Items with variable fields

[bakerman]

I am new to ShopSite and I have read the documentation about variable pricing, SKU, and name but I have some additional questions that I cannot find answers to... maybe someone can help me here.

1) Can I use a variable item so that when I am taking orders over the phone for items that are not on the site, I can just enter the info directly into the variable item? That way I can create the item on the fly the customer is purchasing and then I can use the features of the shopping cart.

2) If I can use it this way, how do I prevent a customer from using the item and entering the fields themselves? Could I password protect the page with the variable item?

3) Is it possible to populate the fields from an external source? For example could I use another site or database that would populate those fields when clicked on to purchase them? (I do know that I could add all of the items into the ShopSite databse and just use OrderAnywhere tags)

4) Does anyone have examples of the variable item in use?


Thanks for any help.

[loren_d_c]

1) Yes, you could use a Variable Name, SKU, and Price product to take phone orders.

2) You could either just not link to the page the variable product is on and not have it in any search indexes or sitemaps, or you could put it in a password-protected directory, or you could even just have the page on your local desktop so it doesn't even exist on the web (you would still have to be connected to the internet to use it, of course, since hitting the add to cart button would still have to submit the form to your shopping cart).

3) Yes, that is possible.

4) I don't have an example on my store of variable name or sku or price products, sorry. Maybe someone else who does will chime in.

-Loren

[bakerman]

or you could even just have the page on your local desktop so it doesn't even exist on the web (you would still have to be connected to the internet to use it, of course, since hitting the add to cart button would still have to submit the form to your shopping cart).

So could I FTP and grab the html file off the website once it is created and save it on my desktop?

3) Do you have any ideas of what type of script would work to fill in those variable fields?

Thanks a bunch

[loren_d_c]

So could I FTP and grab the html file off the website once it is created and save it on my desktop?

Yes.

Do you have any ideas of what type of script would work to fill in those variable fields?

No. It would likely have to be custom code written specifically by/for you, depending on your external data, how it is accessed, what you wanted it to do (i.e. what variable fields you wanted it to populate in the variable item), the internal itemnum of your variable item in ShopSite, and your particular ShopSite shopping cart URL.

-Loren