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Add Products To Your Store
Now that you have created your store and made some
formatting and module selections, it is time to add your actual products
to the store. There are many different ways that you can go about doing
this with Miva Merchant. We suggest you go over the different options available
before deciding on the method that will work best for you and your products.
Categories
You can create categories and sub-categories which you
then add your products to. For example, a greeting card shop may have one
Category called Birthday Cards, with Sub-Categories called Birthday Humor,
and Birthday Sincere. Once the categories are created you will
then add the products to their appropriate Category/Sub-Category.
Products
You may simply add your products and then, if you wish,
divide them into Categories later.
Import Data Files
You may import existing data files. To import files
from an existing KoolKat system, or generic flat files, see the section
of this manual titled Import Data under Stores-Store Name-Utilities.
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Before You Begin
Once you've decided which method of setting up your products
works best for you, we suggest you spend some time going over the different
forms you will need to fill out. Make a list of the different types
of information you will need for each product such as product code, description,
price, and product weight if applicable. If you want images of your
products to be displayed, you will want to have those images ready before
you begin so that you don't have to go back and add them later.
Store Name
Click on the small blue arrow icon next to the name of
your store to expand the menu below it. In addition to the Category
and Product form links, you will find other items listed here, such as
modules you will need to configure for your store. All items
are listed here in the order they appear in the Miva Merchant menu.
Skip those items that do not apply to you, or that you are not yet
ready to complete.
Groups
If you wish to add Users that do not have full
Administrative privileges, you must first create a Group, and assign the
Group privileges. Then you can add User(s) to the the Group with
the privileges you want them to have. Click on the small blue arrow
next to Groups to expand the sub-menu.
Add Group
Click on Add Group to pull up the form to create
a group and select privileges for it.
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Group Name
This may be anything you like and will be used to identify
the Group.
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Privileges
You will see all of the different sections/forms of the
Miva Merchant Admin page listed here. Check the boxes that correspond to
the privilege level you wish assigned to this Group for each section.
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Add
Click on the Add button to create your new group. It
will now be listed below the Add Group option.
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Users
After you Add the group, the form will return with a
blank entry field so that you may add a User to the group. Use the Lookup
option to display a list of current Users . Click the Add button
to add the User.
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States
This file contains the existing code for all 50 states.
If you wish to remove or add new code, you will do it from here.
Categories
Click on the small blue arrow to expand the sub-menu
below Categories. The only sub-category at first will be Add Category.
As you add categories and sub-categories, they will be listed here.
Add Category
Category Code
This will be used by Miva Merchant to identify your category
and will also be used in the URL. You may use any name you like but it
must be unique to this one category/sub-category.
Category Name
This is the name that will be displayed on your web pages
in titles, lists and headings.
Parent Category
If this is the Parent Category for a group which you
will add sub-categories to, leave this field blank. Otherwise, enter
the name of the Parent Category for this sub-category. You may click on
the Lookup link for a list of current Parent Categories you have
created.
For Example: If you sell greeting cards,
you may wish to create a Parent Category named Birthday Cards. You
would leave the Parent Category field blank because it is itself a Parent
Category.
You would then create a sub-category named Humor Birthday
and enter the name Birthday Cards in the Parent Category field to make
it a sub-category of Birthday Cards.
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Pagination
Do not paginate products If you select this
option all products within the category will be displayed at once when
selected. If you have many products this could cause a longer than
desired download time.
Display products per page...If
you select this option you control how many products will be displayed
at once on a page.
Add
Once you have finished entering the information for your
category click on the Add button to add it to your store.
Your New Category
Once you have added a new category click on the small
blue arrow next to it to display it's sub-menu.
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Add Sub-Category
The easiest way to add sub-categories to a Parent Category
is to do it from here because the parent category is already entered for
you. You fill in the Sub-Category form the same way as explained
above in the section titled Add Category. When you are finished
filling out the Add Sub-Category form, click on the Add button to
add the sub-category or the Delete button to delete the Sub-Category.
You may continue in this manner, creating as many Categories
and Sub-Categories as you like. You may also Delete Categories
and/or Sub-Categories as well, so there is no need to worry about making
mistakes or doing something "wrong". You can change your mind and redo
any of this at any time. Again, you may wish to create all of your
Categories and nested sub-categories before you add your products, or you
may add your products first, and create your Categories afterward.
You will find directions for both methods below.
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Add Existing Product(s)
If you added your products before creating your categories,
use this option to add those existing products to your categories/sub-categories.
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Product Code
Since you are adding existing products the easiest way
to enter your product codes here is to use the Lookup feature.
This will display a list of all of your existing products. Simply click
on the one you want to add, and the product code will be entered into the
field for you.
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Match this product code exactly
If you are adding a single specific product, select this
option.
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Match all product codes that begin with this value
If you wish to add a group of products that begin with
a similar product code to this category, then select this option and enter
the value the system will use to identify this group of products.
For example: If you wish to enter all birthday
cards to this category, and all of your birthday cards begin with a product
code string of "brth" then enter that string into the Product Code field
only and select this option.
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Add
Click on the Add button to add your product to
the category.
Add New Product
Whether you choose to enter your products before or after
you add your categories, the form will be the same. By selecting
the Add New Product link from the sub-menu of a Category, the product will
automatically be entered into the selected category. If you wish to add
new products without adding them to categories, skip to the Products section.
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When you select the Add New Product link
from the sub-menu of a category or sub-category the form will contain a
title identifying the Category.
For example: Add Product to Category: Birthday
Cards
Double check this to be sure you are adding your product
to the correct Category.
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Product Code
Each product code should be unique. This will be
used to identify a product within the system, and also for linking directly
to the product from a webpage. You may wish to make this something
you can recognize or understand, rather than a random set of numbers that
may be easy to forget.
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Product Name
This is the name that will be displayed on the web page
in titles, headings and listings.
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Thumbnail Image
A small image of the product will be displayed in product
listings.
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URL
If the image already exists in an online directory,
select the URL option and enter the full URL for it in the URL field.
Type carefully. If you make an error the image will not be displayed.
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Upload File
If the thumbnail image is on your local computer, select
the Upload File option, and click the Browse button to browse the files
on your local computer. If you wish to Overwrite an existing file
check the Overwrite box. Select the image file you wish to upload
and click on the Upload button to upload it. Remember, image files MUST
be in either .gif or .jpg formats.
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Full-sized Image
A full sized image will be used for full product displays,
usually along with the product description.
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URL
If the image already exists in an online directory,
select the URL option and enter the full URL for it in the URL field.
Type carefully. If you make an error the image will not be displayed.
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Upload File
If the image is on your local computer, select
the Upload File option, and click the Browse button to browse the files
on your local computer. If you wish to Overwrite an existing file
check the Overwrite box. Select the image file you wish to upload
and click on the Upload button to upload it. Remember, image files MUST
be in either .gif or .jpg formats.
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Price
Enter the price of the product here. Use
only the decimal format. For example: one dollar would be entered
as 1.00 Do NOT enter the dollar sign ($)
This will be entered automatically by the system.
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Weight
Product weight is required for some shipping methods,
such as UPS. Enter the product weight according to the unit
of measurement you selected for your store. (Go to Edit Store to determine
what unit of measurement has been selected if necessary.)
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Taxable
If you wish to have tax charged for this product check
this box. If not, leave it blank.
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Description
This will be the full description of the product, typically
displayed along with the full size image of the product. You may
enter your description as either plain text or HTML.
Add Attribute
An "Attribute" is an option, or set of options available
for a specific product. For example, you may offer a T-shirt
in three sizes and two colors. Rather than enter that product repeatedly,
once for each size and color variation, you can set up Attributes for Size
and Color that your customers can choose from when they select the
T-shirt.
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You must add a product before you can add attributes.
Once you have added a product click on the small blue arrow next to it
to expand it's sub-menu. Each individual product you enter will have
it's own sub-menu so that you can add attributes to it. Click on
the Add Attribute link to pull up the Add Attribute form.
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Attribute Code
Attribute codes are displayed on some reports as a sub-product
code to help you identify the attribute(s) associated with a product.
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Prompt
Enter a brief description of the attribute here, for
example, Select Your Color. You may use either plain text or HTML.
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Type
Select the display type for your attributes from the
list.
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Radio Buttons.
This display type allows only one item to be selected
from the choices offered.
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Drop-Down List
This display type allows only one item to be selected
from the displayed choices. This display type is recommended if you offer
many choices.
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Checkbox
Allows the shopper to select more than one of the available
choices.
You may also indicate an additional cost for a single
attribute with this display type. (Or a lesser price if you enter a minus
sign before the figure (-1.00)
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Text Entry Field
This allows the customer to input information, for example
their initials or a name for engraving. You may also indicate an
additional cost for a single attribute with this display type. (Or a lesser
price if you enter a minus sign before the figure (-1.00)
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Required
You may make a selection from this attribute group required
by your shopper before they can add it to their basket. For example,
you may wish to make selection of a Size Attribute required
for a T-shirt since if no size is selected, you will not be able to fill
the order without contacting the customer.
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Add
Click on the Add button to add this Attribute.
Attribute Options
Once you have created the main attribute group using
a display type of either radio buttons, drop down list or check box, you
must enter the different options you offer.
For example, if you created the Attribute group
Color, this is where you will create the individual color choices themselves,
such as Red, Green, Blue, etc.
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Option Code
Enter a code for the option. This will be displayed
in the invoice and basket and should be simple if possible.
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Prompt
This is the text that will be displayed for the option.
For example, if this is a color choice, such as red, enter Red. You
may use HTML with image references if you are creating a radio button
list. Otherwise, plain text is recommended as only minimal HTML will be
allowed on the other display types.
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Additional
Price (optional)
If you wish to charge an additional amount when this
choice is selected enter it here in decimal format only. Dollar signs
and other currency punctuation are entered automatically by the system
for display. For example, if you wish to charge an extra dollar
for the product if the color Red is selected, enter 1.00 here.
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Default
If you wish this option to be the default, (the one that
is selected if the customer does not select one) check this box.
Only one option can be designated as the default per attribute group.
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Add
Click on the Add button to add the option to the Attribute
group.
Edit/Delete
Attribute Options
To edit or delete the options for an attribute group
click on the small blue arrow next to the Attribute to expand it's sub-menu.
All of the options you have added for the Attribute will be displayed.
Select the one you wish to edit and click on it to display it. When
you are finished making your changes click on the Update button to save
your changes, or the Delete button to delete the option.
Edit/Delete
Attributes
To edit or delete an entire attribute group click on
the title of the attribute itself to display it. When you are
finished making your changes click on the Update button to save your changes,
or the Delete button to delete the entire attribute group.
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