section text and reference numbers

[mbdevelopments]

I am building a site with actinic using data exported from a program called platinum (specialist motorcycle accounts/stock control package).

I can get it to import into Actinic OK but I am up against a problem.

I WAS going to use OUR part numbers as the actinic reference numbers but a lot of our parts will be in more than one section so actinic tries to give it a new part number.

So I have resigned to letting actinic allocate the parts the unique number as and when I cut and paste parts round all the sections.

I will then export these numbers into platinum again so they can come out with the weekly price update.

This is half the problem solved. The other half is getting the import to point the updated price at the right section.

I am planning to use 4 digit numbers in platinum to denote section text so in the export if it finds 2343 it will put Lambretta | Engine | Gearbox into the section text column for example.

This is going to be VERY time consuming as I've got to build the site, put all the parts in and then export out again to get the reference numbers and section text and then I've got to import in again when I want to update the prices.

The sensible side of my brain says just update them manually as and when but my "Spock" side says the information is all there it's just a case of getting the two packages to talk.

We can't be the only people who have parts in more than one section who want to do weekly price updates so someone must have some ideas?

Anyone?

Thanks,

Ian

:confused:

[garyhay]

http://www.mole-end.biz/acatalog/ReplicatedProductSection.html has what you are after and its cheap.

[mbdevelopments]

That looks promising BUT it looks like I have to know which products are duplicated before I throw them round catalog (it's a case of a lot of items, won't know where they all go until they're there. Or does the linked product.mdb pick up items I have copied and pasted elsewhere?

I can't see that that program gets round the section text problem, does it?

Ian

[allen]

It would be nice if you could have a way to do this built in to Actinic. It's a common problem with our clients. We usually give each section a section number and add -<section number> or something like that to the end of duplicate products.

Perhaps a 'linked product' that works like symbolic links in linux, where the product appears to be in both sections, but there is only one instance of it in Actinic (ie. you change the price on one and it changes the price on all instances of the product).

Actinic: What do you say?

Allen

[cdicken]

The following code is from the latest Advanced User Guide (available from http://www.actinic.co.uk/support/download.htm)

Inserting the Same Product Multiple Times

Actinic does not allow you to simply to have the same product in multiple sections as it requires that each product has its own unique reference number.

However, using components, it is possible to use the same product details in multiple places in the store, and then have these all reconcile down to one product for stock keeping and reporting purposes.

In order to do this, carry out the following steps:

1. Create one instance of your chosen product in the store. This will become your 'master' product, and it is the one that will be used for stock-keeping and reporting purposes.

2. Copy and paste this to a second location within your store. If you see the following dialogue:

3. You will need to supply an alternative product reference (unless you are automatically generating product references). Enter a new product reference and click 'OK'. This new product is now a 'slave' product.

4. Go into this 'slave' product and go to the 'Stock' tab. Un-tick where it says 'Stock Monitoring'.

5. Do a right-click on this new product and select 'New Component'.

6. Enter a name of '(bought online)' (including the brackets) and press [Enter] on your keyboard.

7. Double-click on the component and click on the 'Associated Product' field. Select your original 'master' product from the drop-down list.

8. Click 'OK'

Now, whenever one of your customers orders this 'slave' product it will appear as follows within the shopping cart:

Product Name
(bought online)

The component means that when the order is downloaded, the stock levels of the main product will decrease by one. Also, if you are using Actinic Link to transfer these order details into Sage or QuickBooks (Actinic Business/Developer only) then the correct stock item within these applications will have its stock levels decreased.

[cdicken]

The instructions above go some of the way towards what you are saying, but not the whole way. Hopefully some of you out there will find it useful.

I have added the points you have been making to the wish list.

[Jan]

Originally posted by mbdevelopments


I can't see that that program gets round the section text problem, does it?

Ian

No, this solution uses ODBC linking to implement the multiple products and so is limited to product information.

I'm not quite sure whether you want to update price information in platinum or in Actinic.

Feel free to contact me offline if you want to discuss my solution further.

If you have business and your platinum database is accessible you might be able to do something clever with external linking to get data straight out of it into catalog.

[mbdevelopments]

What I want to do is export a CSV from platinum every week with reference numbers and up to date prices and import it into actinic.
So I don't have to worry about the prices being wrong on the website.

This apparently simple idea is hindered by the section text requirement on an update into actinic.

I can work round the reference number problem reasonably easily (platinum has an "extra notes" section which can be used to store the actinic references numbers) but the section text has got me stumped.

As I said earlier, Platinum has fairly extensive report generation facilities so I can have a line hidden in the product that says 1111,2345 and it can put into the CSV reference number is 1111 and then substitute 2345 for Parts | Engine | Gearbox or whatever but that means I'd have to create a report line for each section which is a lot of work for 150 sections.

Ian

[Jan]

Originally posted by mbdevelopments

This apparently simple idea is hindered by the section text requirement on an update into actinic.
Ian

This isn't a requirement of a hierarchical import in catalog, would that be of use to you? You would have to add a header line to your export files with the fields that you wanted to update but otherwise you could still use a CSV.

Thank you for summarising your problem. I did read through the thread earlier but found it a bit confusing.

[mbdevelopments]

I've not looked too much into the hierarchical side of things as it all looks a bit bewildering and I can't see how to convert from a CSV (flat file) to a hierarchical one EASILY.
I can make it generate and sort the CSV by section text and do a header line for each section followed by all the items in that section.
Does that make it hierarchical?

Ian

[Jan]

It's a bit of a misleading title. If you want to update your prices you would create a file like the example below with a line for each product.

Header:Product,Product reference,Price
Product,"M4",4999

(4999 being 49.99)

The file basically has two parts. Headers which describe the kind of information you want to import and data lines identified by a header type.

[Jan]

Originally posted by mbdevelopments
That looks promising BUT it looks like I have to know which products are duplicated before I throw them round catalog (it's a case of a lot of items, won't know where they all go until they're there. Or does the linked product.mdb pick up items I have copied and pasted elsewhere?

Ian
You have two choices for setting up your products, you can either set up the linked products.mdb with your duplicate products, link them into catalog and then drag and drop them into the sections you want to see them in OR you can create your catalog and keep a note of the reference numbers you have assigned to the duplicate products and then enter then into linkedproducts.mdb. When you link them into catalog you then check the box called 'Link all products to external data if available' and then the products you have already entered will be marked as linked providing you have entered the correct product references.

[mbdevelopments]

That sounds like the solution apart from the reassuarance I need about the section text problem.
Tell me I don't have to worry about section text when i run an update and you've 95% sold it to me!!

Ian

[Jan]

Originally posted by mbdevelopments
That sounds like the solution apart from the reassuarance I need about the section text problem.
Tell me I don't have to worry about section text when i run an update and you've 95% sold it to me!!

Ian
You don't have to worry about the section text if you use hierarchical export to update your main prices. :-)

[mbdevelopments]

I think I am resigned to putting the hours in to set up platinum to output a CSV of Reference, Section Text, Price.

Hours of IFs THENs and ELSEs.

Or I might have go at a hierarchical one.

I'll have to talk to Catalyst (makers of Platinum) but frustratingly the only user of Actinic they have is their top programmer who appears to speak in a mixture of C+ and binary.
He can't see why I need things in more than one category - obviously not a born salesman!!

Ian

[Jan]

Originally posted by mbdevelopments

Or I might have go at a hierarchical one.
Ian
I've already done this for you - did you miss the message? The format of the hierarchical file is below

Header:Product,Product reference,Price
Product,"M4",4999
Product,"M5",5999
Product,"M6",6999

Dead simple, no section text just that extra word 'Product' at the beginning of each line and the extra line 'Header:Product,Product reference,Price ' at the top, the rest is just your product references and your prices. I've checked it out and it works beautifully.

[mbdevelopments]

So I've just got to insert the product column into the CSV and then add that top line and it will all jump into place no matter what section it was in?

If that is so then you have saved me a lot of time and should be working for Actinic!!

Ian

[Jan]

Yes, that is all you have to do.

:) Glad to be able to help.

[mbdevelopments]

Worked a treat. That's the section text sorted.
Now for the duplicate items in various sections.
Is there more info about your product?

Ian

[Jan]

There is more information available at

http://www.mole-end.biz/acatalog/ReplicatedProducts.htm

[NormanRouxel]

I've written a program that completely builds an actinic site fro an external stock control program. You don't need to use Actinic for anything other that downloading orders. It also adds lots of additional features to Actinic including the ability to display a product in more than one section.

This currently works with the Top to Toe EPOS system but is modular enough to adapt to other databases. The idea here is that ALL your data is managed in your stock system so there's no duplication of effort. This works best if you have a field available within your stock system for the text description (T2T does).

I'd be willing to see if it's feasible to alter to work with Platinum.

Norman rouxel@attglobal.net

[mbdevelopments]

Thanks for your idea.
Platinum has an "extra notes" field for each stock item where you can store unlimited characters. The trouble is that it is difficult to get into them (it's a program evolved from Dos so it's all CTRL this and SHIFT that).

I am currently working on the principle of buliding the website in actinic then linking our part numbers to the actinic ones.

I am currently waiting to hear if I can easily import the actinic numbers into platinum. If not I shall be getting some work done by Jan of Mole end.

Ian

[mbdevelopments]

Yes, over one year on and I am about a week away from doing the big import into catalog and "stacking the shelves".

Have there been any improvements to catalog with regard to linking products where they are duplicated in more than one section?

Or am I still going to have to put them all in, let catalog generate the reference numbers then hack those numbers back into our accounts program so they can come back out again with the updated prices?

Ian

[cdicken]

A solution to duplicating products in v6 can be found in the Advanced User Guide on p10 - headed 'Inserting the Same Product Multiple Times'.

You can also bring your own product reference numbers into the store by un-ticking 'Auto-Generate Product References' in 'Business Settings | Options'.

[mbdevelopments]

If I go down that route does that mean that anything I change in the master will automatically change in the slave?

It looks a little long winded but I might give it a try.

ian

[cdicken]

It will sort of work the way you describe.

The price will always show correctly in the shopping cart for the 'slave' products, but you will need to update the actual 'Price' field in the 'slave' products to make sure the prices are shown correctly in the section pages.