Chapter 3: Database
In this chapter:
- 3.1: Introduction
- 3.2: Categories/Subcategories
- 3.3: Modifying/Creating Data Fields
- 3.4: Sorting your Data
3.2: Categories/Subcategories
Your database will come configured without categories. You will need to add and edit your categories to meet your product needs.
Creating a Category
Click "Add New Category".
On this page, you will see a set of text fields asking youto define and customize each category. A brief explanation of each field is below...
Category
Give your category a name, such as "Apples". You use this
name throughout your catalog tempaltes by using the %%category%% shortcut. For
instance, if you wanted to display the category, catalog number, and item name for
products in your listrow template, you would use the following structure of shortcuts:
%%category%%: Item# %%catalogno%%: %%item%%
When viewed in your category listings (listrow template), this would appear as:
Apples: Item# APP001: Red Apple
Feature Product
To highlight a specific product with the Apples category, enter the
catalog number of the item. This item can be displayed on the category template by
using the %%catfeature%% shortcut.
Category Discount
Similar to the discount format described in the Store Settings section of
Chapter 2, enter a percentage-based or fixed-based discount using the format:
.25;P for a 25% discount off of products in this category
or
25;F for a $25 discount off of products in this category.
Category Description
You may enter a description for your category to be displayed on the
listpage and/or category templates. This description is displayed using the
%%catdescr%% shortcut. DO NOT enter carriage returns in this field. To control
the layout of your description, use html tags.
Separate Template or Upload Template
By default, EDatCat will use the "category" template for the
main page of each of your categories. If you would like to use a different layout
for your Apples category, you may make a copy of the category template, customize it to
your needs for this category, and name it whatever you want (i.e.- apples). You can
upload it to your templates directory manually and specify the SERVER PATH to the
template, or upload it using the upload field.
Logo or Upload Logo
Similar to the template, you can specify an image or a logo to be used on
the category page. You can use this image in the category or listpage template by
using the shortcut %%logo%%.
How do I create a Subcategory?
Excellent question. EDatCat allows up to5 levels of categories and subcategories. For instance, if your main category was"Apples" and you have 4 types of Apples such as "Green Apples","Red Apples", "Yellow Apples", and "Rotten Apples", youwould accomplish this by creating 4 subcategories of Apples.
To do this, simply create a new category andname it as:
Apples;Green Apples
If you have three type of Green Apples, create sub-sub-categories by naming each one similar to:
Apples;Green Apples;CrabApples
You can customize your sub-level categories inthe same way you customize your top-level categories.