Max Characters on Checkout?

[Higsi]

Greetings,

I was wondering if it is at all possible to set a max number of characters for certain fields through the checkout process. Primarily the billing and shipping address fields are what I am wanting to set limits on.

I am currently using Shopsite version 8.3 by the way.

Thanks in advance,
NK

[tfoy]

There is a place under Commerce Setup: Order System: Checkout

which has the fields listed and a size option which I believe controls the fields size ( characters allowed )

[Jim]

That field controls only the size of the field not the number of characters that can be entered in it.

I don't think there is a way to limit the number of characters because ShopSite generates the code for the input field and doesn't use the maxlength attribute for the field. It might be possible to do something with css but I don't know what that would be.

I personally would not want to limit the length of the field because you never know how long an address will be. I have seen some pretty long valid addresses. If the reason is because some other application is going to be using the data from the field and it has a limit then that is a problem with the other application being to restrictive.

[Higsi]

Jim,

Thank you for the information. The reason we are wanting to limit the address field is based on the second scenario you mentioned. It affects our UPS shipping labels when the addresses are too long. Mainly we have had "some" orders where customer's pile on the address and suite, room, floor numbers, etc...on one field.

We created a Suite# / Floor / Apt field in hopes consumers will drop down to the next field instead of squeezing everything in one. Before we left it as "Address 2". Power of suggestion? Who knows...but maybe it will work.

Thanks again,
NK

[GlobalMarketGuru]

All Shipping programs that print labels have a limit to the number of characters on each line of an address. USPS, UPS, Fed Ex and Avery Labels all have limits to the number of characters on the address lines. After about 32 characters these programs just truncated the address and print the label with an incomplete address. You have plenty of address lines in shopsite to accomodate any address if one uses the Company line. When a package ships to a bad address it wastes the postage, creates ill will with the end customer and the package is often lost creating enormous costs to the company providing the product.

I strongly suggest shopsite provide a way to limit the number of characters in each address line to 32 and force a customer using shopsite to do the rest of the address on another line. Or just set an arbitrary limit of say 32 characters which is where most programs start truncating the address line in the various shipping programs.

Also, Shopsite would be well advised to add a third address line to the address options, just like USPS, UPS and FedEX do in their online programs.

We urgently need your help. Letting customers fill out address lines with 80 to 100 characters is a formula for disaster. Shopsite, we need your help with making the number of characters in the ship to address lines compatible with the major shipping companies. It is costing us shopsite users a lot of money in wasted postage, lost packages and customer ill will. Please treat this as urgent. We need the Shopsite programmers to a address the number of characters allowed at check out. Please fix this soon.

Thank You,

[ShopSite David]

In ShopSite v11 sp2 the merchant can now specify the number of characters that can be entered in the address fields.