Adding a column to the product list view?

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   At the end of the day, I'd like to add a "Length" column to pages that appear like this http://www.toolsxp.com/toolsxp/pc/11-00-OC-c28419.htm 

Is it possible to add custom columns to the list view? Is there an easy way to add fields to the ProductCart database? I have all the information in Excel spread sheets, could I "hijack" a field I don't use from the PC database, use the import wizard to upload the data, and then change how the title appears on the page? 

What would be the best way to go about this?

I've tried a few things, but I'm picking up where a previous tech left off and I'm still pretty lost on the relationship between viewprd, viewprdCode, viewprdO, viewprodL, etc.

Any help would be great, thanks.

Edit for clarification when I say "Hijack a field" - I don't use "Short Category Description 1" from my PC database. Could I use the import wizard to fill that with length data, add a Short Category Description 1 column to my product list, and then edit it so the column title appears as "Length?"

Edited by padreick - 27-February-2012 at 3:39pm

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padreick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 20-February-2012 Status: Offline Points: 24	Post Options Post Reply Quote padreick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Adding a column to the product list view? Posted: 27-February-2012 at 3:25pm
	At the end of the day, I'd like to add a "Length" column to pages that appear like this http://www.toolsxp.com/toolsxp/pc/11-00-OC-c28419.htm Is it possible to add custom columns to the list view? Is there an easy way to add fields to the ProductCart database? I have all the information in Excel spread sheets, could I "hijack" a field I don't use from the PC database, use the import wizard to upload the data, and then change how the title appears on the page? What would be the best way to go about this? I've tried a few things, but I'm picking up where a previous tech left off and I'm still pretty lost on the relationship between viewprd, viewprdCode, viewprdO, viewprodL, etc. Any help would be great, thanks. Edit for clarification when I say "Hijack a field" - I don't use "Short Category Description 1" from my PC database. Could I use the import wizard to fill that with length data, add a Short Category Description 1 column to my product list, and then edit it so the column title appears as "Length?" Edited by padreick - 27-February-2012 at 3:39pm

Greg Dinger Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Certified ProductCart Developers Joined: 23-September-2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 238	Post Options Post Reply Quote Greg Dinger Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27-February-2012 at 3:58pm
	First, let me resolve your question about the relationship between those files. viewPrd.asp is the main product page. It uses other "included" files to fill it out. viewPrdC.asp, viewPrdL.asp and viewPrdO.asp represent 3 switch-selectable formats (image left, image right and centered image) that you can choose for a product detail page. viewPrdCode.asp contains a bunch of functions and subroutines. Each of them perform some task such as printing the product name, the sku number, the "tell a friend" button, or some other common element that gets displayed to the page. viewPrdC.asp, viewPrdL.asp and viewPrdO.asp make calls to the subs and functions in viewPrdCode.asp in order to generate the finished product page. But what you are showing us here is not related to those files - you are showing us the category page (viewCategories.asp). It uses files such as pcShowProductH.asp, pcShowProductL.asp and pcShowProductM.asp in order to control its respective formats which are also switch-selectable. Your page above is using pcShowProductM.asp (M = multiple add to cart) to display content. Now, on to your question. The act of adding a field to the products table, for an experienced developer, is not hard. Emphasis on experienced developer. When it comes to a newbie doing that, not so easy. And adding columns to the products table is one of the most common requests we get. You first add a column to the database (using a tool such as MS SQL Studio), then you add support for that column to the product admin tools. Then you have to query that new data from the database and display it to whatever page you want. We do something like that on 2 out of 3 development projects that we perform for our clients. It is so common that when we built the v4.5 version of our tabbed product page mod, we decided to address that very situation: http://www.greybearddesign.com/productcart/tabbed-product-page/ In that mod we added 12 fields for tabs and their respective override tab titles, but we also built support for 9 additional dead-ended fields. I refer to these as "dead-ended" because they go nowhere other than into the products table. What one uses those for is up to the individual merchant. So we have 3 textarea fields, 3 simple text fields, and 3 checkbox on/off flags. The product admin tools have been altered to support those fields, as has the CSV/XLS import tool. What happens next? After installing this mod, and populating one of those "simlpe text fields" with your length data, you (or a develoer) would then alter viewCategories.asp to retrieve that field, and then pcShowProductH.asp to display it. Does that help?

padreick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 20-February-2012 Status: Offline Points: 24	Post Options Post Reply Quote padreick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27-February-2012 at 6:12pm
	Yes, absolutely, thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough response. That's how my thought process was working, but you saved me a lot of trial and error figuring out the specifics or if it would even work. Thanks for being so active on this forum, it is an immense help.