Using a 'template' for products

[PaulR]

I'd like all products to have the same set of 'fields' in their description (sort of attributes but not user selectable options) mainly so I don't forget any details when adding new products, for example:

Year:
Condition:
Type:

I thought about using cut and paste in the description but it seems rather crude - is there a better/easier/quicker way to do this please?

I've tried searching for an answer to this but the search terms are too generic to be of use!

TIA

Paul

[stevesh]

I'm not sure if this would help in that specific instance, but:

http: //www.thatsoftwareguy.com/zencart_php_in_description.html

[PaulR]

Thanks for that, it might be useful at some point but it looks a bit technical for me at present and I want to keep customisation to a minimum for now so maybe I'll just stick with cut 'n paste

Cheers

Paul

[gjh42]

Keep your "template" in a dummy product; then when you want to make a new product, copy/duplicate that to your desired category and edit the description fields.

[PaulR]

That or keeping a text file open was the plan :)

Would there be any downside to maybe using a html table in the description (other than more text in the database)? Oh just remembered, can't paste into html editor

Paul

[gjh42]

If the information you want to display is a table, then sure, use an HTML table in your dummy product's description.
If you just think a table will make it easier, think again.
If you do use a table, give it class tags in appropriate places and add style rules to your stylesheet to manipulate the elements; that way, if you decide later that you want them to look a bit different, you won't have to edit every single product, just one stylesheet.

[MamaKitty]

Would this be a case for a new product type? Or would that be trying to kill a mosquito with a cannon?

Dorothy

[gjh42]

For just standardizing the product description content, it would be way overkill.
If you wanted to search on the new fields or otherwise use them independently of the description, a new product type could be appropriate.

[MamaKitty]

Thanks for the confirmation. That's what I was thinking.

Dorothy