Order Options are options like color or size that can be included in your Heavy Metal store.
The Order Manager offers several ways to work with those options.
Retain the standard SKU for the main product. Put the options into the fields called Option 1 thru Option 10.
Retain the standard SKU for the main product. Put all of the options into the Freeform Options field. (Text file imports only - not available for XML imports.)
Build "sub SKUs". This option lets you track your inventory down to the specific options selected by your customers. For example, if you sell T-shirts and each shirt has a color and a size, inventory tracking does not do you much good unless you can track them down to the specific colors and sizes. This option lets you turn a "parent" SKU, such as "ABC001" into a specific "sub SKU", such as "ABC001-Blk-XL", then subtract that SKU from your inventory. It replaces the parent SKU in the order with the sub SKU, and puts the options into the Option 1 thru Option 10 fields.
To control how the Order Manager handles your order options, you need to set several System Parameters. These parameters can all be found in the Order Options parameter group:
Build Sub SKUs: If TRUE, build Sub SKUs. If FALSE, parse out options but retain the original SKU.
SKU Delimiter: Optional. When the Order Manager builds sub SKUs, it can use the entire option, or just the beginning of it. If a SKU Delimiter is defined, the program will look for that character in each selected option. If it is not found, the entire option will be added to the parent SKU. If it is found, only the portion to the left of the delimiter will be used. Example: If the Sub SKU Delimiter (described below) is a "dash", the parent SKU is "ABC001" and the selected option is "Extra Large", the sub SKU will be "ABC001-Extra Large". If the selected option is " XL:Extra Large" and the SKU Delimiter is ":", the sub SKU will be "ABC001-XL". This lets you keep your sub SKUs reasonable short, even if some of your options include a lot of text. However, your customers will see the abbreviations as part of the options, and you will have to code your options in ShopSite accordingly. It is OK to have SKU Delimiters in some longer options (e.g. "Extra Large"), and not have them in shorter options (e.g. "Small").
SubSKU Delimiter: Required if building Sub SKUs. The delimiter that the Order Manager will insert between the Parent SKU and the SKU portion of any order options.
MoveOptionsToFreeForm: If True, all options are put in the Freeform Options field instead of the Option 1 through Option 10 fields. (Text file imports only - not available for XML imports.)
See Also