display featured PRODUCT on main page

Hi Zen people,

I have a slight situation, i am trying to setup a small store with only a handful of items. I need to show only one product as a featured item and that should be on the main page. I have tried every possible method, read numerous threads in detail but :(
Rather than going to the featured product directly it shows "Featured Products" box on the main page and then a second click will take you to the featured product page, i want it to go straight to the item. Please help i shall be really thankful.

regards
mimran
p.s. i was under the impression 'featured products' do have a category i.e. category id # 22, and if in the 'layout' i said start main page with '22' it should work but seems like i was wrong long way.

An asap help will be HIGHLY HIGHLY appreciated

You could edit your DEFINE PAGE (MAIN PAGE) and by cobbling together a little html, insert your FEATURED product there.

Okay, so it's a bit of manual editing when you want to change your featured product, but as you only have a few items, this should be simple.

Hi
Thankyou for the reply can you please give me an example of the HTML code?
regards

sorry, further more that is not really going to solve my problem, that is hard coding it, i want it to be automated, and i am more than positive it is easily do able e.g. if i said in layout 'mainpage' open category 2_1 (category 2, item 1) it works

based on same principle there has to be a way

regards

Do you want the FEATURED products to appear on the main page (in the centre column), in a random order?

So if you designate 3 products as FEATURED, you want them to appear on the main page in much the same way as they appear in the featured side box?

give me two mins i am just going to take a few screen dumps of how it looks to how i want it to look

i am not concerned random or not i just want it to the first product listed as featured item and open on the product page
please see images attached

So, when someone goes to your webshop, the screen opens up with the FEATURED sidebox, showing a featured product.

The SAME featured product is then displayed in the centre column, in the same way that it would be under its "product listing" format.

This will (I believe) require a fair bit of custom PHP coding, and you may wish to post a request in the "Commercial Help Wanted" area.

you could be right but i beg to differ.
Do you know what is the master Category for featured products?
If i can find out the category number that will resolve the problem.

I don't think Featured products are placed in a "category". The function is controlled by a database "switch" that enables several php files to perform call functions off the data in the database.

If the database "switches" are turned ON via admin panel (eg, the featured product sidebox, coupled with all the products that have been designated "featured"), then the relevant php files kick into life and do their work.

These will (amongst others), involve:-

includes\modules\featured_products.php
includes\modules\sideboxes\featured.php
includes\templates\template_default\templates\tpl_featured_products_default.php
includes\templates\template_default\templates\sideboxes\tpl_featured.php

...Suggest you open up each of these to see their php structure, and this may help you develop some custom code to put into other php files that render the index page.

already have done that
and just to simply put it
when you say start main at category = 0 (top category) that is essentially exactly what i am saying
if you looked through all databases you won't find this hence this is
master category with category_id = 0
on the same principle i believe there is one for this too.
and to support my arugument database table category_configuration_id does represent group category id for FEATUREd to be #22 but for some strange reason this logic is not working
or i am on lines in opposite directions

Here's a possible work-around...

1. You create a category called "Featured".
2. Set up all your "featured" products using the catalog>>>featured products facility.
3. Go to the cateogries where your featured products reside.
4. LINK COPY these featured products to your manually created "Featured" category
5. In Maximum Values>>>Random Featured products for Sidebox, set to display the same number as your total number of featured products.
6. In Configuration>>>Layout Settings>>>Categories Box - show featured products link (set to false) ... you have a main category now, called "featured".
7. in Layout Settings>>>Main Page - opens with category (set to the ID of your "featured" category)

if not too much of a hassle i have sent you a private message

i can see what you are saying but the main essence of a featured product is the time so i can leave something for five days and then expire it automatically which by doing as you suggested is not achieveable

**hi every one

this is my second general public plea if someone can assist with this issue PHALEASE:frusty:**

mimran:

database table category_configuration_id does represent group category id for FEATUREd to be #22

I just looked in a database (via phpMyAdmin) on a shop I manage, that has severalfeatured products.

There is no ID for a category called "Featured" in my dbase.

I can see ALL categories I have manually created in Admin Panel, but no category for featured products.

As I said, a catgegory is not created for featured products - the data is dynamically called off existing tables and cobbled together according to settings and relevant php code.

Yes seems you are right!

well well well! good news is i sat down on code and after a bit of manipulation have figured two ways of doing it, just have to implement them properly as have to figure out all the different places where it requires changes but Yes doable. but if anyone comes across this post and knows an easier way please do let me know, i have taken the longest way possible.