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Posted to user@ofbiz.apache.org by Jonathon -- Improov <jo...@improov.com> on 2007/01/03 06:57:53 UTC
Product configurator
Say we have a single product that can come with various compositions. Like a computer that can
come with graphics card A or graphics card B or none (on-board graphics chipset).
Does OFBiz/OpenTaps have a product configurator that deals with actual differences in BOM for each
product configuration?
What I see at http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBENDUSER/Configurations seems like BOM cannot be
automatically changed (auto-generated) by product configuration. By "soft options", do you mean
options that don't require any changes to BOM? Options that are simply add-ons, but actual changes
to the product itself?
In the above example, we'd have a computer product Id like COMP123-GA for that with graphics card
A, COMP123-GB for graphics card B, or COMP123 for no graphics card at all.
Jonathon
Re: Product configurator
Posted by Jonathon -- Improov <jo...@improov.com>.
David,
> Oh yeah, I think I know what you're running into here, and this probably
> IS a cache related problem...
>
> If you go into the Cache management page in the WebTools webapp, you can
> see the product configuration cache and manually clear it there, or
> during development you can even just set a lower timeout on it in the
> cache.properties file.
Thanks for pointing me to the WebTools! Yes, I see the caches there, particularly the
product.config cache. It's set at 5 minutes. That's about the time it takes for changes to get to
the storefront. 5 minutes is fine for storefront. Seems there isn't much to do here, since the
expiration times are logical and reasonable. I'll know where to tweak stuff if needed. Thanks!
Jonathon
Re: Product configurator
Posted by Jacques Le Roux <ja...@les7arts.com>.
Quick answer (without research)
May this be related to https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-590 ?
I don't think so because it's some time that this bug is in and that does not seem to have been a problem.
Anyway, in such a case you should upgrade
Jacques
----- Original Message -----
From: "David E Jones" <jo...@undersunconsulting.com>
To: <of...@incubator.apache.org>
Cc: "Tom Anderson" <to...@spaceagecontrol.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 7:10 AM
Subject: Re: Product configurator
>
> On Jan 3, 2007, at 7:15 PM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
>
> > > If you're describing what I think you are it is because the price
> > does
> > > not update on the fly with JavaScript, you have to click the "Verify
> > > Configuration" button for it to update.
> >
> > No effect. The same as before. It works actually, just not
> > immediately. In short, updating production configuration does
> > update the storefront, but after a considerably long time. Want to
> > give me a hint on what to dig for to debug this?
>
> Oh yeah, I think I know what you're running into here, and this
> probably IS a cache related problem...
>
> If you go into the Cache management page in the WebTools webapp, you
> can see the product configuration cache and manually clear it there,
> or during development you can even just set a lower timeout on it in
> the cache.properties file.
>
> -David
>
>
>
Re: Product configurator
Posted by David E Jones <jo...@undersunconsulting.com>.
On Jan 3, 2007, at 7:15 PM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
> > If you're describing what I think you are it is because the price
> does
> > not update on the fly with JavaScript, you have to click the "Verify
> > Configuration" button for it to update.
>
> No effect. The same as before. It works actually, just not
> immediately. In short, updating production configuration does
> update the storefront, but after a considerably long time. Want to
> give me a hint on what to dig for to debug this?
Oh yeah, I think I know what you're running into here, and this
probably IS a cache related problem...
If you go into the Cache management page in the WebTools webapp, you
can see the product configuration cache and manually clear it there,
or during development you can even just set a lower timeout on it in
the cache.properties file.
-David
Re: Product configurator
Posted by Jonathon -- Improov <jo...@improov.com>.
> If you're describing what I think you are it is because the price does
> not update on the fly with JavaScript, you have to click the "Verify
> Configuration" button for it to update.
No effect. The same as before. It works actually, just not immediately. In short, updating
production configuration does update the storefront, but after a considerably long time. Want to
give me a hint on what to dig for to debug this?
> Usually the problem is with the way the variant is setup, ie missing
> selectable or standard feature appls, missing ProductAssoc, etc. From the
> virtual product's EditProduct page in the catalog manager select the
> "Variants" tab (if it doesn't exist, make sure the isVirtual field is set to
> Y), and there you'll see a summary of all variants plus an easy way to create
> additional variants by just specifying the productId you want to use.
Oh, it's a problem with the virtual product's Features. I added the 2 new features, red and
5-wheeler, as standard features. Changing them to selectable worked. Thanks!
> I'm pretty sure there is still nothing OOTB for this. I've worked with
> various clients who have implemented such a thing though, and it's not
> too tricky, and in fact the toughest part is deciding on how to present
> it to the customer.
That's ok. I just need to know that it isn't there yet.
Yup, I'm still having problems with the built-to-order product configuration not updating the
storefront. I took like 5 minutes for this email, and the configuration is now updated on the
storefront. No amount of refreshing or "Verify Configuration" helped with refresh. Help? Thanks.
Jonathon
David E Jones wrote:
>
> On Jan 3, 2007, at 10:42 AM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
>
>> Thanks for pointing me to "Configurable PC (PC001)" and "Giant Widget
>> (WG-9943)". I needed the "Giant Widget" example, needed OFBiz's
>> product variant function.
>>
>> I tried the product configurator on the "Configurations" tab for the
>> product PC001.
>>
>> One big problem. I updated and updated those ProductConfigItems, but
>> couldn't get the eCommerce storefront to display my updates. I changed
>> from mandatory to not, and back, and still got no updates to my
>> storefront. I think it takes like several minutes for the updates to
>> get from the Product Configurator to the storefront. Is that true? If
>> so, why?
>
> If you're describing what I think you are it is because the price does
> not update on the fly with JavaScript, you have to click the "Verify
> Configuration" button for it to update.
>
>> Same for adding variants. I added a new variant (Red, 5-wheeler) to
>> WG-9943 (Giant Widget), but am unable to see this in the storefront.
>>
>> Cache problems?
>
> This is most likely not a cache problem as the Entity Engine cache
> clears automatically pretty effectively (thanks to Adam Heath). Usually
> the problem is with the way the variant is setup, ie missing selectable
> or standard feature appls, missing ProductAssoc, etc. From the virtual
> product's EditProduct page in the catalog manager select the "Variants"
> tab (if it doesn't exist, make sure the isVirtual field is set to Y),
> and there you'll see a summary of all variants plus an easy way to
> create additional variants by just specifying the productId you want to
> use.
>
>> Also, I'm able to set prices for different variants (Giant Widget),
>> but am unable to see the variants' individual prices at the
>> storefront. For example, I'd like to have WG-9943-S4 (silver, 4
>> wheels) pricier probably because silver is a lucky color. How will my
>> customers know that silver is pricier than black? It seems they have
>> to add it to their cart before they can see the price of a premium
>> silver variant.
>
> I'm pretty sure there is still nothing OOTB for this. I've worked with
> various clients who have implemented such a thing though, and it's not
> too tricky, and in fact the toughest part is deciding on how to present
> it to the customer.
>
> -David
>
>
>> Jonathon
>>
>> David E Jones wrote:
>>> Are you talking about a build to order, or pre-configured/pre-built
>>> variants (variations)?
>>> Either way OFBiz has stuff to handle both, and there are example
>>> products for both (Configurable PC, and Giant Widget respectively).
>>> -David
>>> On Jan 2, 2007, at 10:57 PM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
>>>> Say we have a single product that can come with various
>>>> compositions. Like a computer that can come with graphics card A or
>>>> graphics card B or none (on-board graphics chipset).
>>>>
>>>> Does OFBiz/OpenTaps have a product configurator that deals with
>>>> actual differences in BOM for each product configuration?
>>>>
>>>> What I see at
>>>> http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBENDUSER/Configurations seems like
>>>> BOM cannot be automatically changed (auto-generated) by product
>>>> configuration. By "soft options", do you mean options that don't
>>>> require any changes to BOM? Options that are simply add-ons, but
>>>> actual changes to the product itself?
>>>>
>>>> In the above example, we'd have a computer product Id like
>>>> COMP123-GA for that with graphics card A, COMP123-GB for graphics
>>>> card B, or COMP123 for no graphics card at all.
>>>>
>>>> Jonathon
>>> --No virus found in this incoming message.
>>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.3/614 - Release Date:
>>> 1/2/2007 2:58 PM
>>
>
>
> --No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.4/615 - Release Date: 1/3/2007
> 1:34 PM
>
>
Re: Product configurator
Posted by David E Jones <jo...@undersunconsulting.com>.
On Jan 3, 2007, at 10:42 AM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
> Thanks for pointing me to "Configurable PC (PC001)" and "Giant
> Widget (WG-9943)". I needed the "Giant Widget" example, needed
> OFBiz's product variant function.
>
> I tried the product configurator on the "Configurations" tab for
> the product PC001.
>
> One big problem. I updated and updated those ProductConfigItems,
> but couldn't get the eCommerce storefront to display my updates. I
> changed from mandatory to not, and back, and still got no updates
> to my storefront. I think it takes like several minutes for the
> updates to get from the Product Configurator to the storefront. Is
> that true? If so, why?
If you're describing what I think you are it is because the price
does not update on the fly with JavaScript, you have to click the
"Verify Configuration" button for it to update.
> Same for adding variants. I added a new variant (Red, 5-wheeler) to
> WG-9943 (Giant Widget), but am unable to see this in the storefront.
>
> Cache problems?
This is most likely not a cache problem as the Entity Engine cache
clears automatically pretty effectively (thanks to Adam Heath).
Usually the problem is with the way the variant is setup, ie missing
selectable or standard feature appls, missing ProductAssoc, etc. From
the virtual product's EditProduct page in the catalog manager select
the "Variants" tab (if it doesn't exist, make sure the isVirtual
field is set to Y), and there you'll see a summary of all variants
plus an easy way to create additional variants by just specifying the
productId you want to use.
> Also, I'm able to set prices for different variants (Giant Widget),
> but am unable to see the variants' individual prices at the
> storefront. For example, I'd like to have WG-9943-S4 (silver, 4
> wheels) pricier probably because silver is a lucky color. How will
> my customers know that silver is pricier than black? It seems they
> have to add it to their cart before they can see the price of a
> premium silver variant.
I'm pretty sure there is still nothing OOTB for this. I've worked
with various clients who have implemented such a thing though, and
it's not too tricky, and in fact the toughest part is deciding on how
to present it to the customer.
-David
> Jonathon
>
> David E Jones wrote:
>> Are you talking about a build to order, or pre-configured/pre-
>> built variants (variations)?
>> Either way OFBiz has stuff to handle both, and there are example
>> products for both (Configurable PC, and Giant Widget respectively).
>> -David
>> On Jan 2, 2007, at 10:57 PM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
>>> Say we have a single product that can come with various
>>> compositions. Like a computer that can come with graphics card A
>>> or graphics card B or none (on-board graphics chipset).
>>>
>>> Does OFBiz/OpenTaps have a product configurator that deals with
>>> actual differences in BOM for each product configuration?
>>>
>>> What I see at http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBENDUSER/
>>> Configurations seems like BOM cannot be automatically changed
>>> (auto-generated) by product configuration. By "soft options", do
>>> you mean options that don't require any changes to BOM? Options
>>> that are simply add-ons, but actual changes to the product itself?
>>>
>>> In the above example, we'd have a computer product Id like
>>> COMP123-GA for that with graphics card A, COMP123-GB for graphics
>>> card B, or COMP123 for no graphics card at all.
>>>
>>> Jonathon
>> --No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.3/614 - Release Date:
>> 1/2/2007 2:58 PM
>
Re: Product configurator
Posted by Jonathon -- Improov <jo...@improov.com>.
Thanks for pointing me to "Configurable PC (PC001)" and "Giant Widget (WG-9943)". I needed the
"Giant Widget" example, needed OFBiz's product variant function.
I tried the product configurator on the "Configurations" tab for the product PC001.
One big problem. I updated and updated those ProductConfigItems, but couldn't get the eCommerce
storefront to display my updates. I changed from mandatory to not, and back, and still got no
updates to my storefront. I think it takes like several minutes for the updates to get from the
Product Configurator to the storefront. Is that true? If so, why?
Same for adding variants. I added a new variant (Red, 5-wheeler) to WG-9943 (Giant Widget), but am
unable to see this in the storefront.
Cache problems?
Also, I'm able to set prices for different variants (Giant Widget), but am unable to see the
variants' individual prices at the storefront. For example, I'd like to have WG-9943-S4 (silver, 4
wheels) pricier probably because silver is a lucky color. How will my customers know that silver
is pricier than black? It seems they have to add it to their cart before they can see the price of
a premium silver variant.
Jonathon
David E Jones wrote:
>
> Are you talking about a build to order, or pre-configured/pre-built
> variants (variations)?
>
> Either way OFBiz has stuff to handle both, and there are example
> products for both (Configurable PC, and Giant Widget respectively).
>
> -David
>
>
> On Jan 2, 2007, at 10:57 PM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
>
>> Say we have a single product that can come with various compositions.
>> Like a computer that can come with graphics card A or graphics card B
>> or none (on-board graphics chipset).
>>
>> Does OFBiz/OpenTaps have a product configurator that deals with actual
>> differences in BOM for each product configuration?
>>
>> What I see at http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBENDUSER/Configurations
>> seems like BOM cannot be automatically changed (auto-generated) by
>> product configuration. By "soft options", do you mean options that
>> don't require any changes to BOM? Options that are simply add-ons, but
>> actual changes to the product itself?
>>
>> In the above example, we'd have a computer product Id like COMP123-GA
>> for that with graphics card A, COMP123-GB for graphics card B, or
>> COMP123 for no graphics card at all.
>>
>> Jonathon
>
>
> --No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.3/614 - Release Date: 1/2/2007
> 2:58 PM
>
>
Re: Product configurator
Posted by David E Jones <jo...@undersunconsulting.com>.
Are you talking about a build to order, or pre-configured/pre-built
variants (variations)?
Either way OFBiz has stuff to handle both, and there are example
products for both (Configurable PC, and Giant Widget respectively).
-David
On Jan 2, 2007, at 10:57 PM, Jonathon -- Improov wrote:
> Say we have a single product that can come with various
> compositions. Like a computer that can come with graphics card A or
> graphics card B or none (on-board graphics chipset).
>
> Does OFBiz/OpenTaps have a product configurator that deals with
> actual differences in BOM for each product configuration?
>
> What I see at http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBENDUSER/
> Configurations seems like BOM cannot be automatically changed (auto-
> generated) by product configuration. By "soft options", do you mean
> options that don't require any changes to BOM? Options that are
> simply add-ons, but actual changes to the product itself?
>
> In the above example, we'd have a computer product Id like COMP123-
> GA for that with graphics card A, COMP123-GB for graphics card B,
> or COMP123 for no graphics card at all.
>
> Jonathon