New starter with Catalog ... a few questions...

[matth76]

Hi

I have created my own external website - which includes a basic navigation menu and has its own domain name. My website run on a web server that I configure and administer myself.

Right, here are a few questions before I buy the full blown product:
- The links in my menu are basically links to product category list pages and individual product detail pages. Therefore when a user clicks a link in the menu to visit a product's details I will add the hyperlink to the appropriate product in the Actinic catalog so the user goes to the catalog. How do I find out what the link url should be for each product (I assume it is based on product ID's)?

- And how do I insert the Actinic catalog pages within my own existing pages, so the look and feel is retained (keeping all my menus and styles etc)? If I can do this am I right in assuming (after I have added all my products to the catalog) I simply copy and paste the html source code into my pages? Or is this not possible?

- I have just downloaded the trial evaluation version and wish to add my products. However it seems there are already a few categories and products already present. Where in the "Content Tree" do I add my products? Is this done in the "Online Catalog" node in the left "Content Tree"?

- As already mentioned I already have my own website so only need product category list pages and then individual product detail pages, as well as the shopping basket and final secure checkout payment pages. I do not need any other pages - such as home page, contact us page, as these general pages are already in my website. Will it cause a problem if I remove these 'general' pages from the Evaluation version? I assume I right-click and simply delete them from the "Home" and "More Pages" nodes in the left "Content Tree"?

- After I have added the products what is the next stage? Do I create the shopping basket pages and checkout and payment pages?

- How can I insert a "basket summary" into my website (just a basic summary such as number of items and total)?

- Can I add/create shipping costs based on quantity - for example I want a set shipping cost for UP to ten items, then apply the shipping cost again for up to 20 and so on ...so it keeps being applied for every ten items etc. Is this possible with Actinic?

- Finally can I retain my domain name?

I do not use Dreamweaver. I use another editor to do all my source code.

Thank you very much for any help and information.

Matt

[pinbrook]

And how do I insert the Actinic catalog pages within my own existing pages

the key here lies in the fact you have to do thereverse. ie add html, nav etc to actinic.

find forum posts on using the Dreamweaver extension

[matth76]

the key here lies in the fact you have to do thereverse. ie add html, nav etc to actinic.

find forum posts on using the Dreamweaver extension

Thank you for your reply. My files are ASP files not just html. Is this going to cause a problem using Actinic? I will need to upload all my "include" files to Actinic's server. Is there not a way to integrate Actinic with my own existing website - by inserting Actinic's static html pages into my own ASP pages? I use Microsoft Visual Studio Interdev to do all my programming - I do not use Dreamweaver.

[domino1]

Hi Matt.

The links in my menu are basically links to product category list pages and individual product detail pages. Therefore when a user clicks a link in the menu to visit a product's details I will add the hyperlink to the appropriate product in the Actinic catalog so the user goes to the catalog. How do I find out what the link url should be for each product (I assume it is based on product ID's)?

You can set the name of the page using the 'Page Settings' tab for each section. (Actinic will set a default using the Section Name eg section called 'Fluffy Dice' will become Fluffy_Dice.html.)

And how do I insert the Actinic catalog pages within my own existing pages, so the look and feel is retained (keeping all my menus and styles etc)? If I can do this am I right in assuming (after I have added all my products to the catalog) I simply copy and paste the html source code into my pages? Or is this not possible?

You need to change/create the Actinic Layouts to include your menus and styles. Actinic will then generate the pages of your catalog with your 'look and feel'.

Cutting and pasting code into your website is a bad idea as you'd need to redo it every time a change was made to your catalog. You're also bound to miss out something that Actinic needs to operate. By tailoring the layouts to your design Actinic will automatically regenerate your pages when a change is made.

I have just downloaded the trial evaluation version and wish to add my products. However it seems there are already a few categories and products already present. Where in the "Content Tree" do I add my products? Is this done in the "Online Catalog" node in the left "Content Tree"?

The software has sections and products pre set up to show you the structure and how things are done. You can add your own sections and products etc and delete existing ones as you see fit. All of your sections and products go under the 'Online Catalog' node. Click on this then use right-click to add sections and products.

As already mentioned I already have my own website so only need product category list pages and then individual product detail pages, as well as the shopping basket and final secure checkout payment pages. I do not need any other pages - such as home page, contact us page, as these general pages are already in my website. Will it cause a problem if I remove these 'general' pages from the Evaluation version? I assume I right-click and simply delete them from the "Home" and "More Pages" nodes in the left "Content Tree"?

It's a good idea to incorporate your general pages into actinic so that your whole site is generated by actinic. This will make it much easier to maintain. You can delete the pages that are already there if you don't need them.

After I have added the products what is the next stage? Do I create the shopping basket pages and checkout and payment pages?

The shopping basket and checkout pages will already be there. You may wish to tailor them to your own design.

How can I insert a "basket summary" into my website (just a basic summary such as number of items and total)?

The code to do this is simple and can be added wherever you see fit. I believe the standard design theme includes a basket summary.

Can I add/create shipping costs based on quantity - for example I want a set shipping cost for UP to ten items, then apply the shipping cost again for up to 20 and so on ...so it keeps being applied for every ten items etc. Is this possible with Actinic?

I think so..... do a search in this forum and you should find out how to do it.

Finally can I retain my domain name?

Yes. You'll need to ensure that your server or hosting plan will allow you to run the Actinic scripts though.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[matth76]

Thanks Dave. Useful info there. My existing website are ASP and also Javascript pages. Please can you tell me if you think this will cause a problem integrating it into Actinic? Or is it a simple case of copying and pasting my source code into the "design" section of Actinic? Then I will need to upload my sub folders and include files, as well as CSS files to Actinic's server. Should I re-create all my pages in Actinic and copy and paste my code into the appropriate new Actinic page?

You can set the name of the page using the 'Page Settings' tab for each section. (Actinic will set a default using the Section Name eg section called 'Fluffy Dice' will become Fluffy_Dice.html.)

How do I reference each product - does each product have an ID in the URL link, such as www.mydomain.com/Fluffy_Dice.html?ProductID=x


Does the Actinic search facility automatically work or do I need to configure anything?

Thank you again.

[RuralWeb]

I suggest that you download and print off the getting started guide, this will explain most things. Play with the standard site for a while to get used to adding products etc and then look at how you want to integrate your own design.

[domino1]

Each product has an anchor which Actinic generates using the product reference.

The search facility should work automatically.

Follow Malcolm's advice and work through the Getting Started guide. This will be the quickest way for you to gain insight.

As for the ASP... I don't know I'm afraid.

Dave

[matth76]

I can only find the getting started guide for version 7, not the latest version 8. Is it not available?

Does anyone know if ASP code and Javascript code can be used with Actinic? I am going to give it a try and see if it works. How can I make my new Actinic pages live and test them to see if they work? How do I retain our domain name when I go to one of the Actinic pages, if the Actinic pages are not going to be hosted on my own web server but is all going to be hosted on the Actinic web server some where else?

Or can the Actinic software all be installed on my own web server? If it is possible then I can do this (I administer my web server).

Sorry, more questions - can I create sub-folders in the "Content Tree"? I would like to create sub-folders to hold my CSS style files and other include files, to keep things organised.

[domino1]

http://downloads.actinic.com/docs/us...arterGuide.pdf

This should tell you how to configure the network settings for your domain.