The Global tab’s workspace is divided into seven areas: l Global l Price Configuration l Frontend Features l Tax Configuration l User Registration Settings l Core Settings l Logfi
Trang 111 If you want to add the sample data, click the Install Sample Data button, or click
the Go Directly to Shop button The component populates the database accordingly
and then takes you to the Store control panel where it displays a confirmation message
12 Access your Joomla! database installation; typically this is done through
phpMyAdmin.
13 Import into your database the file virtuemart.installation.addons.joomla1.5.sql,
which is located inside the /administration/components/com_virtuemart/ sql directory If successful, you see a confirmation message.
14 Access the Module Manager by selecting the option Module Manager under the
Extensions menu The Module Manager loads in your browser.
15 Enable all VirtueMart modules.
16 Access the Plugins Manager by selecting the option Plugin Manager under the
Extensions menu The Plugin Manager loads in your browser.
17 Enable all VirtueMart Plugins.
The installation process is now complete and you should be able to access all the features of VirtueMart
Reviewing the VirtueMart Control Panel
When you access the VirtueMart component you will first see the default VirtueMart control panel,
as shown in Figure 23.4 The control panel is intended to give you quick access to the most com-mon functionalities needed by a shop administrator
Note at the top left, above the VirtueMart logo, two texts links labeled Simple Layout and Extended Layout The default view is the Simple Layout Clicking the Extended Layout link radically changes the interface, as shown in Figure 23.5 If you are doing extensive work on the Shop, you are likely find the Extended Layout to be more usable Keep in mind that the Extended Layout is geared toward administratrators and the simple layout is the layout you would probably want to display
to your users who prefer a less cluttered interface
Trang 2FIGURE 23.4
The Joomla! control panel with the VirtueMart Bundle installed This is the Simple Layout interface
Trang 3FIGURE 23.5
View of the VirtueMart Administration Panel in Extended Layout view
Configuring VirtueMart
Immediately after installation you can configure the Shop to suite your needs Configuration is a lengthy process and can be time-consuming, particularly if you have not yet thought through the options you want to use for your Shop Note that the decisions you make during the initial config-uration can be modified at a later time
To begin, click the Configuration icon on the VirtueMart Control Panel
Global Store configuration
The Global Store configuration opens to display a set of seven tabs:
l Global
l Security
Trang 4l Shipping
l Checkout
l Downloads
l Feed Configuration
Each tab is discussed in detail in the following sections
Global tab
Clicking the Configuration icon on the VirtueMart control panel displays the Configuration screen The default tab displayed is the Global tab, as shown in Figure 23.6
The Global tab’s workspace is divided into seven areas:
l Global
l Price Configuration
l Frontend Features
l Tax Configuration
l User Registration Settings
l Core Settings
l Logfile Configuration
The Global area includes the following options:
l Shop is offline?: Check this box to take the Shop offline This causes the message entered
in the parameter immediately below to be displayed to visitors who click on the link to the Shop Note that this is does not take the entire site offline, just the Shop portion of the site If you want to take the entire site offline, use the controls in Joomla’s Global
Configuration Manager
Cross-Reference
Joomla!’s Global Configuration Manager is discussed in Chapter 4.
l Offline Message: Enter into this text field the message you want visitors to see when the
Shop is offline This is only visible when the parameter immediately above is checked
l Use only as catalogue: Check this box to disable all shopping cart functionalities (for
example, add to cart and buy now buttons.)
Trang 5FIGURE 23.6
The Global tab of the Configuration Manager
Trang 6The Price Configuration area includes the following options:
l Show Prices: Check this box to show prices with the products.
l Member group to show prices to: If you want to only show prices to certain groups of
users, select them here To show the price information to all visitors, select Public Front-end
l Show “(including XX% tax)” when applicable?: If your prices include tax (that is, tax is
not extra), then check this box to show users the text “including xx% tax” alongside the price information for the product
l Show the price label for packaging?: Use this when products are sold in multiples of
units and the pricing is based upon the purchase of a set package of units
The Frontend Features area includes the following options:
l Enable content mambots / plugins in descriptions?: Allows the Joomla! system plugins
to parse the content of the product descriptions This is useful for providing dynamic con-tent in the product or category descriptions
Trang 7l Enable Coupon Usage: Check this box if you want to accept coupons on your site This
allows customers to fill in coupon numbers to get discounts on products
l Enable Customer Review/Rating System: Check this box to enable User Reviews and
Ratings of Products
l Auto-Publish Reviews?: Check this box to publish automatically any user reviews
with-out requiring prior administrator approval
l Comment Minimum Length: The minimum required number of characters for a valid
comment
l Comment Maximum Length: The maximum number of characters for a valid comment.
l Enable Affiliate Program?: Check this box to enable affiliate tracking on the front end
Use this if you have planned to add affiliates in the back-end system
The Tax Configuration area includes the following options:
l Virtual Tax: Check to include tax for all items, even virtual products.
l Tax mode: Select the basis for calculating tax: Vendor address, shipping address, or
European Union mode
l Enable multiple tax rates?: Check this option if you need to be able to input different tax
rates for different types of products
l Subtract payment discount before tax/shipping?: Check to calculate the tax on the
dis-counted price, rather than on the pre-disdis-counted price
Note
Taxes rates can be configured under the Tax menu.
The User Registration Settings area includes the following options:
l User Registration Type: Select your preferred method for handling user registration:
Normal Account Creation forces users to select a username and password; Silent registra-tion automatically creates a username and password and sends the informaregistra-tion to the user
at the address they enter during the transaction; Optional registration lets the user decide whether they want to register; the No registration option neither provides nor requires registration
l Show the “Remember me” checkbox on login?: Check this to allow users the option to
have the system “remember” them; typically not a good option if you are using SSL
l Joomla!: User registrations allowed?: This option reflects the values set in the Joomla
Global Configuration Manager Click the Update link to change this setting
l Joomla!: New account activation necessary?: This option reflects the values set in the
Joomla Global Configuration Manager Click the Update link Update to change this setting
Trang 8User, or Shoppers as they are commonly referred to in VirtueMart, can be grouped using the Shopper Groups function under the Shopper menu.
l Must agree to Terms of Service on EVERY ORDER?: Check this box to require the user
to agree to Terms of Service on every order, even if during the same session as a previous order
l Show information about “Return Policy” on the order confirmation page?: Check to
show the Return Policy information on the order confirmation page This will cause the text input in the parameter immediately below to be shown on the order confirmation page
l Legal information text (short version): Input the legal or returns policy copy you want
to display on the order confirmation page This will be displayed if the parameter above is checked
l Long version of the return policy (link to a content item): After you have created a
new article containing your full return policy, you can select the article from the list of articles that appear in this box The system will then generate a link to this article for users
to read the full policy
The Core Settings area includes the following options:
l Check stock?: Check this box if you want to restrict orders to no more than the number
of items in inventory
Note
Inventory levels for a product are set when creating or editing a product.
l Enable the Cookie Check?: Check to have system verify if the user’s browser is set to
accept cookies; if so, cookies will be used to persist data and improve the user friendliness
of the site
l Select a currency converter module: Select from the currency converter plugins installed
on your site By default there is only one, convertECB, which fetches the data for the cur-rency converter from the European Central Bank
Note
The currency converter module is only needed if you offer shoppers their choice of currencies The currencies option is set in the Store Information panel, which is accessed by clicking on the sub-menu Edit Store under the Store menu.
Trang 9l Limit by IP address: Check to limit the display of the debugging information to a specific
IP address If this is checked, enter the IP address in the Client IP address field
l Client IP address: Enter the IP address you want to see the debugging address This is
only relevant if the previous parameter is checked
The Logfile Configuration area includes the following options:
l Enable logging?: Check to enable logging If unchecked the Joomla! system default
log-ging can still apply
l Logfile Name: Enter the path to the logfile Only applicable if the box above is checked.
l Logging level: Set the cut off level for logging issues Only relevant if logging is enabled.
l Logfile format: Set your preferred logfile format Only relevant if logging is enabled Note
the syntax is explained below the field
Security tab
The Security tab includes a number of parameters related to establishing the security levels for your site Clicking on the tab labeled Security will display the screen shown in Figure 23.7
FIGURE 23.7
The Security tab of the Configuration Manager
Trang 10The Security tab’s workspace is divided into three areas:
l Security Settings
l More Core Settings
l Global Proxy Settings
The Security Settings area includes the following options:
l Site URL: This field should show the site URL that resulted from the installation process
You can alter this if necessary, but an incorrect value will cause problems!
l SECUREURL: Enter the secure URL to be used for the site (https).
l Shop areas which must use https: Select from the combo box one or more areas of the
site that must use secure https protocol
l Generally prevent https connections?: When checked, the system will steer the user out
of https URLs when the visitor is viewing pages where https is not needed This improves site performance
l Encryption Function: If you want to use encryption on the site, select AES_ENCRYPT.
l Encryption Key: System-created encryption key It is generally not necessary for you to
change this value
l Store Credit Card Information: Check if you want the system to store the users’ credit
card information in the database This will be encrypted, but you should not select this option if you do not need the data
l Allow Frontend-Administration for non-Backend Users?: Check if you want to allow
any of the front-end registered user groups to manage the shop Do not select this if you
do not intend to allow this level of access to the Shop
The More Core Settings area includes the following options:
l Table Prefix for Shop Tables: The default value for the database table prefix is vm
Changing this value can crash your site, so do not do this unless you know what you are doing!
l HOMEPAGE: The Shop’s default home page Typically you do not want to alter this
unless you have created a special home page
l ERRORPAGE: The Shop’s error page Typically you do not want to alter this unless you
have created a special error page
The Security Settings area includes the following options:
Trang 11l Proxy username: If the proxy requires authentication, enter the username here Typically
this field is left blank as this will be handled automatically by your server
l Proxy password: If the proxy requires authentication, enter the password here Typically
this field is left blank as this will be handled automatically by your server
Site tab
The Site tab includes a number of options related to the display of the catalog pages, including the sort order of products and the page template To view these parameters, click on the Site tab The page that loads is similar to what is shown in Figure 23.8
FIGURE 23.8
The Site tab of the Configuration Manager
The Site tab’s workspace is divided into two areas:
l Display
l Layout
Trang 12The Display area includes the following options:
l PDF - Button: Check to show a PDF button on pages, thereby allowing user’s to save
Shop page as a PDF
l Show the Recommend to a friend link?: Check to display the Recommend to a Friend
link on Shop pages
l Show the Print View link?: Check to display a Print link for the Shop pages.
l Show Page Navigation at the Top of the Product Listing?: Check to display page
navi-gation at the top of Product Listings on the front-end
l Default product sort order: Select the default product display sort order from the
combo box
l Available Sort-by fields: Check the fields you want to appear as sort options for site users.
l Show the Number of Products?: Check to display a product count to users.
l “no image” Image: Select the image you want to display when the product being viewed
has no image of its own
l Show footer: Check to display the Powered by VirtueMart footer on the front-end.
The Layout area includes the following options:
l Select the theme for your Shop: Choose the theme for the Shop from the combo box
Clicking on the Configuration link opens the Theme Settings Parameters dialogue, dis-cussed below
l Default number of products in a row: Set the number of products to appear in each row.
l Category Template: The system provides eight default category layouts Select the
one you prefer from the combo box The Category Templates are kept in the com_virtuemart/themes/default/templates/browse directory
l FLYPAGE: A flypage is a product details page The system provides eight default layouts
Select the one you prefer from the combo box The product templates are kept in the com_virtuemart/themes/default/templates/product_details directory
Note
Category page layout selections set in the Global Configuration can be overridden for individual categories on the Category Editing dialogue.
l Enable Dynamic Thumbnail Resizing?: If you want the system to automatically create
thumbnails for you, check this box Images will be resized to match the measurements