How do I insert 2 randomly generated letters before order number?

[Brent2]

I am hoping someone can help me with a bit of code. I am only a good "cut and paster".
Here is my story:
I sell a digital product that I think might become quite a good seller. Currently though, it is still in the beginning stages and I have sold only a small number, say "65" downloads.
I know that I can change the order numbers to start at a higher one, say "650", but I do not wish to do that.
My potential future competition would only be encouraged by seeing a higher order number.
Also, my customers viewing the actual order number (say 65) might not have as much confidence in my product or my business if they see their order is only number 65.
Here is what I wish for:
That a randomly generated 2 letter combination is inserted before their order number.
So for example, if the random letters are "ZN", then the order number would be "ZN65".
This makes the order number look very unique, and the customer cannot easily determine that theirs is only order number 65, because it could have gone all the way thru the alphebet before reaching order number "ZN65".
But I would still know their order number is actually just "65". The letter code doesn't mean anything.
This 2 letter prefix before the order number does not have to be added to the admin customer info, unless who ever is reading this and wishes to write some code wishes it to. The order number with the 2 letter prefix could just be in the order confirmation emails that myself and the customer receives.
When I contact a customer, I can always just say to them "your order ending in the numbers ____".
Does anyone wish to take on this task?
I think it would be very cool.
Many companies have similar letter and number combinations.
I think having the actual order number is a bit too revealing.
I greatly look forward to any thoughts, ideas, and contributions from this community.
Brent
PS. zen-cart is great!

[schoolboy]

This seems a little over the top...

If you want it to appear that you've sold thousands / millions / zillions of products, just re-set the Current Order ID to a much higher number, eg: 1250000

ADMIN>TOOLS>STORE MANAGER

[rstevenson]

The OP said...

I know that I can change the order numbers to start at a higher one, say "650", but I do not wish to do that.
My potential future competition would only be encouraged by seeing a higher order number.

However, a ridiculously high number won't fool the competition, and won't mean anything to the customer. Just start it off at something random like 19478365 and let it run from there. Only you will know what the starting point was.

Rob

[Brent2]

Rob:
That's a good idea, some very long number like you suggested would look more like an "account number" than "orders sold".
But I still think a few random letters would be nice.
Perhaps an easier way to do this would be to just hard code in exactly what the letters would be. Then I could always just change them in the future.
I admit the idea isn't exactly a "must have" for every zenner out there.
Thank you,
Brent
PS. Ooh, brain storm: maybe I should just change the field name to "Account Number" instead of "Order Number".

[Merlinpa1969]

what happens when they order something else,
now they have 2 account numbers

[Brent2]

Good point.
I'll think about that one.

[Brent2]

Okay. I slept on it. Since I really just sell a single digital product download, any repeat orders would be very few. Besides, people log into their account with their email address and password, not their account number. So it doesn't really matter much if someone winds up with more than one account number, since everything is tied to their login info.
This is what I've done:
Searched the developers toolkit for "Order Number" and "Order #".
Changed several files. In place of "Order Number" and "Order #" I inserted either "Account Number: NZ-21-" or "Account # NZ-21-".

So using my previous example of "Order Number 65", it now reads:
"Account Number: NZ-21-65". Looks good in the user's account history too.
It may seem unnecessary to some, but for me, it suits my purpose.

[Merlinpa1969]

actually sounds dumber than a box of fruity pebbles

why not just use

order # NZ-07-(then the real order number )

[Brent2]

That is good too. "Order # NZ-07-" may be better than "Account Number: NZ-07-".

[AtomicWorkshop]

Why not refer to it as a 'Transaction ID'??

Jonathan