Global I

The Path and URL settings use the Mambo settings only before the Configuration is saved the first time. After that, these settings are hardcoded in the configuration file.

VirtueMart makes use of the Joomla/Mambo Templates' CSS. It uses the Standard-CSS Classes defined for Mambo like sectiontableheader, sectiontableentry1, sectiontableentry2 and so on. You'll find some rows that are not CSS colored. These ones can be changed by Search Color 1 and 2.

Display

Design

In the Shipping section you can select one or more of the provided Shipping Modules.

The selected Shipping Module will list all available Shipping Rates on Checkout.

The selected process will be the unique Checkout Process for your whole Store.

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Manufacturer Categories are used to group Manufacturers into different categories.

Adding Manufacturer Categories

VirtueMart creates the manufacturer category name "-default-" upon installation. It is not necessary to change this.

To create a new manufacturer category, select "Manufacturer | Add Manufacturer Category".

Manufacturer Category Form Fields:

Click on the "Save" icon. You will be redirected to the "Manufacturer Category List" page, showing the "-default-" category, and the new category you just entered.

Editing Manufacturer Categories

To edit an existing manufacturer category, select "Manufacturer | List Manufacturer Categories" in the VirtueMart admin menu. This will return a list of existing manufacturer categories.

Click on the name of the manufacturer category you want to edit, make any necessary changes to the fields (listed above), and click on the "Save" icon.

You will be returned to the Manufacturer Category List.

Deleting Manufacturer Categories

Before deleting an existing manufacturer category, all manufacturers associated to that category must be removed through either deletion or re-association to a different manufacturer category. VirtueMart will not allow the deletion of a manufacturer category while manufacturers still exist for that manufacturer category. See below under "Manufacturers" for information on re-association and deletion of a manufacturer.

Once the manufacturers have been removed, select "Manufacturers | List Manufacturer Categories" from the VirtueMart admin menu. Click on the name of the manufacturer category you want to delete. In the Manufacturer Category Form, click on the "Remove" icon. Click "OK" to confirm that you are sure you want to delete this category. You will be returned to the Manufacturer Category List.

Note that the manufacturer category you deleted is no longer listed. To recover this record, you must create a new manufacturer category, and re-associate any manufacturers that belong in that manufacturer category.

Adding Manufacturers

To create a new manufacturers, select "Manufacturer | Add Manufacturer" in the VirtueMart admin menu.

Edit the following fields in the Manufacturer Information Form:

Click the "Save" icon to create your new manufacturer.

Editing Manufacturers

To edit an existing manufacturer, select "Manufacturer | List Manufacturers" to see a list of all manufacturers. You may also get to this screen by clicking on the linked text, "Manufacturer List", in the Manufacturers column on the Manufacturer Category List screen.

Click on the name of the manufacturer you would like to edit, or click on the linked text "update" in the Admin column - either will take you to the same Manufacturer Add Information form. Make your changes in the Manufacturer "Add Information" form (described above), and click on the "Save" icon. You will be returned to the Manufacturer List screen.

Deleting Manufacturers

Before deleting an existing manufacturer, all products associated to that manufacturer must be removed through either deletion or re-association to another manufacturer. VirtueMart will not allow the deletion of a manufacturerwhile these child records still exist for that manufacturer.

Once these child records have been removed, select "Manufacturer | List Manufacturers" to see a list of all manufacturer. Then click on the name of the manufacturer you would like to delete. In the Manufacturer Add Information form, click on the "Remove" icon. You will be returned to the Manufacturer List screen.

Once this manufacturer has been deleted, it is removed from the system. To recover this manufacturer, you must re-create the manufacturer information, and re-associate all appropriate products.

Adding Product Categories

VirtueMart includes the ability to associate products to product categories and subcategories to enable better site management. To create a new product category, open the Product Category Form: "Products" => "Add Category".

List Categories

Product Category Fields

Editing Product Categories

To edit an existing product category, you have to access the Category Tree: "Products" => "List Categories". Now click on the name of the product category you want to edit to display the product category entry form for that product category. Make your changes and click the Save button at the top of the form to update the product category.

Deleting Product Categories

Before deleting an existing product category, all sub categories associated to the product category must be removed through either deletion or re-association. VirtueMart will not allow the deletion of a product category while subcategories still exist for that product category. Once all subcategories have been removed, access the Category List via "Product" => "List Categories". Either you click on the Trash Bin icon in the last column of the category you want to delete OR you click on the name of the product category that you want to delete to display the product category entry form for that product category. Then click on the Delete button at the top of the form to delete the product category.

Adding/Updating Products

To create a new product, click on "Products" => "Add Product" to display the product form. Complete the product entry form and click the Save button in the top right corner to save the new product.

When Updating a product, just click on the Product Name in the Product List to display to Product Form of that product.

Product Form

Now you're done. Just click on "Save" and you're Product Add / Update Results are shown on the next page:

Deleting Products

To delete an existing product, click on "Products" -> "List Producs" at the top of the VirtueMart Administration pages to display a list of product categories. Now click on the Trash Icon in the row of the product you want to delete and confirm that you "want to delete this record".

Adding Product Attributes

To create a new product attribute, click on "Products" => "List Products" to display a list of all products. Then click on the name of the product for which the attribute is being created to display the product entry form for that parent item. Then click on the "Add Attribute" button on the top of the screen. A new window will open displaying the attribute entry form. Complete the attribute entry form and click the Save button at the top of the form to save the new item attribute. Next, you need to define the new attribute for the items. Click on the name of an item to display the product entry form for that item. Populate the new item attribute field in the product entry form and click on the Save button at the end of the form to save the new item attribute definition.

Product Attributes Form Fields

Editing product Attributes

To edit an existing product attribute, click on "Products" => "List Products" to display the list of products. Then click on the name of the parent product for which the attribute is being edited to display the product entry form for that parent product. Then click on "Products" => "Current Product" => "List Attributes" in the top menu. A new window will open displaying a list of product attributes assigned to the product selected. Click on the name of the attribute you want to edit to display the attribute entry form for that attribute. Complete the attribute entry form and click the Save button at the top of the form to update the item attribute.

Deleting Product Attributes

To edit an existing product attribute, click on "Products" => "List Products" to display the list of products. Then click on the name of the parent product for which the attribute is being edited to display the product entry form for that parent product. Then click on "Products" => "Current Product" => "List Attributes" in the top menu. A new window will open displaying a list of product attributes assigned to the product selected. To delete an attribute, click on the Trash Bin icon in the last column of the row of the attribute you want to delete.

Going back now to offering variations on a product: If you want to offer a fixed list of variations for your customer to choose from, rather than allowing them to pick and mix attributes as they please, you need to create some ‘items’. Note: These are different from the content ‘items’ in Mambo itself. An item in VirtueMart is a pre-defined variation on the main product. In order to create an item, you have to set up at least one attribute first. Hence, it is only after you have added an attribute that the ‘New Item’ toolbar button and its related menu option appear.

Adding Items

To create a new item, a parent product must exist / be created first. When completing the form, keep in mind that the product information, product dimensions, and product images entered here are the ones that will be displayed initially for all items. Once a specific item is selected by the customer, the product information, product dimensions, and product images for that item will be displayed. Next, the attributes that will be used to identify the items need to be created. Open the Product Form of the Parent Item you create in the first step.

Click on "Add Attribute" and a new window will open displaying the attribute entry form. Complete the attribute entry form and click the Save button at the end of the form to save the new item attribute. Once all item attributes have been defined, it is time to create the individual items (=child products!).

Click on the Add Items button on the left side of the screen to display the product entry form for the specific item. This form is the same as previous product entry forms only the vendor and category fields have been populated for you, and item attribute fields for the attributes you have defined are now available. Complete the product entry form and click the Save button at the end of the form to save the new item.

Editing Items

To edit an existing item, open the product List and click on the "Item Information" Link behind a Product. You will be presented a List of all Child Items of that product. If you want to make changes to a specific item, click on the name of the item you want to edit to display the item entry form for that item. Make your changes and click the save button at the end of the form to update the item. Click on the Return to Parent Product link at the top of the page to edit another item.

Deleting Items

To delete an item, List the Product's Items like in the previous section. Then click on the basket at the end of the row of the item you want to delete. If you want to delete all items, you must delete each item before deleting the parent item.Once all items have been deleted, click on the Delete button at the end of the product entry form of the parent item to delete the parent item.

Discounts in VirtueMart must be created in the Product Discount Form before being able to assign a Product to a specific Discount.

Adding / Updating a Discount

Go to "Product" -> "Add/Edit Product Discount".

Now fill in the details for this Discount Record:

When you're done, don't forget to "Save" your information.

Deleting a Discount

You can easily delete a discount. Note that this removes the Discount from all products which are assigned to it.

Just go to the Product Discount List

and click on the Trash Icon of the row of the Discount you want to delete at the right side of the List. Confirm that you "want to delete this record" and done.

VirtueMart offers the ability to not only manage users by vendor, but also by shopper group. This enables storekeepers to create shopper groups for whatever need (e.g. site access, customer rating, etc.). These shopper groups can then be used to provide special services, discounts, or access to a specific group of users. Because users and shopper groups are associated to a particular vendor, it is important to create your vendor records before creating the user and shopper group records.

Order List

When you click on an order number, you are given the full details of the order as shown in the next figure. You also have the ability to scroll through all of the order details using the ‘prev’ and ‘next’ links at the top of the page. The rest is up to you!

Vendor categories are a way to classify the types of goods and services that vendors offer on your site. For example, you may have an online mall for buying and selling furniture. You may want to create vendor categories such as "Antiques", "Office Furniture", and "Patio Furniture".

Note that a vendor on your site can only be associated with a single vendor category, so it is important to use categories that are broad enough to represent the shopper's choice of storefronts. For example, "Antique Furniture" and "Vintage Clothing" would not be broad enough categories if you have a vendor that sells both types of items. In this case, you might want to use "Antiques" as your vendor category.

Viewing Vendor Categories

[TODO: access the vclist]

[TODO: search]

Adding Vendor Categories

VirtueMart creates the vendor category name "-default-" upon installation. It is not necessary to change this unless you choose to fully utilize the vendor category functionality.

To create a new vendor category, select "Vendor | Add Vendor Category" from the VirtueMart admin interface.

Add a Vendor Category

This will bring up the Vendor Category Form.

Vendor Category Form

Vendor Category Form Fields

Click on the "Save" icon.

You will be redirected to the "Vendor Category List" page, showing the "-default-" category, and the new category you just entered.

Vendor Category List

You may also add a new vendor category with the Vendor Category Form by clicking on the "New" icon from the Vendor Category List Screen.

Editing Vendor Categories

To edit an existing vendor category, select "Vendor | List Vendor Categories" in the VirtueMart admin menu.

List Vendor Categories

This will return the Vendor Category List screen (shown above).

Click on the linked text showing the name of the vendor category you would like to edit to bring up the Vendor Category Form.

Access a Vendor Category

When you have finished making changes, click on the "Save" icon.

You will be redirected back to the "Vendor Category List" screen.

Deleting Vendor Categories

In older versions of VirtueMart, all vendors associated to a vendor category had to be removed or re-associated to a different vendor category before VirtueMart would allow deletion of the vendor category.

This is no longer the case. In VirtueMart 1.2b3, if you remove a vendor category all vendors in that category will be reassigned to the "-default-" vendor category that was created upon installation. You can then re-associate the affected vendors if needed, as described below under "Vendors".

There are two ways to delete a vendor category. The first way is to access the vendor category record by clicking on its name in the "Category Name" column of the Vendor Category List.

Vendor Category Deletion

This will bring up the Vendor Category Form.

Click on the "Remove" icon.

You will be redirected back to the "Vendor Category List" screen.

The second way to delete a vendor category is from the Vendor Category List screen. Click on the trash can icon in the "Remove" column next to the name of the vendor category you would like to delete.

Click 'OK' to confirm deletion of this category.

When you are ready to proceed, you may easily navigate to the vendor list by clicking on the linked text "list" in the "Vendors" column of the Vendor Category List.

This will open the Vendor List page.

Vendors are the main organizational factor in VirtueMart. Products and product categories, billing options, etc. are all configured per-vendor.

Upon installation, a global, default vendor is created. This special case cannot be deleted, and is managed separately via the "Store | Edit Store" menu option.

If you are running a shopping site for a single vendor (for example, if you are the only vendor that will be offering products in your store) then there is no need to create additional vendors. If, however, you will be running an online mall site that will be host to several vendors, then create one vendor account for each storefront owner.

It may be worth noting here that you should not confuse vendors with manufacturers. A single vendor may have a different manufacturer for each product that they offer. If the person supplying the products on your site will be managing their own shipping, etc., then they are a vendor. If you will be managing these aspects, then the supplier is a manufacturer. (See Manufacturer Administration for more information on that topic).

Adding Vendors

To create a new vendor, select "Vendor | Add Vendor" in the VirtueMart admin menu.

Edit the following fields in the Vendor Information Form:

Click the "Save" icon to create your new vendor.

Editing Vendors

To edit an existing vendor, select "Vendor | List Vendors" to see a list of all vendors. You may also get to this screen by clicking on the linked text, "list", in the Vendors column on the Vendor Category List screen.

Click on the name of the vendor you would like to edit, or click on the linked text "update" in the Admin column - either will take you to the same Vendor Add Information form. Make your changes in the Vendor "Add Information" form (described above), and click on the "Save" icon. You will be returned to the Vendor List screen.

Deleting Vendors

Since vendors represent the top most tier of site management, deletion of vendors should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Before deleting an existing vendor, all products, product categories, users, and orders associated to that vendor must be removed through either deletion or re-association to another vendor. VirtueMart will not allow the deletion of a vendor while these child records still exist for that vendor.

Once these child records have been removed, select "Vendor | List Vendors" to see a list of all vendors. Then click on the name of the vendor you would like to delete. In the Vendor Add Information form, click on the "Remove" icon. You will be returned to the Vendor List screen.

Once this vendor has been deleted, it is removed from the system. To recover this vendor, you must re-create the vendor information, and re-associate all appropriate product categories and products.

It is wise first of all to think about how you will charge for postage and packing. The easiest way is to have a fixed shipping price for all of your products, but this is not always practical – especially if your products vary greatly in size and/or weight.

Not only do you need to think about shipping rates, but also shipping methods. Will you offer more than one shipping method – eg. next day delivery as well as standard? DHL as well as Royal Mail?

Even if you decide to only use one company for all of your shipping, you still need to tell VirtueMart about it. To set up a new ‘shipper’, select ‘Create Shipper’ from the ‘Shipping’ menu. This takes you to shipper editor, shown in figure 17.

The Shipper Editor

List order is just a numeric value which is used to sort the shipper names, so enter 1 for the shipper that you want to be listed 1st, 2 for the one you want to be listed 2nd, etc.

When you have added the shipping companies you want to use, you need to configure the shipping rates. You can set up different rates for different service levels (eg. next day, two day, first class etc.) or according to the weight of the shipment. You can also select whether to add VAT to the shipping rate or not. All of this takes place in the Shipping Rate Editor – see next figure.

To edit or delete existing shipping rates, select ‘Shipping Rates’ from the ‘Shipping’ menu.

The Shipping Rate Editor

Payment Method List

It is possible to create a new payment method (there is a ‘New’ toolbar button), but you may to hack the VirtueMart code in order to make use of it (not for the faint-hearted!)

The configuration options for each payment method are different – depending on what is required by that payment service provider. Usually your payment service provider will give you some kind of code, key, or user name which needs to be entered in the Payment Method Editor.

The Payment Method Editor consists of 2 tabs – the first of which you will probably not need to touch. The next Figure shows the 2nd tab (‘Configuration’), which varies depending on the payment service provider, and the example shown here is for WorldPay.

Some payment processors will allow you to specify a script to be run on successful completion of a payment. Such a script could be used to automatically update the order status in VirtueMart so that you don’t have to manually tie up all of your online receipts with your product orders.

Another advantage of this process is that when you're selling downloadable files, you don't have to set the Order Status that enables the Download (this sends out the Download-ID email) manually. This is done automatically by the script.

See the Section "Pre-Configured Payment Methods" for more details on specific payment gateways.

Other payment service providers may use different methods of automatically notifying you when a payment is received. Again, it is probably easiest to get your web designer to sort out the requirements for this, but if you need to do it yourself, check with your payment service provider as to what their requirements are. Often, automatic notification is referred to as ‘IPN’ or ‘Instant Payment Notification’.

VirtueMart already comes with several Payment Modules that allow accepting payments from customers after a short time for setting them up with your Account Details.