ActiveStock

Next developments....scheduled order downloads and stock data uploads

2009-05-20T22:35:00.002+01:00

Now that the Live Stock Level Display javascript add-on has been released, I'm concentrating my efforts on providing a scheduling option for ActiveStock. This will allow you to set a time interval for an order download schedule. If orders are found, they will be downloaded before the ActiveStock file is refreshed from the Actinic database and uploaded. If no orders are found, the stock file will upload in the background without any user interaction. This effectively automates the whole process and any off-line changes in the Actinic stock levels (due to MOTO orders, cancellations, deliveries, etc.) will be picked up and sent to your website seemlessly.

I've sorted out the code for most of this - just need to package it all together and do some testing before it gets released as ActiveStock 1.2....

ActiveStock Live Stock Display Add-on now launched

2009-05-20T21:39:00.002+01:00

The javascript add-on to show live stock levels on your website and replace the Add to Cart button with an Out of Stock message is now available at the download page (see the links to the right of this page). The digital download file contains a new perl script and the javascript file which work with the V7, V8 or V9 version of ActiveStock and Actinic. A comprehensive help file is also included, but if you want to read this in advance you can download it from here. (If you run Windows Vista, check out the post below about permissions for help files...)

As ever, your feedback is most welcome!

ActiveStock v1.1 now released!!

2009-05-13T22:37:00.003+01:00

The new version of ActiveStock is now available for download from the download page on the MumStuff website (see link in the right hand panel). Here are the release notes for this version (also available in the help file):

Additions to previous release (v1.0) - 12th May 2009

ActiveStock now provides the option to allocate stock to PSP pending orders or not, either by reading the corresponding record in the Actinic database for v8.5.2 and above or via a simple settings file ("psp.txt")

In v1.0, ActiveStock assumed that the Actinic site folder was always the default 'Site1' folder. Now the installation process allows the user to choose a different folder if necessary.

The installation process now edits the Actinic template script files rather than the generated files - this removes the possibility of Actinic overwriting the ActiveStock modifications when performing a 'Publish to Web'

As ever, please get in touch if you have any problems with installing or using ActiveStock.

Stock control for PSP Pending orders

2009-05-05T16:53:00.002+01:00

ActiveStock was originally designed to deduct the order quantity from stock as soon as the order was 'completed'. In Actinic terms, this means after all customer details have been collected but before payment has been taken. So, of course, orders that are cancelled at the payment stage (in most cases, at the Payment Service Provider's pages) would still be reducing the stock. For some users, this is not a problem as they would like to have the opportunity to speak to their customer and perhaps reinstate the order. For others, though, it is important that stock is not reduced until payment has been taken. So I investigated how to provide this option in ActiveStock and now have a working solution (it is installed on the MumStuff site so that PSP-Pending orders do not affect stock levels).

It works by including a flag in the uploaded stock file that indicates whether the "Allocate stock to PSP Pending orders" option in Actinic's Business settings has been ticked or not. The order script then reads this flag from the file before deciding whether to immediately deduct stock when an order has been completed or wait for an authorization call-back from the PSP. I have been able to test this with Worldpay and PayPal (the 2 PSPs used for MumStuff) but, of course, I cannot test it for all PSPs so I would like some feedback from other users as to how this solution works for other PSPs.

I will shortly change the download to include this new development as well as making the installation process more flexible. This will allow you to pick the 'Site1' folder and also the installation will modfiy the template script files (OrderScript.pl, ActinicOrder.pm and ShoppingCart.pl) rather than the generated files, thus avoiding the possiblity of Actinic overwriting ActiveStock code for things like network setup changes.

Showing live stock levels

2009-05-05T09:50:00.002+01:00

I have now tested the code for showing live stock levels on V7, V8 and V9 and will soon package it up for download. It will be available as an 'add-on' to the standard ActiveStock package. It will simply be provided as a zip file containing a perl file, a javascript file and some detailed instructions. The changes requred within the Actinic templates are minimal, but there are a lot of options for how you use the javascript. You may want to show stock levels or stock 'status' (e.g. 'Limited Availability' when stock<5), or you might only want to remove the 'Add to Basket' button when a product goes out of stock and not show stock levels at all. With a little bit of javascript knowledge, all these options (and many more!) can be implemented. Of course, I'll offer help where I can with requests about making it work to your requirements.

Check back soon to see when it has been released!

AcriveStock test site now open!

2009-04-18T20:31:00.003+01:00

You can now see ActiveStock in action on a V8 default site at this URL:

http://activestock.mumstuff.co.uk

This includes the latest addition - ajax code to display real-time stock levels and to replace the Add to Cart button (or, in the case of the Stationery page that runs multiple products with one Add to Cart, the Quantity box) with an Out of Stock message when a product's stock level is reduced to zero.

Please feel free to place orders (I won't be delivering anything or chasing you for payment!!) to see it working.

Since you may be tesing it when I'm not available to refresh stock levels from my PC, I've also added the facility to allow you to replenish stock for yourself. To do this, you should enter a URL similar to the following into your browser:

http://activestock.mumstuff.co.uk/cgi-bin/addstock.pl?ref=ST0001&qty=2

This will add a quantity of 2 to the current stock level for the product ST0001 (product references are displayed on the page for most products). However, please be aware that this may cause some unusual behaviour if other testers are simultaneously placing orders or updating stock! But hopefully it will allow you to give it a thorough try-out.

Please come back here to leave me some feedback, or send me an e-mail!

Directory Permissions in Windows Vista

2009-04-15T13:37:00.002+01:00

When performing an upload of the stock file, ActiveStock first writes the file into the directory "Program Files | ActiveStock". If you are running Vista, it may be necessary to adjust the permissions for this directory to avoid "access denied" errors during the upload operation.

Actinic network settings for use with ActiveStock

2009-04-13T22:56:00.004+01:00

Currently, ActiveStock uses the network setup field 'Path from CGI-BIN to Online Store Folder as viewed by the FTP Server' to find the correct folder when sending the stock file by ftp. If you have left this blank (which is often the default), then you may get a 'null' error when trying to upload your stock file. Please enter an appropriate value in this field to get round this error. Possible entries are '/public_html/acatalog/' or '/httpdocs/acatalog/'. Just look at the value entered in the 'Path from CGI-BIN to Online Store Folder' field and remove the '..' at the beginning. Please make sure you leave the '/' at the beginning and end of the entry.

(Note: some users have reported that an extra '/' is required at the begining of this field, so try '//public_html/acatalog/' or '//httpdocs/acatalog/' if you are still experiencing problems.)

Help file in Windows Vista

2009-04-12T12:43:00.003+01:00

Some users have had problems reading the help file after downloading it from the links provided here. You may need to 'unblock' the file so that you can open it. The screenshot on the left shows the 'Properties' for the file - right-mouse click and select Properties, then click on 'Unblock' at the bottom.

Q&A: Can I still set Maximum Order Quantity for products?

2009-04-03T21:24:00.002+01:00

Yes, the modified perl scripts for ActiveStock look at the stock level and the value of "Maximum Order Quantity" for each product and only allow a customer to add up to the lower of these 2 values to their basket. However, please be aware that these 2 scenarios are covered by the same Actinic error messages (in Design Text Go To -1,59 for the error message on the cart page and -1, 60 for the Product page error), so please choose the wording carefully!

Q&A: Could ActiveStock manage stock levels from a common source on more than one website?

2009-04-03T21:12:00.002+01:00

Yes, this could be possible. If the websites are running on the same server then it should be fairly straightforward - all the sites would be able to directly access the uploaded stock file. Of course, they would also have to share the same off-line (i.e. Actinic) stock data source for uploading changes to the stock levels.

If the sites are on different servers then some more involved customistaion would be required so that one site acts as the master and the others issue http calls to the master site to read from and write to the stock file.

Q&A: What happens if your Actinic installation isn't in a "Site1" folder - how does ActiveStock know where to look?

2009-04-02T23:37:00.003+01:00

You're right, ActiveStock is expecting the Actinic installation to be under the My
Documents/Actinic v9/Sites/Site1 folder. It only uses this during installation to take
backup copies of the relevant perl files before creating the modified versions. The best
way around this is to create a Site1 folder temporarily and copy the ao000001.pm,
ca000001.pl and os000001.pl files from your 'real' Site folder in there before running
the ActiveStock Setup file. That should work fine.

ActiveStock on the Actinic Community (click here for link to thread)

2009-04-01T22:52:00.003+01:00

There has been some recent discussions on the Actinic Community forum about ActiveStock. It was good to get some initial feedback, especially from some very experienced Actinic desigers / developers / users.

Also some good pointers for where I should focus my development effort!

I'm now working on a method of dynamically replacing the Add to Cart button with an "Out of Stock" message as soon as a product goes out of stock. I've got this working on a test site and it will soon be up and running on MumStuff.co.uk. The method will also allow live stock levels to be shown in the product pages (although this isn't something we plan to do on our site).

Check back soon for an update on this!

Important: Prerequisites

2009-03-22T23:00:00.002Z

As explained in the help file, you will need to have the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installed on your PC to allow the ActiveStock program to install and run. You will already have this if you have Vista or if you are running updates on Windows XP. Just in case, please check for the existence of the folder "C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5". If it's not there, you can download it for free from here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa569263.aspx

When installing ActiveStock, you will also need to make sure you are logged in as the Actinic user who has the Site1 folder under "My Documents". This user will also need to have read and write access to the Windows registry (i.e. "Admin" rights) for a successful installation.

Support post

2009-03-21T22:29:00.003Z

Please post comments here with any problems you are having using ActiveStock. I will do my best to respond as quickly as possible. Please also feel free to help other users wherever you can!!

You can download the help file from here: http://www.mumstuff.co.uk/acatalog/ActiveStock-help.zip

ActiveStock first release!

2009-03-21T21:09:00.003Z

At last, after much preparation work, ActiveStock is finally released! It is available to download on the MumStuff website here: http://www.mumstuff.co.uk/acatalog/ActiveStock.html

It is available as a 30-day free trial, with the full version costing just £150 + VAT.