Hyperlink to specific product reference

[paulcreedy]

I'm looking to embed a hyperlink on a page which links directly to a specific product using the product reference.

I don't want to just copy/paste the url in case the url changes.

Is there a way to construct a hyperlink with a product reference so that when the link is clicked it goes straight to that reference?

I've tried it using the search url, but it doesn't quite work well enough.

[leehack]

I've tried it using the search url, but it doesn't quite work well enough.

This is the avenue of attack i'd be taking if i wanted to do this, what didn't work? The marketing lists when clicked would be the other option to explore, see how they are formed.

[Duncan Rounding]

The format is very simple:

http://www.theDomain.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss00000X.pl?PRODREF=Y&NOLOGIN=1

Where X is the script ID and
Y is the product reference.

[paulcreedy]

Thanks

Got that but it doesn't work that well for me.

There are many products that mention an accessory in it's description. what happens is that the search result not only finds the accessory but all the other products that are using that accessory!

I'm not passing the prod reference + accessory title and that sort of works a bit better.

[TraceyHand]

Duncan's method doesn't use the search, it creates a direct link to any product (but in the same way as the search constructs it's search results LINKS)

If you need to link to specific products, this is how I'd do it too
Or set it up as a related product, like Lee mentioned?

[paulcreedy]

Ah! I misread it.

That does indeed seem to work

Paul

[paulcreedy]

The reason I needed to embed it into the html is that the products details are in a flat file spreadsheet, with alternative products as columns in the same product row.

I don't have the time or experience yet to try and get this into a different structure so instead embed them into the html

Got it working now.
See: http://www.miriamsfancydress.co.uk/a..._Girls_40.html

For an example of direct linking to a product.

Been playing with this template for ages trying to get the header part to be the same width as the body but can't find the correct css to do it.

[Duncan Rounding]

You could have used [LINK] in the product description and then confiugured the link tab to go to the product or section you wanted.

[NickD]

The format is very simple:

http://www.theDomain.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss00000X.pl?PRODREF=Y&NOLOGIN=1

Where X is the script ID and
Y is the product reference.

How do you know what the script ID is for a given product?

Nick

[Duncan Rounding]

The script ID is not per product but is set for the site. You can check it in Actinic - Web - Network Setup - Common Settings.

THe script ID on the wine site is 1, as you can see from here for example:

http://www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk/cgi-bin/mf000001.pl?ACTION=SHOWFORM

[NickD]

Thanks - that works. Next question - how do I make product links work ALSO for customers who are logged into their accounts? The test link I've been trying

http://www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk/cgi...DANT&NOLOGIN=1

works when not logged in but just goes to the top of the page foir a logged-in customer. I suspect it may be something to do with the "&NOLOGIN=1" on the end of the link. It needs to work the same way irrespective of whether one is logged in or not.

Where is all this stuff defined?

Nick

[Duncan Rounding]

A simple way to find this out is to do a search for a product and then when you hover of the link to it that is presented on the the search resulkts page you should see the link in the status bar of your browser.

So this link will work when logged in:

http://www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk/cgi-bin/bb000001.pl?PRODUCTPAGE=Valais.html#aFENDANT

I tested this using your test account on your site.

[NickD]

Thanks. That works when logged in, but not when logged out. If you use that link when logged out you get an error message (see attachment)

If you search for FENDANT and hover over the result when logged in you get a link of:-

http://www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk/cgi....html#aFENDANT

However if you repeat the search when logged out and then hover over the result the link is different:-

http://www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk/aca....html#aFENDANT

Now this link works correctly when logged out, but not when logged in (logs you out).

So the 2 different cases (logged in/out) seem to require different links to function correctly. SO how can we have a single link that works in both cases? This must be possible, surely?

[Duncan Rounding]

I would doubt that it is possible to create a link that will work when logged in and when logged out. If it did it would mean that non account visitors could in theory view logged in info.

What are you trying to achieve with this? - perhaps there;'s another way to go about it.

[NickD]

What I'm trying to achieve is basic navigation around the site, both within pages and between pages. For a worked example, look at this page:-

http://www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk/acatalog/Valais.html

and scroll down to the section just below the pictures at the top, titled "Organisation of this page". Below that there are some links to stuff lower down the page - the one we've been using for test purposes is the link to "Fendant" but there are others - some of which are links to information sections and some are links to sections of the page specific to certain wine producers. This has been done largely to improve usability as some of the pages have got very long with lots of products. Elsewhere in the site there are similar pages with similar sets of links. There are also links between pages. I've also got a drop-down menu which takes you just about anywhere in the site, and a "back to top" link in the product template.

None of this has been a problem until a recent upgrade from Catalog to Business, however now we have introduced customer accounts all this has become apparent.

It seems to me fairly basic that navigational abilities should be preserved when logged in. My logged-in customers are going to experience all sorts of problems and without some sort of solution it rather negates the attractiveness of the accounts.

Any ideas would be most welcome - I'm sure I'm not the only site-owner to have had these issues. Maybe some site-owners have problems and just don't realise it.

Nick