WHat is Product linked mean

Hi,

What is it meant by Product linked... I am guessing that it is linked to another catorgory or something ?? I looked at a product (DVD) in Zen demo and it says that it is linked but I do not know where ??? ... Not really sure about this..

Ta

I am guessing that it is linked to another catorgory or something ?

Yes, it means a single product is linked to more than one category.

you mean that this product shows in the both categories

if it does show in more than one catorgory... how do you find out what other catorgory it is in and how do you link one ?

In Catalog > Categories/Products, navigate down to where products are showing in the list. Any linked product will show a yellow box.

For any product, click the blue "C" button to see the options for copying to another category.

At the bottom of that menu, the "Multiple Categories Link Manager" button will take you to a page where you can do all sorts of things with links, including see the master category.

There is a hidden field called the master_categories_id

This is the main categories_id of a Product ... more or less who "owns" the Product for pricing purposes ...

You only really see this if you have a Product that is Linked to more than 1 categories_id ... via the products_to_categories table ...

Note: all products have a master_categories_id even when they belong to just 1 Category ... you just do not see this ...

When more than one exists, you will see the dropdown of the Categories ...

The Multiple Categories Link Manager that gjh42 referred to will help you manage this ...

NOTE: only Categories with at least 1 Product will show in the Multiple Categories Link Manager ...

This allows you to manipulate the Categories a Product is Linked to and manage with is the Master Category ...

Oh mate.. this product linking is so confusing... I went into Attributes and got lost.. dont know what any of it means... If I want to have a product in its normal catorgory but also want it in another cat... can I just 'copy' it from one cat to another cat ?? If I can do this why have linked products anyway ??
If I have a special cat.. or new products... does Zen place the products in there automatically and rotates the items or do you have to place them in there?? Also in the products area it says "Specials for month of June" ... does this change automatically each month or do you have to edit June to read July ect ??

I think I undersatand that attributes... its when the product comes in different sizes or colours and the customer has to choose which one they want.... yes ?? .. the product linking has got me confused... also how do you link a product to another cat...?? I understand that the yellow button beside the product means its linked... but to where and how do you get it linked.. ?

Oh I wish there was an instruction manual.... Zen for Dummies or something :shocking:

Oh I wish there was an instruction manual.... Zen for Dummies or something

Well ... there are already instructions manual:

• Wiki documentation (http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) .
• Archive Documentation (forum).
• PDF Documentation (posted by DrByte).
• FAQ (https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php).
• Docs folder (from each downloaded Zen-Cart package from sourceforge.net).

5 solutions, already, that can help you evoluate from a newbie level. :thumbsup:

more reading...agghhh :shocking:
Want to pay someone to do it... its easier.. besides its costing me a fortune in coffee... :laugh:

Let's say you have a Product called Die Hard ...

You want it to be in two categories:

DVD ... Action

Actors ... Willis

You only want 1 Product products_id 12

But to make sure that this Product is always the same price, regardless of where it shows and that you only have to maintain 1 Product and all the information ... you would pick 1 of the 2 Categories to be the Master Category ...

In this case, let's say DVD ... Action is the Master Category ...

To make the Product Linked, you just hit the C for Copy and mark it as Linked Product and add to the Actors ... Willis ... Category ...

In the products_to_categories table you would set this product listed 2 times, once for each Category ...

In the products table you would see this product listed 1 time as there is only 1 physical Product ...

If you wanted to put the DVD ... Action ... Category on Sale with Sale Maker ... if this is the Master Category ... then this Product is now on Sale where ever it appears as it will use that Sale Maker sale for the pricing ...

If you wanted to put the Actors ... Willis ... Category on Sale and allow the Die Hard Product to be on Sale ... you would change its Master Category to the Actor ... Willis ... Category and put that Category on sale ...

Again, because the Master Category is on Sale ... this Product will show its Sale regardless of where it appears ...

You can see what Categories a Product belongs to in the Master Categories Link Manager which is available when you hit the C for Copy ...

Both Categories would display ... 1 is a check box that is marked and the other is a Yellow icon ... meaning this is the Master Category ...

You can add a Product to as many Categories you want ...

NOTE: the Categories in the Master Categories Link Manager only show if there is at least 1 Product in the Category ...

There is a dropdown there as well that allows you to change who the Master Category is as well ...