Stock by Attribute v4.0 addon for v1.3.5-1.3.9

Daba_do:

Zen Cart v.1.5.4

SBA is in beta for 1.5.4?
Though some know how to make it work?

Any help on getting it up and running on 1.5.4.

When I get to the http://YOUR_DOMAIN/YOUR_ADMIN/stock_by_attr_install.php
and run the installer nothing happens.

So new at ZC its crazy, but any help would be great.

When you say nothing happens, can you explain a little further? White screen? Just another menu? Error message?

Did you happen to try the version made available about 6 hours ago that has been briefly tested on ZC 1.5.4 and should be backwards compatible to ZC 1.5.3 found at: https://github.com/potteryhouse/stock_by_attribute_1.5.4/tree/mc12345678_ZC154
zip available at: https://github.com/potteryhouse/stock_by_attribute_1.5.4/archive/mc12345678_ZC154.zip

Daba_do:

Zen Cart v.1.5.4

SBA is in beta for 1.5.4?
Though some know how to make it work?

Any help on getting it up and running on 1.5.4.

When I get to the http://YOUR_DOMAIN/YOUR_ADMIN/stock_by_attr_install.php
and run the installer nothing happens.

So new at ZC its crazy, but any help would be great.

Since you're installing a plugin not designed for your version of Zen Cart, why would you expect it to work? At your experience lever, no offense, probably better to wait for the new version which will work correctly.

Hi, new to ZC so on a learning curve here, but managing. However, a question re this plugin (v 1.5.3 for ZC 1.5.1). Is there an up-to-date instruction guide on how to use it? or can someone explain what the 'Custom ID' field is all about?

Mike

Mikeondraco:

Hi, new to ZC so on a learning curve here, but managing. However, a question re this plugin (v 1.5.3 for ZC 1.5.1). Is there an up-to-date instruction guide on how to use it? or can someone explain what the 'Custom ID' field is all about?

Mike

The CustomID allows you to assign an ID to each attribute. Think of it like the 'Products Model' you assign to a product.

jeking:

The CustomID allows you to assign an ID to each attribute. Think of it like the 'Products Model' you assign to a product.

If I may clarify a little further based on the current implementation.

The custom ID is something self entered (there is no requirement to have use it)

For a product that has a single option name, a customid could be applied to a single option value. (Quantity of product is available in 1, 2, 4, and 8 pieces then each of those options could have its own customid, none, or a mixture of one provided for some and none for the others.)

For a product that has multiple option names for a product (typical example is a shoe that is available in a color and a size) then the current implementation allows a custom ID to be applied to each such pairing of color and size (blue-9, green-10). For a product with three option names, then the combination of three option values would be used to which a single customid could be provided... Assume a shirt that is available in adult and child (two option values for a single option name) that is available in three colors (white, blue, black), and in four different sizes (S, M, L, XL) then some of the combinations available to which each has a customid available would be:

Adult-white-S : shirt1
Child-Blue-M: shirt2
Adult-Black-XL: shirt3

Where shirt1, shirt2 and shirt3 could be the customid that is entered.

With a total of 24 combinations available to be assigned in the above example.

The data (value of the customid) currently is then provided on the invoice, the email, in the order history, etc. (areas where the selected attributes are presented) in some cases in replacement of the model# while the model# is generally still available as well... Where a customid is not provided but the desire is to display customids then the model # is provided instead (whether that be blank or some data).

mc12345678:

If I may clarify a little further based on the current implementation.

The custom ID is something self entered (there is no requirement to have use it)

For a product that has a single option name, a customid could be applied to a single option value. (Quantity of product is available in 1, 2, 4, and 8 pieces then each of those options could have its own customid, none, or a mixture of one provided for some and none for the others.)

For a product that has multiple option names for a product (typical example is a shoe that is available in a color and a size) then the current implementation allows a custom ID to be applied to each such pairing of color and size (blue-9, green-10). For a product with three option names, then the combination of three option values would be used to which a single customid could be provided... Assume a shirt that is available in adult and child (two option values for a single option name) that is available in three colors (white, blue, black), and in four different sizes (S, M, L, XL) then some of the combinations available to which each has a customid available would be:

Adult-white-S : shirt1
Child-Blue-M: shirt2
Adult-Black-XL: shirt3

Where shirt1, shirt2 and shirt3 could be the customid that is entered.

With a total of 24 combinations available to be assigned in the above example.

The data (value of the customid) currently is then provided on the invoice, the email, in the order history, etc. (areas where the selected attributes are presented) in some cases in replacement of the model# while the model# is generally still available as well... Where a customid is not provided but the desire is to display customids then the model # is provided instead (whether that be blank or some data).

Many thanks for that, now understand. I think in my implementation I will not need to use it.

Another question, this is probably a setting I have missed somewhere. The plugin is working OK and I have 'SBA Show Stock Level on Product Info Page' selected true and the quantities are showing against the various variants. However, for variants where there is no stock, it is showing the 'Quantity of all variants' instead of 0. If I try to add an out-of-stock item to the Cart it comes up as out-of-stock, so it's just this displayed figure that is wrong. Any suggestions ?

TIA ... Mike

Mikeondraco:

Many thanks for that, now understand. I think in my implementation I will not need to use it.

Another question, this is probably a setting I have missed somewhere. The plugin is working OK and I have 'SBA Show Stock Level on Product Info Page' selected true and the quantities are showing against the various variants. However, for variants where there is no stock, it is showing the 'Quantity of all variants' instead of 0. If I try to add an out-of-stock item to the Cart it comes up as out-of-stock, so it's just this displayed figure that is wrong. Any suggestions ?

TIA ... Mike

To clarify, when you say variants with no stock, does that mean the variant is listed in the admin table and the value is zero or is the variant not present at all for that product?

mc12345678:

To clarify, when you say variants with no stock, does that mean the variant is listed in the admin table and the value is zero or is the variant not present at all for that product?

Just been playing around and found a fix. If I enter a quantity of 0 against a variant it does not show up in the table. If I set a quantity >0 then it does. If I then edit the quantity in the table to 0 it remains visible and works correctly in the cart

Mike

Mikeondraco:

Just been playing around and found a fix. If I enter a quantity of 0 against a variant it does not show up in the table. If I set a quantity >0 then it does. If I then edit the quantity in the table to 0 it remains visible and works correctly in the cart

Mike

What I understand is, addition of a variant with 0 quantity to start does not add the variant to the list.

How many attributes (option names) are associated with the product? What was the selection adjacent to the option name(s) when trying to add a quantity of 0?

mc12345678:

What I understand is, addition of a variant with 0 quantity to start does not add the variant to the list.

How many attributes (option names) are associated with the product? What was the selection adjacent to the option name(s) when trying to add a quantity of 0?

I was adding them all in exactly the same way, entering the actual true stock levels. However, as you say, a quantity of 0 will not add the variant, so a quantity of 1 has to be entered to start with and then edited in the table.

No problem, as long as I know the sequence :smile:

Mike

Mikeondraco:

I was adding them all in exactly the same way, entering the actual true stock levels. However, as you say, a quantity of 0 will not add the variant, so a quantity of 1 has to be entered to start with and then edited in the table.

No problem, as long as I know the sequence :smile:

Mike

Understand that it is no problem for you, and if you were the only one to ever use the software, that would also be fine. But one goal is to be sure that it works as "most" people would expect. Adding a product as being stocked to then turn around and make it out-of-stock doesn't make sense. Imagine as a customer if the product were viewed at that point, and heaven forbid purchased when in fact no stock existed for it.

So, the questions were asked in a fairly specific way. The code has more than one method of processing the data entered based on the selections made to create a variant... Ideally, like all issues identified, reproducing the problem helps to find the solution. Unfortunately I don't know what your "normal way of entering product" is, until recently my normal way was through phpmyadmin as I could get it right everytime...

Now that I've added sequenced dropdowns with the ability to show product that is out-of-stock and the admin page works for a large majority of it's actions, including the product being presented in a page by page fashion instead of all at once, I'm finding it much more convenient to use, although I would probably still use EP4 to control SBA variant inventory if I had a lot of product.

So if you could please take a moment to answer the questions, it would be appreciated by all.

Apologies if I was sounding flippant, my site using Zen is still under construction, thus nothing seen live by customers, etc.

The reason I want to add variants with 0 stock level is so that customers will be able to see all variants that can be available, whereas if not shown on the product screen, then that variant is not obviously available.

As I said above, still very much under construction as I am working my way through learning the package. If you want to see what the result of the above is on my product screen is have a look at:

http://dracocrafts.com/dcshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_4&products_id=1

and look at the Size drop-down box.

Entering a stock level of 1 to get the variant into the product table and the subsequently editing it back to 0 would have no consequences on a live site either. Until the 'Sync Quantities' tab is selected (or Sync All Quantities) then the live database is not updated and consequently the new variants/quantities are not available to customers.

If there is a 'fix' for this then I would be happy to incorporate it. Personally I am not a smart enough coder to know how to fix it myself, so this work-around will be fine for my implementation in my store.

Mike

Mikeondraco:

Apologies if I was sounding flippant, my site using Zen is still under construction, thus nothing seen live by customers, etc.

The reason I want to add variants with 0 stock level is so that customers will be able to see all variants that can be available, whereas if not shown on the product screen, then that variant is not obviously available.

As I said above, still very much under construction as I am working my way through learning the package. If you want to see what the result of the above is on my product screen is have a look at:

http://dracocrafts.com/dcshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_4&products_id=1

and look at the Size drop-down box.

Entering a stock level of 1 to get the variant into the product table and the subsequently editing it back to 0 would have no consequences on a live site either. Until the 'Sync Quantities' tab is selected (or Sync All Quantities) then the live database is not updated and consequently the new variants/quantities are not available to customers.

If there is a 'fix' for this then I would be happy to incorporate it. Personally I am not a smart enough coder to know how to fix it myself, so this work-around will be fine for my implementation in my store.

Mike

It's no problem afterall like you said you're working on your own store to get it ready to go full-time live. Still trying to identify which of the couple of methods were used to populate the stock with zero quantity; however, seeing the example is a single attribute product, the two options that come to mind are identifying a single attribute and providing a quantity of zero, or populating all variants with a single value of zero. While the question still wasn't directly answered the situation can be inferred to either/both of those methods do not successfully populate the potential variants when a quantity of zero is identified for the stock quantity.

On the issue of having to wait for quantity synchronization before a product can be purchased is not correct at least on the version that I am testing... I have a synchronized quantity of 31 product, but 12 variants (three option names, 2 for the first, 3 for the second, and 2 for the third). All but 2 of the variants have a quantity of 10, the other 2 variants both fall in the absence of the third option name. I was just able to add to my cart a quantity of 40. (Haven't "purchased" them yet, but if there is a problem expected down the line, then there really should be something identified at the cart level, even if it is a potential of something being changed/different.)

So, is this a problem? Still not sure what the purpose of the quantity synchronization is (left over from some old code) at least in multiple attribute type product, but it has not necessarily been programmed in to cause some sort of alert... It does have some usefulness in single attribute product, but more of a total of a product can not exceed the total available which the synchronized quantity for a single attribute is basically the sum of all the different "styles" and makes more sense than when compared to multiple attributes. That said, I just tried a product that had single attributes, 61 synchronized in quantity, three option values each with 30 applied, and was able to add all 90 to the cart...

Did discover that the reported quantity in cart is not correct, which is something else that will need to be addressed... But at least up to the point of adding to the cart, there is nothing preventing adding quantity that were designated for a variant even if the total variant quantity exceeded the synchronized quantity. (That said, there also is no "edit" for the synchronized quantity, either it is the total of all the variants or it is off because the variants have been manipulated outside of the cart's "normal" process.)

There will be a fix for the inability to add a variant or combination of variants with a quantity of zero, just have to find the correct coding for when the value is zero as I remember there is a "trick" to get around the result that is being seen, but I can't remember what it is off the top of my head.

Sorry, to answer your specific question, I was populating one variant at a time. Eventually there will be 2/3 variants per item in this category, but not got that far yet.

With another template issue I am having I have been advised to upgrade from 1.5.1 to 1.5.4 and I understand that this plug-in may not work with the latest version anyway ?

Mike

Mikeondraco:

Sorry, to answer your specific question, I was populating one variant at a time. Eventually there will be 2/3 variants per item in this category, but not got that far yet.

With another template issue I am having I have been advised to upgrade from 1.5.1 to 1.5.4 and I understand that this plug-in may not work with the latest version anyway ?

Mike

Don't know the source of dissinformation, but that's no matter. The specific version that you are using (1.5.3 I assume) may not work straight out of the box without some "knowledgeable merging", but yes there is a version that works with ZC 1.5.4. It is in some final assembly to ensure maximum functionality, but it works on 1.5.4. If it doesn't then I've wasted time in rewriting and postingmy changes to github. :)

As for multiple attributes with the version you're using, without Dynamic Dropdowns (which needs a little work as well straight out of the box) or some tweaking of the sql in attributes.php things won't look too good to the customer.

I've worked a few ways around the issues with multiple attributes, want to have confirmation that it works/didnt break something else, but as I said I tested with three attributes, will have to try with four to see if the sequenced dropdowns works correctly/as desired for products shown as out of stock and for those products not shown (original design of Dynamic Dropdowns).

Thank you very much indeed for your help, information and advice. I am very interested in trying the updated plug-ins you are working on, so will keep my eye on things. Do you have any time frame on their release?

I take it you recommend I use both Stock by Attribute and Dynamic Dropdowns?

Thanks again Mike

Mikeondraco:

Thank you very much indeed for your help, information and advice. I am very interested in trying the updated plug-ins you are working on, so will keep my eye on things. Do you have any time frame on their release?

I take it you recommend I use both Stock by Attribute and Dynamic Dropdowns?

Thanks again Mike

So based on some discussion about how to make SBA provide the widest range of operation, Dynamic Dropdowns is being incorporated into SBA. Currently instead of replacing the existing code a new class (sba_sequenced_dropdown) has been created to provide the widest functionality that has been considered for SBA with switches to adjust response including not using DD. Already have received some feedback related to how attributes are sorted for display, which generally confirms that headed in the right direction but a few internal fixes necessary. If not mistaken the goal was to have this ready early part of this month. The work that I did over the weekend certainly moved things along quickly, laying some groundwork to move to the next offering of a non-sequenced "free-for-all" possibility. The logic behind this one and system response will be a bit "touchy", but hopefully the easiest options will be made available rather than succumbing to the "it's too hard" response.

In developing the additional functionality I have also been working on an update to Dynamic Dropdowns to incorporate updates to the basic functionality and plan to package up those changes for submission in case others use DD for programs other than SBA or the version that is being pulled together. Also, would like to back fit the operation into the version that supports ZC 1.5.1, but attention was put into the more recent version of ZC to push things further forward a little faster rather than dwelling on the past. :)

Understood and many thanks again

Mike

Just installed this plugin on a new install of Zen Cart and every page I try to pull up is blank.

versions:
Zen Cart 1.5.3 (had .4 on, but realized that this might be the problem so installed .3 over top)
Stock by attribute 1.5.3

error message:
[Fri Mar 06 11:11:03 2015] [error] [client 69.163.128.115] client denied by server configuration: /home/bmdavis/boundlessmotion.com/shop/includes/filenames.php
[Fri Mar 06 11:11:03 2015] [error] [client 69.163.128.115] File does not exist: /home/bmdavis/boundlessmotion.com/forbidden.html

Any suggestions?

st.bobo:

Just installed this plugin on a new install of Zen Cart and every page I try to pull up is blank.

versions:
Zen Cart 1.5.3 (had .4 on, but realized that this might be the problem so installed .3 over top)
Stock by attribute 1.5.3

error message:
[Fri Mar 06 11:11:03 2015] [error] [client 69.163.128.115] client denied by server configuration: /home/bmdavis/boundlessmotion.com/shop/includes/filenames.php
[Fri Mar 06 11:11:03 2015] [error] [client 69.163.128.115] File does not exist: /home/bmdavis/boundlessmotion.com/forbidden.html

Any suggestions?

SSA 1.5.3 is for ZC 1.5.1...

Need to use SBA 1.5.4, and recommend the branch mc12345678_zc154 that is still in beta, but is compatible with ZC 1.5.3 and ZC 1.5.4. Look back in the postings of this thread to find the actual path/link