Go to Configuration > Shopping Cart > Product Maint from the left hand menu or click on Product Maint under Configuration on the home page.

This will take you to the product maintenance engine, where the products will be listed in a tree structure based on the category you would place them in. The Product Order being the root category, the products and the categories placed under it will be displayed on the main page of the shopping cart.

Now the most important function to pay attention to is to select the appropriate Currency Type for the list of products you want to display. Initially, it displays the products set for the default currency type. You need to add products for every currency type you want to make them available for.

Situation: Sometimes the clients say they cannot find the product they have added to the cart?

Answer: One of the reasons is because they have set the product price to a currency type other than the default one. For example, you have added a product whose price is set to $CAD (not the default type) and the system is displaying only the products whose price is set to $USD only. In that case you need to select the CA Dollar option from the drop down list (above the product maint engine) to get the list of products for that currency type.

Once you add a product inside a category, the option to expand or collapse the section will appear automatically. Click on the [+] icon preceding the category name to expand the section and use the [-] icon to collapse the same. Clicking on a product name will display the admin view of the cart.

Above the product maintenance engine, there is a shopping cart widget, which displays the number of items added to the cart as well as the total cost.

• Shopping Cart Items: Total number of items added to the cart as a whole.
• Total: The sum of the amount of items added to the shopping cart.
• [Clear]: The link to clear all the items added to the cart, or simply to empty the cart.
• [Checkout]: The link to checkout of the shopping cart and go to the order entry page.

If you have lots of products, it is important to take a moment and think about how you want to organize them. It is best to take a look at all your products and then map out all the categories that you wish to enter. Go to Configuration > Shopping Cart > Product Maint from the left hand menu.

This will take you to the Product Maintenance page where you will find the list of products arranged in a tree structure. First you need to select the Currency Type you wish to add a Category for. This is a critical step as the categories will only show up for the currency you have added them to.

• For example, if you add a category for $USD, but the member selects $CAD for products they wish to see, then the $USD category will not show up. Chances are your system is only going to be in one currency type (the default type) initially, so this should not be an issue. Just be careful!

Once you have selected the appropriate currency type, the page will refresh itself. Then click on the Add New Category button below to start.

In the Category Edit page, you need to specify the attributes and then click on the Save Category button below. Find below a description of the fields:

• Status: The status of the category, i.e. Enable (default), Disabled, etc. Open the drop down menu and select your preferred one.
  • Deleted: Removes the category and the products under it completely from the system database; Can never be restored.
  • Disabled: Removes the category from the Members and Prospects view. It will be visible to Admin with a strike-through.
  • Enabled: Displays the category in the shopping cart to all viewers. This is the default status to make the category visible.
  • Read Only: Displays the category to all viewers, but only the Admin with full access permission can edit the category.

• Parent Category: Select a position from the drop down menu where you would like this category to appear. If you want this to be a top level category, then select the Product Order option which is the Root Level itself. To make it a sub-category, select an existing category.

• Language: Select a language to make the category available for. To add a new language, go to the Translation > Enable Language page.

• Title: Type in a name for the category you want to add, in the text-box provided. This title will be displayed in the product list.
• Description: Add a description to explain the purpose or content of the category for easy reference. Drag the box to expand.
  • If you do not want to show anything here, then enter a blank space. This is especially useful when clearing default entries.
• Sort Order: The order of appearance in the list. The lowest visible precedence is 1; A Category with a sort order of 0 (zero) is hidden from view.

• Image URL Thumb: In case you want to have an image associated with this category, choose it here. The URL will appear in the display box.
  • select... Use this link to choose any previously uploaded image from the file manager of the system.
  • upload... Use this link to upload a new image into the server. Then select it from the file manager.

The system will acknowledge your action with a Category Updated Successfully message. Go back to the Product Order page and check that the new category you have added gets listed in your preferred order. Now click on the [Edit] link next to the category name to set the access rights for viewers.

In the Category Edit page you will notice a new section at the bottom called Category Access. Tick on the check-box for the users/areas you want the category to be displayed in and then click on the Save button to commit to these changes. If you have the special customer website add-on, you can check that as well.

You should receive a confirmation message from the system to acknowledge your action. Go back to the Product Order page; Notice a blue dot preceding the category name. This shows that the category you have just configured is empty. Next you need to add products into the category.

To create a new product, select the appropriate currency type, you want the product to be available in and then click on the Add New Product button.

In the Product Add page, you need to specify the attributes and then click on the Save Product button below. Find below a description of the fields:

• Category: Select a position from the drop down menu where you would like this product to appear. If you want this product to be displayed in the top level category, then select Product Order which is the Root Level itself. Or else, select an existing category where you want it to display.
• Status: The status of the product, i.e. Enable (default), Disabled, etc. Open the drop down menu and select your preferred one.
  • Deleted: Removes the product completely from the system database. You can never restore this product back.
  • Disabled: Removes the product from the Members and Prospects view. It will be visible to Admin with a strike-through.
  • Enabled: Displays the product in the shopping cart to all viewers; This is the Default type to make the product visible to all users.
  • Read Only: Displays the product to all viewers, but only the Admin with full access permission can edit the product.
  • OutofStock: Disables the product from adding to the cart or for purchasing. The information related to the product is still visible.
• Language: Select a language to make the product available for. To add a new language, go to Translation > Enable Language page.
• Title: Type in a name for the product you want to add, in the text-box provided. This title will be displayed in the shopping cart.
• Short Description: Add a brief description that will show up beside the product in the Shopping Cart view. Drag the box to expand.
  • You will have the option in Step 2 to put a Full Description into the system. It will show on clicking the More Info link in the Shopping Cart.
• Item Code: A unique identification code for the product. Type in the code in the text-box provided. The code can be alphanumeric.
• Image URL: The image you want shown with a full view of the Item. This is where you select a picture that corresponds to your Item.
• Image URL Thumb: An image thumb is a small image of the item used as a display picture, the Short Description in the category view.
  • Note: See the Add Images and Thumbnails tutorial to learn more about how to upload and add images of products.

If the process went well, you will see a Success message. Click OK to acknowledge the action. You will be redirected to the Product Maint page.

The product you have just added has not been configured yet. Click on the [Edit] link next to the name of the product to go to the Product Edit page.

WARNING!!! Notes

• Be careful while Deleting a product/item from the shopping cart. While deleting a product make sure you also delete all the items under it.
• No two products or items should bear similar name, description or item codes. This can cause interference between different products/items.
• DO NOT create duplicate copy of a product or an item. Instead edit the original one. If required so, then first Disabled the original product.
• In case of the deleting and re-creating a product or an item, ensure that the information is passed to all your staffs (aware of the changes).

The Product Edit page contains several sections, where each of them serves a separate purpose. After configuring the attributes of a certain section, do not forget to save the values to apply the changes. To learn more about a certain section, go to the next page by clicking on the button below.