When State/Provence makes no sense.

[kiddo]

I have a number of inquiries from customers who are at a loss as to what to put in the State/Provence field when they try to create a new account.

In some countries there is no demarcation by either state or province, yet Zen Cart demands that -something- be put in this field.

What is the proper way to handle such cases?

Thank you

PS: I bought "the Book", but it does not cover this situation.

[Ajeh]

You could make that not required ... but then you do run the risk of the other way where there has to be a State/Province to checkout ...

[kiddo]

You could make that not required ... but then you do run the risk of the other way where there has to be a State/Province to checkout ...

I've considered that, but isn't there a more elegant or "Zen" way to handle it?

PS: Thanks for such a quick reply Ajeh :)

[Ajeh]

Which countries are you having the most trouble with?

[kiddo]

Which countries are you having the most trouble with?

Some specific examples could be considered confidential.

Can I send you examples privately?

[Ajeh]

If naming countries is a problem ...

I suppose you may PM me ... but I did not know the name of countries that are not functioning easily for you was a no no ...

[swguy]

I had a client with this sort of problem. I changed
includes/languages/english/login.php

to (say)

define('TEXT_NEW_CUSTOMER_INTRODUCTION', 'Create a login profile with
<strong>' . STORE_NAME . '</strong> which allows you to shop faster,
track the status of your current orders and review your previous
orders. International customers please note: if your mailing address
does not have a state or province, simply enter NONE in that field.');

Good luck,
Scott

[kiddo]

That seems to make sense Software Guy. Perhaps along with a note to choose their country first so the drop down isn't pre-populated. (or re-order the page to prompt for country first...)

I'm wondering what the implications of putting "none" in that field would be with the CC processor (authorize.net).

In some cases, the problem is that a proper Provence name does exist, but local postal authorities don't really use this info and customers have no clue what to put (even if there is an "official Provence")

I like your idea and will see if that solution flys with the site owner.

For instance, a customer in Paris asks, "I really need to put Ill-De-France in my address?! Nobody does that..."

[swguy]

That seems to make sense Software Guy. Perhaps along with a note to choose their country first so the drop down isn't pre-populated. (or re-order the page to prompt for country first...

Some folks from the UK that I work with reorder the page as a matter of course for their UK/EU clients.

Good luck,
Scott

[DrByte]

Zen Cart uses state/province information for the "zones" system to work.
If you wish to be able to use zones to calculate taxes or shipping methods at the state/province level, you'll need to set up zones matching the state/province divisions within each applicable country.

Using "none" is fine if you don't need the granularity of detail at the state/province level.
In this case, setting your zones to work for a certain "country" and "all states" within each country should suffice.

Each approach has its merits and caveats.