New Arrivals Layout Bug

[jont]

Creating a new layout for the New Arrivals in the Library and specifying in Site Options | Layout | New Product List | New Product Items Layout (Section Pages) sets the correct layout for the New Arrivals "section" and displays as such.

Against the New Arrivals "section" the product layout still retains the main product layout for the site default and not the assigned layout.

Even though it is not possible to change the layout at the "section" level (I appreciate this is not a regular section as such) it would be less confusing if the selector displayed the value set at the site level.

[cdicken]

Sorry John, I'm having a bit of trouble following this.

So you've created a new section called 'New Arrivals' and from the sounds of it, you've set the 'Main Product Area Layout' for that section to be something like 'New Products Listing Page'.

You can set the layout for the 'new product items' within that section using the 'New Products Item Layout (For Section Pages)' in 'Site Options | Layout'. And if you add any actual products into the section, they are displayed separately within the page, and should just use whatever product layout is selected within the section, or within Site Options.

What am I missing?

[jont]

created a new section called 'New Arrivals' and from the sounds of it, you've set the 'Main Product Area Layout' for that section to be something like 'New Products Listing Page'.

You can set the layout for the 'new product items' within that section using the 'New Products Item Layout (For Section Pages)' in 'Site Options | Layout'. And if you add any actual products into the section, they are displayed separately within the page

All done the same way.

If I now click onto the section "New Arrivals" the preview displays the correct layout 'new product items'

Under the layout tab in the "New Arrivals" section the product layout still shows something like "=Use Parent (Full Layout with CSS)" despite the section actually being laid out using 'new product items'.

No amount of trying to change the layout at the Section Level has any impact on the layout displayed ... only changing at the site options does it change.

This is fine but confusing as users will try and set the layout at Section Level (as per the rest of the "normal" sections) .. even if it not possible to assign a product layout at the section level it would be useful to either grey out the product layout for this section or set it to use the value under site options.

Hope that makes sense?

[cdicken]

I think the confusion here is coming from the fact that the items on the New Products Page are 'New Product Items' rather than 'Products'. So the product layout is not relevant to these items. If you actually added proper products into this this section, the 'Product Layout' would be used for them.

[jont]

So the product layout is not relevant to these items.

We both know that - but as a new or unsure Actinic user this is going to be quite confusing ... the NA and BS sections are for all intents and purposes sections containing products.

If regular products are added to these special sections and the layout changed at the section level (to a compact layout for example) there will be half a page of New Arrivals set as per the site options level and half set to the compact layout.

Would a user selectable option specific just to the NA and BS sections be a better way of controlling the products they contain? This would allow users to select the layout type at the section level even if only using the generated lists.

As an after thought - this would also aid designers using the PSD as currently site settings are not picked up in the deployment.

[cdicken]

With the next version we're getting rid of the default 'New Products' and 'Best Sellers' sections and making it an 'AUG' style fix to have a section of best sellers and a section of new products. Hopefully this will eliminate some of the confusion for new customers.

[TraceyHand]

With the next version we're getting rid of the default 'New Products' and 'Best Sellers' sections and making it an 'AUG' style fix to have a section of best sellers and a section of new products. Hopefully this will eliminate some of the confusion for new customers.

are you allowed to tell us that?