How to Use ZenCart

• Setting up product attributes: Under Catalog, click on Option Name Manager. At the empty "en" box, enter what you want to call this option. Let's say you sell products in different colors, so call this Color. If you want to list the options in a certain order, put the order number for THIS option in the "Order:" box. (I usually leave it blank because I don't really care in what order the different options are listed.) Then select whether you want this option to appear in Dropdown, Text, Radio, or Checkbox format. I have no idea what File and Read Only formats are. I tend to use the Radio Button for options wth just a few attributes, but the Dropdown box for options with lots of attributes (like my large variety of candle scents). Text is a completely free text field, Checkbox is just what it says. Both are useful in certain situations but don't worry if they don't apply to your product. Click on "insert" and you should have created an option name! Next, under Catalog, click on Option Value Manager. If you have existing attribute values, they will be listed first. Go to the line with an empty box labelled "en" and select which attribute name you are adding options to - Color in this example. Let's say the color choices for this product are White, Blue, and Brown. Type "White" into the blank "en" box. Again, if you want to specify in what order the choices appear, type your selected order for THIS attribute in the "Order" box. Click "insert" and then repeat for Blue and Brown. All three colors should now appear above the blank "en" box at this point.If you haven't already set up the product, you need to at this point. Under Catalog, click on Categories/Products. Click on "new category" if you don't already have the category for this product set up (and fill in the blanks), otherwise click on the desired category. Click on "new product" and fill in the information EXCEPT set "Product Priced by Attributes" to Yes. (This is assuming all the product options have the same price and weight.) Under Catalog, click on Attributes Controller. Use the first dropdown box to select the category of the product to which you want to add attributes. Then select the product and click the "display" button next to the listing. Scroll down the page to the "ADDING NEW ATTRIBUTES" section. Scroll down the "Option Value" listing to White and click on it. Be sure to click the matching choice "Color" under "Option Name" - it seems obvious enough that ZenCart would select it automagically, but it doesn't. Ignore the line of colored boxes except that I do recommend you change the orange "Default Attribute" box to "Yes" for ONE of the choices, otherwise people will forget to mark which color they want. If you have a photo to go with the "White" choice, enter it in the "Attributes Image Swatch" box. Then click "insert" and you should find yourself back on the Attributes Controller page, but there will be an option "White" listed for the product now! Repeat for Blue and Black, and then go to your store site so you can click on the product and admire your work!
• Adding price or weight by attributes Go ahead and set up the attributes as above. Then go back to Attributes Controller, select the relevant product category, select the product and click Display, find the attribute for which you want to add price or weight info, and click Display. The attributes you previously added should now appear. Click on "edit" and the attribute will appear under an "Editing" sign. Let's say the Blue attribute above costs $1 more and weighs an extra 3/4 oz (that blue dye is heavy) so you are editing the Blue attribute. Find the "Prices and Weights" section of the Editing screen. Under "Price" leave the + sign alone and change the number in the next field to 1. Under "Weight" leave the + sign alone again and change the number to 0.05 (3/4 oz expressed as a decimal pound). Don't worry about the other boxes, if you figure out how to use them you are further along than I am. Now click the "update" box and you have added price and weight changes to that attribute! Repeat for any other attributes that have price and weight differences. If you want to reduce the price or weight for an attribute, you just change the + sign to a - sign. Also, be sure to remember whether you have a base price on the product, or a zero so you are pricing completely by attributes. Otherwise you will have horrified customers!
• Do you want to have product subcategories? Then do NOT put products in the category to which you want to add subcategories. An empty category gives you two options, add new product or add subcategory. Once you add products, that subcategory option disappears. If you've already created products in the catetory, create a "temp" category, move the products to the temp category, and create your subcategories. Then you can move the products from the temp category into your desired subcategories.
  
• Setting up GVs with a value of $5, $10, and $25 (just picking numbers to use as examples).  I'm assuming you have already set up a Gift Certificate product to add the attributes to and set the product price to 0 and Product Priced by Attributes to Yes; if you need help with that, let me know.  First go to Admin/Catalog/Option Name Manager.  Assuming you haven't already added any attributes to products, you'll see a line under the "Option Name" banner with a couple of blank boxes and a dropdown menu on it.   In the "en" box, type Gift Certificate Value -- leave the "order" box blank, if you want to control what order the options appear in you can edit it later when you know more about what you are doing.  Then select how you want the customer to choose from the dropdown menu.  I tend to use the dropdown box when I offer a lot of options and the radio button option when I have just 2-3 options, but you can choose whatever you want (except text, that really shouldn't be used when the item price is going to depend on the attribute).  Then click the "insert" button on the same line.  IGNORE everything below the warning to make backups -- they are useful when you know what you're doing but not at this point. Now, click on the "option values" button near the top left of the page.  Again, you will see a line with a couple of blank boxes, but the first box will be filled in with the Gift Certificate Value you typed in first.  In the "en" box, type $5 and leave the order box empty and click on Insert.  You should now see a line with Gift Certificate Value and $5, and below that the line with the empty boxes.  Now type $10 in the "en" box and click Insert, then repeat for $25.  You are done with this part, ignore the parts under the heavy black line and click on the "Attribute Controller" button on the top left of the screen. This next part isn't difficult, but you do need to pay attention and read carefully. Ignore the top "Products Listing" box.  The next box down, change the category if it's not already at your gift certificate category.  Then, under "Select a Product to View" highlight the Gift Certificate and click the "Display" button.  Make sure that is the product displayed under the grey line. First, under the "Adding New Attributes" heading, select Gift Certificate Value and $5 but do NOT click Insert yet. Under "Prices and Weights" make sure the left "Price" box has a plus sign in it, then put 5 or 5.00 in the right Price box.  Ignore the rest of the blank boxes.  Go to the brightly colored Attribute Flags line and set "Display Purposes" to No, "Attribute is Free" to No, "Default Attribute" to No unless you want this to be automatically selected unless the buyer changes it, "Apply Discounts" to No, "Include in Base Price" to Yes, and "Attribute Required for Text" to No.  To be honest, I'm not sure all these settings are absolutely necessary, but "Attribute is Free" and "Include in Base Price" are and the others won't hurt anything.  When you reach the point that you want to change them, you won't need my advice any more.  <g>  NOW you can click Insert.  Repeat for the $10 and $25 values, only changing the amount you put in the Price box to 10 and 25.  You should be done!
  
• Quantity discounts: First, set up the product you want to have quantity discounts on in Admin/Catalog/Categories Products. Use the base 1-item price as the price. Then, go to Admin/Catalog/Products Price Manager. Select the category that you put this item in, then highlight the item and click on the "Display" button. Make sure the right product is shown above the "Edit" button or you'll wind up making the changes on the wrong product. (Don't ask me how I know that.) Under the red "Preview Only ... Current Price Status" is an "Edit" button; click on it. Under a lot of filled-in boxes you will see a button labelled "add blank discounts." The number of blank discounts to be added at a time can be set in the config settings, I don't remember exactly where but it doesn't matter, if you want more blank boxes than the number given, just click the button again. Then fill in the first quantity at which you will offer a discount, and the amount or percentage. The "Discount Type" box will tell ZC how to handle it, and you can discount either from the official price or a special price you have on the product. Repeat until you have filled in all the quantity breaks you want to offer. I suggest discounting an amount or a percentage rather than to a given price, because that way, when you raise the base price, the quantity break prices will adjust right along and you won't have to edit each quantity break manually. (Just call me Lazy ...) Be SURE to hit "Update" to record the quantity breaks you just figured and typed in!