Using fractions for product quantities

[kits1]

I sell fabric and in the business people don't really use decimals to order, but more like ordering 3 1/3 of a yard or 3 3/4 of a yard. Can I setup the site to allow the customer to select the whole and fraction parts of the item they are buying?

If not, how can I change the min, and units so someone can order any amount of fabric? When I use .125 as the min and 0 as the max, I can not use 0 as the units. If I select .125 then the customer can order every 1/8 of a yard, but not a 1/3 of a yard. Do I set the units to 0.01 or what?

The best option would be the fractions, but how do I set that up?

Thank you very much.

[gjh42]

You might try two dropdown attributes, one for whole numbers and one for fractions, and price by attributes. This would avoid having to enter every possible unit+fractional number in one list. It would require you to input the price for each number.

Yards: [0 ($x.xx)]
[1 ($x.xx)]
[2 ($x.xx)]
[3 ($x.xx)]
[etc.]

Fraction: [- (+$x.xx)]
[1/8 (+$x.xx)]
[1/4 (+$x.xx)]
[1/3 (+$x.xx)]
[1/2 (+$x.xx)]
[5/8 (+$x.xx)]
[2/3 (+$x.xx)]
[3/4 (+$x.xx)]
[7/8 (+$x.xx)]

Another possibility that just occurred to me is using the standard quantity box for whole yards (set units to 1), and an attribute for the fraction which you set as a one-time charge. That way when they order 5 1/3 yards, they get charged for 5 units and a single 1/3 charge. (You would need to define the cost of each fraction.)

[gjh42]

I'm not sure the one-time charge works for this scenario - I'll have to check up on it.

[gjh42]

I ran a test and this does work mostly as hoped.

Make the product with a unit price and not "priced by attributes". Create a "Fraction" option name and the desired values 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, etc. Add those to the product without a price but with the one-time charge equal to the cost for the fraction.

When you order a quantity of the item and select the "fraction" attribute, the fraction's cost is added to the total yardage cost (as a separate line item).

If you put the same item in the cart again with a different fraction, it is treated as a different order, and the one-time charge is applied to the second item correctly. 5 1/3 + 5 1/2 --> 5 1/3 + 5 1/2.

If you put the same item with the same fraction in the cart, it increases the unit quantity but leaves the single fraction as is. 5 1/3 + 5 1/3 --> 10 1/3.


The alternative would be to allow units of .001 and maybe provide a little conversion chart. Not as neat for the fractions but totally functional for quantity.

[gjh42]

Last thought on the subject...

It would be possible to write a bit of code (javascript?) to interpret a number entered with fractions like 5 1/3 and then convert that to a real number for processing. Someone skilled in js would have to write that.

[kits1]

Thank you very much.
A couple of clarification questions:
1. How would a customer order 1/2 yard. The option does not allow me to set the minimum to 0.
2. I am sorry, but I have the zen-cart book, but I don't understand how to make that "fraction" option name. You said to assign a value or cost to each 1/8 yard. If I am selling 50 different fabrics and they are not the same cost for each 1/8 yard, will I have to make 7 fraction option names times the 50 items I have or how do I do that for each fabric.

Thank you and sorry that I'm not understanding this.

Thank you very much.