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Frequently Asked Questions:
StoreMan Features

Questions and answers about the features and uses of StoreMan.

If you don't find your answer here, please contact us.

1. How can I easily assign products to multiple categories? - Top

In the Product Editor window, there is an area that has a drop-down list of all your categories. You simply choose the category you want that product to be in. (Removing is just as simple: click on the Remove button next to the category, and the product is removed from the category.)

2. I have many stores. Can I use StoreMan with all of them? - Top

StoreMan is licensed on a per-store basis. You can transfer to another store when you are done working on the first. If you have the need to work on multiple stores at the same time, we recommend StoreMan Pro. It can work on a virtually unlimited number of stores.

3. How does sorting affect my data in StoreMan? - Top

StoreMan lets you sort in two ways: Sort Display lets you sort only what you see in StoreMan - for instance, if you want to see your products in reverse alphabetical order while editing, you can do that without affecting the data. Sort Data lets you you make the changes to your actual data, so that your store will reflect the new sort order once you upload and update your store files.

4. What can I sort by in StoreMan? - Top

Products can be sorted by ID, Product Code, Name, and Price. Categories can be sorted by ID, Category Code, Name, and Parent Code. Attributes can be sorted by ID, Product ID, Attribute Code, and Price. Options can be sorted by ID, Attribute ID, Option Code, and Price. Products within categories can be sorted by Product ID, Product Code, Product Name, and Price.

5. I need to edit my Category/Product header and footer. Can I do this in StoreMan? - Top

Yes, in either the Category Editor window or the Product Editor window, there is a Header/Footer button. This will open a window that lets you edit your header and footer for that Category or Product, respectively.

6. Can I import products or categories from a flat-file? - Top

Even though StoreMan is an alternative to flat-file importing, we do support importing of products, categories, products in categories and categories with subcategories (the categories must exist in StoreMan first). Use one of the supplied templates (text or Excel) and click on the Import Wizard in the Utilities window.

StoreMan Pro also supports attribute and option importing.

7. I've got 4,000 products. How do I find just the ones by a certain manufacturer? - Top

StoreMan has a Filter function in the Editor and List windows. If the manufacturer name is in the Name or Description, you can enter it in the text box and click the Filter button. Only the records with that manufacturer name will be displayed. Similarly, if you use a manufacturer-specific Product Code, you can filter for a specific portion of the Code.

8. Why won't StoreMan let me use a previously-used Product Code? - - Top

We enforce the creation of a unique Product Code because that is required by Miva Merchant.

9. How come StoreMan prompts me to create a unique Product Name? - - Top

Even though it is not absolutely necessary to have unique product names (unlike the Product Code), it is a Really Good Idea, so your customers will not be confused.

10. I want to add an attribute. I went into the Attribute Editor, but there was no way to do this. How do I add one? - - Top

Because it makes no sense to add an attribute without associating it with a product, we placed the Add Attribute button in the Product Editor window. Similarly, options must be added in the Attribute Editor (since they need to be associated with a specific attribute).

11. What kind of import can I do in StoreMan? - - Top

You can import in four different formats: 1) Products only. 2) Categories only. 3) Products with category assignments. 4) Categories with subcategories.

StoreMan Pro also supports attribute and option importing.

12. How do I find my version of StoreMan? - - Top

Click on the StoreMan image. The About StoreMan window will pop up. In this window is the version number and registration (name, company, serial number) information.

13. How do I find my Server Path to set up FTP in StoreMan? - - Top

This has many answers, depending on Operating System, whether you have a shared, virtual or dedicated server, and how Merchant was set up on your server.

In general, your store directory will reside within a Merchant2 directory, which in turn resides within a Mivadata or Htsdata directory. You need to find the path from the root (bottom level of directories that you log in to with FTP) to your store.

An example would be: /usr/local/etc/httpd/htsdata/Merchant2/00000001/

Your own server path will likely be somewhat different. It will contain the last two directories.

14. What does the StoreMan Update utility do? - - Top

The StoreMan Update utility is a module that installs within your Miva Merchant installation and provides these features:

First, it makes a backup of your existing product database files, so that if anything happens while updating your store, you have a known good set of files to restore.

Second, it swaps in product database files you have uploaded from StoreMan.

Third, it adjusts your storekey.dbf file to update product, category, attribute and option entries.

Fourth, it packs your store so that all the changes you have made become active in your store.

15. I added many products in StoreMan. I uploaded them to my server, but why don't I see them? - - Top

Most likely you forgot to run the StoreMan Update Utility from your Miva Merchant Administration screen. StoreMan uploads database files with a *.new extension in addition to the normal file extension. This is done to minimize downtime in your store. The Update Utility renames these files (among other things).

16. I'm getting an error message when I use the FTP utility. What's wrong? - - Top

First, make sure the FTP Site, Username, and Password are entered correctly. One wrong or missing character, even uppercase when it should be lowercase, will cause the FTP operation to fail. Second, make sure that the Server Path is correct. It needs to start and end with a '/' character. Third, make sure you are online (hey, it can happen to anyone).

17. I uploaded new files from StoreMan, and updated my server, but now I need my old information back. Can I do this? - - Top

Yes! The StoreMan Update utility makes a backup of your files every time you Update. You can open the utility and select Restore Old Content, and it will restore the last backup.

18. How do I get my products into StoreMan? - - Top

Initially, you need to FTP database files from an existing store on your server. After that point, you can either enter the products information from within StoreMan, or you can perform a flat-file import with the Import Wizard.

19. I tried to import a flat file, but it didn't work. How come? - - Top

StoreMan is very strict when it comes to importing information. Simple errors seem to cause all the problems with importing. We have included templates (in your StoreMan program directory) for each of the import types (product/category) and file formats (text and Excel). We recommend you use these to build your flat file, and minimize or eliminate the errors that will cause an import to fail.

20. How do I use the template feature? - - Top

This is handy when you are adding many products that are similar. Click on the Make Template button in the Product Editor. Answer Yes to the prompt to create a template. Now, whenever you add a product, it will take on the characteristics of the original template product, but with a product ID appended to the Code and Name.

21. What does the Edit Layout button in the Product Editor do? - - Top

The Edit Layout button opens a window where you can adjust the setting of three windows in your store: Product List Related Product List Search Results

22. How do I add a related product? - - Top

In the Product Editor, locate the product to which you want to add a related product. Click on the Relate Product button. The Related Products window opens. Click on the Add button. A list of all products opens, where you can choose the related product or products to add.

23. How do I clone an attribute? - - Top

In the Product Editor window, locate the product to which you want to clone an attribute. Click the Clone Attribute button. A window will open, with a list of all attributes available to clone. You can either clone an attribute to one product, or to a set of products.

24. How does the Filter feature work? - - Top

The Filter button appears in many of the windows. You can restrict the view of records based on certain criteria. For example, you can show only Product records that have the word 'coffee' in the Descriptions.

25. I have a lot of text in a description. How can I see more of it at one time? - - Top

Use the Zoom feature. When you are in a field with a lot of text (such as the product Description field), simply double-click within the field to open the Zoom window.

26. Where can I see all the products assigned to a particular category? - - Top

In the Category Editor, locate the category in question. Click the Products in Category button. The Products in Category window will open, displaying all products assigned to this category. (If there are no products assigned to a category, the Products in Category button will be inactive.)

27. I want to change the layout of a category. How do I do this? - - Top

In the Category Editor, locate the category. Then click on the Edit Layout button. The Category Layout window opens, where you can change layout settings for this category.

28. How do I use the Excel templates to create an Excel flat-file? - - Top

Copy or move the supplied Excel templates (*.XLT files) to your Office Template directory. For example: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates. Open Excel. Choose New from the File menu. You will see a list of templates on which to base your new Excel file.

29. Can I change the order of a particular category? - - Top

In the Category Editor, locate the category. Click the Edit Order button.In the window that opens, type the new Order value for the category and click OK.

30. I want to add an option. I went into the Option Editor, but there was no way to do this. How do I add one? - - Top

Because it makes no sense to add an option without associating it with an attribute, we placed the Add Option button in the Attribute Editor window.

31. In the Option Editor, what does the Make Default Option checkbox do? - - Top

Within a group of options that are defined as either checkbox or select, you can choose one to be the default, or selected, option. Click on the checkbox to define the current option as the default.

32. What are orphans? - - Top

Orphans are defined as: A product that is not assigned to a category, an attribute that is not associated with a product, an option that is not associated with an attribute. Orphan attributes and options should be deleted.

33. I see a Duplicates button in some of the windows. What is this for? - - Top

The Duplicates button should only be used after receiving a message when cleaning the database that there are Duplicate records. If you receive this message, you can remove the duplicates by clicking the Duplicates button.

34. What kinds of data can I export? - - Top

StoreMan will export products, categories, products within categories, and categories with subcategories. You can export to either pipe-delimited text or Excel format.

StoreMan Pro can also export attributes and options.

35. Can I print out reports of my data? - - Top

Yes, the Report Wizard lets you choose from a number of product, category, attribute, option, and image reports. You can either send the report to a printer, or save to a Microsoft Word RTF file.

36. How do I know that I've set up my FTP correctly? - - Top

In the FTP Transfer window, there is a Test button. This will initiate a search for a particular file (STOREKEY.DBF) on your Miva Merchant server. If the file is found, you have the correct information on your FTP setup.

37. When would I use Clean Database? - - Top

We recommend using Clean Database before uploading changed data to your Miva Merchant site. You have two choices: Data and Records. Data will remove extraneous tab and CR/LF characters from your data. Records will look for (and often remove) duplicate and corrupted records.

38. How does StoreMan work with Miva Merchant Inventory settings? - - Top

StoreMan lets you enable and disable inventory on a per-product basis. You can create and edit specific inventory messages that will override the default inventory messages. To adjust inventory levels for products, you need to use the supplied Inventory Update module. This is because inventory level adjustments should only be made on your server.

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