Problem with characteristics after update

-- HikaShop version -- : 2.5.0
-- Joomla version -- : 3.4.3
-- PHP version -- : 5.5.9-1ubuntu4.4+hs.4
-- Browser(s) name and version -- : all

Hi,
We have a problem with “Characteristcs” after update to hikashop 2.5.0:
If we add a characteristc to a product, the “add cart” button changes to “choose option” but the product page, in front end, don’t shows the options. However if we add same characteristc to a product with an existing characteristc, created before update, the product page shows options correctly.
How can solve this problem?
Thank you

Hi,

The new product edition interface doesn't generate automatically the variants of the product.
As explained in the documentation of the product edition page, after adding the characteristic to the product, you need to go in the "Variants" tab, click on the "add variants" button, and select the values that you want to add to your product and save:
www.hikashop.com/support/support/documen...html#characteristics

Thank you for answer.

- We have created the characteristc and added the values for it
- In product wiew we have added the characteristc in Variant tab and and we have selected the default value (as you can see in the attached file)
- We have saved.
where we go wrong ?

The variant works well if we add it to a product that already have another characteristc created before the update

Hi,

Once you have added the characteristic ; you have to go in the "variant tab".
The screenshot your provided is for the addition of the characteristic with the selection of the default value ; that part is in the first tab ; not in the variant one.

See :
www.hikashop.com/forum/content-creation/...eristics.html#211464

Regards,

We've just come across this issue in the new product addition page. What does the "Generate variants automatically" setting in the Hikashop Configuration do now?

Its unfortunate that the function was removed. It is a great time saver for both developers and clients when several characteristics and variants exist.

Also, now that the variants are not generated automatically ...

When importing Characteristics I know that the Characteristic must already exist in Hikashop, but does the Characteristic need to be added to the product before the import is done? And, the variants manually created before the import is done?

Hi,

We've just come across this issue in the new product addition page. What does the "Generate variants automatically" setting in the Hikashop Configuration do now?

The setting is still used in the product edition legacy mode.

Its unfortunate that the function was removed. It is a great time saver for both developers and clients when several characteristics and variants exist.

Like I explained a lot of time in that forum ; the new system is almost as fast (specially with the namebox improvements) as the automatic generation and is much more powerful and flexible.
The next HikaShop release will provide some improvements for the namebox system in order to be able to select multiple values.

When importing Characteristics I know that the Characteristic must already exist in Hikashop, but does the Characteristic need to be added to the product before the import is done? And, the variants manually created before the import is done?

Importing characteristics ?
I'm sorry but I don't understand your message.

Regards,

Like I explained a lot of time in that forum ; the new system is almost as fast (specially with the namebox improvements) as the automatic generation and is much more powerful and flexible.

In many cases variants do not otherwise need customizing, so in those cases the automatic generation was very handy. For instance, if characteristics are added for a t-shirt size and t-shirt color then the variants do not need customizing necessarily because the details of the variant are the same as the parent product. In this case in the past the variants would be auto-generated and then nothing else needed to be done. Now, we'll have to manually add each size/color combination to the product even though we've already gone through the process of setting up the sizes and colors for the characteristic creation.

The setting is still used in the product edition legacy mode.

Is there a setting that lets us revert back to the legacy product addition page?

UPDATE: I read in another thread that adding &legacy=1 on the product addition page reverts back to the previous version. Is there a plan to add a global setting for this instead so its user-friendly for clients?

Importing characteristics ?

Yes, importing through CSV. I've read elsewhere that variants can be imported through CSV as long as the Characteristic has been created in Hikashop. Is this still true for the new product addition? If I create a characteristic, can I then import variants and attach them to products via the import without having to manually add variants in the Hikashop backend? We have about 400 products to import each with 5-10 variants.

Hi,

You can actually just edit the file "listing" of the view "product" for your backend template via the menu Display>views and change the line: to: and you'll get the link to the product page in legacy mode by default on the products listing.

And yes, you can import variants attached to products with the import system. The new product edition interface doesn't change that. Here is a documentation on the CSV import system: www.hikashop.com/support/documentation/73-hikashop-import.html

Thank goodness I found this thread about &legacy=1 as manually adding 300 variants per product is not going to happen.

3 sets of characteristics: a color (30 choices), a size (5 - each a separate price), and type of cut (2).

The new way is fine for a small set of variations only. And while I like it for small edits and I was never a big fan of the old legacy (you had to do things in a very specific order), it was at least manageable.

Hi,

The new product interface allow to generate a big number of variants in one single pass ; in each namebox you can select several values and HikaShop will create all possible combinations for the values you selected.
And in HikaShop 2.6.0 you can now use keyboard (use the arrow keys, the enter key) and shortcuts (pressing "ctrl" when clicking on the item will keep the namebox open to select other values).

We made that new system to be easier, faster and safer (to not crash your database with too much variants).

Regards,

After a while I figured out you could mark multiple options from a characters when adding from the Variants tab.

That isn't obvious or intuitive but in case someone follows behind me see it roughly explained now under www.hikashop.com/support/documentation/1...ct-form.html#variant .

Adding & setting multiple variants with the same price isn't intuitive either but to be fair it wasn't either under the Legacy interface but it was faster. From what I can tell, I have to set one characteristic possibility at at time (like size first, then type, and then color).

For example, I'd have to set the prices on a set of size variants first (with one color and one type).
Then duplicate those those variants with all the possible colors under the color characteristics.
Then I have to go back and do that again for the type characteristics.

In the end, that is almost as bad adding/setting a price per variant.

I don't see a way to do more than one characteristic at a time when duplicating.
So the more characteristics you have, the worse it gets.

Generally speaking, I feel the characteristics is one of the weakest areas of HikaShop.
Even the Legacy version wasn't never that great but 2.6 change only make it better on a very small # of characteristics/variables.

Most of the carts I've worked with don't go this route which I think that is why it seems frustrating to work with. The many to many relationships might have a high degree of flexibility (which I do like but find it rarely used). The management at scale is extremely difficult to master and time consuming even when you do master it.

I'm not trying to just be grumpy, but provide feedback.

I would hate to have to explain how to do this to a client with a large product base that changes on a regular basis.
Even adding a single new color gets compounded rather quickly with 3 characteristics to create variants from.

Perhaps I'm missing some short cut but I'm not a dunce when it comes to this stuff either. If it isn't intuitive for me, I know it isn't gong to be for any client I have that would be using this.

Hi,

I understand your feedback even if I do not share your global opinion.
Yes, the variant system still require some improvements and I had ideas which has not been implemented yet.
Yes, the duplication just allow to modify one characteristic at a time (but with multiple values and for multiple variants in one single shot) and we had to do it this way otherwise the interface was not understandable at all (complete opposite of intuitive in fact..).

Depending on your server performance, HikaShop can handle a huge number of product and a huge number of variants.
But, in the product page, if you have too much variants, the page become really really big for the customer and it can completely slow down the product page display.
That's mostly why when you have more than 50 variants ; using variants is maybe not the best solution and using custom fields or options could be useful (to reduce the number of variants).

You saw the "duplicate" and the "delete" ; but that dynamic toolbar was also design to include a batch action in order to perform some specific actions to all selected variants.. Like change the quantity or the price ; some kind of mini "mass action" inside the product edition page.
But unfortunately, it requires time, development, tests, etc, etc.

Regards,