V11 Flat file import & Publish to web v Update Online Stock

[rbagga]

After importing a flat file in V11 to simply update my stock qty's, I get the message "Please note that you need to upload your site if you updated product stock data".

I have then used function from the Web menu call "Update Online Stock" however this has not update the qty's online?

Can anyone help / say why its not working?

The Update Online Stock option is much better (if it worked) as I have a very large site and the Publish to Web takes a few hours. This (sync/quick stock update) being the very one function that I would have bought v11 for on its own!

[Mike Hughes]

You can't do it like that.

Importing different stock levels via a flat file destroys the synchronicity between the online and offline stock levels.

Mike

[rbagga]

thanks Mike,
So are you saying that I have to publish to web ? Is there any info regarding the "synchronicity" you can guide me to, to get my head around this aspect?

[Mike Hughes]

I haven't used v11 yet, but as far as I know:

Online stock control works by keeping a local count of available stock on the server. If you make an online sale it reduces that count. if you make an offline sale it updates at the next 'synchronise' time (my name for it, I don't know what actinic call this).

so let's say you started with 5 of something in stock, sell 2 online and another 1 over the phone in an actinic moto order. Actinic can cope with this. it updates the online count to say there's still 2 available. It knows there were 5 at the start and 3 have been sold.

Now you import a file that says there are seven in stock. what's that supposed to mean? All the online stock system knows is that it started with 5 and 3 have been sold. You're giving it a new starting point so you have to reset the stock system in order to synchronise everything and get it working again. I think that's why an upload is required (and you might need to download orders as well - even less sure on that )

Mike

[brucet]

WHS

The way it works technically is that Actinic maintains separate stock transaction files on the web site and on the desktop, which are used for the stock synchronisation (it's much faster doing it this way). An import updates the main database, but it doesn't have the ability to update the transaction files. So a Publish to Web or Refresh is required. This empties the transaction files and resets all the stock values to those in the main database.

[rbagga]

Bruce, Thanks for the clarification on this issue.