Using product choices:


I'm not sure if it's timing out trying to create the grid or because of the grid but on two different test installs:



Create a new product.

Create a new choice drop down, Size

Create a new choice drop down, color

Save



Try to view the product in store, it times out.

I take back the "worked correctly" part. It doesn't time-out, but the grid with 3 for color and 2 for size doesn't show the combinations correctly. I had red, green and blue for the color; large and medium for the size. I get 6 choices, each with a single attribute of a blue, large, medium, red, red, green in that order. But no large red, etc.

Only when I have a product choice and product modifier does the grid show correctly. Having multiple product choices and a single product modifier seems to work ok. But if you have 2 product modifiers, then you get a set of product choices with each product modifier, but it doesn't combine the product modifiers.

I had color (3 choices - red, green, blue) and size (3 choices-large, medium, small) as product choices. I had 2 product modifiers (collar - turtle, v-neck) and (sleeve - short, long). I get a blue long large and a blue long v-neck, but no blue long large v-neck. It looks like you are required to only have a single product modifier, but can have multiple product choices, but no single product choices by themselves.

But a negative number in the product modifier doesn't affect the price. It doesn't work in the non-grid templates either. May be a new bug.


Update: The adjusted price cannot go below cost! That part isn't a bug.

I'd like to see some confirmation from BV on this one. Perhaps Chris and I are missing something?

With SP3 Beta2, clean full install, new database - created a product with 3 product choices, no product modifiers, as a radio button list. Displayed fine until I changed the product template to BVC5ChoiceGrid. Then I get this error:

Arithmetic operation resulted in an overflow.

Stack Trace:


[table width="100%" bgColor=#ffffcc]
[tr ][td ]<CODE>
[OverflowException: Arithmetic operation resulted in an overflow.] BVSoftware.Bvc5.Core.Catalog.InternalProduct.GetProductCombinationDisplays(Product baseProduct) +946
BVModules_Controls_VariantsGridDisplay.Initialize(Boolean Clear) +516
BVModules_Controls_VariantsGridDisplay.set_BaseProduct(Product value) +74
BVModules_ProductTemplates_Bvc5ChoiceGrid_Product.PageLoad(Object sender, EventArgs e) +460
System.EventHandler.Invoke(Object sender, EventArgs e) +0
System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) +99
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +47
System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +1061
</PRE>[/code][/td][/tr][/table]

A single product modifier is still needed to correct the grid. I added in a two product modifiers and another product choice and the resulting grid shows the correct combinations. So we have progress! Just fix the single product choice and it should be good to go.

The original BVC2004 version would take whatever combinations of a singl product you had and place them in the grid. You could choose 3 out of 4 options to show as that prevents you from adding the product to the cart. The purpose of the grid is to be able to add multiple items to your cart at once, like 2 red short sleeve shirts and 1 blue long sleeve shirt. That would have 2 choices/modifiers, color and sleeve length, for the same shirt product.

"Delivery Time" and "location" sound more like they should be Product Type properties rather than Product Choices and/or Modifiers.

For Product Modifiers: Are you adjusting price/weight/shipping based on delivery time or location? Delivery Time and location are typically based on things like drop shipping from a supplier. When you ship from a supplier, the "adjusted" shipping is calculated from the supplier address. I don't understand why you have customers choose location and delivery time. Doesn't the shipping choice they select determine the delivery time (i.e. USPS Priority, FEDEX overnight, etc.)? Are they choosing the location the item is shipped from? What if it isn't available from that shipping location in the delivery time they also selected?

If you had the Delivery Time and location as drop-downs, do they apply to all choices made in the grid? Those choices sound more like they should be on the shipping part for an order.

The grid was supposed to be like the BC2004 grid and it is almost ready. It typically not used for more than a few choices. My wifes' site sells dictation for court reporters on CDROM. They each sell for the same price, but there is a discount when you by more than 5. If each type is a Product Choice, then she can track inventory if desired. The customer's typically buy 5 at a time and having them go through 30+ products to select their choices isn't a great way to do it. But having a grid of all choices available at once allows them pick what they want and still get the discount. There isn't another way to get both the discount and the convenience of ordering without the grid, like BVC2004.

Inventory can always be turned off for individual products.

Chris, customers have the option of paying an additional fee per unit for expedited shipping. It's roughly equivalent to the differential between base shipping and expedited shipping plus the addition of vendor fees. location refers to the location of imprints, not deliveries.

In many businesses there is more to delivery time than just the shipping rate/choice. In our business extra fees are incurred for faster production times from our vendors. A customer may choose 5 day production and ground shipping which is normal, or 3 day production (extra fee) with ground shipping.

The alternative use of the grid would be in allowing customers to select combinations of products that all fall under one minimum quantity/price break. Instead of having to select 5 blue smalls, continue shopping and entering 5 blue medium, 5 blue large, they could enter all 15 at one time. At the same time I need information on color of imprint, location of imprint, whether or not they want faster production, second imprints etc. As it's devised now I believe the choice grid is totally useless aside of simple grids. For many companies the location, color of imprint etc will not change, the only thing needed in the grid is the size/color combinations. It's an ease of use issue for customers.

I know it can be done this way as I saw a working example from the person that preceded me in 2004. I gather it was done by a custom programmer that has vanished from the BV scene.

As it's devised now once you use the grid you use common functionality. Rather than being an addition feature, all it's doing is taking existing features and morphing their operation. It's not really a clean way of doing it at all.