x-cart ~ product options

Ater you have created your products, it's possible to list different product options. A t-shirt that you sell in 5 different colour and 6 different sizes only has to be listed as one product. You simply attach the different colour options and the different size options to this one product. This tutorial can also cover different price variations for different options ie: If you choose size XXL, the price is 5% dearer or $2.50 dearer.

You could also use product options to provide a gift wrapping service & charge extra for it.

++ Scroll down the page for a list of different product options that can be set. ++

setting up your product options

1. Add your product as normal (see tutorial)
2. Click on the Search for Products link in the menu to find the product you wish to set up product options for.
3. Use the features in the search box to find your product, click the Search button to see a list of results.
4. Click on the name of the product you wish to add the product options to.
5. In the top section, there's a whole bunch of links. One of them says Product Options. Click on it.
6. In the Add Option Group box you'll see a list of the option groups available (if you have already set one up for this product). Click on the Add New .. button to add a new group (if this is the first time you're adding a product options group, you don't need to do this )
   Option Group Name - give your option a name, if these are size options, call is SIZE etc
   Option Text - this is what the end user sees, so perhaps something like "choose your size"
   Option Group Type - there are three different types of options you can choose
   a) Price Modifier - where the option will actually change the cost of the item
   b) Product Variant - used for different sizes & colours available, and all options are the same price
   c) Custom Text Field - where you can add an extra field for the adding of products, for example, if you were selling books, you could have a custom field for the ISBN number of the book.
   - Choose the appropriate Option Group Type from the drop down box.
   Order By - if you're going to have more than 1 different option (ie: size AND colour), you can choose which options are listed first in your shop. Give your group a number to show which order you want it displayed in.
   Availability - set to Enabled if you want to use this option, set to Disabled to turn it off.
   Options List -
   If you chose a) Price Modifier - Type your options in, one per line, in the order you want them to appear in on the website, and also include the price variant. For example:-
   White
   Blue=+5%
   Red=-4
   Explanation:
   * White (this shows the price does not change for this colour)
   * Blue=+5% (this shows the price is 5% dearer for this option)
   * Red=-4 (this shows the price is $4 cheaper for this option)
   If you chose b) Product Variant - Type your options in, one per line, in the order you want them to appear in on the website. For example:-
   Extra Small
   Small
   Medium
   Large
   Extra Large
   If you chose c) Custom Text Field - leave this field empty
7. Click the Add Option Group button.
   Note: Product options are unique to each item. You must set them up individually for each product. You cannot share a product option group with more than one product. You have now set up product options for this product only.
   Note: If you're listing sizes AND colours, you need to do this twice. Once for size and once for colour.

modifiying your product options

Once you have put your product options in, it's very easy to change them.

1. Follow steps 1 thru 5 above to get yourself at the Product Options section.
2. In the Product Options groups box, find the group you wish to modify. Click on the name of the group to modify it (under the Option Class heading)
3. All sections of this screen are the same as the tutorial above except for the Options list section.
   To delete an option - put a tick in the box next to it and click Delete Selected
   To change the option value - change the text in the boxes provided
   To change the order in which it appears - change th numbers in the boxes provided
   To change whether you want this option to be available - take the tick out of the appropriate box to make this option unavailable (yet still leave the information in the database to be turned back on later)
   To change the price difference - in the option surcharge column there are two different fields to fill in. The first field is numerical, set your price or percentage here. (You can use negative amounts here if your price difference is cheaper) The second field is a drop down box. Choose Absolute if you want the figure to the left to be a dollar value, or choose Percent if you want the figure to the left to be a percentage.
   ADD OPTION VALUE - if you'd like to add an extra option, do it here.
4. Click Update Option Group button to save all your changes.

stock levels for your different product options

If you are tracking stock levels for different product options, the stock levels can be kept for each different option (size and colour) available. To do this, the following two things need to have happened already:-
1. You have added the product to the shop (as per the add product tutorial)
2. You have added the product options (as per the top part of this tutorial)

1. If you're not already on the Product Management page of the stock item you want to set the stock levels for, use the Search For A Product tutorial to find the stock item you want to change.
2. Scroll down to the Quantity In Stock section. You'll notice there is a note there, telling you that you need to go to the Product Variants section to change the stock levels. Click on the Product Variants link (either in the note or from the menu near the top fo the page)
3. You will now be presented with a list of the different product options/variants. You now have the opportunity to set the following details differently for each different product variant:
   SKU - which is your products code number
   WEIGHT - in case different varieties weight different
   QUANTITY IN STOCK - because stock levels will be different for each variant
   COST - in case there's a different price for different options
4. Make the necessary changes to the 4 options (above) and click the UPDATE button.

different images for your different product options

If you're selling a t-shirt in 10 different colours, it's more effective to put the item in x-cart once and say that it's available in 10 different colours than it is to put it in as 10 seperate items (unless, of course, you want to!!)
To do this, the following two things need to have happened already:-
1. You have added the product to the shop (as per the add product tutorial)
2. You have added the product options (as per the top part of this tutorial)

1. If you're not already on the Product Management page of the stock item you want to set the stock levels for, use the Search For A Product tutorial to find the stock item you want to change.
2. Click on the Product Variants link
3. You will now be presented with a list of all the different product variations. One of the options is IMAGE. To change the image for the product variant, put a tick in the box(es) that you want to change the image for, then click on the Add/Update button.
4. Upload your image as per the Change Image Tutorial. NOTE: this changes the large version of the image, so they can be up to 450 pixels wide. It is a VERY VERY GOOD IDEA to make sure all the images are EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE.
5. Click the Update button to complete the process
6. Repeat as necessary

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