Product Option Groups

Product option groups provide a means for site managers to create selections that buyers can make when purchasing products. Any number of option groups can be created, each containing any number of options. An option group can be assigned to any number of products, in turn any number of products can 'share' the same option group. If a product will be using an option group that will be specific to that product, use the product management form which provides the means to create 'private' option groups for an individual product.

To access product option groups, select the 'product option groups' link from the site management link list. Note that only administrators and product managers will have access to this area.

The options in an option group can also contain instructions that effect product pricing, shipping weight and/or product sku.

Some examples of option groups and their options include:

• Colors: red, blue, green
• Sizes: Small, Medium, Large

Option Group Listing

To the left of the option group management form is the option group listing. The option group listing will contain the group name's of all option groups created as links to edit those option groups. A link at the bottom of the option group listing provides the means to create a new option group.

Option Group Management Form

The option group management form allows site managers to set and modify option groups. The form is broken down into three areas: The group name; the group options and; the product listing:

Group Name

The group name will be displayed when presenting the group options to buyers in the product page. This will also prepend the option selected in the shopping cart - so be sure the name you assign makes sense when presented in both places.

Options

The options are a list of the selections that will be available to buyers when purchasing a product that uses the option group. Options listed should be separated by the [enter] key. Each option can also contain any of the following instructions:

• {price:#} : where the '#' is a dollar amount (ex: {price:5} or {price:.25}). Using this instruction will result in the product price being increased by the amount entered in the instruction if this option is selected by the buyer. Note the price will be increased by quantity x the instruction price.
• {weight:#} : where the '#' is a weight in lbs (ex: {weight:2} or {weight:.5}). Using this instruction will result in the shipping weight for the product being increased by the amount entered in the instruction if this option is selected by the buyer. Note the weight will be increased by the quantity x the instruction weight.
• {sku:#} : where the '#' represents the portion of the sku that will be effected by the option being selected (ex: {sku:123} or {sku:-XLG}). Using this instruction will result in the product sku being appended by this instruction sku if the option is selected by the buyer. If multiple option groups contain options with sku instructions, than the product sku will be appended with all these sku instructions, in the order the option groups are presented in product management.
• {priceOption:#} : where the '#' is a number between 1 and 4 designating the pricing matrix dimension. As product price matrices, which are used to manage bulk discounts, can contain multiple pricing dimensions (different prices for the same quantities), this option group instruction is used to tell the system which dimension is to be used. For instance, to tell the system to use the pricing listed under the second diminsion of the product's selected price matrix, when a specific option is selected from an option group, use the instruction {priceOption:2} for that option. See product price matrices for more information on multiple dimensions in pricing matrices.

Product Listing

The product listing, located below the product form, displays a list of all products using this option group. Each listed product is also a link to the product management form for that product. As this listing only shows when editing an option group, if you are creating a new option group, this listing will not show.

Adding a New Option Group

To create an option group, select the "Add new option group" link at the bottom of the option group listing. The option group management form will clear ready for the entry of a new option group's information. See the option group management form information above for details on how to use this form.

Editing an Option Group

To edit an existing option group, select the option group's name link from the option group listing. The option group management form will be populated with the selected option group's information. See the option group management form information above for details on how to use this form.

Deleting an Option Group

To delete an option group, select the option group's name link from the option group listing. The option group management form will be populated with the selected option group's information. Select the 'delete' button at the bottom of the form to delete the option group - you will be asked to confirm your request to delete the option group, select yes. NOTE: Check which products are using this option group before deleting it and be sure to adjust the products accordingly to prepare for the deletion - this could mean altering content in the product or product's pages to no longer reflect references to this option group or to assign other option group(s) in lieu of this option group being removed.