Extra Product Fields (Miva Module)

Purpose of Module

The Extra Product Fields module allows you to specify additional information for products within your store. This information is structured so that you may present it in the following fashion (as an example):

    Author: Dr. Seuss

Fields are only shown on Merchant's screens if there is a value associated with them, so you may easily define different fields for different products. Other features are:

  • Control the font and style by entered HTML before and after the label and value
  • Choose one of five locations to show data (above Quantity in Basket, Below Price, Below Weight, Above Description, Below Description)
  • Import module allows you to create data in Excel or a text editor and import it into Merchant
  • Export module allows you to backup information entered either by hand or via import

How to Install
  • Installing the Module
    1. Unzip nbxtrafields.zip to your hard drive
    2. Log into your Miva admin utility
    3. Expand the navigation tree next to Modules
    4. Click the link "Add Module"
    5. Click the "Upload File" graphic
    6. Click the "Browse" button
    7. Browse to the location where you stored the files from nbxtrafields.zip
    8. Select nbxtrafields.mv
    9. Click the "Upload" button
    10. When the graphic has been uploaded, the small "Upload File" window will disappear, leaving you with the main Miva admin screen visible
    11. Click the "Add" button on the main Miva admin screen
    12. Follow these instructions to also add nbxfimport.mv and nbxfexport.mv if desired

  • Associating the Module with a Store
    1. Log into your Miva admin utility
    2. Expand the navigation tree next to Stores
    3. Expand the navigation tree next to the store with which you wish to associate this module
    4. Click the link "System Extension Configuration"
    5. In the assigned module list, you should see an entry for "netBlazon's Extra Product Fields"
    6. Check the checkbox next to this module and click Update
    7. Note: This is not necessary for the import/export modules; they are automatically assigned to the store if installed.
How to Configure
  1. Log into your Miva admin utility
  2. Expand the navigation tree next to Stores
  3. Expand the navigation tree next to the store with which you wish to associate this module
  4. Click the link "System Extension Configuration"
  5. Click the "Extra Product Fields: Options" tab
  6. Select a location for the data to appear on the product page, expanded layouts, and line-item layouts. Set the alignment for the table cells containing values on the line-item layouts. If desired, alter the default HTML for before and after the label (as in "author") and value (as in "Dr. Seuss")
  7. Click the update button to save your changes.
  8. Next, click the "Extra Product Fields: Fields" tab
  9. Click the "New" icon to define a new field
  10. Enter a unique "field id" and a label for the field. The label will appear on your Merchant screens; field id will not. Check the boxes to determine if this field will appear on the product screen, expanded layouts, and line item layouts. (Expanded and line item layouts apply to category pages, search results, and the product list.)
  11. You may change the order in which the fields will appear by clicking the up and down arrows.
How to Assign Values to Products
  1. Log into your Miva admin utility
  2. Expand the navigation tree next to Stores
  3. Expand the navigation tree next to the store with which ythis module is associated
  4. Click the link "Products"
  5. Select a product and click the edit icon next to it
  6. Click the "Extra Product Fields" tab
  7. For each field, you may assign a value by clicking the edit icon and entering a value. Click the update button after each edit.
  8. Only fields that have a value will appear on the screen. If for some reason you want the field to appear with no value, enter " " (without the quote) to create a non-breaking space
Creating a Flat File for Import
  1. You can create a flat file by exporting data from a database or spreadsheet, or by entering it manually using a text editor (such as notepad)
  2. The flat file should contain three fields in the following order: product code, field id, and value. The field id (set within System Extension Configuration) and product code must already exist within Merchant prior to the export.
  3. You may use any character, including a tab, as a delimiter, so long as that character doesn't exist within your data. Common delimiters are tab, comma, and pipe ("|")
How to Use nbxfimport.mv
  1. Log into your Miva admin utility
  2. Expand the navigation tree next to Stores
  3. Expand the navigation tree for your store
  4. Expand the "utilities" navigation tree (the one under your store, not the domain utilities)
  5. Expand the Import Data navigation tree
  6. Click on the link for netBlazon's Import Extra Product Fields
  7. In the right-hand pane, enter the filename of your flat file, or upload the file from your hard drive
  8. Select how the module should handle existing entries (i.e. if the given product code/field id combination already has an assigned value). You may either keep the old value, replace the old value, append the imported value to the old value, or prepend the imported value to the old value
  9. Select "Tab" if your file is tab-delimited, or select the radio button for "Other" and enter your character delimiter
  10. Click the Import button
How to Use nbxfexport.mv
  1. Log into your Miva admin utility
  2. Expand the navigation tree next to Stores
  3. Expand the navigation tree for your store
  4. Expand the "utilities" navigation tree (the one under your store, not the domain utilities)
  5. Expand the Export Data navigation tree
  6. Click on the link for netBlazon's Export Extra Product Fields
  7. In the right-hand pane, enter a name for the file that will be created
  8. Choose a character to be used as a delimiter. This character should not exist within the field ids, product codes, or values within your system
  9. If the file already exists, choose whether to overwrite the file or to append the exported data to the existing file
  10. Click the Export button.
Support
For questions or problems with your Extra Product Fields module, please send email to miva@netblazon.com.