Product duplicates with ext. info

[WILKO92]

Something I do fairly regularly is create a product duplicate and alter it's title.

If the product has an extended info popup, I get an advisory note each time that I either upload or snapshot telling me about two products using the same ext. info file.

I appreciate actinic letting me know but it does not offer a "do not show this again" option meaning that at each upload or snapshot, I have to OK it at this point.

Given my forgetful nature, I often hit the upload button and disappear to make a coffee only to return a while later to see actinic patiently awaiting my OK.

I'm sure that eventually, this will encourage me to remember this point and hang on for the advisory before escaping the office but it is a slight annoyance that didn't happen in 7.

[TraceyG]

Hi Graham,

If you set the 'Extended Info Page' options to be modifiable in the duplicate (Settings | Duplicate Field Configuration) then the page name for the extended info page is automatically given a different name when you create a duplicate to stop any conflicts. However, it won't change it on existing duplicates. To change those you can run the following query on your database:

- close Actinic
- browse to your site folder and locate the ActinicCatalog.mdb file (take a backup)
- open the file with MS Access
- go to 'Insert | Query'
- select 'Design View'
- go to 'View | SQL View'
- replace the contents with the following:

UPDATE Product SET Product.sExtendedInfoPage = "dup_" & [sExtendedInfopage]
WHERE (((Product.nProductType)=1));

- click on 'Query | Run'
- close the database
- open Actinic and then when you upload you should no longer get any errors.

The above query will prefix the page names with 'dup_' (you can change this to whatever you want it to be).

[WILKO92]

Thanks Tracey,

I have set the duplicates as described and hey presto.......it uploads and snapshots without hinderance.

I didn't need to play with the DB.

Happy Chappy!

[TraceyHand]

you would expect that a proportion of people will want duplicates to be just that, unmodifiable copies of the original.
Is it realistic to expect those who don't have the 'extended info' as modifiable in the duplicate configuration to have to put up with the constant 'error' messages that this inevitably produces?

[leehack]

here here!

[TraceyHand]

w00t! Did I get something right!?

[leehack]

It wasn't a test Bumpsy, i just agreed with you, seems silly to me that you can have duplicate pages with identical info on, just named differently, that is asking for SEO trouble. The choices and the whole extended info mallarky needs looking at IMO, its old school and needs updating to be a bit more with it. I detest them anyway, they should be banned like the Java thingy.

[TraceyHand]

It wasn't a test Bumpsy

actually, I think the extended info still has its place, tbh but I know it makes a dinosaur out of Actinic, if you use it on every product, opening in the same window, for SPPs

[TraceyG]

Is it realistic to expect those who don't have the 'extended info' as modifiable in the duplicate configuration to have to put up with the constant 'error' messages that this inevitably produces?

The problem is that the product name is being changed so it is sort of being treated as a different product. This is something that is going to be looked at (not 903 I'm afraid).