How Do I setup the product Query Builder
Posted by Steve Naqvi on 14 July 2010 05:16 AM
PRODUCT QUERY BUILDER MANUAL - INITIAL RELEASE
How to setup a product query for the product finder at the storefront by using custom product properties and the query builder:

OVERVIEW

Custom product properties are additional fields for your products. The cart supports multiple product property categories, so you can set a product to only have the additional fields it needs.
The "property query builder" enables you to easily setup queries for your products using these product properties.

STEP 1 - Create a product property category

Go to "Categories & Products" => "Custom Product Properties"

Create a new product property category by clicking on "Add a New Custom Product Property Category"

e.g.: If you sell remotes and want to add additional fields for your remotes you would enter "remotes" at "New Custom

Product Property Category Name".

Click "save changes" after you entered your category name.

Click on "back" to go back to the main product property management.

STEP 2 - Creating additional product property fields

Chose the "Custom Product Property Category" you want to enter fields for (if it's not already selected).

Enter a new product property field at "Add a new Custom Product Property field".

Press "save changes" after you entered the field name.

Enter the next field name, if you want to setup more fields and repeat STEP2.

STEP 3 - Add the custom property category to your product

Choose a already entered product at "Categories & Products" => "Manage Products" or create a new product.

At "Custom Product Property Category" at the bottom of the product details page, you should now see your previously entered.

product property categories in a select box. Choose the correct product property category for your product there and press "save changes".

If you edited a previously entered product, click on "Back to Product Editing" now and then click on Edit Product's "Metalanguage Descriptions and Properties" at the top of the page.

Click on "edit description" for the language of your choice.

You should now see the product property fields of the previously selected product property category.

Enter the values for your fields and press "update".

Redo STEP 3 for all other products that should have product properties assigned to them.

STEP 4 - Create a product property query

Go to "Categories & Products" => "Property Query Builder".

Click on "Create a New Product Property Query" or select a previously created "product property query".

Enter a property query title.

Select the "Property Query Category" you want to create a query for.

Add the the items from the "Available Items" list you want to add to your query to the "Selected Items" list.

Press "save changes".

STEP 5 - Storefront operation

To call your product property query use this URL:

http://yourdomain.com/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&p=catalog&mode=query

You will see a list with all available queries.

You can use this URL in your Joomla menu to call a list with all available product queries.

After chosing a query you will see select boxes for all your query fields, populated with the values from your product's property fields.

After selecting the first value, the second select box will be populated with all product property field values that match to the previously selected field value of the first select box.

Every forthcoming select box will need to match all the previously conditions (selected values) and will only be populated with the matching values.

After selecting the first value in the first select box the matching products will be shown below. Selecting the next field values in the select boxes will narrow down the list of products as less products will match to your query.

You can also directly call a product query page by using the query id in the URL, therefore enabling you to bypass the query selection page.

e.g.: http://yourdomain.com/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&p=catalog&mode=query&qid=1

will call the query with the ID 1.

You can either see the query ids in the admin area at the "Property Query Builder" management page or - after selecting a specific query at the storefront - in your browser's url entry field.

STEP 6 - General usage after the initial setup

After setting up your product property categories, fields and the query itself, you only need to modify the fields or the query itself, if you change anything in the property category or the fields itself (e.g. add new fields, etc.).

Therefore - on a daily basis as you add more products - you only need to enter the property category and populate the fields for newly created products (STEP 4) each time.

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