Product Types is a powerful feature if you have complex products like electronics, computers, cars and maybe airplanes. Product Types will help you create an advanced classification according to the parameters of your complex products and will make possible the Advanced Search According to Parameters in your site frontend.
The parametric search is the one responsable to the shopper's feeling that he can find EXACTLY what he needs.
Note
Other developers call this magical feature "The Filter".
Note
To fully understand this feature, you really have to try for yourself and focus a few hours, maybe days, OR you can read and follow this easy step by step guide.
Product Type is very different in functionality than Product Category, but both have the mission to describe products. Generaly the Category describes the usage of products, but the Product Type describes products based to specific parameters values, and extends the basic description of the Category.
We used "creating" term here to exclude the possibility of confusing it with "Add Product Type" or assign Product Type to a product.
So to create a New Product Type, go to "Products"⇒"Add Product Type"
Important
"Creating Product Types" is possible only in this manner and only from this menu item. Although this sounds the same as "Creating a Product Type relation with a Product" option they are completely different.
In the form below you can edit your Product Type's Information.
Tip
We recommand not using "Image", "Page break" and "Readmore" options, because it is an unecessary work. If you want to write detailed information about your products, use the Category Description field, and further more the Product Description field.
Tip
Some things you need to know about "Product Type Browse Page" and "Product Type Flypage". This assumes that you already have other, specific templates files for products assigned to Product Types. By default, category browse page layout is managed by "browse_1.php" file and product flypage layout is managed by "flypage.tpl.php" file, and both are good no matter if your products are assigned or not to a Product Type. In our case here, "Product Type Browse Page" is the one managing the layout when perform an Advanced Search According to Parameters.
After reading this section, you will be able to decide if you want to describe the products from a category ONLY using Product Type Parameters and don't use "Product Description" field for showing parameters, OR use both.
Creating parameters
To create parameters, chick the link "Show" you see below.
Now you see the empty Parameter List for the newly created Product Type. Click "New" and take a good long look at the Parameter Type dropdown box.
Figure 4.35. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Product Type -Parameter Information
- Parameter name
is actually the name of the database field for the parameter, so don't forget spaces in this field! Example: [monitor_weight].
- Parameter Label
is what exactly is shown in frontend as the parameter name within Advanced Search According to Parameters form.
- Parameter Description
can be used to explain the parameter like you teach your shopper about it, or leave it blank if is not a new or unimportant information
- List order
defines the list order of the parameter within Advanced Search According to Parameters form.
- Parameter types
defines the behaviour of the parameter when you perform an Advanced Search According to Parameters.
- Integer
like in our example, an integer number.
- Text and Short text
can be used for non-numeric values that stand for different types of material, or in some cases the product has or not a certain feature.
- Float
Floating point numbers (also known as "floats", "doubles", or "real numbers"). Example: 1.23 or 1.23e
- Char
A single alphanumeric character. Example: sex - M or F
- Date & time
Date and Time of an Event regarding your product.
- Date
only the date of an event regarding your product.
- Time
only the time of an event regarding your product.
- Multiple values
this parameter type is for multiple purposes, so please consult a PHP and SQL reference before using it.
- Break line
this parameter type is not realy a parameter, it's only purpose is to separate parameter sets, and define these sets of parameters, because is needed a better understanding of parameters for shoper, in case you decided not to use Product Description Field to display the parameters in product flypage, and use only the Product Type Parameter List layout.
- Possible Values
In this fileld you have to write all the values the parameter could have, and between values use only the symbol ; with no spaces before and after it. If a new product is launched on the market and has a higher value for the parameter, update this field with the new value, so you can configure your new product properly.
- Show Possible Values as Multiple select?
If checked, it makes possible for both configuring the product parameters and parameter search to perform a multiple selection.
- Default Value
you can use this option if more of your products have this value, or if you want to have a non-parameter option in the dropdown-box, like "none" or "not available", or as the image suggests to set the layout of the date and/or time.
- Unit
Unit of measurement for the parameter.
After filling the parameter information, click "Save". Now you see the parameter list of your Product Type.
Now is the time to decide how much parameters you need to describe your products. Later, the parameters you create will "filter" your products.
Now it's time to assign the products in the category to the newly created Product Type. Let's begin with the basics.
Rules of the Product Types - explain the best practices
There are a few rules you must learn when creating a product relation/assignment to a Product Type. These rules are displayed below in order of importance (most important first):
Important
For begginer VirtueMart users, It is recommanded to not assign more than one Product Type to a product, because of SEF extensions difficulty on handling long links in the parameter search process and could cause landing on 404 page. In this case, advanced users have to manage databases with every single product assigned to more product types, and this is a hard work, BUT you can always ask for help in VirtueMart Forum.
Important
If you want to create a single Product Type for a NON parent category of products, witch is recommanded, you have to give your Product Type exactly the same name as the category that contain the products assigned to it. It is best thing to do, because the most important bad effect is that some products can be ignored by the parameter search. So you must understand that a Product Type can describe with its parameters all the products in a category, so you don't need to create more product types for a category. If you feel that the Product Type Parameters are not enough, the best thing to do is to create more parameters for your existing product type and reconfigure the products according to the new parameter information.
Important
If you decide to create more product types for a non parent category, you must think about those Product Types as they would be child categories, so you will give them names like they were categories, but they are not categories! This is a very risky option, because it is much more possible you can forget to assign a Product Type to a few products, and those products are ignored in the parametric search process, BUT you don't have a very deep category structure. So in this case we are talking about products that have similar functions, but they have different parameters and different parameter values.
Example 4.1.
Example: you have "Displays" category, and here you would create 2 more child categories: "LCD Displays" and "Plasma Displays". The 2 categories of products perform same functions (showing you multimedia information), but have different parameters, and you cannot assign a single Product Type to describe all LCD and Plasma displays, because lets say Plasma pixel size is very different than LCD pixel size. So in this particular case you have to create 2 Product Types for "Displays" Category: "LCD Displays" Product Type and "Plasma Displays" Product Type. This is actualy the best thing to do, because Plasma is a very different technology than LCD.
Important
!REMEMBER! You have to make sure that ALL products in a Category are assigned to at least one Product Type, and that Category must be non parent, with other words must not have child categories. Further more, if you have a parent category for two categories, that parent category must not contain any products, or contain all products from the the two/more child categories.
Creating a relationship between a Product and a Product Type
Case 1 Adding/assigning a Product Type to an existing Product
Go to your Product List and follow theese steps:
Figure 4.37. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Adding new Product Type to a Product FASE 1
Figure 4.38. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Adding new Product Type to a Product FASE 2
Now go to your product configuration and configure the product parameters values for your product!
Figure 4.39. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Adding new Product Type to a Product FASE 3
Now lets check the product flypage.
Figure 4.40. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Flypage of a Product assigned to a Product Type
Note
In this example we described the product using only Product Type Parameters, and we didn't used Product Description and Short Description fields. This is the default flypage layout, and you can change it by choosing a different flypage file specialy created for products assigned to Product Types.
Case 2 Creating a new product already assigned to a Product Type
This assumes that you create Product Types first and then add Products. So to do that, you have to follow some steps. First go to Product Type List, and click "Show" for the Product Type you wish to create a new Product.
Tip
This is the fastest process to create a database with products assigned to Product Types.
Figure 4.41. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Creating a new product already assigned to a Product Type FASE 1
Note
In normal "Product List" page, you don't have the ability to create a Product already assigned to a Product Type, so ONLY from "Product Type List" you have this ability.
Figure 4.42. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Creating a new product already assigned to a Product Type FASE 2
Figure 4.43. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Creating a new product already assigned to a Product Type FASE 3
OK! Now you have 2 products fully configured (you can realy merchandise them this way) and assigned to Product Types and we can perform an Advanced Search According to Parameters in site front end.In order to be able to perform this type of search, you have to enable the "Advanced Search According to Parameters" link in VirtueMart Module. To do that, go to Joomla! main menu ⇒ "Extensions" ⇒ "Module Manager" and open "VirtueMart Module" Configuration. There you must check the option "Show Product Parameter Search Field?".
Tip
The "Advanced Search According to Parameters" link is also available in "VirtueMart All in One Module".
Now go to your site frontend, refresh, and click "Advanced Search According to Parameters" link in VirtueMart Module.
Figure 4.44. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Advanced Search According to Parameters - Selecting Product Type
Figure 4.45. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Advanced Search According to Parameters Form - Selecting Parameter Values
Figure 4.46. VirtueMart Administration: Product Types Management - Advanced Search According to Parameters Search Results
This is an important decision to make, because deleting a Product Type will delete all relations with products, and you cannot search those products according to their parameters anymore. In case you don't need a Product Type anymore, you can delete it using the folowing procedure: go to Product Type List, select the one you want to delete and click "Remove".