Order Options (sometimes called "attributes") are options such as color or size that can be displayed on your Americart Add to Cart forms. Americart and VirtualCart append those options to the item name which is how they appear in the shopping cart and in your downloaded orders.
There are several ways the Order Manager works with Americart order options:
Retain the standard SKU for the main product. Put the options into the fields called Option 1 thru Option 10. Put the entire field as supplied by Americart into the Freeform Options field.
Retain the standard SKU for the main product. Put each option into a separate line item. Items that are options for the main product (color, size, etc.) are stored with the SKU "Order Option". Their Price & Cost are set to zero, and no inventory checking is done for those options. Options that are really separate products (cross-sell items, accessories, etc.) are stored as separate line items with their own SKUs, and inventory checking is done for those items.
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 some system parameters. These system parameters are in the Order Options group:
Option Delimiter: Required. Delimiter between Parent SKU and each Order Option in downloaded orders. Example: "Option: " The best option delimiter we have found is using the text "<br>Option: ". This formats the item name and options much better in Americart. Since the <br> does not get included in the downloaded orders, set the Option Delimiter in the Order Manager to just "Option: ".
Name Delimiter: Optional. Delimiter between Option Name (Color, Size, etc.) and user’s selection. Usually an equals sign ( = ) as in "Color=Blue". Must be different than SKU Delimiter. The Option Name can come before or after the SKU.
SKU Delimiter: Optional. Delimiter between SKU and rest of user’s selection. Example: ":" or "/". Must be different than Name Delimiter. This character must never appear in item names that do not have an SKU included in their order options. The SKU can come before or after the option Name.
Price Delimiter: Optional. Delimiter between selected option and any price modifier. Example: "$".
Build Sub SKUs: If TRUE, build Sub SKUs. If FALSE, parse out options but retain the original SKU.
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.
Option Destination: Tells the Order Manager where to put the order options: Option Fields or Line Items
Option handling also depends on how you format your options within your Add to Cart buttons. Each option can be divided into 1 to 5 parts:
Option Delimiter (required – must be different than Name, SKU & Price delimiters)
Option Name (optional - can appear before or after SKU)
SKU Abbreviation (optional - can appear before or after Option Name)
Option (required)
Price modifier (optional)
Examples:
Simplest example: just Option Delimiter and Option:
Option: Small
With option name:
Option: Size=Small
With SKU Abbreviation:
Option:Size=SM:Small
With price modifier:
Option: Size=XL:Extra Large $5.00
or:
Option: J078XL:Size=Extra Large $5.00
Without option name:
Option: XL:Extra Large; $5.00
Without option name and SKU Abbreviation:
Option: Extra Large; $5.00