Enabling Fractional Quantities on your WebStore

WebStore
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Background
Fractional quantities has been added to cater to fabric vendors. Fabric (and anything else) may now be sold in fractions of units rather than whole units. The stores implement fractional quantities by providing either a drop-down box (for fractions) or a decimal free text input (for decimals) on the product and basket pages.

This article explains how to enable the display of fractional quantities on your store.

Using NSc PAM to define fractions/ decimals that items are to be sold by
RMS doesn’t have native support for fractional quantities. We therefore use a Nitrosell tool, NSc PAM, to give items a value representing the fraction that you want to sell items by. This is done by:

  • using the menu option ‘Attribute’ and selecting the option ‘Add new attribute…’ #1.1 [in the image below];
  • Name your new attribute (I called mine ‘FractionSoldBy’) and ensure that the ‘Attribute Type’ drop down box has ‘String’ selected;
  • Then press OK.
    PAM should show you a new attribute column named as you chose. Now enter values against all the items that you wish to be sold in fractions. Valid values are either:
  • an empty box for items you want sold in whole units [#2.1];
  • a fraction such as ‘1/12’ or ‘1/20’ [#2.2];
  • ‘d|dec|decimal’ if you want the item sold in decimals [#2.3].
    Once you have assigned values, ensure you commit the changes to your database by clicking the ‘Commit Changes’ button [#3]!
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Map the PAM fields to a custom text field using NScSynch
Now that your RMS database has values for items, you need to upload this to your webstore. This is done using NSc Sync:

  • Open the configuration window [#4 in the image below];
  • Select ‘Field Mapping’ in the menu on the left [#5];
  • Open the ‘Item menu’ [#6] on the right;
  • Check if you are already using a product_weblinxcustomtext field, this will be near the bottom of the item list. You do NOT want to write over any field you are already using for something else!
  • Right click on white space to open a contextual menu. You want to select ‘Add Field’->‘PAM Field…’. This opens a new window called ‘Add Item Field’.
  • Under ‘Remote Field Name’ add ‘product_weblinxcustomtext#’ where # is a number between 1 and 5 that you have not already used (as checked in step 4 above) [#7.1];
  • Use the drop down menu called ‘Field Source’ and select the nitroasl_pamtable.NAME where the NAME is what you called your attribute column in PAM back at stage 1.1 [#7.2];
  • Click OK on the Add Item field window [#7.3];
  • NSc Synch image
  • Click OK on the NSc Snych Configuration window [#8];
  • Click the ‘Synchronize’ button [#9].
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Enabling fractional quantities in Web Store Manger
Now that the webstore has been synched, we must enable the option in WSM. Select the Configuration->Webstore menu option on the left. Then select the Product tab.

  1. Down near the bottom of the list of options is the ‘Enable fractional quantities’ option [#10].
  2. Click the checkbox [#11] and select the customtextfield you have mapped your fractional quantities to [#12], in the example we used product_weblinxcustomtext2.
  3. Save your choice [#13].
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Compatibility with other options
Other store options that interact with fractional quantities are ‘restrict-purchasing to in-stock quantity only’ and ‘restrict purchasing to quantity multiples only’.

Fractions
If fractions are enabled for a product then selling an item in multiples (pairs, threes or greater) is supported. The store will allow you to buy the multiple and then allow you to add a fractional amount to this multiple. So if a store only allowed you to buy widgets in thirds and in groups of four, you would be able to buy 4 1/3 widgets or 4 2/3 widgets.
If fractions are enabled for a product and the ‘Restrict purchasing to in-stock quantity only’ is enabled in the store, then you are limited to selecting the drop down option in ‘Restrict purchasing to in-stock quantity only’. The free text quantity input field makes no sense if you are selling in fractions!

Decimals
If decimals are enabled for a product, then selling in ‘restrict purchasing to quantity multiples only’ doesn’t make sense and is not supported.

Peculiar behaviour
If your webstore is behaving in a peculiar manner check out the following items:

  • Check that your have pointed WSM at a field it can use, this means that it is:
  • Pointing at the correct field;
  • The field has either d|dec|decimal or a fraction in it;
  • If the store can’t understand the fraction it will default to selling items in whole numbers.
  • It is possible to set items to be sold by different fractions;
  • Not every item needs to be sold by fraction;
  • It is possible to set some items to be sold in decimals and others in fractions.