Product Option choices

[krisleech]

Hi, Im trying to get my head around product options. What I want to do is add options to a series of products so that if an option is selected it adds an additional cost to the normal product price.

In the default actinic example I can see how they have done this with the computer product and upgrading of monitor size which adds a cost to the normal price - but how do you do this?

I see they have added an Component(Monitor) to the product then an attribute(Size) to the component and then a series of Choices to the attribute(17 inch, 19 inch, 20 inch), but where do you specify the cost of these choices? I only see the price defined in the name of choice eg. "19 inch (+200.00)", where do you type that 200?

Thanks in advance, K.

[I-CC]

You need to have a Component at the head of the attributes, which once you add all of your choices into this, then go back into the Component, click into the Permutations tab and then Fill List if not already filled with the choices, which will then allow you to set the pricing model to use.

[gillian]

Product choices

Hi,

If you want to add components to your products here are some instructions using the example you gave.

1. Create your main product - Computer System.
2. Create a product for each of your choices setting the product code, price and description.
e.g. You could have:
0001 Monitor 17" @ £150
0002 Monitor 19" @ £175
0003 Monitor 20" @ £200
For each of these products check the "Hide on Web Site" box (in the General Tab). You don't need to set "Extended Information" for these products. But you might want to check Stock Monitoring.
3. To your main product (Computer System) add a component (e.g. Choice of Monitor).
4. Add an attribute (e.g. Size).
5. Add the choices (e.g. 17", 19" and 20").
6. Go back and select the component, then click on the "Permutations" tab. To fill the permutations click on "Fill List". The text you entered in "choices" will appear in the permutations table.
7. Associate the correct choice with the correct item
e.g. 17" - associate with 0001 Monitor 17"
19" - associate with 0002 Monitor 19"
20" - associate with 0003 Monitor 20"
8. Set your pricing in this table too.

Your prices for components are therefore set in the hidden products.

The concept of components is a little bit confusing at first but you will soon get the hang of them. If this is still not clear feel free to contact me.

[krisleech]

Thanks very much, that makes it clear
I like the way you can use a product which is hidden so you can update the price once and it is reflected everywhere.

Cheers K.

[gillian]

Hidden products

Sorry, I should have mentioned you only need to hide the product if it cannot be sold separately on your website.

I used components for clothing sizes i.e one item of clothing available in three different sizes.

Glad I could help.

[krisleech]

Another Question

Another question

If I have a product which has a price which is wholely determined by what option is choosen do I set the product price to zero and add choices (one per option), and then add each choice to the permutations list, using price overwrite to set the price?

This seems to work, but... Do I need to put the price in the choice description as well because it does not appear any where else? Or is there a better way because if I did this then and I needed to update the prices in the future not only would I have to update every permutation for that product but also the choice descriptions - twice the work!

Thanks in advance, K.

[Bruce]

Hi,

Do I need to put the price in the choice description as well because it does not appear any where else?

I am afraid that this is the only way to do it for now if you want to do it within the user interface. You can use a Hierarchical file import to do the same thing for you, take a look at SampleHierarchicalCatalogImportFile.txt that you will find in C:\Program Files\Actinic v7\Sites\Site1\Common to get an idea of how it is laid out. You can export your catalog fromActinic, make th required changes in the resulting .csv file and then import it back into Actinic.

Kind regards,