Quick Updates plugin [support]

[DivaVocals]

Quick Updates v2.06a

I am using ZenCart 1.5 and have installed Quick Updates and it is working just fine EXCEPT... the description column is so long it is forcing my other columns off the screen and require scrolling, then I can't see the item information. Is there a way to hide the description column or limit the number of spaces that displays?

Thanks.

Attachment 13343

Okay is there NO WAY to adjust the width of ANY of these columns??? I've tried hardcoding in the column widths, I've tried CSS to set the width, and NOTHING works.. I WANT the product description, but it's TOO DAMN WIDE!!!

[DivaVocals]

You can set the "Modify the Description." value to false to hide the description

While I try to figure out how to set the column widths, I need to continue testing.. setting the "Modify the Description." value to false does NOT turn off the description column..

[DivaVocals]

While I try to figure out how to set the column widths, I need to continue testing.. setting the "Modify the Description." value to false does NOT turn off the description column..

Okay is there NO WAY to adjust the width of ANY of these columns??? I've tried hardcoding in the column widths, I've tried CSS to set the width, and NOTHING works.. I WANT the product description, but it's TOO DAMN WIDE!!!

Found the answer to both questions.. Will share later.. too MANY changes needed to support a boatload of issues I found.. So much MORE than fixing the description width. Nailing down some other issues:

• Configuration settings that should be in the admin not a separate config file
• Typos and the use of some very awkward language in the admin config settings
• The "boxes" folder (which apparently BLOCKED the admin install from executing in my v1.5.1 store -- need to test again to confirm this)

And the user interface?? Ugly doesn't begin to do this justice.. I've just now nailed down tweaks to most of the crazy CSS, hardcoded styling, and tables not displaying the correct number of columns (depending on what you turn on/off)..

now all that said..

FUNCTIONALLY, this module is fantastic!!! It does what my client needs most (updating prices en masse) but it does need a little polish and elbow grease.. Gonna be fixin' on this one for my client.. Will share when I'm done..

One thing I haven't figured out though is why the product description does not display consistently.. It displays for some products, but not others..

[DivaVocals]

I know that if I want to do a mass price increase that I have to activate the "Activate/Deactivate Commercial Margin". However this setting appears to do more, and I am not clear on what that is.. So can someone kindly explain to me what the "commercial margin" feature is or what it is supposed to "do".

The help tip when I hover over the information icon in the UI shows this tip:
"Modify by commercial margin, if you check this box, your products will be stroked at the rates given. To stroke to 25%, means that the price is marked up of 33%"

The readme cryptically states:
"3) To make the products_purchase_price and margin feature work "products_purchase_price" (i.e. DECIMAL 15,4) and "products_margin" (i.e. DECIMAL 15,2) need to be added to your products tabel."

What EXACTLY does this all mean?? What is the purpose of this feature??

[DivaVocals]

Found the answer to both questions.. Will share later.. too MANY changes needed to support a boatload of issues I found.. So much MORE than fixing the description width. Nailing down some other issues:

• Configuration settings that should be in the admin not a separate config file
• Typos and the use of some very awkward language in the admin config settings
• The "boxes" folder (which apparently BLOCKED the admin install from executing in my v1.5.1 store -- need to test again to confirm this)

And the user interface?? Ugly doesn't begin to do this justice.. I've just now nailed down tweaks to most of the crazy CSS, hardcoded styling, and tables not displaying the correct number of columns (depending on what you turn on/off)..

now all that said..

FUNCTIONALLY, this module is fantastic!!! It does what my client needs most (updating prices en masse) but it does need a little polish and elbow grease.. Gonna be fixin' on this one for my client.. Will share when I'm done..

One thing I haven't figured out though is why the product description does not display consistently.. It displays for some products, but not others..

So here's what I've fixed for my client:

1. Correct typos, inconsistent punctuation, inconsistent capitalization usage, and the use of some very awkward grammar in the admin config settings
2. Re-ordered some of the configuration items to a more logical order (for example: moved the popup description edit next to the description on/off setting)
3. Added better instructions in the configuration setting of the popup edit to WARN shopowners that you should not activate the popup edit without activating the description display. (activating one without the other shifts the column headings so they do not match the data column)
4. There is a missing heading column when the description is turned off. Fixed mod code so that the column headings correctly display when the description display setting is set to false (last column heading is missing)
5. Deleted the boxes folder in it's entirety as it is not needed AT ALL for v1.5.x
6. LOTS of cleanup of the layout look
   
   • Fixed the product description layout so it STOPS pushing the entire layout off the screen (there is a no-wrap style in the stylesheet)
   • Removed hardcoded text alignment from EVERYWHERE (if needed text alignment should be in the stylesheet)..
     frankly IMHO all of that text centering did not look good and made the layout look dated
   • Removed a LOT of odd settings from the stylesheet (right alignment of the product description input field for example WTH???)
   • Added IDs and classes to support some of the layout corrections I made
   
   

After all of this I had something more esthetically pleasing for my client.. However along the way I discovered a few things that need addressing with this module that I can't address/fix (above my skill level to fix)

1. The popup edit feature is nice, but possibly over engineered.. The display of the store side view product description is wholly unnecessary IMHO. a simply edit button to open the popup window is really all that's needed for this feature.. Even IF the store side view of the product description is a feature that most users desire, it should be an admin configurable item to turn on/off the product description display AND it needs work as it certainly doesn't work consistently in my testing.. MANY of my clients product descriptions when the popup edit feature is turned on either did not display at all or only partially displayed.. (for example the last line of the product description is the ONLY thing you see) I won't even begin to cover the CSS conflicts that occur because of classes and IDs from the product description sharing the same names as this mods classes and IDs..
2. The editor dropdown doesn't work.. It defaults to the CKEditor (my client's default editor, yet the editor doesn't render for the product description field (which is where I'd expect to see it) Tried forcing the editor change by changing to the text editor and then changing back to CK Editor.. still no dice..
3. The back button on the product preview page SHOULD return you back to the Quick Updates product list.. Instead you are returned to the catalog product list..

Anyway if the community is interested, I'm happy to share my changes as an update to this module.. The admin settings certainly are clearer and the interface works/looks MUCH better.. Let me know if there is interest and I'll bundle up the changes and submit as an update..

[DivaVocals]

Will be submitting this tonight..

History:
~ Fixed the installer files and corrected the admin page registration code (there were some inconsistencies that I corrected).
~ Correct typos, inconsistent punctuation, inconsistent capitalization usage, and the use of some very awkward grammar in the admin config settings
~ Re-ordered some of the configuration items to a more logical order (for example: moved the popup description edit next to the description on/off setting)
~ Added better instructions in the configuration setting for the popup edit to WARN shopowners that you should not activate the popup edit without activating the description display. (activating one without the other shifts the column headings so they do not match the data column)
~ There is a missing heading column when the description is turned off. Fixed code so that the column headings correctly display when the description display setting is set to false (last column heading is missing)
~ Dropped ALL support for Zen Cart v1.3.x. If you are running versions of Zen Cart prior to v1.5.x, you should install v2.06a
~ LOTS of cleanup of the look of the layout as follows:
+ Fixed the product description layout so it STOPS pushing the entire layout off the screen (there is a no-wrap style in the stylesheet)
+ Removed hardcoded text alignment from EVERYWHERE (if needed text alignment/layout/styling should be done in the stylesheet)..
frankly all of that hardcoded text centering did not look good and made the overall layout look dated
+ Removed a LOT of odd settings from the stylesheet (right alignment of the product description input field for example WTH???)
+ Added IDs and classes to support some of the layout corrections I made

KNOWN BUGS I DISCOVERED:
(C Jones 11-29-2013) While making the v2.07 changes/updates, a few things that need addressing with this module were discovered. I can't address/fix these items (above my skill level to fix), but they are worth noting here.
1. The popup edit feature is nice, but possibly over engineered.. The display of the store side view product description is wholly unnecessary IMHO. a simply edit button to open the popup window is really all that's needed for this feature.. Even IF the store side view of the product description is a feature that most users desire, it should be an admin configurable item to turn on/off the product description display AND it needs work as it certainly doesn't work consistently in my testing.. MANY of my clients product descriptions when the popup edit feature is turned on either did not display at all or only partially displayed.. (for example the last line of the product description is the ONLY thing you see) I won't even begin to cover the CSS conflicts that occur because of classes and IDs from the product description sharing the same names as this mods classes and IDs..
2. The editor dropdown doesn't work.. In my testing, it defaults to CKEditor (my client's default editor), yet the editor doesn't render for the product description field (which is where I'd expect to see it). Tried forcing the editor change by changing to the text editor and then changing back to CK Editor.. still no dice..
3. The back button on the product preview page SHOULD return you back to the Quick Updates product list.. Instead you are returned to the catalog product list..

FEATURES THAT ARE NOT WELL DOCUMENTED:
I know that if I want to do a mass price increase that I have to activate the "Activate/Deactivate Commercial Margin". However this setting appears to do more, and it is not clear on what that is.. NO WHERE in the documentation is it clear what the "commercial margin" feature is or what it is supposed to "do". The help tip when I hover over the information icon in the UI shows this tip:
"Modify by commercial margin, if you check this box, your products will be stroked at the rates given. To stroke to 25%, means that the price is marked up of 33%"

The readme cryptically states:
"3) To make the products_purchase_price and margin feature work "products_purchase_price" (i.e. DECIMAL 15,4) and "products_margin" (i.e. DECIMAL 15,2) need to be added to your products tabel."

What EXACTLY does this all mean?? What is the purpose of this feature??

There is also code which appears to support wholesale pricing fields and NO WHERE in the readme is this functionality explained.

[DivaVocals]

Modifications (in red):

Will be submitting this tonight..

History:
~ Fixed the installer files and corrected the admin page registration code (there were some inconsistencies that I corrected).
~ Correct typos, inconsistent punctuation, inconsistent capitalization usage, and the use of some very awkward grammar in the admin config settings
~ Re-ordered some of the configuration items to a more logical order (for example: moved the popup description edit next to the description on/off setting)
~ Added better instructions in the configuration setting for the popup edit to WARN shopowners that you should not activate the popup edit without activating the description display. (activating one without the other shifts the column headings so they do not match the data column)
~ There is a missing heading column when the description is turned off. Fixed code so that the column headings correctly display when the description display setting is set to false (last column heading is missing)
~ Dropped ALL support for Zen Cart v1.3.x. If you are running versions of Zen Cart prior to v1.5.x, you should install v2.06a
~ LOTS of cleanup of the look of the layout as follows:
+ Fixed the product description layout so it STOPS pushing the entire layout off the screen (there is a no-wrap style in the stylesheet)
+ Removed hardcoded text alignment from EVERYWHERE (if needed text alignment/layout/styling should be done in the stylesheet)..
frankly all of that hardcoded text centering did not look good and made the overall layout look dated
+ Removed a LOT of odd settings from the stylesheet (right alignment of the product description input field for example WTH???)
+ Added IDs and classes to support some of the layout corrections I made

KNOWN BUGS I DISCOVERED:
(C Jones 11-29-2013) While making the v2.07 changes/updates, a few things that need addressing with this module were discovered. I can't address/fix these items (above my skill level to fix), but they are worth noting here.
1. The popup edit feature is nice, but possibly over engineered.. The display of the store side view product description is wholly unnecessary IMHO. a simply edit button to open the popup window is really all that's needed for this feature.. Even IF the store side view of the product description is a feature that most users desire, it should be an admin configurable item to turn on/off the product description display AND it needs work as it certainly doesn't work consistently in my testing.. MANY of my clients product descriptions when the popup edit feature is turned on either did not display at all or only partially displayed.. (for example the last line of the product description is the ONLY thing you see) I won't even begin to cover the CSS conflicts that occur because of classes and IDs from the product description sharing the same names as this mods classes and IDs..
2. The editor dropdown doesn't work.. In my testing, it defaults to CKEditor (my client's default editor), yet the editor doesn't render for the product description field (which is where I'd expect to see it). Tried forcing the editor change by changing to the text editor and then changing back to CK Editor.. still no dice..
3. The back button on the product preview page SHOULD return you back to the Quick Updates product list.. Instead you are returned to the catalog product list..
4. No support for products priced by attributes
5. No support for SBA (ANY version of SBA)


FEATURES THAT ARE NOT WELL DOCUMENTED:
I know that if I want to do a mass price increase that I have to activate the "Activate/Deactivate Commercial Margin". However this setting appears to do more, and it is not clear on what that is.. NO WHERE in the documentation is it clear what the "commercial margin" feature is or what it is supposed to "do". The help tip when I hover over the information icon in the UI shows this tip:
"Modify by commercial margin, if you check this box, your products will be stroked at the rates given. To stroke to 25%, means that the price is marked up of 33%"

The readme cryptically states:
"3) To make the products_purchase_price and margin feature work "products_purchase_price" (i.e. DECIMAL 15,4) and "products_margin" (i.e. DECIMAL 15,2) need to be added to your products tabel."

What EXACTLY does this all mean?? What is the purpose of this feature??

There is also code which appears to support wholesale pricing fields and NO WHERE in the readme is this functionality explained.

[stellarweb]

I would LOVE to see the updates you did, but don't see it in the downloads section. Is it under something other than "Quick Updates"?

This description field is ANNOYING! LOL

Modifications (in red):

[DivaVocals]

I would LOVE to see the updates you did, but don't see it in the downloads section. Is it under something other than "Quick Updates"?

This description field is ANNOYING! LOL

Enjoy:

https://github.com/DivaVocals/zen_QuickUpdates

[stellarweb]

You are a rock star! THANKS! Works great.

Enjoy:

https://github.com/DivaVocals/zen_QuickUpdates