Section 3.8

The Product Manager is a powerful catalog management tool that enables you to quickly, easily and effectively manage the presentation of products to your online customers. The Product Manager tool allows you to create and organize a category hierarchy tree designed specifically to fit your business. 

This tool enables you to quickly add, modify or delete product categories or specific product items. The Product Manager is accessed through the “Product Manager” navigation button located at the top of your administration website. To modify or add a product category, select the “Categories – Category List.”  To modify or add a specific product item, select the “Products – Product List.” One feature of this tool is the ability to link specific product items to multiple product categories. 

Category Management:

To manage the product categories, you must select the “Categories – Category List” button shown under the “Database Content” section of the Product Manager tool. Selecting this button provides you with the following window:

Category ID: This is a system generated number that identifies each specific category within your website.

Name: This is the name of the category that you want displayed on the public side of the website.

Code: This is a user defined code. This is an optional field.

Alt Text for Thumbnail File & Alt Text for Image file: For user agents that cannot display images, forms, or applets, this attribute specifies alternate text. Several non-textual elements (images, forms, or applets) let authors specify alternate text to serve as content when the element cannot be rendered normally. Specifying alternate text assists users without graphic display terminals, users whose browsers don't support forms, visually impaired users, those who use speech synthesizers, those who have configured their graphical user agents not to display images, etc.

Is category active: This informs you of whether the category is active, or viewable on the public side of the website.

Is Top category: This informs you of whether the category is a top level or a sub-category within the category hierarchical tree.

Order Shown: This displays the order that each category will be shown on the public website.

Edit/Delete: These two buttons provide you with the navigation to either “edit” or “delete” an existing category.

Table List: This button takes the administrator back to the opening page of the Product Manager.

Add New Record: This button takes the administrator to the webpage which provides the ability to create a new category.

Add or Edit a Category: To edit an existing record, select the category you want to edit and select the “Edit” button to the right of the category. To delete a category, select the “delete” button. When you decide to delete a category, you will be asked to validate the deletion before the category is deleted.

To add a new category is very similar to the process of editing an existing record. Both actions provide access to a webpage with the data fields necessary to add or edit a product category. To add a new record, simply click on the “Add New Record.” 

Name: This is the name of the category that is displayed on the website.

Code: This is a user defined code. This is an optional field.

Search Engine Optimization: Search engine crawlers and search engine spiders, the programs that scan your website, use this information when building their indices for use in ranking your website. This process associates your keywords with those keywords entered by the search engine users. This section becomes important if you want to position your website among the first results of a web page search.

Short Description: This is a brief, 1 to 3 line description of the category. This field provides each category with an associated “alt tag” that is visible when the visitor mouse’s over a specific category or sub-category.

Description: This is the long description for the category and is listed on the category page, after the visitor selects a specific category.  Use this field to describe the products within the category or to highlight promotional information.  This field utilizes the powerful Page Content Manager to edit your description text.  See section 3.2 for more information on the Page Content Manager.

Thumbnail File:  This is an optional field. You may upload a thumbnail image for the category through these fields. If an image is currently assigned to a category, the file name will be displayed within the text box. If the text box is empty, then no image has been assigned. A recommended size for thumbnail images is 150X150 pixels.

• If an image is assigned to the category you can view the image by clicking on the “View File” button.

• If the image you want to assign to the category is currently stored on the website server, click on the “Select” button to see a listing of all images. When you find the image that you want to assign to this category, simply click on the “select” button. You do not need to take any additional actions and may move to the next field.
  
  

• If the image you want to assign to the category is not currently on the web server, but is on your PC, simply click on the “browse” button. This will open another window which allows you to “browse” your PC to find and select the desired image. Click on “upload” button to complete the action and move to the next field.

Note: If you have a single image that you would like to display both as a large image and a thumbnail image, simply follow the steps to upload the Image File.

Image File: This is an optional field. You may upload an image for the “show larger photo” functionality through this field.  If an image is currently assigned to a category, the file name will be displayed within the text box. If the text box is empty, then no image has been assigned. Typically this is best displayed with an image size of 300X400 pixels.

• If an image is assigned to the category you can view the image by clicking on the “View File” button.

• If the image you want to assign to the category is currently stored on the website server, click on the “Select” button to see a listing of all images. When you find the image that you want to assign to this category, simply click on the “select” button. You do not need to take any additional actions and may move to the next field.

• If the image you want to assign to the category is not currently on the web server, but is on your PC, simply click on the “browse” button. This will open another window which allows you to “browse” your PC to find and select the desired image. Click on “upload” button to complete the action and move to the next field.

Keywords: Use this field to enter in keywords that will help your visitors find their desired category. These keywords will assist the visitor in using the Product Manager Search function.

Is Category Active: This field determines whether the category is active. Setting the field to “Yes” allows the category to appear on the public side of the website.  Setting the field to “No” prevents the category from being viewed on the public website.

Is Top Category: This field determines whether the category is a primary category or a subordinate category.  Setting this field to “Yes” establishes the category as a primary category. Setting the field to “No” means the category must be assigned as a sub-category to another primary category.

Order Shown: This field must be completed and determines the order in which the category is displayed on the web page.  If all categories have the same order number, then the categories are alphabetized. It is recommended that the order shown be set as a default to 10 or higher. This provides the administrator with the flexibility to prioritize selected categories without having to rearrange every category.

Select those categories that are going to appear below this one: This section identifies the categories to which a sub-category can be assigned. This is an important field in establishing an effective hierarchical tree. A sub-category can be assigned to multiple categories. Simply check the box for the assigned categories.

When you have completed all of the fields and validated that the information is correct, click on the "Create" or “Edit” button to save the changes and update the Product Manager database.

Product Item Management

To manage the product items, you must select the “Products – Product List” button shown under the “Database Content” section of the Product Manager tool. Selecting this button provides you with the following window:

Product ID: This is a system generated number that identifies each specific product item within your website.

Name: This is the name of the product item that you want displayed on the public side.

List Price:This is an optional field. If no list price is entered, then this field remains blank. List price is the “suggested retail price” field and is presented with a strikethrough to indicate the price does not apply.

Price: This is an optional field.  If no price is entered, then this field remains blank. The price field defines the price that you are offering this product to your visitors.

Is Active: This informs you of whether the product item is active, or viewable on the public side of the website.

Order Shown: This displays the order that each product item will be shown on the public website.

Edit/Delete: These two buttons provide you with the navigation to either “edit” or “delete” an existing product item.

Table List: This button takes the administrator back to the opening page of the Product Manager.

Add New Record: This button takes the administrator to the webpage which provides the ability to create a new product item.

Add or Edit a Product Item

To add a new product item is very similar to the process of editing an existing record. Both actions provide access to a webpage with the data fields necessary to add or edit a product item. To add a new record, simply click on the “Add New Record.

To edit an existing record, select the product item you want to edit and select the “Edit” button to the right of the product item. To delete a product item, select the “delete” button. When you decide to delete a product item, you will be asked to validate the deletion before the product item is deleted. 

Name: This is the name of the product item that is displayed on the website.

Code: This is a user defined code.  This is an optional field.

Meta Tags: Search engine crawlers and search engine spiders, the programs that scan your website, use this information when building their indices for use in ranking your website. This process associates your keywords with those keywords entered by the search engine users. This section becomes important if you want to position your website among the first results of a web page search.

Short Description: This field is a brief description of the product item that is displayed after the product item name under the appropriate product item. This field utilizes the powerful Page Content Manager to edit your description text. See section 3.2 for more information on the Page Content Manager.

Description: This is the long description for the product item and is listed on the detailed product item information page, after the visitor selects the “view product detail” hyperlink. This field utilizes the powerful Page Content Manager to edit your description text.  See section 3.2 for more information on the Page Content Manager.

Thumbnail File: This is an optional field. You may upload a thumbnail image for the product item through these fields. If an image is currently assigned to a product item, the file name will be displayed within the text box. If the text box is empty, then no image has been assigned. A recommended size for thumbnail images is:

• If an image is assigned to the product item you can view the image by clicking on the “View File” button.

• If the image you want to assign to the product item is currently stored on the website server, click on the “Select” button to see a listing of all images.  When you find the image that you want to assign to this product item, simply click on the “select” button.  You do not need to take any additional actions and may move to the next field.
• If the image you want to assign to the product item is not currently on the web server, but is on your PC, simply click on the “browse” button.  This will open another window which allows you to “browse” your PC to find and select the desired image.  Click on “upload” button to complete the action and move to the next field.

Note:  If you have single image that you would like to display both as a large image and a thumbnail image, simply follow the steps to upload the Image File.

Image File: This is an optional field. You may upload an image for the product item through these fields. If an image is currently assigned to a product item, the file name will be displayed within the text box. If the text box is empty, then no image has been assigned. Typically this is best displayed with an image size of 300X400 pixels.

• If an image is assigned to the product item you can view the image by clicking on the “View File” button.

• If the image you want to assign to the product item is currently stored on the website server, click on the “Select” button to see a listing of all images. When you find the image that you want to assign to this product item, simply click on the “select” button. You do not need to take any additional actions and may move to the next field.

• If the image you want to assign to the product item is not currently on the web server, but is on your PC, simply click on the “browse” button. This will open another window which allows you to “browse” your PC to find and select the desired image. Click on “upload” button to complete the action and move to the next field.

Note:  If you have single image that you would like to display both as a large image and a thumbnail image, simply follow the steps to upload the Image File.

Other File: This is an extra field that provides additional information about your product item.  Upload Flash SWF movie files, an additional image file or to store an user’s guide for your product items.

List Price: This is an optional field. If no list price is entered, then this field remains blank. List price is the “suggested retail price” field and is presented with a strikethrough to indicate the price does not apply.

Price: This is an optional field. If no price is entered, then this field remains blank. The price field defines the price that you are offering this product to your visitors.

External URL: This field allows you to provide a link to another website.

Keywords: Use this field to enter in keywords that will help your visitors find their desired product item. These keywords will assist the visitor in using the Product Manager Search function. 

Is Active: This field determines whether the product item is active. Setting the field to “Yes” allows the product item to appear on the public side of the website.  Setting the field to “No” prevents the product item from being viewed on the public website.

Order Shown: This field must be completed and determines the order in which the product item is displayed on the web page. If all product items have the same order number, then the product items are alphabetized. It is recommended that the order shown be set as a default to 10 or higher. This provides the administrator with the flexibility to prioritize selected product item without having to rearrange every product item.

Make this product appear under these categories: This section identifies the categories to which a product item can be assigned. This is an important field in establishing an effective hierarchical tree. A product item can be assigned to multiple categories.  Simply check the box for the assigned categories.

When you have completed all of the fields and validated that the information is correct, click on the “Edit” button to save the changes and update the Product Manager database.

Extra Fields Management (Add on)

To manage extra fields, you must select the “Extra Fields - User Defined Fields Administration” button shown under the “Database Content” section of the Product Manager tool. Selecting this button provides you with the following window:

The extra field capability of the Product Manager Tool allows the administrator to customize the category and product item information by adding additional fields. The Product Manager is capable of adding up to three fields to the category records and up to five fields for the product item records.

When an extra field is added, these fields become visible in both the administrative sections of both the category and product item records. Further, these fields are enabled on the public side of the website for either the category or product item.

Add or Edit an Extra Field

To add a new extra field is very similar to the process of editing an existing record. Both actions provide access to a webpage with the data fields necessary to add or edit an extra field. To add a new record, simply click on the “Add New Record.” To edit an existing record, select the product item you want to edit and select the “Edit” button to the right of the extra field. To delete an extra field, select the “delete” button. When you decide to delete an extra field, you will be asked to validate the deletion before the extra field is deleted.

       

Extra Field ID: This field must contain a number between 1 and 8. If the number entered is between 1 and 3, the extra field is applied to the category table. If the number is between 4 and 8, the extra field is applied to the product item table. If the number entered is outside of t his range, the Product Manager will ignore the extra field record.

User Defined Field Name: This is the name that is applied to the extra field and will be displayed both on the administrative and public sides of the website.

Hint Text: This is information which only appears in the administrative portion of the website. Use this text to provide a hint to the administrator on what type of data should be entered into this specific extra data field.

Data type: This defines how the extra field processes inputted data and what type of data is accepted. These data types are:

• N/A; this creates a text box that has no restrictions on the size of the extra field.
• Generic Text; this creates a text box that only accepts text.
• Integer; this creates a field that only accepts integer numbers (no decimal points).
• Real; this creates a field that accepts any number, including decimal points.
• Boolean; this creates a yes or no (or true and false) field.
• Mm/dd/yyyy; this creates a field that accepts only dates using the format mm/dd/yyyy.
• Drop-down; this creates a drop-down field. This type of field displays a list of selections that the visitor can select. Once the visitor selects a specific value, the window is closed and the selection is visible to the visitor. If you use this extra field, you must use the “Hint Text” field to enter the selections. Each selection must be separated by a semi-colon. For example, you could create a field named “Colors” and want to display the colors of blue, black and yellow. To do this, enter the name “Colors” in the defined field name field. Then enter Blue; Black; Yellow in the hint text field and select “Drop-down” as the data type.
• Option List; this creates a series of radio buttons. This enables the visitor to select a single extra field choice among the available selections. If you use this extra field, you must use the “Hint Text” field to enter the selections. Each selection must be separated by a semi-colon. For example, you could create a field named “Colors” and want to display the colors of blue, black and yellow. To do this, enter the name “Colors” in the defined field name field. Then enter Blue; Black; Yellow in the hint text field and select “Option List” as the data type.

Size: You may specify the size of the input box (text or numerical) used in the appropriate data field types. This field does not apply to drop-down, option lists or Boolean data types.

Is list able? Marking this field “Yes” allows the extra field to be viewed in the administrative side of the website.

Is Searchable? Marking this field “Yes” allows the extra field to be searched in the administrative side of the website.

Is Active? Marking this field “Yes” allows the extra field to be viewed in the public side of the website.