, string. If you leave out one of these markers the parameters will appear in the wrong places and the last one will be missed out.

[thingamibob]

Just whilst on this topic, and I know it is a slight tangent.
Can you use the other info prompt to send a message to the shop owner?
I Ask because I have used Actininc to create a site set up to take charitable donations and the owner would like an area for donators to add comments of encouragement.

[NormanRouxel]

Not too sure what you mean. Whatever the customer enters into the Other Info field ends up in the Order on the shop owners system.

If you mean emailing that info somewhere that would need some tricky Perl patching.