Interested in Attributes based upon Attributes add-on - Anyone else interested?

Hi,

I have had multiple sites where I could have used an attributes based upon other attributes model (and am currently looking at another site). There are many shopping carts online now that have this feature. That is if the first attribute is changed then the second attribute can be based upon the first (and down the line). Then different options would show depending up the attribute that is selected beforehand.

So it is possible that I have a client or two who would be interested in funding development depending on cost, whether or not it can be done, and if others want to join in.

*My thought is if this did get funded and developed, I would like to then like to give it back to the zen cart community so others can improve upon it and keep it up to date.

Is anyone else interested in helping fund this type of add-on? Of course finding the developer to code this would be another matter. Before you speak up the features I would need to make it universal would be:

• It needs to be a plug-in.
• To be able to add price and weight increases or decreases like the current attributes have (some features just add to the cost and shipping weight).
• To be able to add stock by attribute.
• To have the option to be able to hide the price until the first attribute and have the price change as you change attributes (like dynamic price updater add-on). I would also like to have a starting at price option to show in this dynamic price updater before any attributes are selected. So the option of hiding the price until an option is selected or showing the lowest price (starting at price). Better yet if this could be a checkbox option in settings life would be great.
• To be able to add an image to each attribute (like we can now)
• To have CSS rules so that we can change the attribute layout for any template.
• Configuration options would be provided directly in the admin control panel.
• It can't be too complicated so my clients wouldn't understand.

If anyone else is interested in helping here, I would like to see if I can get this funded. **

Also if you are a coder and you know you can create this then please send me a private message.** I would like to see your experience, pricing, and portfolio.

This functioning is overdue and sorely needed. I am seeing it on many stores these days. Once again my plan would be to turn it right back over to the community so others can improve upon it and hopefully keep updating it for future versions of the cart.

sports guy:

I have had multiple sites where I could have used an attributes based upon other attributes model (and am currently looking at another site). There are many shopping carts online now that have this feature. That is if the first attribute is changed then the second attribute can be based upon the first (and down the line). Then different options would show depending up the attribute that is selected beforehand.

From what I am reading you are talking about having additional attribute options based upon an attribute on a product... on the specific products page. Is this correct (not something I need)?

Or are you talking about having a feature where you select a category, then display options based upon the category (or products in the category) in a sidebox, with selections in the sidebox adjusting the product_listing accordingly? Now this would interest me. I've been meaning (have not yet found the time) to look at some of the filtering options and modules to see how much work such a feature would entail.

lhungil:

From what I am reading you are talking about having additional attribute options based upon an attribute on a product... on the specific products page. Is this correct (not something I need)?

Or are you talking about having a feature where you select a category, then display options based upon the category (or products in the category) in a sidebox, with selections in the sidebox adjusting the product_listing accordingly? Now this would interest me. I've been meaning (have not yet found the time) to look at some of the filtering options and modules to see how much work such a feature would entail.

I think it's the first one. If you have a product with 3 attributes, for instance, then the second is populated based on the selection of the first and the third is populated based on the second attribute selected. I would love to have this feature.

The search filter already exists as a module in the downloads, I think it's called dynamic filter.

lankeeyankee:

The search filter already exists as a module in the downloads, I think it's called dynamic filter.
Thank You!

lhungil:

Thank You!

It may still be buggy, I remember trying it on a test site a while after it first came out and it was too buggy to use and at the time I had 0 time to work on fixing it. Not sure where it is now, so reserve your thanks until you test it.:laugh::laugh:

lhungil:

From what I am reading you are talking about having additional attribute options based upon an attribute on a product... on the specific products page. Is this correct (not something I need).

I think it's the first one. If you have a product with 3 attributes, for instance, then the second is populated based on the selection of the first and the third is populated based on the second attribute selected. I would love to have this feature.

Yes I am referring to the first one lankeeyankee is correct.

Clothing sites can use this because let's say you have specific style t-shirt shirt. That shirt then has different colors. And then you have sizes and stock amounts that are based upon this. While you could create different products, for a store with many products this is cleaner. Plus in some cases there are different colors and patterns. Second scenario was a picture frame site I was designing. The frame has custom sizes. Attributes 1 was a drop-down for width, and attribute 2 was a drop-down for height. Pricing of frames and weight we dependant upon theses first two attributes. Furthermore, the matting, and other options, plus shipping weight were based upon the sizes (the first and second attribute).

Now I have another clothing site and I see 2 of her competitors that have this attritubute based upon attributes. You select the product, then you select the pattern and color (the attribute has an image attached as well - onhover) then the sizes display assuming stock value allows this. Now I possibly have a website in the works for pole barns. All options would be based upon first few attributes. So I am starting to see a need for this in many places. There are several competitors websites that I am seeing with this feature.

My clients ask me if they can do it why can't we? I have to say they pay a developer for a custom solution, a lot more than you pay me :) As it is my last few sites that had the dynamic price updater and there are more on the way, so that should tell you something.

For a store selling a simple product this would not be a need. But for a store that is selling complex products with many options this would be ideal. It's a pain in the neck and you have to get creative in order to add additional products because this feature is not available. Also it looks sloppy to have the same product in different colors when you have a lot of products (this is an example). Now I am getting into deeper attributes so this creativity with categories and products is not going to cut it anymore.

It's hard for me when I tell my clients I use the best shopping cart software in the world (zen cart of course), and I cannot explain to them why their competitors have this feature and we do not.

I don't understand the zen cart framework when it comes to coding something like this. If I can help get this thing going and somehow fund this or contribute I am going to do it. So hopefully it's possible and not too complex to keep running. I can get some funding to get this going the question is how much and what's it going to take. Also will it be good for long term.

I have to assume that others are having this same issue. If you are not, then I am doing something wrong or completely missing a key component.

As I understand it, it would not be too hard for someone proficient with javascript, HTML forms and PHP to code dependent attributes for one situation; the difficulty comes in because there are so many different ways someone could want attributes to be dependent. Just in your examples, I see inventory based on combinations of attribute values, price based on multiplied attribute values, and price possibly based on combinations of attributes not necessarily multiplied. I am sure someone could chime in with other ways they need attributes to work. Writing one set of code that can handle all of these possibilities would be a mammoth task and if not done perfectly could have bugs or side effects down the line... then there's the task of making sure the code keeps up with future Zen Cart upgrades.

My feeling is that the only viable route would be to create a framework which allowed dependency paths to be written and plugged in as needed. Different products would have to be able to call upon different sets of dependencies.

Agreed, the attributes controller would need to be rewritten to structure attributes differently so there would be dependencies one on top of the other. So, you would create a dependency for the second level based off the first, etc. For instance, if I sell t-shirts and the top level is color, the second is size, the third is neck style (v or crew). Say blue shirts are available in S, M, L, XL but red is only available in M, L, XL. This is where the stock attribute controller lets you down because it can't dynamically filter and you would need to have 2 separate products because not all attributes can match up.

So the rewritten controller would have to be a combination of attributes: blue, S, crew as one, blue, S, v as another, blue, M, crew a third etc instead of all colors as one, all sizes as another, necks as the third and any combination of them being possible.

This would avoid the complexities you are talking about but would create more work on the backend setting up the products. But, once it's done it's done and each attribute combination can now map to a specific SKU and can allow for easier and accurate stock control.

Hmmmm. Now I see why some of these stores that offer this seem to be custom developed. 2 of the competitors I know had a custom store, but I wasn't sure about the others I have seen. I suspected the complexities compound the further down you go with the attributes.

I was also thinking that since our current attribute system is a little complicated for the weekend warrior (client); it would be even more difficult with attributes based upon attributes to operate within the same framework.

So something like this might be more viable on a specific basis. That's a shame that this cannot be recycled and put back into use for more stores. Wish there is more of a generic way. Of course, if one of my clients has the money and want to spend it to have this custom developed; who am I to stop them. Perhaps I will be back later on this subject to find someone who can do this custom work for a specific store. At this point, it only makes sense to me, if it can be recycled and used again (plus others could use it).

I just did not get these answers last year when I was searching for this option. Thank you for piping in and providing feedback.

P.S. If someone does decide to tackle this in the future, I very well may be interested in helping with the funding (if I have a client who needs this at that time).

sports guy:

Hmmmm. Now I see why some of these stores that offer this seem to be custom developed. 2 of the competitors I know had a custom store, but I wasn't sure about the others I have seen. I suspected the complexities compound the further down you go with the attributes.

I was also thinking that since our current attribute system is a little complicated for the weekend warrior (client); it would be even more difficult with attributes based upon attributes to operate within the same framework.

So something like this might be more viable on a specific basis. That's a shame that this cannot be recycled and put back into use for more stores. Wish there is more of a generic way. Of course, if one of my clients has the money and want to spend it to have this custom developed; who am I to stop them. Perhaps I will be back later on this subject to find someone who can do this custom work for a specific store. At this point, it only makes sense to me, if it can be recycled and used again (plus others could use it).

I just did not get these answers last year when I was searching for this option. Thank you for piping in and providing feedback.

P.S. If someone does decide to tackle this in the future, I very well may be interested in helping with the funding (if I have a client who needs this at that time).

I believe Magento Cart has this functionality, would love to have it in ZenCart as my print shop products are attribute based and some attributes are based on other attributes, which means I have to have duplicate products with different main attributes to accomplish the same thing but with a whole lot more work as a store owner...:(

sigh anyone looked at the progress of Stock by attributes recently? While not recently revised/written for ZC 1.5.0, it just might work if you use SBA version 1.5.3.

https://github.com/potteryhouse

I know I certainly would take donations to continue the work that I have been doing to build off of what potteryhouse and jeking set out to accomplish.

As for multiplication of attributes, I have something that accomplishes it to one degree on my site. It could be expanded upon to multiply in larger factors/groups.