Back In Stock Notifications

Hi,

Sudakoma:

Great looking mod Conor, as usual, however im having trouble with it.

Thanks... I'm sorry to hear that though - thought I'd got all problems covered now! ;)

Sudakoma:

Ive copied all the files over and ran the sql and it is showing up under 'configuration' and also 'catalogue' in Admin. The only problem is, the option to enable it is not there, so it doesn't work!

It sounds like the entire SQL file wasn't successfully run then. The option to enable the module is inserted by the SQL so if it's not there then the module won't work!

Do you just have a "Configuration Group" for Back In Stock Notifications but no options within that group? Or, if you do have any of the options, what do you have?

If you're missing options then something strange must have happened with the SQL file and it could possibly be run again to see if any errors come up:

Open the SQL file before you run it and uncomment the lines to delete the existing options/group, then run it again.. you shouldn't get any errors. If you do, that would cause the missing options you are talking about!

All the best...

Conor

conor:

Hi,

Thanks... I'm sorry to hear that though - thought I'd got all problems covered now! ;)

It sounds like the entire SQL file wasn't successfully run then. The option to enable the module is inserted by the SQL so if it's not there then the module won't work!

Do you just have a "Configuration Group" for Back In Stock Notifications but no options within that group? Or, if you do have any of the options, what do you have?

If you're missing options then something strange must have happened with the SQL file and it could possibly be run again to see if any errors come up:

Open the SQL file before you run it and uncomment the lines to delete the existing options/group, then run it again.. you shouldn't get any errors. If you do, that would cause the missing options you are talking about!

All the best...

Conor

Thanks for the reply. When i open the configuration group for Back In Stock Notifications, there are no options at all, just 3 headings:
Title
Value
Action

I tried running the sql file again after uncommenting the lines to delete the existing options/groups and got the following errors:

14 statements processed.
ERROR: Cannot insert configuration_key "" because it already exists
ERROR: Cannot insert configuration_key "" because it already exists
ERROR: Cannot create table back_in_stock_notification_subscriptions because it already exists
Note: 3 statements ignored. See "upgrade_exceptions" table for additional details.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

What version of MySQL are you using? It appears to be failing with the usage of the @t4 variable in the SQL.

All the best...

Conor

MySQL 5.0.22

Correction, MySQL client version: 4.1.7

Sorry about that! :oops:

Hi,

Unfortunately I don't know why it won't work then, that seems like a recent enough version.

The SQL code that is failing was based on code from other modules in the download area.

I'm afraid I'm just going to have to post and ask if anyone has a clue what is going wrong.

In the meantime, you could remove the BISN configuration group from your database replace the @t4 variable with an unused configuration group ID and run the SQL again.

Using a hard-coded ID is guaranteed to work but obviously not the way I wanted to offer!

Sorry I can't be more help than that!

It'll have you working in no time, but that's not the nicest solution!

Here's the code, replace the ID in the five places marked with your ID:

INSERT INTO configuration_group VALUES ('YOURIDHERE', 'Back In Stock Notifications', 'Set Back In Stock Notifications Options', '1', '1');
UPDATE configuration_group SET sort_order = 'YOURIDHERE' WHERE configuration_group_id = 'YOURIDHERE';


INSERT INTO `configuration` ( `configuration_id` , `configuration_title` , `configuration_key` , `configuration_value` , `configuration_description` , `configuration_group_id` , `sort_order` , `last_modified` ,  `use_function` , `set_function`, `date_added`) 
VALUES ('', 'Enable/Disable Back In Stock Notification', 'BACK_IN_STOCK_NOTIFICATION_ENABLED', '1', 'If enabled, when a customer comes across a product that is out of stock, the customer will be offered the chance to be notified when it is back in stock<br /><br />0 = off <br />1 = on', 'YOURIDHERE', '1', NOW(), NULL, 'zen_cfg_select_option(array(''0'', ''1''), ', NOW());

INSERT INTO `configuration` ( `configuration_id` , `configuration_title` , `configuration_key` , `configuration_value` , `configuration_description` , `configuration_group_id` , `sort_order` , `last_modified` , `date_added`) 
VALUES ('', 'Send Copy of Back In Stock Notification Subscription E-mails To', 'SEND_EXTRA_BACK_IN_STOCK_NOTIFICATION_SUBSCRIPTION_EMAILS_TO', '', 'Send copy of Back In Stock Notification Subscription e-mails to the following email addresses, in this format: Name 1 <email@address1>, Name 2 <email@address2>', 'YOURIDHERE', '2', NOW(), NOW()
);
```All the best...

Conor

Sorry to appear a bit stupid but what do you mean by my ID? :blush:

Hi,

Sudakoma:

Sorry to appear a bit stupid but what do you mean by my ID? :blush:

Everyone's Zen Cart installation is different so the IDs which are being used of the configurations groups can be different, depending on what 3rd party mods (if any) have been installed.

You need to use a unique ID for the configuration group in the SQL. THh script is supposed to find the first unused one but something's wrong with it on your server so you have to specify it manually.

Log into your admin and move your mouse over the configuration menu. The group IDs will be seen in the URLs displayed in your browser as your mouse pointer moves over each configuration group.

Choose an ID (a number) that's a few higher than the highest one you see and replace the five instances of "YOURIDHERE" in the above script with it, save the script and run it.

All the best..

Conor

Ok, I made the changes you posted and ran the script but it made no difference, there are still no options displaying to enable it. :frusty:

Hi Conor

In my previous post I was referring to customers that do not have or create an account. Is there a way for them to unsubscribe.

Maybe I have mis understood how it should work in that situation. I thought the link in the email would take them to the product page with an option to unsubscribe.

Have I got this wrong ?

Regards
Laurie

Hi,

chalfontgifts:

In my previous post I was referring to customers that do not have or create an account. Is there a way for them to unsubscribe.

Sorry, I misread your post because the links you gave me are only presented to those who have an account.

I think you must have made a mistake when testing the module and used an e-mail address which is signed up to your site.

If you subscribe to a Back In Stock Notification List with an e-mail address that is not registered with your site then the link in the e-mail will go to an "unsubscribe" page, and the subscriber will have a code they can enter if they didn't use the automatic link.

I have tested this on your site and it works exactly as it should - try it again with another e-mail address and you shall see! :)

Glad I could help! :)

All the best...

Conor

Hi,

Sudakoma:

Ok, I made the changes you posted and ran the script but it made no difference, there are still no options displaying to enable it. :frusty:

Okay, there's something wrong with your server then.

Please send me some admin account details and if you have PHPMyAdmin/control panel software, details for that as well and I'll take a look (set up a temporary account which you can delete once I've got things fixed for you).

You can send these to me by using the following form:

ttp://dev.ceon.net/contact_us

All the best...

Conor

Details sent, thanks. :smartalec:

Conor,
Great tool! Thanks for taking the time to work it out. I use something very similar on my osC store with the flaw that one must be registered and logged in to use it. This will be a huge improvement! I've installed it on my test zen store and it appears to function perfectly.
I have just 1 concern. When we take seasonal inventory, our update from sold out can be considerable. The way we're configured in our current store, notice is sent the instant stock goes from 0 to >0 on each item. Therefore, only a few dozen emails are launched at any moment. If I hit the button with hundreds of emails in the queue, it could be flagged as spam at the receiving end. Is there something to modulate the transmission interval of the emails? (I know my newsletter program does that, but I don't know how)

By the way, for anyone wondering if this tool is a good idea, you should know that it's just about at the top of my priority list for migrating to zen. It's huge! It generates a huge spike in sales when we do seasonals and the residual sales continue for days.

Just sent a couple of pints your way. Thanks again!

Hi,

brushwoodnursery:

notice is sent the instant stock goes from 0 to >0 on each item. Therefore, only a few dozen emails are launched at any moment.

The system won't e-mail the same person more than once when you click the "send" button, no matter how many products they've asked to be notified are back in stock. It combines all of an individual's notifications into one e-mail, specifically to avoid any issues with spam.

brushwoodnursery:

If I hit the button with hundreds of emails in the queue, it could be flagged as spam at the receiving end. Is there something to modulate the transmission interval of the emails? (I know my newsletter program does that, but I don't know how)

I guess if you're a victim of your own success somewhat ( ;) ) - in that you might be e-mailing lots of people at the same server/ISP - it would be handy to limit the number of e-mails going out at once.

That would be interesting software to build in. What is this newsletter software you use, is it open source? (If so, please send a link).

You could also set up a script which automatically runs the "send" routine every time you update a product (the script would check if the product's stock level has just changed).. it shouldn't be too resource intensive as it would normally have nothing to do as normally you wouldn't be just putting something back in stock.

brushwoodnursery:

Just sent a couple of pints your way. Thanks again!

Thanks very much indeed... it's great to find that people like the software and it will be very nice indeed to have a drink on you this weekend to celebrate! ;)

All the best...

Conor

conor:

Hi,

I guess if you're a victim of your own success somewhat ( ;) ) - in that you might be e-mailing lots of people at the same server/ISP - it would be handy to limit the number of e-mails going out at once.

That would be interesting software to build in. What is this newsletter software you use, is it open source? (If so, please send a link).

Thanks very much indeed... it's great to find that people like the software and it will be very nice indeed to have a drink on you this weekend to celebrate! ;)

All the best...

Conor

Yes, it's been almost 10 years of hard work and it's going well. The newsletter program is phplist. Free and open source! They call it domain throttling. It slows transmission of the emails per domain so you don't get flagged as spam. I'm using an older version. I believe it's gotten better over the last few years. The newsletter feature on zen is on my list to investigate. If it isn't robust, I'll load a fresh phplist to the new store. Unfortunately, I'm not good enough with code to fully integrate it. I had promised to teach myself but have never gotten further than mucking around with it and occasionally getting lucky.
If you can slow the transmission of the messages, that would be great! For stock notifications, it wouldn't have to be by domain; just general. Something simple like 1 every 8 seconds would be fine. By the way, combining the list into one email per customer is really nice. Currently they get 1 per item and I think that's triggering some spam filters, too.

Cheers!
--Dan

Hi,

brushwoodnursery:

The newsletter program is phplist.

Okay, I'll take a look and see how easy/hard integrating this limiting would be.

brushwoodnursery:

I had promised to teach myself but have never gotten further than mucking around with it and occasionally getting lucky.

There's a lot of people like that... it is fun to learn though so I do recommend going "the whole way" and learning PHP programming properly, it can give a lot of satisfaction as programming is a very creative activity!

brushwoodnursery:

Currently they get 1 per item and I think that's triggering some spam filters, too.

Not with the current version of the module from Ceon? That should only send one e-mail per customer, regardless of how many notifications they are receiving when the "send" command is run.

Or are you talking about some other software you were previously using?

All the best...

Conor

conor:

Hi,

Not with the current version of the module from Ceon?

Or are you talking about some other software you were previously using?
Conor

Yes, sorry. I'm bouncing back and forth. When I say currently, I'm referring to my product stock notification system on my current osC store. It's live and has served me reasonably well for the last few years but it's time to move on. My zen cart is in development now.

Hi Conor

Please can you give me some guidance as to why the layout is all over the place on the link below and other products
that are out of stock.

http://www.lozer.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1189_1223&products_id=16790

The text for the out of stock notification seems to break out of its own area.

This maybe a problem with something I have done during installation.

Regards
Laurie